"What did you say!? You lost the Tailed Beast?"
In the palace of the Land of Wind's Daimyo, Baki, representing Sunagakure, was being 'questioned' by the Land of Wind's Daimyo.
The Akatsuki's attack on Sunagakure some time ago had been too large-scale to conceal.
Even without considering whether the Land of Wind's Daimyo had spies planted, by now, even an ordinary desert merchant knew about the attack on Sunagakure.
The temperaments of the various Daimyo differed, but they all had some concept of the so-called 'Tailed Beasts' housed within their respective Ninja Villages.
They generally regarded them as a type of 'war tool'.
They were also a form of military deterrence against other great nations.
Now, seeing the only Tailed Beast in their country being forcibly taken, how could the Land of Wind's Daimyo not feel enraged?
This Daimyo was notoriously stingy by nature.
He was extremely harsh in his financial support for his own Ninja Village, often deducting portions for various reasons.
This was partly due to the Land of Wind's barren geography, but also a reflection of the Daimyo's own character.
Being stingy, he naturally also viewed the Ninja Village and the Tailed Beast it controlled as his personal possessions.
Upon receiving the news, he immediately summoned the current representative of Sunagakure for accountability.
Since Chiyo and the others were still on their way back, only Baki, the late Kazekage's right-hand man, was available to take the blame.
Thwack!
The Daimyo threw his fan directly into Baki's face, freely venting his displeasure.
And Baki?
He could only kneel silently and endure it.
It was a ridiculous sight.
A man possessing Jonin-level strength, allowing himself to be humiliated by someone with no power whatsoever, even trembling with fear because of it.
"You tell me, what are you going to do about it now!"
"Get the Tailed Beast back immediately!"
The Daimyo was like a client who always makes unreasonable demands, completely disregarding the actual situation of the Ninja Village and blindly issuing difficult orders.
In his mouth, only the Tailed Beast mattered… he seemed to care nothing for the so-called Jinchuriki.
A Jinchuriki? Wasn't it just a container for the Tailed Beast?
So what if he was the son of the previous Kazekage?
If the Daimyo was unhappy, he could replace the Kazekage anytime.
The top priority was to retrieve the Tailed Beast.
"Yes... Yes, sir."
Baki lowered his head in assent, but his heart was bitter.
'Do you think I don't want to find Gaara and bring him back?'
'But where should I even look?'
As it happened, a similar scene was unfolding in the Land of Lightning.
The personality of the Land of Lightning's Daimyo closely resembled the Raikage's… he was similarly strong-willed and assertive.
It was with his approval that Kumogakure gradually developed into a 'military group' structure.
This Daimyo also harbored considerable ambition, wanting to use Kumogakure's military power to conquer other great nations.
How could such a man not pay close attention to strategic resources like Jinchuriki?
He not only demanded confirmation of the Jinchuriki's whereabouts but also required regular reports from Kumogakure on their status and training progress.
He could be considered the Daimyo most concerned with Tailed Beast's Jinchuriki.
"What do you mean, 'they went with someone else'?"
The Land of Lightning's Daimyo's voice was loud, his presence imposing.
He stared down at the Raikage, who sat cross-legged before him, his tone aggressive.
"It means exactly what I said."
The Raikage was different from the other Kage. Always dominant, he refused to show the slightest weakness even when facing his nation's ruler.
Their fates were long intertwined. Combined with his own prestige within the village, he didn't believe the Daimyo would dare issue an order to replace him.
Their gazes locked, neither yielding. The Land of Lightning's Daimyo slammed his hand on the table, his tone hostile.
"That... Uzumaki Naruto, he's the Land of Fire's Jinchuriki, right? Why is he gathering the other Jinchuriki?"
Projecting his own thoughts, the Daimyo already had an answer in mind when he asked the question.
What other reason could there be? Surely, it was to use the Tailed Beasts' power to conquer other nations.
"There's an organization called the Akatsuki that is capturing Tailed Beasts. If the Tailed Beasts fall into their hands, the Jinchuriki's lives will be in danger."
Raikage suppressed his irritation and laid out the facts about the Akatsuki.
"So, Uzumaki Naruto is protecting the Jinchuriki."
"Nonsense."
The Land of Lightning's Daimyo was unwilling, and likely unable, to believe such an explanation.
"Declare war on the Land of Fire! Order them to command that Uzumaki Naruto to return our Jinchuriki, or we will go to full-scale war!"
The Daimyo's tone was resolute, showing no intention of backing down.
"What are you thinking!?"
Raikage looked at the man across from him with disbelief.
"Was I not clear enough?"
The Daimyo returned his gaze with an equally unfriendly look.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, Raikage laughed.
"Ha, do what you want."
He looked at the Daimyo, whose face now showed confusion.
"Don't say I didn't warn you. That Uzumaki Naruto has long since left the Land of Fire… you could even call him a Missing-Nin."
"A rash declaration of war like this will achieve nothing except cause unnecessary casualties."
A stateless, dangerous element.
That was the Land of Lightning's Daimyo's immediate assessment of Naruto.
Undoubtedly, an individual with no attachments to constrain him was several degrees more dangerous.
At the very least, one couldn't use his village or family to control him.
The Land of Lightning's Daimyo instantly became calmer.
The reason he dared to be so confrontational was the old adage: 'The poor fear the tough, the tough fear the reckless.'
The Land of Lightning had always maintained an aggressive foreign policy, but if the target was someone even tougher, they would sit down and talk reason.
Like now, the Daimyo began seriously considering the information he had deliberately ignored earlier.
'If what the Raikage said was true...'
"Then what's the time limit?"
The Daimyo tapped his fingers on the table.
"That Uzumaki Naruto can't possibly hold onto our Jinchuriki indefinitely until this Akatsuki shows up, can he?"
The Daimyo completely forgot that the Nine Tailed Beasts were originally distributed to the various nations by Hashirama.
"I don't know. If you have questions, send your own people to contact him."
Seemingly out of patience, Raikage made as if to leave, as if he couldn't care less about the Daimyo's attitude.
"Bastard!"
Situations roughly similar to those in the Lands of Lightning and Land of Wind were simultaneously playing out in the Land of Earth, and even the Land of Fire.
Strangely, aside from the Land of Lightning's Daimyo, the other Daimyos normally paid little attention to such matters.
In four different locations within the four palaces, four White Zetsu's clones, disguised as ministers, slowly shed their disguises and returned to their main body.
'Good, just like that. Let them stall you for a while.'
'Sooner or later, the Daimyos of the four great nations, excluding the perpetually uninvolved Land of Water, would have learned about the Tailed Beast's situation.'
'My actions had merely accelerated the process slightly.'
'Even if Uzumaki Naruto figured out I was the one pulling the strings from behind, it didn't matter. The Daimyos' suspicions were very real.'
'This mess should tie up Uzumaki Naruto for a good amount of time.'
Underground, a smug, 'plan-successful' sneer flashed across Black Zetsu's face before he continued following the trail Obito had left, guided by the White Zetsu.
After all, his plans still couldn't proceed without that foolish boy, Obito.