Converting chakra into specific thought waves that could be captured by the wielder of the Rinnegan was not difficult. And with the Fourth Raikage and the Third Tsuchikage possessing strength that surpassed ordinary Kage-level shinobi, the difficulty for Nagato to capture their respective thought waves was reduced considerably.
Thus, when the Fourth Raikage, A, and the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, opened their eyes again, a completely new scene had already appeared before them.
It was not, as they had imagined, a small meeting venue arranged only for the five strongest nations in the shinobi world to exchange opinions. Instead, it was an enormous semicircular conference hall.
At the center of the hall was a raised platform for the host to speak from. Below that platform were five rows of seats extending outward. Although at this moment, the seats that had been arranged in advance were all empty, it was not hard to see from the layout that the person who arranged the hall in such a manner had the concept and ambition to allow forces outside the Five Great Nations and the Five Great Shinobi Villages to have the possibility of making their voices heard as well.
"Hmph. As expected, only a shinobi born in the Land of Rain would think of a layout like this."
After the Fourth Raikage, A, snorted coldly, he turned his head and looked toward the figures already waiting in the hall for the discussion to begin.
The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, wearing the Hokage's haori and a Konoha forehead protector, his expression serious.
The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, constantly adjusting the Kazekage hat on his head, his eyes unable to conceal his anxiety.
Miroku, the Priestess of the Land of Demons, dressed in formal priestess attire, gazing forward with dignified solemnity.
And the Byakugan boy sitting in the front row below the podium, supporting his face with one hand, his eyes carrying a faint smile that seemed both present and absent.
That was the initiator of this extraordinary meeting, the Fourth Mizukage, Rei Kaguya.
"Since the Fourth Raikage and the Third Tsuchikage have both arrived, this temporary operational meeting convened to discuss how to handle the extraordinary situation of the moon's descent has reached the minimum requirement to begin."
As those words fell, Nagato, dressed in a black Akatsuki cloak with red clouds, walked onto the podium from the side.
He bowed to Onoki, who had suddenly turned his head to look at him, then said calmly,
"The fact that Lord Raikage and Lord Tsuchikage are willing to attend this meeting proves that the two of you are not extremists who have only ambition in your hearts and no concern for the greater situation. Here, on behalf of every member of the Akatsuki, as well as the large and small nations and shinobi villages that did not have time to participate, I express my gratitude to you both."
"Heh… The Rinnegan, is it? Although I have continuously received corresponding intelligence before, as expected, only after seeing it with my own eyes can I understand why you became the spokesperson chosen by the Mizukage."
Onoki, who had once experienced looking into Madara Uchiha's Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, sneered. At the same time, he glanced from the corner of his eye toward another figure he had never met, but who had likewise pressed down on Iwagakure so hard they could barely breathe.
"I am glad to see an old man like you still maintaining such abundant and vigorous energy. However, since you have already made the practical move of yielding, please do not waste our precious time on verbal skill, Lord Tsuchikage."
Rei Kaguya calmly pushed the words back.
"Do not misunderstand, Mizukage!"
The Fourth Raikage, A, furrowed his brows and immediately refuted him with a hint of anger.
"Kumogakure has not grown so weak that we would voluntarily lower our heads before we have truly fought! This old man came to attend the meeting you convened only to exchange intelligence appropriately and avoid wasting manpower and resources…"
"Since it is to avoid waste, the first thing that should be avoided is this meaningless clash of pride."
The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, interlaced his fingers and spoke with a heavy expression.
"Every bit of time we waste here brings us one step closer to the day the moon falls into the shinobi world. If simple loud arguing could change reality, the world would have long since ceased to be what it is now!"
"Lord Kazekage is right."
Miroku sighed and took the initiative to smooth things over.
"Did we not contact Lord Mizukage precisely to resolve the disaster of the moon's descent, a disaster from which no one is destined to remain uninvolved? Now that things have reached this point, continuing to argue will only waste our precious time for nothing…"
"Then why don't you tell us, Mizukage, what method you have to solve a heaven-collapsing, earth-shattering matter like the moon's descent!?"
The Fourth Raikage, A, abruptly swung his fist through the air in front of him and questioned Rei Kaguya sharply. Yet Rei did not directly answer A's question. He merely turned his head and threw the topic to Minato Namikaze, who had remained silent the entire time.
"Before discussing how to solve the problem, I think we can first hear about the cause of this moon descent incident… The abnormality of the moon's descent has been visible for quite some time. Lord Hokage should have obtained at least some intelligence regarding this matter, correct?"
"What!? Hokage!? You know the cause of the moon's descent!?"
In an instant, Onoki, Rasa, A, and Miroku all turned their gazes toward Minato Namikaze at the same time. Facing such collective attention, even though Minato himself was thousands of miles away, he still felt considerable pressure.
"You truly are skilled at transferring pressure away, Lord Mizukage…"
Minato Namikaze shook his head with a bitter smile and sighed.
"If not for the moon's descent being so obvious, I would not even have known that this matter was actually connected to the Hyuga clan. Nor would I have imagined that after they suffered a sudden attack from the Otsutsuki clan, they would actually place their hopes of solving the problem on you…"
"The Hyuga clan? What does this have to do with them?"
Onoki first frowned. Then, as if he had suddenly thought of something, he stared fixedly at the pair of Byakugan in Rei Kaguya's eye sockets and asked in a chilling voice,
"And what is the Otsutsuki clan? Why would you mention a shinobi clan completely unknown to us under such circumstances?"
"This is the bitter fruit left behind by the endless wars of the shinobi world, and by the fact that everyone has only buried their heads in improving their killing techniques."
Rei Kaguya lowered the right hand supporting his cheek. With his ten fingers touching together, he smiled lightly at Onoki.
"To all of you, the name Otsutsuki clan may be a completely unfamiliar existence. But in truth, if I change the wording slightly, you will all know exactly how exaggerated their origin and background are."
"Can it be more exaggerated than the Senju of the Forest and the Uchiha clan, who remained the strongest even throughout the Warring States period?"
The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, asked in a tone that did not seem very convinced.
"Of course they are more exaggerated, and of course their origin is far greater."
The corners of Rei Kaguya's mouth curved upward into a high arc.
His phantom stood and walked with light steps to Nagato's side. Then, while pointing at the pale purple Rinnegan in Nagato's eye sockets, he spoke in an incomparably calm tone.
"According to legend, the Rinnegan is the supreme dojutsu possessed by the Sage of Six Paths. And before the Sage of Six Paths founded Ninshu and came to be called the Sage of Six Paths, he had another name.
"That name was Hagoromo Otsutsuki.
"At the same time, he is also the shared ancestor of the Uchiha clan and the Senju clan, both of whom we are familiar with."
"And within the history the shinobi world has already lost, there existed another Sage of Six Paths. After completing a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering feat together with Hagoromo Otsutsuki, he led a portion of his descendants to the moon and settled there…"
"His name was Hamura Otsutsuki.
"And the Hyuga clan and Kaguya clan are both bloodlines left behind by him, the supreme inheritor of the Byakugan."
"Now, can you understand why Lord Hokage and I would deliberately mention the existence of the Hyuga clan and the Otsutsuki clan when time is so tight, Lord Kazekage?"
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