— Negotiations are possible. But an alliance is out of the question. What kind of alliance can we talk about when every Kage secretly dreams of getting Uchiha Yue's eyes?
That was the unspoken verdict issued by the leaders of the great villages. Each of them was convinced that it was his village that would find a way to neutralize Yue's frightening power, find his vulnerability and deal a fatal blow.
It was not blind self-confidence, but cold calculation, mixed with pride. After all, the first wave of the strike will fall on the Land of Fire, which means that the rest have several months to prepare. Their logic was like that of a lazy schoolboy putting off his summer assignments: "There's still time, I'll start tomorrow." But one "tomorrow" was replaced by another, until on the last day of the holidays he found a mountain of unfinished work in front of him.
However, unlike the schoolboy, the villages did not sit idly by. The research was conducted with feverish haste. But this disunity was their fatal mistake.
The Daimyo were in an impotent rage. "Damn ninja! They were seething with indignation. "Don't these blind people see the obvious?" Why split forces when you can strike with a single fist? Don't they realize what kind of monster they're facing?"
The Daimyo, unlike the Shinobi, looked at the big picture. Yue hadn't even reached the peak of his power yet, but even now, his strength seemed beyond belief. Give him a few more months, and he will turn into an invulnerable deity that all the armies of the world will not even be able to approach. Even if you have a jutsu that can momentarily break through his defenses, you will have to pay an unthinkable price. And who can guarantee that you will be able to kill him three times in this short moment?
But the Kage reasoned differently. They clung to the fact that Yue had already been defeated once. "That mysterious warrior proved that Uchiha Yue is mortal. Since that's the case, he must have a weakness. We just need to find the right key."
It was a classic case of which they say: "both the most skilled swimmers drown, and the most skilled riders fall from their horses."
"I think we've done it,— Fukasaku said with a heavy sigh, looking at the mountain of scrolls towering in front of him and Shima.
These parchments contained all the accumulated knowledge about Mount Myoboku senjutsu. Moreover, the sages contacted the Shikkotsu forest and even obtained bits of surviving data from the fallen Ryuchi cave. Unfortunately, the latter were only suitable for general reference: without the venom of the White Snake Sage, Ryuchi's techniques were useless.
Soon, the two sages appeared before the Great Toad Sage.
"Oh Gamamaru, Great Sage, have you seen a new future?" Shima asked hopefully.
Every day they asked the same question, praying for a glimmer of hope that would allow them not to share their innermost knowledge. Giving senjutsu to humans was a desperate and incredibly dangerous measure. It was akin to a capitalist giving his machines to the workers, undermining the foundations of his own well-being. One mistake and Mount Myoboku could fall, giving way to a new sanctuary, because the natural energy in the world was not infinite.
- no. The darkness has not lifted," an ancient voice rasped. — The pall of death still shrouds the world. I don't see anything. Go ahead, Fukasaku, Shima. Find Jiraiya and give him the scrolls. Senjutsu is the only variable that remains in our hands. Fate is not a dogma set in stone. If you put enough effort into it, it can be changed.
He learned this the hard way. His prophecy of the crisis was only a warning, but the intervention of Danzo, who defied the heavens, distorted what was destined. Now all that remained was to rely on the power that had once helped the Sage of the Six Paths defeat his own mother.
The Great Toad Sage smiled bitterly at his thoughts. If Kaguya Ootsutsuki hadn't been defeated by her own sons, the Shinobi world would have perished long ago. Her children have become that very variable. But Uchiha Yue was a perfect weapon without a single vulnerability. He had no one: no family, no attachments, no offspring that could be the key to his downfall. Absolute power in an absolute vacuum.
It has been two months since Uchiha Yue awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan. The penultimate month before the fall of the Land of Fire was approaching.
Two small toads arrived in Konoha, shrouded in anxious expectation. Their appearance was quiet, but it meant more than the loudest declarations of war.
After handing the scrolls to Jiraiya and Tsunade, Fukasaku and Shima stood on the table and addressed the stunned village leaders.
—Jiraiya, Tsunade," Fukasaku began solemnly, and his voice filled the office with the weight of thousands of years of wisdom. — It is not enough to transfer this knowledge to other villages. You have to do something more.
"What is it?" Jiraiya asked, frowning.
"You will have to create a Shinobi Alliance," the sage announced. — Notify all villages. Forget about the feuds and old grudges. Because only by combining the wisdom and strength of all nations will you have a chance to find a way to defeat Uchiha Yue.