Chapter 217: The Akatsuki Intervenes!
Land of Lightning, Hidden Cloud Village.
"Trash! A bunch of trash!"
The sound of shattering porcelain echoed through the luxurious palace. The Lightning Daimyo shook with rage, saliva flying as he pointed at the Fourth Raikage A, who stood with his head bowed in silence.
"The Fire Daimyo is dead! Died in his own country! Who's next? Me?!"
A's muscles tensed, veins throbbing on his temple. Konoha and Orochimaru's little play had even made him, the Raikage, consider similar actions. Perhaps the Third Hokage wasn't dead at all, but staged this to eliminate the Fire Daimyo. Moreover, carving up Konoha and the Hidden Sound required a righteous cause.
He spoke in a low voice, "Daimyo, please calm down. This matter—"
"Calm down? How can I calm down?!" The Daimyo slammed the table, knocking over teacups. Scalding tea soaked the expensive silk tablecloth. "If the Hidden Cloud cannot guarantee my safety, then I see no need to continue funding you!"
A's gaze sharpened instantly, the air seemingly solidifying. He knew the Daimyo's patience had reached its limit. The Fire Daimyo's death was a wake-up call for all the Daimyo. They feared they would be next.
"The Hidden Cloud… will give you an 'explanation'."
Meanwhile, Land of Earth, Hidden Stone Village.
The aged Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, floated in mid-air, listening grimly to his subordinate's report.
"The Fire Daimyo assassinated, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi killed in battle… Orochimaru…" Onoki's wrinkled face was etched with concern. "This Orochimaru really lives up to his name as one of the Sannin."
Although the Earth Daimyo wasn't as hysterical as the Lightning Daimyo, the worry in his words was palpable. "Tsuchikage, if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold. Who's to say the Fire Country's disaster today won't be the Earth Country's sorrow tomorrow? We must unite and demand an explanation from Konoha and that… Hidden Sound Village!"
Onoki nodded slightly. "This old man will personally make a trip to discuss this with the other Kage. Konoha must pay the price for their negligence. As for the Hidden Sound… a village built by a Hokage's disciple… I heard they displayed quite a few novel ninja tools in this battle."
He calculated inwardly that this might be an opportunity to reshuffle the ninja world order.
Land of Water, Hidden Mist Village.
The Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumi, reacted similarly after hearing the report.
Land of Wind, Hidden Sand Village.
Inside the Elders' Meeting Hall, the atmosphere was oppressive. The shadow of the Fourth Kazekage Rasa's murder by Orochimaru hadn't faded, and the news of the Fire Daimyo's assassination added frost to snow.
The Sand elders looked ashen, their eyes full of anger and unease.
"A great humiliation! First Lord Kazekage, and now our Daimyo is cutting our funding again because of this! Orochimaru! Konoha! Hidden Sound! Those bastards must pay in blood!"
"Calm down!"
"This is not the time to act on impulse. The Fire Daimyo's death is both a crisis and an opportunity for us. The other three great nations won't sit idly by. We must seize this chance to ally with them! Let the Wind Daimyo see that we are still capable!"
With the Kazekage seat vacant and domestic instability rife, the sudden increase in pressure from the Daimyo made the Hidden Sand like a lone boat in a stormy sea.
Before long, a letter personally signed by the Fourth Raikage A was delivered to the Hidden Stone, Hidden Mist, and Hidden Sand.
A Four Kage Summit to discuss major events.
Land of Iron, Neutral Ground.
Inside the conference room, four figures sat around a long table. The air was thick with invisible smoke.
Raikage A broke the silence first. His temper was explosive, his voice booming: "Everyone, the Fire Daimyo assassinated, the Third Hokage dead… Konoha cannot escape blame! Although Orochimaru is the culprit, he hails from Konoha, making them suspect of harboring him! Furthermore, that so-called Hidden Sound Village acts secretly and possesses technology far beyond our imagination. Its threat cannot be underestimated!"
Tsuchikage Onoki spoke slowly, "The Raikage speaks reason. Konoha's negligence must be punished. The rise of the Hidden Sound is indeed unsettling. This old man believes we four great ninja villages need to join hands and teach them a profound lesson." A glint of greed flashed in his eyes as he plotted how to gain the most for the Hidden Stone.
Mizukage Mei Terumi smiled charmingly, her voice seductive: "Since Lord Raikage and Lord Tsuchikage say so, I naturally agree. However, how will this alliance be formed? Who will command? And how will the spoils be divided after the war? These are questions that need careful discussion."
The Hidden Sand representative was a senior elder, but he clearly lacked authority here. Bluntly put, he was just making up the numbers.
The core agenda quickly focused on how to deal with Konoha and the Hidden Sound.
"Konoha must hand over Orochimaru, all remaining Kekkei Genkai, and the Tailed Beasts, and pay reparations for the Fire Daimyo's death!"
"They are no longer qualified to keep these things!"
"The Hidden Sound must surrender all its technical data and accept our supervision!"
"After conquering Konoha and the Hidden Sound, how should the land, resources, and population be divided?"
"Isn't it too early to think about that?! Don't forget Konoha produced monsters like Hashirama and Tobirama!"
"What are you afraid of? They've been dead for years! If they were so capable, they wouldn't have handed over the Hyuga's Byakugan and body back then."
"The only worry is their Tailed Beast, but since the main battlefield is Konoha, a rampage would be Konoha's headache."
For a while, the conference room was filled with verbal sparring as each side fought for their village's maximum benefit.
Finally, after intense bargaining, the three Kage reached a preliminary consensus.
Form a Ninja Alliance to launch a joint expedition under the banner of "Punishing the negligent Konoha and sanctioning the dangerous Hidden Sound."
Primary Objective: Attack Konoha.
Reasons: Konoha is the strongest but currently weakened by internal strife and leadership upheaval; Orochimaru is from Konoha, making them responsible; carving up Konoha offers the richest rewards.
Secondary Objective: Attack the Hidden Sound.
Reasons: Acquire advanced technology; it's a new, small village, presumably easier to breach.
As for the alliance command and post-war distribution, they were temporarily shelved for later discussion. But the clouds of war had begun to gather over the ninja world. Upon returning, each nation immediately began intensive troop mobilization.
Akatsuki, within a dark base.
Zetsu, annoyed that all the White Zetsu spores had been wiped out by the Hidden Sound, felt gloomy. Looking towards Nagato's direction, he decided to act.
Pain and the other Akatsuki members listened quietly as Zetsu relayed intelligence about the Four Kage Summit…
"…Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi confirmed dead. The Uchiha clan remaining in Konoha, including Shisui Uchiha, were wiped out after resurrecting. Konoha is currently led by Minato Namikaze. The four great ninja villages have secretly held a summit and reached a preliminary agreement to form an alliance targeting Konoha and the Hidden Sound…"
On Itachi Uchiha's handsome yet cold face, no emotion could be seen.
After Zetsu's voice faded, the room fell into dead silence.