Several hours later.
The Fourth Raikage, A, forcibly suppressed his anger as he finished reading the scroll in his hand that recorded the document. Then he raised his head and looked at the Kumogakure "missing-nin" Toroi, who was glancing around awkwardly, and questioned him word by word.
"What is this supposed to be? An order? Or a final ultimatum!?"
"Uh… According to Boss Nagato, this should be considered an invitation letter, I suppose?"
For reasons known to all, Toroi, who had become the envoy sent by the Akatsuki to Kumogakure, wiped the sweat from his forehead and forced a smile.
"An! Invitation! Letter!? Guwah!!!"
With a heavy punch, A smashed the desk before him. Amid flying wood splinters and crackling lightning, the Fourth Raikage roared in fury.
"This is supposed to be an invitation letter!? Between the lines, it clearly says that if Kumogakure does not send someone to participate in this meeting about matters related to the moon's descent according to the method they provide, sanctions will be imposed on our village! How is that an invitation!?"
"Lord Fourth, please calm down first, calm down…"
As someone who had worked in the Akatsuki for quite some time and knew the inside story, Toroi was naturally very aware that Nagato possessed the strength to defeat Kumogakure alone. After carefully considering his wording so as not to further provoke the Fourth Raikage, Toroi slowly said,
"I know you are very dissatisfied with the Akatsuki, Lord Fourth, or rather, with the Fourth Mizukage, who is supporting the Akatsuki from behind the scenes in doing something like this. But… a sudden disaster like the moon's descent truly has reached the point where the power and wisdom of everyone in the shinobi world must be gathered if there is to be any chance of resolving it."
"Toroi, are you speaking on behalf of the Akatsuki and the Fourth Mizukage?"
Darui, who had already been one of the Raikage's trusted subordinates back when the Third Raikage was still alive, stepped forward. He blocked the more impulsive Kumogakure shinobi behind him, and at the same time placed greater pressure on Toroi, who had come to deliver the message. Staring into Toroi's eyes, he questioned him in a deep voice.
"Have three years in the Akatsuki made you forget that you are a Kekkei Genkai shinobi born in Kumogakure?"
"If I had forgotten, then this mission would not have been carried out by me personally, Darui."
Toroi shook his head and sighed.
"Rather, regarding this moon descent incident, do we really still have any room left to refuse communication and cooperation with the Akatsuki and Kirigakure?"
The moment these words were spoken, the faces of every Kumogakure shinobi present darkened. In the end, however, not a single one of them stepped forward to deny Toroi's statement.
The moon's descent was not a simple situation like a few meteorites falling into the shinobi world.
Even if Kumogakure did not know that the moon was the prison sealing Kaguya Otsutsuki, they could still realize the fact that if a moon of such enormous size fell into the shinobi world, it would inevitably become a disaster that destroyed the entire world.
And before that fact, Kumogakure neither held information about the existence of the Otsutsuki clan on the moon, nor had they, as in a future timeline, created a terrifying weapon capable of destroying the moon.
Under such circumstances, how could they possibly utter arrogant nonsense about safely passing through the crisis without cooperating with the Akatsuki and Kirigakure?
"But on our side, don't we still have that mysterious leader of Root? Maybe he has information and methods capable of resolving the moon's descent?"
Amid the silence, a young-looking blond shinobi muttered rather unconvinced.
"Atsui, mind your words!"
Samui, who was also blond, but whose body and mind were both far more mature than her younger brother's, quickly reached out and covered Atsui's mouth, saying in a low voice,
"Kirigakure is a target we need to be wary of. But does that mean Root, who calls itself the darkness of the shinobi world, is not? Besides, during the last battle of Konoha, did the Fourth Mizukage not already prove that he is far stronger than Root's leader, even after that leader obtained the Nine-Tails?"
"Boss…"
Darui ignored Atsui, whose expression had wilted after being scolded by his sister. Instead, he looked with a complicated expression toward the Fourth Raikage, whose brows were likewise tightly furrowed because of Samui's words. Rarely using a tone that was not so lazy, he said,
"No matter what decision you ultimately make, Boss, everyone in Kumogakure will have no complaints or objections."
