The moment Shikaku saw that it wasn't the Third Raikage sitting in the office, he immediately realized, the Third Raikage had died at Ye Zi's hands.
A's decisiveness and unwillingness to waste time made it easy to finalise the alliance.
Previously, Shikaku had come as a representative of Konoha, essentially as a petitioner seeking an alliance. But now, Cloud itself was the one proposing the alliance, making it a perfectly aligned agreement.
Once the alliance was confirmed, Shikaku felt deeply conflicted.
Was this fate?
Konoha had sought to unite the other hidden villages against Ye Zi, but the biggest obstacle had always been Hidden Cloud. Yet when they arrived in Cloud, Ye Zi's sudden attack had ironically given them an opportunity.
Now, Sand, Stone, and Cloud had all agreed to the alliance.
The only one left was Mist, and Shikaku hoped they could convince the Mizukage to join as well.
After the alliance was settled, A briefly summarized the night's battle casualties for the Ino-Shika-Chō trio.
However, when describing Ye Zi's strength, his explanation was blunt and straightforward, without going into full intelligence details. He simply made it abundantly clear how overwhelmingly powerful Ye Zi was.
Since they would be sharing intelligence in detail during upcoming discussions, A didn't elaborate too much at this moment.
Even so, just hearing about Cloud's massive losses was enough to shock the trio speechless, they were utterly shaken by the scale of the disaster.
The enemy was just one man, Ye Zi.
Yet, the Third Raikage had died, the Eight-Tails' Jinchūriki had been captured, and while the exact number of Cloud's casualties had yet to be fully counted, early estimates put the death toll at around 5,000 ninja.
That was the result of last night's battle.
To make matters worse, before Ye Zi had even arrived at The Valley of Clouds and Lightning, he had already fought the Two-Tails' Jinchūriki inside Hidden Cloud Village and successfully abducted them.
The trio could hardly comprehend the full extent of Ye Zi's power.
"We will depart immediately for the Land of Water to negotiate with the Mizukage."
Shikaku's sense of urgency had only grown stronger, there was no time to waste.
Now that the alliance was settled, their next goal was to bring Hidden Mist into the fold.
A nodded firmly, then turned to Dodai and ordered in a low, heavy voice, "Escort them out."
"Understood." Dodai replied.
Without any delay, the Ino-Shika-Chō trio followed Dodai out of Hidden Cloud Village, heading straight for the Land of Water.
Since they had to cross the sea, the journey from the Land of Lightning to the Land of Water would take some time, as traveling by water was much slower.
While racing through the treacherous mountain paths, Inoichi spoke in a serious tone, "Ye Zi's strength keeps growing… but we still don't know his exact limits."
Hearing this, Chōza and Shikaku both fell into silence.
Their first encounter with Ye Zi had been during the war between Konoha and Iwa, where he had saved them twice. That was the first time they had seen his abilities firsthand.
After the war ended, their focus had shifted to various missions, leaving them with few direct interactions with Ye Zi.
However, as time passed, his reputation and power had only continued to grow.
Now, a full year had passed since his attack on Konoha, and it was clear, Ye Zi had reached an entirely new level.
"To single-handedly fight nearly ten thousand Cloud ninja… he must have already reached a realm beyond our comprehension."
Shikaku let out a long sigh.
If the Fourth Hokage could defeat Ye Zi, there would be no need for all this planning.
However, as the right-hand man of Minato, such thoughts could only remain buried in his heart.
Chōza remained silent.
Even just imagining Ye Zi's battle against Cloud was enough to weigh heavily on his mind.
"However," Shikaku continued, his voice firm, "I still believe in one fundamental truth, no single person can defeat an entire world."
"As long as we unite all Five Great Shinobi Villages, there will be no obstacle we cannot overcome."
Chōza and Inoichi both silently nodded, agreeing with Shikaku's logic.
