The first target had already fallen.
Shizune no longer looked amused. "So it really has started..."
Shinichi looked at the Anbu. "How was Deidara confirmed?"
"One of the attackers used clay explosives," the Anbu replied. "Sunagakure believes the method matches Deidara of the Akatsuki."
Shinichi nodded. "Bring Team 7 here."
"Yes."
The Anbu disappeared from the doorway.
It did not take long for the office door to open again. Naruto came in first, with Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura behind him.
"Shinichi! Is it true?" Naruto asked before he had even stopped walking. "Gaara was taken by the Akatsuki?"
"Yes."
Naruto's hands pressed against the desk. "How could that happen...? He finally became Kazekage. His village finally accepted him..."
His voice tightened, and anger quickly replaced the shock.
"Damn it."
Kakashi stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Naruto, calm down. He was abducted, not killed. As long as he's alive, there's still a chance to bring him back."
Naruto clenched his jaw, but he forced himself to listen.
"Sunagakure was attacked last night," Shinichi said. "There were two intruders. One has been confirmed as Deidara. Gaara's current location is unknown, and Suna has already sent out a pursuit squad."
He took out a mission scroll and placed it on the desk.
"Team 7 will leave immediately and join the pursuit."
Naruto looked up at once. "Then we're going now?"
"Yes."
That was enough for him. The hesitation disappeared from his face, leaving only urgency.
Sasuke, who had been quiet since entering, finally spoke. "Akatsuki is after the tailed beasts. If they took Gaara, they won't stop there."
"They won't," Shinichi said. "That's why you're going. Recover Gaara, and see Akatsuki's strength for yourselves."
Kakashi reached for the mission scroll, but Shinichi spoke again.
"Kakashi- "
" -Do not let anything else pull you away from the mission, ...Your priority is Gaara."
Kakashi understood who he meant. For a moment, he said nothing.
"If he appears, face him," Shinichi continued. "If he doesn't, keep moving."
Kakashi gave a small nod. "Understood."
Naruto had already turned toward the door. "Then let's go! If we're late, Gaara will be in danger!"
He rushed out first. Sasuke followed without another word, and Sakura gave Shinichi a quick bow before hurrying after them.
Kakashi was the last to leave. He glanced back once, then stepped out and closed the door behind him.
Only after the room quieted again did Shinichi turn toward the window. "You've been watching long enough. Are you still not coming in?"
Jiraiya climbed in through the window, carrying the faint smell of alcohol with him.
"The front door is too boring," he said.
"You finally sobered up?"
Jiraiya coughed and waved it off. His smile faded as he glanced toward the door Kakashi's team had just left through.
"Mount Myōboku's toads sent word. Gaara was taken by Akatsuki."
"I know."
"And you sent Team 7."
"More accurately, ...I sent Naruto and Sasuke to gain experience."
Jiraiya's brow tightened. "Against Akatsuki?"
"Training grounds have their limits. If they want to stand on their own, they need to see enemies like that for themselves."
For a moment, Jiraiya did not answer. Then the last trace of ease left his face.
"Shinichi-"
"-You knew Akatsuki was going to move, ...Why didn't you warn the other villages?"
Shizune's hand tightened around Tonton without her noticing. She looked between Jiraiya and Shinichi, finally realizing that the question was not about Gaara alone.
Jiraiya kept looking at Shinichi.
"With your strength and Konoha's current position, you could have forced every village to prepare. You could have gathered the Five Villages and struck Amegakure before Akatsuki made a move."
His voice lowered.
"...But you didn't."
The office fell quiet.
That was the real reason Jiraiya had come. Not because Team 7 had been sent out, and not because Gaara had been taken.
It was because Shinichi had known.
If Shinichi wanted to stop Akatsuki, he had more than enough power to do it. Even if Obito escaped with space-time ninjutsu, Akatsuki itself could still be broken apart. Their base, their members, their plan- none of it needed to be left untouched.
But now, Gaara had already fallen into their hands. If nothing changed, the other tailed beasts would follow.
Jiraiya looked at the young man behind the desk.
"What are you planning?"
Shinichi lowered his eyes.
He had known Jiraiya would ask sooner or later.
Tsunade had likely noticed something as well, but she trusted him enough not to ask. The Third Hokage had stepped back and handed the village to him, along with the responsibility that came with it.
Only Jiraiya would ask directly.
By normal logic, Shinichi's choice made no sense. He understood that better than anyone.
But the real answer was not something he could say aloud.
Akatsuki's movement was dangerous, but it was also part of the road he needed opened. The tailed beasts, Obito, Pain, the Gedo Statue- none of them could be treated as simple threats anymore.
After a long silence, Shinichi spoke.
"Senior Jiraiya, I don't know how to answer that question. But I can tell you one thing, ...Everything I do is for Konoha."
The office remained quiet.
To Shinichi, those words were not a lie.
Iwagakure had lowered its head. Kumogakure had submitted. The other villages no longer dared to move without considering Konoha's position first. Even the work that should have belonged to the Hokage was now handled by him from this office.
At this point, Konoha's future and his own path were already tied together. Whether he was acting for the village or for himself, the two were no longer easy to separate.
Jiraiya kept looking at him, waiting for an answer he could accept.
Shinichi gave him none.