Chapter 111 (Patreon)

After the guards returned to their positions, the Five Kage Summit resumed.

“Konoha, Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure…”

Having calmed down, the Fourth Raikage spoke in a low voice.

“Akatsuki is made up of missing-nin from your villages. Not only that, my investigation revealed that some of you have even hired the organization in the past.”

“Hired them?”

Gaara was slightly taken aback.

An organization as dangerous as Akatsuki had actually been willing to accept missions from the hidden villages?

Ōnoki answered calmly, “Achieving the greatest possible result at the lowest cost is something every village leader must consider.”

He folded his arms inside his sleeves.

“Akatsuki originally operated as a mercenary organization that profited from conflicts. If they were willing to complete difficult missions for a lower price, I saw no reason to refuse.”

“At the time, the situation between the Great Nations had yet to fully stabilize. None of us knew Akatsuki was hiding a conspiracy of this scale.”

“Hmph. Do you really expect me to believe that?”

The Fourth Raikage snorted.

“I didn’t summon all of you here to negotiate over recovering the tailed beasts.”

His expression hardened.

“I called this summit to hold those responsible accountable!”

He suddenly pointed toward Tsunade.

“And that includes you, Hokage!”

“First Orochimaru, then Itachi Uchiha, and now Sasuke Uchiha!”

The Raikage’s voice echoed throughout the conference hall.

“Sasuke attacked my younger brother and took him alive! Konoha owes me an explanation!”

“An explanation?”

Tsunade stared directly back at him without the slightest fear.

“What exactly do you expect me to explain?”

“Sasuke Uchiha was declared a missing-nin years ago. Konoha no longer controls his actions, and we won’t accept responsibility for every crime he commits after abandoning the village.”

“What did you say?!”

Crackle!

Blue lightning suddenly erupted around the Fourth Raikage.

His rage caused a powerful pressure to spread throughout the chamber as lightning flashed across his massive body.

Whoosh!

Mihawk appeared behind Tsunade in an instant.

His left hand rested against the hilt of his katana, ready to draw at the first sign of an attack.

Unlike before, Mihawk didn’t release his Conqueror’s Haki.

Even so, the completely restrained sharpness surrounding him felt even more dangerous, like a blade waiting inside its sheath.

“Please calm yourself, Raikage-dono,” Mifune said, attempting to ease the tension.

“Hmph!”

Remembering where he was, the Fourth Raikage snorted and forced himself back into his seat.

The lightning around his body gradually faded.

Tsunade leaned forward and rested her chin against her clasped hands.

“I can’t give you the explanation you’re demanding.”

Her eyes moved across the other Kage.

“Akatsuki is no longer a problem that can be blamed on a single village.”

“However, I do have information that concerns every person in this room.”

The atmosphere immediately became serious.

“Not long ago, the leader of Akatsuki, Pain, invaded Konoha and caused extensive damage to the village.”

Tsunade’s voice grew heavier.

“Although we ultimately defeated him, the battle revealed something far more troubling.”

“There is another person standing behind Akatsuki.”

She paused for a moment.

“That person claims to be Uchiha Madara.”

“……”

The expressions of the Five Kage immediately changed.

Even Ōnoki, who had remained composed throughout most of the summit, became visibly solemn.

The name Uchiha Madara held a particular meaning for him.

When Ōnoki had traveled to Konoha with the Second Tsuchikage during his youth, Madara had humiliated them both and rejected the alliance between their villages.

Even after all these years, that encounter remained deeply engraved in Ōnoki’s memory.

If the enemy truly was the legendary Uchiha, then this situation could no longer be treated lightly.

Mei Terumī straightened in her chair and looked directly at Tsunade.

“Hokage, are you certain?”

“Not completely,” Tsunade admitted.

“But Pain himself was being manipulated from behind the scenes by someone connected to the Uchiha.”

Gaara frowned slightly.

“Is it really possible that Madara is still alive? According to history, he should have died several decades ago.”

“That’s right,” Ōnoki agreed, though doubt remained in his voice. “That man should have been dead for a very long time.”

“I believe there is a high chance the information is genuine,” Tsunade replied seriously.

“Pain possessed the Rinnegan—the eyes once wielded by the Sage of Six Paths.”

She looked around the table.

“If someone was capable of manipulating even a man who possessed the Rinnegan, then that person cannot be ordinary.”

“And among the Uchiha, there is only one name powerful enough to make such a claim believable.”

Ōnoki clicked his tongue.

“Is that monster immortal or something?”

Tsunade’s explanation was enough to convince most of those present.

Silence descended over the conference hall.

Everyone was trying to process the information she had revealed.

Most of them hadn’t lived during the era of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha.

Even so, the God of Shinobi and the legendary Uchiha were the two men who had brought the Warring States Period to an end.

Their strength had once made the other nations afraid to challenge Konoha directly.

Hashirama had even been powerful enough to capture the tailed beasts and distribute them among the hidden villages.

None of the Kage had personally witnessed the height of that era.

However, not one of them dared to underestimate the names Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha.

Ōnoki, in particular, had seen Madara with his own eyes.

He had also witnessed the overwhelming power of the Susanoo.

What had begun as a political meeting between the leaders of the Five Great Shinobi Villages had suddenly become a discussion involving a legendary figure from the founding era.

Worse still, that figure was apparently the true power behind Akatsuki, an organization that had already captured most of the jinchūriki.

No one knew what his final objective was.

However, they all understood that it couldn’t be anything minor.

“Hokage-sama.”

Mihawk suddenly broke the silence.

“Someone is approaching.”

Tsunade glanced back at him.

Mihawk’s Observation Haki had already spread beyond the conference building, allowing him to sense the presences moving through the surrounding area.

“One of them feels like Sasuke Uchiha.”

“Sasuke Uchiha?!”

The name immediately set off the Fourth Raikage.

“Where is he?!”

His roar shook the entire chamber.

Crackle!

An enormous amount of blue lightning erupted from his body.

Within moments, the Lightning Release Chakra Mode covered him like a suit of armor.

The sheer density and control of his Lightning Release were extraordinary.

Mihawk’s expression became slightly amused.

“He’s behind you, outside the building.”

“He’s getting closer.”

Boom!

The instant Mihawk finished speaking, the wall behind the Fourth Raikage exploded.

Chunks of stone and wood scattered across the chamber.

The Raikage had already disappeared through the opening, charging directly toward Sasuke’s position.

“Sorry about that.”

Darui scratched the back of his head and gave the Five Kage and Mifune an apologetic look.

He then hurried after the Raikage with C following beside him.

The heavy atmosphere created by the mention of Madara vanished in an instant.

Ōnoki’s gaze shifted toward Mihawk.

“That perception of yours is certainly unusual.”

He studied the young swordsman with undisguised interest.

“At your age, you already possess such remarkable sensory abilities, along with those Ranged Slashes said to rival S-rank techniques.”

Ōnoki looked toward Tsunade.

“Konoha truly has no shortage of talented shinobi.”

Tsunade smiled.

“You’re giving us too much credit, Tsuchikage.”

After answering him, she rose from her chair.

“Mihawk, let’s go see what’s happening.”

Mei Terumī also stood.

“In that case, we should all go.”

The revelation that Akatsuki was being controlled by someone claiming to be the legendary Madara Uchiha had completely changed the purpose of the summit.

Determining which village was responsible was no longer the most urgent issue.

They first needed to decide how the Five Great Shinobi Villages would face the threat gathering before them.

After all, the name Uchiha Madara alone was enough to make the entire shinobi world take notice.