Now, they needed to reach Hidden Mist as soon as possible, they had to finalize the alliance, gather their forces, and march on Hidden Rain Village.
With that thought in mind, the three of them accelerated their pace.
.....
Land of Water – Hidden Mist Village
Late at night, the Hidden Mist Village was shrouded in dense fog, making it difficult to see beyond faint silhouettes of buildings.
Scattered lights twinkled around the village's perimeter, barely visible through the mist.
Because of Mist's unique geography, the village was often covered in heavy fog, even in the dead of night.
The shinobi of Hidden Mist had long adapted to this environment, and most of their elite forces were trained to fight effectively within the mist.
For this reason, even though Mist ninja frequently used Hiding in Mist Jutsu, enemy forces would always try to avoid attacking Mist when the fog was thick.
Guard posts were manned by Mist ninja at every key location, and important areas were patrolled by rotating squads.
The entire village, shrouded in mist, seemed eerily silent, completely unaware of the impending danger lurking in the darkness.
Meanwhile, in the forests outside Hidden Mist, a group of intruders moved quietly through the trees.
Led by Kisame Hoshigaki and Jūzō Biwa, the Akatsuki's strike team had already bypassed Mist's outer defenses and slipped deep into enemy territory.
Their target...
The Six-Tails' Jinchūriki.
Gazing at the mist-shrouded silhouette of Hidden Mist Village, Kisame's expression was cold and ruthless.
He no longer felt any attachment to his former home.
If he had to wield his blade against the Mist Village, he wouldn't hesitate for a second.
Jūzō, though also a Mist defector, wasn't as heartless as Kisame.
A faint lingering connection to the village still tugged at his heart, though it wouldn't affect the mission ahead.
The Six-Tails' Jinchūriki was not just a target, he was the Mizukage.
Stealthily assassinating a Kage inside their own village was unrealistic.
From the beginning, Konan and the others had planned for a direct confrontation.
However, before the battle erupted, they would head straight to the Mizukage's residence.
With White Zetsu's intelligence, they didn't need to waste time searching, reducing the pressure on their operation.
Standing on the sturdy branches of several trees, Uchiha Shin silently drew Eihō, the blade that Ye Zi had gifted him.
His dark pupils shifted. Without a sound, his Sharingan evolved into the Three-Tomoe state.
In this foggy environment, the Three-Tomoe Sharingan would provide valuable support.
Sasori retrieved a scroll containing ten human puppets but didn't summon them yet.
Before the battle began, their priority was stealthily reaching the Mizukage's residence.
Kakuzu stood with his arms crossed, silently staring at the misty village.
Konan's eyes held a thoughtful glint, she was a sensor-type ninja, but her combat abilities were formidable.
Although their objective was a direct battle, some preparation and role distribution were still necessary.
The moment they reached the Mizukage's residence, one thing was certain... Before capturing the Six-Tails' Jinchūriki, they would be besieged by Mist Village's shinobi.
Thus, the team needed to split into two groups:
One team would handle the Mizukage directly. The other team would intercept the reinforcements.
"Kisame, Shin, and Kakuzu your job is to take down the Mizukage. Jūzō, Sasori, and I will handle the Mist ninja reinforcements." Konan assigned the roles in clear, concise terms.
Her reasoning was strategic: Sasori's puppet techniques were well-suited for fighting multiple enemies and Jūzō's Hidden Mist assassination skills made him an ideal interceptor. While her Paper Jutsu excelled in wide-range attacks, making her well-suited for large-scale battles.
Meanwhile, the three-man team taking on the Mizukage was balanced as Kisame's massive chakra reserves and raw power made him the main attacker, Kakuzu's bizarre forbidden techniques and multiple lives made him a perfect frontline fighter and Shin's genjutsu could provide tactical advantages, creating openings for Kisame.
With their roles set, the six figures moved silently through the misty forest.
Relying on White Zetsu's intelligence, they evaded every patrol point, approaching the Mizukage's residence without a trace.
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