Shikaku Nara's expression shifted. From the words of that ninja from the Hidden Cloud Village, he was able to extract several key points.
First—someone had attacked Killer B, but failed to kill him. As a jōnin captain of Konoha, Shikaku naturally knew who Killer B was—the Eight-Tails jinchūriki of the Hidden Cloud Village.
Anyone capable of injuring a perfect jinchūriki had to possess at least Kage-level strength.
Second—the people who attacked Killer B and disrupted the Five Kage Summit were not acting alone.There were at least two of them, possibly more, and all were missing-nin who had once come from Konoha.
One of them was already known: an unidentified masked man wielding the Sharingan.
Logically speaking, the other should be Uchiha Itachi, a missing-nin from the same Akatsuki organization as the masked man.
Third—either the masked man or his partner had inflicted irreversible damage on the Raikage's left arm.
Shikaku lit a cigarette and blew out a smoke ring.
"Ah… what a pain. I really want to go home and eat Yoshino's cooking…"
Why were there so many Kage-level ninja choosing to become missing-nin? And why were they all from the same clan?
And then there was that legendary ninja from the past—Uchiha Madara. Just what kind of secrets were hidden within the Uchiha clan, for such drastic upheavals to keep happening one after another?
It was said that Lord Second Hokage was an expert when it came to the Uchiha. Maybe he should find some time and ask the Third Hokage to make an introduction.
Ah… he'd gone and given himself more trouble again. What a pain!!
[On the screen, the Sand ninja and Stone ninja who had been arguing earlier had already come to blows. And it wasn't just the two of them—verbal clashes were erupting everywhere within the Allied Shinobi Forces. In more serious cases, they were already grabbing and tearing at each other.]
["That's why I can't stand the Hidden Stone Village."]
["Hey! You there from the Hidden Mist Village—what did you just say?!"]
[The Mist ninja turned around. "Since you heard me, I might as well say it clearly. I said you Stone ninja are nothing but uncivilized barbarians."]
["You bastard!!"]
[Stone ninja were generally bigger in build. One of them grabbed the Mist ninja by the collar and lifted him up.]
[The Mist ninja didn't resist. Instead, he spoke calmly, recounting old hatred. "The Tragedy of Yosuga Pass… the betrayal by the Hidden Stone Village back then. I remember it all perfectly."]
["Yosuga Pass? You've got the nerve to bring up something that ancient!"]
["It was because of Lord Yagura's will—enduring alone in prison while longing for peace—that I accepted this kind of military structure in the first place."]
[In the Mist ninja's eyes was the image of the senior he respected most, walking toward the abyss of imprisonment. "But now it seems the Mist can never truly join forces with the Stone!"]
[The atmosphere grew more and more unstable. The eighty-thousand-strong Allied Shinobi Forces hadn't even set out yet, and internal strife had already thrown them into chaos.]
Land of Earth · Hidden Stone Village
"This is exactly why! Working with those Mist bastards—forget it."
"Yeah, yeah. Calling us barbarians—did they forget their own nickname, the 'Bloody Mist'?!"
"And seriously, what is Konoha even doing?! Can't they even deal with their own missing-nin?!"
Land of Water · Hidden Mist Village
"Lord Yagura! Lord Yagura was imprisoned?!"
"Yosuga Pass… those damn Stone ninja!!"
"See? An Allied Shinobi Forces was never going to work!"
Land of Wind · Hidden Sand Village
"I'm telling you, this footage has to be some kind of Konoha conspiracy. How could Gaara possibly become Kazekage? Commander-in-chief of the Allied Shinobi Forces? Don't make me laugh!"
"Besides, our Fourth Kazekage is still young! No way that monster gets to be Kazekage!"
"And blaming the Third Hokage's death on us—does Konoha want to start a war?!"
Land of Lightning · Hidden Cloud Village
"They're saying our Raikage lost an arm?! Konoha's got some nerve!"
"N-no, that was our own people who said it."
"Are you an idiot?! How could anyone injure Lord A?! This has to be a Konoha plot!!"
Fourth Raikage A slammed his fist down.
"Either way, reinforce security. And Killer B is not allowed to leave the island!"
"Understood!" the Cloud ninja replied.
Akatsuki
At this point, only Pain, Konan, and "Madara" remained.
Pain looked toward "Madara."
"What do you think?"
Obito Uchiha lowered his voice, maintaining the tone of Uchiha Madara.
"White Zetsu has reported in. The footage we're seeing is currently being broadcast across the entire world. Our plan has been exposed ahead of schedule."
Konan frowned. "Do we know who did it?"
Before Obito could answer, White Zetsu popped out of the ground.
"Madara Madara I've got some interesting news~"
"Hm?"
"The Second Hokage of Konoha—Tobirama Senju—has been revived~!"
"What?!" Pain, Konan, and Obito all changed expressions. "What do you mean? Orochimaru's Edo Tensei?!"
"Nope It's a real revival He even looks a lot younger now So lucky! I wonder what I looked like when I was young. Maybe I was an even more handsome guy than Madara?"
They were already used to White Zetsu's way of speaking. Right now, nothing was more shocking than the revival of the Second Hokage.
"Stay put and observe," Obito said. "I'm going to Konoha."
With that, he vanished into the Kamui space.
Land of Fire · Konoha
"Hokage-sama!"
The ninja responsible for intelligence transmission knelt before the Second and Third Hokage.
"What is it?" Hiruzen asked.
"According to the incoming reports…"
When Hiruzen learned that the footage they had seen was now being broadcast worldwide, he felt as if he had aged another ten years in an instant. If Tobirama-sensei hadn't been here, he honestly wished he could just drop dead on the spot.
Tobirama Senju smiled calmly.
"It seems the Five Kage Summit won't need to wait another three years."