WebNovels

Chapter 201 - 201

The Five Kage Summit was over.

The real trouble was just beginning.

When Tsunade returned to Konoha, she was greeted with surprising news: Jiraiya had brought Naruto Uzumaki back from Mount Myoboku.

While the ninja world had been in turmoil, Naruto had been secluded on the mountain. After successfully completing his Sage Mode training, he could no longer hold back and insisted on returning to Konoha to participate in the war.

But when Naruto returned and saw the rebuilt village, he was stunned. He hadn't yet been told the full story.

"It was Emiya Shirou," Sakura explained.

She and her old teammates didn't know every detail, but she recalled the aftermath. "The village jōnin had taken us on a mission. When we came back, the whole place was a wasteland. That's when we learned that Emiya Shirou had led the Akatsuki to attack Konoha…"

"..."

Naruto's fists clenched instinctively.

"..."

Jiraiya knew exactly what had happened. He was well aware of Shirou's and the Akatsuki's goals, which was precisely why he had taken Naruto away to Mount Myoboku during that time.

Still, their time hadn't been wasted.

Naruto had also obtained the sealing key left at Mount Myoboku by his father, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.

Along with his mastery of Sage Mode, he could now control both the release and sealing of the Nine-Tails' chakra. His power had taken a huge leap.

Because of this, Jiraiya felt he couldn't teach Naruto much more. He had brought his student back to face his destiny.

"I'll stop Shirou's plans," Naruto declared, looking at the rebuilt Konoha with resolve. "No matter what he's planning, I'll stop him!"

"..."

Jiraiya hoped Naruto could succeed, but after remembering what the Great Toad Sage had said at Mount Myoboku, he wasn't so sure. Even the ancient sage wasn't confident that Emiya Shirou could be defeated.

Before they left, the toad sage had told them Shirou's story, hoping they could try—like the ancient ninja Ashura—to persuade Shirou to turn back during the war.

That… That seemed like too much to hope for.

"You came back at the perfect time," Tsunade said.

She was swamped with work in the Hokage's office when she saw Jiraiya and Naruto, and she immediately assigned them tasks. "Jiraiya, you'll come with me and help lead the village's forces to meet up with the other villages."

"As for Naruto," she continued, "even if his situation is more stable now, he's still a target. Try not to show up in front of the other villages just yet."

After all, the other great villages had lost all their Tailed Beasts. Only Konoha's Naruto Uzumaki still had one inside him.

While the Five Kage had agreed to unite, Naruto's public appearances could still cause trouble.

Would Konoha really parade their Jinchuriki in front of everyone?

The other Kage might think Konoha was trying to show off its advantage, which could threaten the alliance's unity.

Tsunade's plan wasn't wrong.

But she hadn't expected that the ninja world's only living jinchuriki wasn't just Naruto—the Cloud Village's Eight-Tails host, Killer Bee, was still alive.

The Fourth Raikage wasn't interested in political games. He simply brought Killer Bee to join the allied ninja forces and didn't care about speculation from other villages. Of course, this still drew questions.

The Fourth Raikage and Killer Bee didn't bother to hide anything.

While Killer Bee had survived, the Eight-Tails inside him was already gone. Only a single tail remained, left behind by the Tailed Beast before Madara took it, fearing that Bee would die otherwise.

This was something the other Kage found interesting.

Normally, jinchuriki and Tailed Beasts don't get along.

The beasts rarely trust their hosts, usually thinking of them as mere containers or tools. But the Eight-Tails had actually left a piece of itself behind because it was worried about its host dying.

"Konoha's Nine-Tails host is still alive, right?" the Fourth Raikage said, looking at Tsunade.

He then made a suggestion. "The Cloud Village has a secret training ground for jinchuriki. Naruto could try it out. It would add a huge boost to the alliance's power."

That proposal was a true sign of trust. The Cloud's secret training ground was how they maximized the power of their Tailed Beasts, and sharing it was a huge sacrifice.

But the Fourth Raikage's reasoning was strong. He understood perfectly how likely it was they could lose this war. To win, the alliance needed as much power as it could get.

"Just to be clear," the Raikage added, "we can't let the Tailed Beasts lose control in the war. I don't know exactly how powerful the Nine-Tails is, but I heard that one of our enemies, Madara Uchiha, once borrowed its power to battle the First Hokage to a draw. If our Nine-Tails host loses control, he could become Madara's weapon. That man is already strong enough."

"Thank you, then," Tsunade said, feeling relieved.

At this point, the high command of the Allied Shinobi Forces was truly united. The ninja from different villages might still have small conflicts, but for the big picture, they could put them aside.

"So," someone announced, "let's assign roles! We'll have our staff officers organize the entire allied army."

Even if all the Kage had fought in wars before, when a real battle approached, they relied on tactical ninja for new strategies.

"Before we group the army, we need to select the sensory ninja first. To ensure we get intel on enemy movements, we must quickly organize a sensory team. Ideally, one that can sense all chakra flow in the ninja world. Only in this way can we avoid falling behind the enemy in this war."

Yes. All they could hope for was that the sensory team wouldn't leave them lagging behind.

Whether it was the Akatsuki or Obito Uchiha's faction, their response time was always incredibly fast. In the past, the villages couldn't even track the Akatsuki's movements, usually reacting only after an attack had already occurred.

But now, the five great ninja villages had united to form a powerful sensory division. Each village's sensory jutsu was pooled for the task, and they quickly established a headquarters and set up a huge barrier.

Within this barrier, every chakra reaction in the ninja world could be displayed.

"The Akatsuki's chakra signature has appeared," the sensory team captain, Inoichi Yamanaka, reported immediately, giving the Five Kage proof of the Allied Ninja Forces' new power.

"Where are they?" the Fourth Raikage snapped with his usual short temper.

"Here…" Inoichi marked a spot on the map, looking a bit baffled. "The Akatsuki are still in the Land of Rain. They don't seem to be making any moves."

P.S New book Naruto: A Century's Burden

More Chapters