Chapter 10: The Eve
After arriving in the Land of Iron, the Akatsuki organization split up into four groups.
Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, and Amu remained on the outskirts of Snow Wind Mountain. Su Xiao was waiting for the right moment; infiltrating the tower within Snow Wind Mountain now would be unwise.
Sasuke, White Zetsu, Karin, Suigetsu Hozuki, and Jugo had already infiltrated the tower inside Snow Wind Mountain, waiting for the Five Kage to arrive.
Deidara was circling in the sky on a clay bird, standing on its back. In this heavy snowfall, it was unlikely the enemy would spot him.
Obito was also on the outskirts of Snow Wind Mountain, waiting for his chance.
The cold wind howled. A sled sat in the snow, already half-buried by drifting flakes.
Su Xiao leaned back on the sled, a layer of snow gathering on his head. He glanced at Bubu Wang and Amu, who were locked in a "duel."
Bubu Wang and Amu glared at each other, their eyes fixed intently, as if sparks of electricity crackled between the dog and the bull.
Bubu Wang's eyes strained wide, bloodshot, his paws pulling down his lower eyelids.
Amu, on the other hand, stared with his bull-like eyes, two thick fingers prying open his upper and lower lids, tears streaming down.
Twenty minutes ago, bored out of his mind, Bubu Wang had challenged Amu to "play happily together." The game was a staring contest—whoever blinked first had to eat 50 jin of snow.
The two had been locked in this standoff for a full 20 minutes. Compared to Amu's terrifying 85 points in Stamina, Bubu Wang was clearly about to crack—a classic case of a mouse challenging a lion.
After about 30 minutes, Bubu Wang's dog eyes rolled back, then squeezed shut. He couldn't hold out any longer.
"Hoo-hoo-hoo."
Amu pounded his chest with both fists, looking just like a gorilla. Bubu Wang hung his head, tears in his eyes, and began wolfing down mouthfuls of snow. He had to eat 50 jin, and no one was going to stop him.
Just as Bubu Wang was tearfully chowing down on snow, a swirling spatial distortion appeared. A twisted figure emerged from the vortex, and when the space whirlpool vanished, the figure returned to normal, stepping onto the snow.
Crunch.
Two footprints pressed into the snow. The newcomer was Obito, his purpose unknown.
"You seem pretty relaxed."
Obito walked up slowly, glancing at Bubu Wang with some confusion, as if he couldn't understand why the dog was eating snow.
"Burp~"
Bubu Wang let out a belch, moisture dripping from the corner of his mouth. The guy had already downed nearly 20 jin of snow.
"Did you expect me to act like Sasuke? Hiding right inside the Five Kage Summit venue?"
Su Xiao turned his gaze to Obito. Obito chuckled, knowing full well Su Xiao wouldn't barge into the venue like Sasuke.
"I plan to take this opportunity to declare war on the Five Great Ninja Villages."
Obito looked toward distant Snow Wind Mountain, lost in thought.
"That soon?"
Su Xiao didn't quite understand why Obito wanted to declare war now. In the original story, Obito only had the strength to oppose the Five Great Ninja Villages after gaining Orochimaru's help.
"Just a declaration, not an immediate war. Besides, even if I don't declare war, the outcome is the same. You should have figured out the purpose of this Five Kage Summit."
Obito sighed. He didn't really want to declare war now either—time was too tight.
Su Xiao immediately grasped Obito's meaning. The reason for convening the Five Kage Summit was twofold: first, each village had lost its tailed beasts, making it wise to sit down and negotiate under these circumstances; second, to unite against the Akatsuki.
The Akatsuki had certainly done plenty of bad things. Initially, it was like a rogue ninja mercenary group. Except for Kumogakure, the other ninja villages had all hired the Akatsuki to fight their wars for them.
In fact, the Akatsuki's rise owed a great deal to Kumogakure.
The Akatsuki and Kumogakure seemed unrelated, but that wasn't the case. Kumogakure was a group of warmongers. They didn't trust the Akatsuki, so naturally, they never hired them.
However, over the past decade or so, Kumogakure had been expanding rapidly, scouring for jutsu and demanding exorbitant "military funds" from the Land of Lightning's daimyo. When the daimyo refused, Kumogakure developed their own ninjutsu technology to boost their finances.
In this relatively peaceful era, the daimyos of the Five Great Nations had all started cutting funding to the ninja villages under their control. This weakened the villages' strength. Ninjas didn't engage in productive work, so in peacetime, they were just expensive killing machines. But if war broke out, they were the backbone of the military. So the daimyos could only trim the villages' budgets slightly.
This led to a situation where the combat power of Konoha, Sunagakure, Kirigakure, and Iwagakure gradually declined, while Kumogakure expanded rapidly.
The other four villages had no choice but to resort to cheaper methods to deal with Kumogakure. The Akatsuki was the best option. Hiring them once cost about as much as training two or three chunin—how could the four villages resist?
Thus, the Akatsuki's rise was largely thanks to Kumogakure.
Now, once the Five Kage Summit began, regardless of the outcome, they would reach a consensus: eliminate the Akatsuki.
Under these circumstances, whether Obito declared war or not had little impact on the plan. Rather than waiting for the enemy to come knocking, Obito chose to strike first—at least in terms of momentum, he couldn't lose.
The Five Kage Summit was unstoppable. Wiping out all five Kage was impossible. The Five Great Ninja Villages uniting against the Akatsuki was a foregone conclusion.
What Obito wanted to do now was find a way to kill one or two Kage, then immediately declare war, throwing the Five Great Ninja Villages into chaos.
The villages' intent to deal with the Akatsuki was already clear—after all, the Akatsuki had captured so many tailed beasts. So whether to declare war now wasn't the key issue. Besides, declaring war didn't mean starting one. The Akatsuki had a major advantage: the Five Great Ninja Villages were in the open, while the Akatsuki was in the shadows.
When the war started wasn't up to the Five Great Ninja Villages—it was up to the Akatsuki.
"Then declare war. But..."
Su Xiao lowered his voice. Soon, Obito's eyes narrowed.
"This..."
Obito seemed hesitant.
"Alright."
Obito and Su Xiao reached an agreement. The cold, tedious waiting began.
...
One day later, inside the tower at the center of Snow Wind Mountain.
This tower had a long history, its construction dating back to the early days of the Land of Iron's founding.
The ancient tower didn't look old. It covered a large area, roughly the size of a football field. The interior was full of hidden secrets, and its overall shape resembled a pyramid—broad at the base and tapering to a point at the top.
As the host, the Land of Iron set up the Five Kage Summit venue on the sixth floor of the tower, the highest level. This showed the Land of Iron's hospitality while also preventing accidents.
The entire tower was built from solid rock, like a war fortress. The interior terrain was complex and labyrinthine. Without familiarity, even with a map, one could easily get lost.