Chapter 8: The Plan Changes
The Hokage's secretary, Mabui, did not leave. As the Hokage's secretary, she naturally had to be present.
"It's like this, Lord Raikage. Currently, aside from Konoha, the tailed beasts of the other hidden villages have all been taken by the Akatsuki. Back then, Hashirama Senju distributed the nine tailed beasts to the major villages, giving each village a weapon to deter the others. Now, these weapons are under threat. Can we unite to deal with the Akatsuki?"
"That makes sense."
The Fourth Raikage nodded, agreeing with Darui's point, and he had other thoughts as well.
"Darui, unity is certainly important, but before that, we need to clarify what's happening in Konoha. Right now, only Konoha still has a tailed beast, and the Uchiha clan's ties to Konoha run too deep."
The Fourth Raikage suddenly thought of something and looked at Mabui.
"Contact the other four major hidden villages. Tell them the Cloud Village is calling for a Five Kage Summit. Under these circumstances, they won't refuse."
The Fourth Raikage planned to convene a Five Kage Summit with three goals: first, to seek an alliance of villages; second, to assign blame; and third, to smear Konoha's reputation.
Why were the tailed beasts of other villages all in trouble, while Konoha's remained unharmed?
This reasoning might seem somewhat unreasonable, but it was the Cloud Village's style. The Cloud Village had once used a similar method to extort the Byakugan from Konoha, nearly succeeding.
The Fourth Raikage did not yet know that the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, could no longer serve as Hokage. As a result, Konoha had elected an acting Hokage—none other than old Danzo.
A cunning old fox like Danzo could certainly handle the Fourth Raikage's extortion. Moreover, Danzo was delighted that the Raikage was convening the summit. If he represented Konoha at the Five Kage Summit, it would speed up his official appointment.
With the Raikage preparing to hold Konoha accountable, the Five Kage Summit was about to take place.
Outside the Raikage's office window, several spore spheres clung to the gaps in the windowsill. Each spore sphere was the size of a grain of rice, with no trace of chakra fluctuation inside.
...
Akatsuki Base.
Su Xiao and the others had already finalized their plans. Just as everyone was about to set out, Zetsu suddenly paused in his steps.
"My clone obtained important intelligence through the Spore Technique."
White Zetsu spoke.
"What intelligence? From where?"
"Cloud Village, just a few minutes ago. Those were spores I sent to Cloud Village two months ago, very close to the Raikage's office. So I had the clone keep sensing those spore spheres..."
White Zetsu boasted about the importance of those spore spheres.
"Just say what the intelligence is."
Obito grew impatient with White Zetsu's chatter.
"The Fourth Raikage seems to be convening a Five Kage Summit, to be held in three days in the neutral country of the Land of Iron. From what the Raikage said, it's mainly to hold Konoha accountable..."
White Zetsu provided detailed intelligence. Having the Kage of five villages gather in three days seemed rushed, but ninjas were different from politicians—they had strong mobility, especially the Kage themselves. Three days was sufficient, even with some leeway.
The shorter the time, the lower the risk of the summit being compromised. With only three days, by the time enemies reacted, the summit might already be over.
"Holding Konoha accountable..."
Obito became interested. If the Raikage wanted to unite the other four major villages, he would certainly sabotage it. Although his plan included gathering the five major villages, it was still too early—his strength wasn't enough to oppose them.
But if it was just the Raikage unilaterally assigning blame, that was different. With so many tailed beasts captured, the five major villages were all simmering with anger. If he could successfully sow discord, making them turn on each other and spark a war, capturing the remaining two tailed beasts would be much easier.
The more Obito thought about it, the more tempted he became. Besides, he didn't want the five major villages to unite just yet.
"Five Kage Summit."
Upon hearing this key term, Su Xiao immediately understood how far the situation had progressed.
"You're interested?"
Obito stared intently at Su Xiao.
"Of course... I'm interested. There are some personal grudges to settle."
"But what about the Nine-Tails..."
"Don't worry. The Nine-Tails will chase after us on its own."
Su Xiao glanced casually at Sasuke. As long as Sasuke was there, Naruto Uzumaki would definitely come chasing after them without hesitation—that was beyond doubt.
Su Xiao was very curious about one thing: if Naruto Uzumaki, the protagonist, didn't participate in the Ninja World War, what would the outcome be? Or rather, if he indirectly changed the war's result, how much World Source or other rewards would he gain?
The more Su Xiao thought about it, the more interested he became. Undoubtedly, the Five Kage Summit was a crucial turning point. Participating in this event as a member of the Akatsuki would yield impressive gains.
"Are you sure?"
Obito seemed to see that Su Xiao wanted to get involved in the Five Kage Summit, but he wouldn't stop him.
Since both sides stood to benefit, Obito naturally wouldn't interfere.
"Deidara, have Zetsu's clone handle Konan's side. The Five Kage Summit might be more important."
"This decision doesn't seem wise."
A low, hoarse voice came from Black Zetsu. When he saw Obito concentrating the main combat force on the Five Kage Summit, he immediately intervened.
"We'll talk later."
Obito's expression remained unchanged. Black Zetsu was dissatisfied, but with others present, he couldn't say much.
"It's decided. Except for Kisame, who's already gone after the Eight-Tails, everyone else will head to the Land of Iron, where the Five Kage Summit is being held."
Obito sensed this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
"Are we going to cause a big ruckus? Hmm."
Deidara's mouth on his palm opened, revealing a bright red tongue.
"It depends on the situation. But what would happen if one or two Kage died during the summit?"
Obito's meaning was simple: find a chance to kill one or two Kage. Only with chaos could they act freely.
"We depart in half an hour. Heading to the Land of Iron."
The final plan was set: head to the Land of Iron and, during the Five Kage Summit, find an opportunity to assassinate the Kage of the major villages. The primary targets were the Hokage, Raikage, and Mizukage. If any one of these three died, the situation would likely descend into chaos.
Especially the Mizukage. The Mist Village had just stabilized somewhat. If the Mizukage suddenly fell in battle, the Mist Village's situation would immediately spiral out of control, and the accumulated hatred would erupt instantly.
The meeting ended. Just as everyone was about to move out, Bubu Wang didn't budge. He looked up at Su Xiao, his gaze seemingly asking, "Master, where's my fun buddy Hidan?"
Regarding Bubu Wang's question, Su Xiao didn't know the exact answer either. If he guessed correctly, Hidan was buried somewhere underground—the specific location unknown.
Obito and Black and White Zetsu walked deeper into the base. Black Zetsu probably wanted to discuss something with Obito. Ten to one, it was about Obito focusing his efforts on the Five Kage Summit, which displeased Black Zetsu. In Black Zetsu's view, the Rinnegan was more important.
Obito had his own thoughts. Nagato's Rinnegan wouldn't have issues for half a year, but the Five Kage Summit was imminent. He could certainly distinguish between what was urgent and what was important.