A great war is about to erupt.
Konoha is urgently summoning personnel to prepare for battle. Tsunade has sent emissaries to seek allies from the Hidden Sand Village and the Hidden Mist Village and plans to rally the Five Great Countries' Ninja Villages together.
According to Tsunade's idea, if the Five Great Countries' Ninja Villages unite, they could launch an encirclement against the Hidden Rain Village from all directions and possibly gather a massive force and even assault by the Five Kage to eliminate Akatsuki.
Unfortunately, only the Hidden Sand Village and the Hidden Mist Village responded.
Because the Hidden Rock Village has suffered major damages, Third Tsuchikage Onoki is reluctant to see Konoha emerge unscathed. Is this what they call jealousy not of scarcity but of disparity?
Fourth Raikage A of the Hidden Cloud Village, perhaps due to his confidence in his own strength, after receiving intelligence sent by Konoha, merely protected the Eight-tailed Jinchuriki Killer Bee in layers due to concerns over Akatsuki.
Alliance?
The Hidden Cloud Village never needed allies!
Tsunade nearly died of anger from the Hidden Rock Village and the Hidden Cloud Village. When she received their replies, she was so furious that she threw her desk out of the Hokage Tower on the spot.
"Two bastards!"
Tsunade clenched her fists, gritting her teeth and cursing, "Two shortsighted fools who only care about their own village and don't realize that if Akatsuki's plan succeeds, the entire Ninja World will be thrown into crisis!"
"This is pretty normal, isn't it?"
Jiraiya's injuries are improving, but his mood grows heavier by the day, because the Akatsuki still hasn't mobilized, and those monsters feel like a Damocles Sword suspended over them.
This sword is bound to fall eventually, but the waiting is the most unsettling part.
Jiraiya looked at the agitated Tsunade and tried to soothe her: "Even if they've seen Akatsuki's terror firsthand, they'll likely only agree to an alliance after Konoha suffers a massive loss!"
Jiraiya sighed and continued: "After all, this is the first time the Five Great Countries' Ninja Villages have allied. This has never happened before…"
"Hmph, by the time that happens, it'll already be too late!"
Tsunade clenched her fist and said coldly, "Forget it, I've never expected their reinforcements anyway. After we defeat Nagato, let's request a Five Kage Summit again!"
"Mm."
Jiraiya slowly nodded.
During this period, reinforcements began gathering at Konoha.
The Fifth Kazekage Gaara from the Hidden Sand Village is a strong ally of Konoha. After receiving Tsunade's plea for help, he immediately led his elite ninjas to come.
Fifth Mizukage Terumi Mei from the Hidden Mist Village came to aid because she knew the threat of Akatsuki was too immense. The Hidden Mist Village is currently very weak and has no chance of defeating Akatsuki without uniting with other ninja villages.
However, when they held an alliance meeting in the Hokage Tower, Terumi Mei and Gaara shared a look of surprise. Why hadn't the Hidden Rain Village been summoned?
Gaara raised his head and directly asked Tsunade, "Why haven't we seen Uehara Naraku senpai? Isn't the Hidden Rain Village a formidable force too?"
"No, the reason we haven't summoned the Hidden Rain Village…"
Tsunade's brows furrowed unconsciously. She recalled that every time there was an alliance meeting targeting Akatsuki, Uehara Naraku was always present, as if watching a monkey show, while they discussed how to encircle Akatsuki.
It was infuriating!
Thinking about it is suffocating!
Tsunade looked at the puzzled expressions of Terumi Mei and Gaara, and gritted her teeth, saying: "Because the Hidden Rain Village has long been occupied by Akatsuki. The ninja demigod Salamander was killed by that brat Uehara Naraku, who is also an Akatsuki member!"
"Oh?"
Terumi Mei's expression changed slightly.
As someone who often receives intelligence from Hozuki Mangetsu, Terumi Mei had vaguely guessed such a thing might happen. She was surprised now, but it wasn't entirely unacceptable.
Perhaps Uehara Naraku is also an undercover agent?
Gaara, upon hearing Tsunade's words, immediately had a bit of a breakdown: "Is Lord Hokage joking? How is this possible?"
"I'm not joking."
Tsunade slowly closed her hands and spoke softly: "I know that because of that brat's help, the Fifth Kazekage survived, but both the Hidden Sand Village, Hidden Mist Village, and Hidden Rock Village were destroyed by that guy Uehara Naraku!"
After saying that, Tsunade ignored their shocked gazes and continued solemnly, "This is the information our village's Jiraiya obtained from within the Hidden Rain Village, and Uehara Naraku is even slated to become the next leader of Akatsuki!"
"..."
Tsunade's words were like potent medicine.
Gaara first pressed his forehead, his face turning quite grim: "So, we've been treating our enemies as friends all along?"
The Hidden Sand Village has always been grateful to Uehara Naraku…
Because during the Hidden Sand Village's most difficult time, Uehara Naraku chose to lend a hand despite past grievances, aiding the Sand Village to reclaim their Fifth Kazekage, enabling them to hold on.
It turns out the very culprit of the Sand Village's destruction was Uehara Naraku himself.
Did that guy always just toy with the entire Hidden Sand Village like monkeys?
Back when the Hidden Sand Village invaded the Land of Rain, Uehara Naraku killed his father, the Fourth Kazekage, and pursued and toyed with him and Maki; then during the Chunin Examination, Uehara Naraku bullied him along with Temari and Kankuro, his siblings, extremely arrogantly.