"Do I look like someone who cares about that sort of thing, Darui?"
The Fourth Raikage, A, snorted. Then he turned toward a jonin who hurriedly rushed into the Raikage's office, almost predicting what the man would say as he asked,
"Has communication from Iwagakure arrived?"
"R-Reporting, Lord Raikage. Iwagakure has just sent us a communication request. It seems… it seems the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, intends to personally discuss certain matters with you…"
"Then let us hear how Lord Tsuchikage judges this."
The Fourth Raikage, A, rose from his seat with decisive speed and walked out of the office.
"Whether it is cooperation with Root, or vigilance and hatred toward Kirigakure, Iwagakure surpasses us in both. If even an old man as stubborn as Onoki chooses to make contact with the Akatsuki…"
"Then we go with the flow?"
Atsui could not help speaking again.
"Kumogakure is not Iwagakure's vassal!"
Toroi could not help reaching out and punching Atsui on the head.
"If you do not know how to speak, then you do not have to speak at all. Being young is not grounds for running your mouth. Understand!?"
"Gu!? Y-You're obviously a missing-nin… Uwaaah, sis, save me!!!"
Listening to the commotion behind him, Darui let out a long sigh. He could not help looking at the white clouds slowly drifting past the window and muttering quietly to himself,
"How dull. Things where the answer can be seen at a glance, yet time still has to be wasted in repeated tugging and weighing."
…
A short while later.
On the display screen, still showing obvious static and mottled spots, the short figure of the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, appeared.
Seeing the other party's face, which seemed even older than his actual age, the Fourth Raikage, A, sneered and folded his arms.
"For Onoki of Both Scales to be so impatient in sending a communication, it seems Kirigakure's proactive move has placed unimaginable pressure on you, Lord Tsuchikage."
"Raikage brat, there is no time to bicker with you right now."
Onoki's expression was extremely serious. He swept his gaze over the Fourth Raikage and the trusted subordinates around him, then spoke gravely.
"Just now, Iwagakure's Explosion Corps destroyed a large meteorite that fell near Iwagakure. And based on our observations, if the moon's falling trend does not slow within the next few days, the moon will begin breaking apart into countless fragments surrounding the shinobi world, forming an endless meteor shower that will strike every corner of the world…"
"In other words, we do not have much time to waste on negotiation, right?"
The Fourth Raikage, A, clenched his fist and worked to calm himself before asking in reply.
"You could say that, but… this is not the only problem we face."
Onoki raised his hand with implied meaning and pointed somewhere outside the screen. His eyes were cold as he said,
"After discovering the phenomenon of the moon's descent, I sent several communication requests to Root, hoping to properly discuss matters with their mysterious leader. But even now, Root's replies have all been excuses like there is no availability, no time, and so on… What that means, Raikage brat, you should be able to guess somewhat yourself."
"You mean Root's leader may be connected to the moon's descent in some way?"
The Fourth Raikage revealed a somewhat astonished expression.
"Are you serious about that guess!?"
"Whether I am serious or not does not matter. But the fact that Root has not provided us with any assistance in this matter is indisputable."
Onoki's expression was terrifyingly gloomy.
"And judging from the tactics used in the previous attack on Konoha, that brat who is very likely the successor of Madara Uchiha is rather deranged and completely unconcerned with consequences when he acts…"
"So you have already made your decision?"
Raikage A took a deep breath and asked while working to steady his emotions.
"No matter what Kirigakure is planning, communicating with them is inevitable."
Onoki shook his head, his tone complicated.
"As for the lunatics of the Uchiha clan, I truly cannot give them much trust."
"Heh. You remember that at a time like this, do you?"
The Raikage snorted coldly. Then he turned toward Toroi, who had already listened to the entire conversation from nearby, and said in a deep voice,
"Hand over that so-called Magic Lantern Body Technique. Let this old man see what the Fourth Mizukage and the Akatsuki he personally supported are scheming."
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