Until Uehara Naraku saved Gaara at his most dangerous moment, first helping locate the so-called Akatsuki Hideout, and then risking his life in battle against several Akatsuki members. In this way, he regained Gaara's corpse.
Since then, Gaara forgave Uehara Naraku.
Not only that, in the subsequent meetings, Gaara nearly always showed respect and kindness towards Uehara Naraku.
Gaara believed their relationship had changed.
Changed my foot! That bastard is worse than before!
Gaara recalled how he always greeted Uehara Naraku warmly, often mentioning that if there were any trouble, The Hidden Sand Village would certainly lend a hand.
What was that bastard Uehara Naraku's expression?
Hmm, it was always a gentle squinting smile.
So, was he actually mocking their foolishness all along?
Gaara was about to explode with anger, the yellow sand behind him floated around him, his face gradually turning gloomy: "That guy... he's the same bastard as when I first met him as a child!"
"It's truly surprising..."
Terumi Mei also rubbed her temples.
To be honest, Terumi Mei's thoughts were more complicated.
If Uehara Naraku indeed becomes the next leader of the Akatsuki, then what is his relationship with Hozuki Mangetsu?
Could it be that Hozuki Mangetsu had been deceiving her all along?
Terumi Mei originally thought Hozuki Mangetsu was a spy planted by The Hidden Mist in Akatsuki. Who would've thought Hozuki Mangetsu was a double agent, using intel to manipulate her and secretly laughing at her!
This is too much!
Terumi Mei bit her lip slowly, her fingers digging into her palm, her face turning icy: "Bastard... I must kill them!"
"..."
Tsunade glanced at the expressions of the Fifth Kazekage and the Fifth Mizukage and sighed helplessly, Uehara Naraku had done too many bad things.
"Alright."
After they calmed down, Tsunade gently said, "Now let's discuss the specific battle plan! We have sent the Anbu and reconnaissance units to scout the borders of the Land of Rain. If there is any disturbance within the Land of Rain..."
"It's useless."
Terumi Mei and Gaara shook their heads simultaneously.
After exchanging glances, Gaara lightly coughed and explained, "If Akatsuki attacks Konoha, they will undoubtedly choose a direct assault, because they have a terrifying summoning beast that can break through any defense from high above and land directly inside Konoha Village..."
At this point, Gaara frowned again and continued, "Moreover, that summoning beast can even use a jutsu that destroys an entire ninja village in one blow, so we must first evacuate civilians and ordinary ninjas in the village."
"Hmm."
After Tsunade nodded, she said seriously, "We have already designated evacuation zones for the villagers. If a battle occurs in the village, they will immediately be organized to go to their respective designated evacuation zones."
After speaking, Tsunade frowned and continued, "As for aerial defenses, we have considered upgrading with additional anti-air weapons..."
"Ground defenses are also needed..."
Terumi Mei gritted her teeth and spoke seriously, "The Hidden Mist Village was nearly destroyed by an Akatsuki member in a hood because he used a fire jutsu erupting from the ground, taking us by surprise."
"Hmm."
Tsunade nodded again and spoke lightly, "In addition, we have assembled over five thousand ninjas, which should be sufficient for ground combat..."
"The more people, the better..."
Terumi Mei frowned, continuing with her suggestion: "As long as we gather enough people, we have a better chance of dealing with Akatsuki's attempts to destroy ninja villages."
This was Terumi Mei's experience.
Because when fires erupted in The Hidden Mist Village, there were not enough rescue ninjas. If not for the timely snow and hail, the village would have been burned to the ground.
"No, the fewer people, the better..."
Gaara shook his head and spoke seriously, "Because with more people, even the strong ninjas get restricted due to the numbers, unable to unleash powerful jutsu, and they waste chakra rescuing their weaker allies..."
Gaara was truly exhausted for The Hidden Sand Village.
When The Hidden Sand Village regrouped its ninja forces, tens of thousands gathered, yet they couldn't accomplish much and suffered heavy casualties, wasting resources.
Seeing their expressions, Tsunade decided on a compromise: "Then I'll first position elite teams inside the village to confront the enemy while placing other ninjas outside, ready to assist or evacuate as needed."
"Okay."
"Okay."
Gaara and Terumi Mei each nodded.
The two weren't pretentious, willingly leading their subordinates to join the defense of Konoha, adding their strength as reinforcements and increasing the chances of victory for Konoha.
The only disagreement arose regarding the Nine-tailed Jinchuriki.
Tsunade believed Uzumaki Naruto was among the few powerful ninjas in Konoha and had trained in Sage Mode, thus he should join the battle, which was also Naruto's own wish.
However, Gaara and Terumi Mei disagreed.
They believed Uzumaki Naruto should be protected to avoid risking the Nine-tailed Jinchuriki if the defense of Konoha failed.
Unfortunately, Tsunade did not agree with this view.
"Uzumaki Naruto is first and foremost a ninja of Konoha. In this, he's no different from a Hokage, dedicated to protecting Konoha even at the cost of his life. Moreover, it's Naruto's own wish to fight."
Tsunade clenched her fist, looked at Gaara, and said seriously: "Fifth Kazekage, weren't you the same, stepping forward to protect your village at the most dangerous times..."
"..."
To this, Gaara could only smile wryly.
The Hidden Sand Village had no one who could step up!