"We have no choice but to join forces against the Rain Village now," said the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki. However, the other four Kage remained silent. Forming an alliance may sound simple in words, but in reality, it was incredibly difficult to achieve.
There was deep-seated hatred among the five great ninja villages. Even though Konoha and the Sand Village had been allied for years, their alliance only ensured peace and did not mean they would fight on the same side. After all, treaties could be broken at any time, as shown by the collapse of the Konoha Crush plan.
Another significant issue with forming an alliance was the question of leadership—who would command the united forces? This wasn't like the Fourth Ninja War in the original story, where Uchiha Madara posed a threat to destroy the entire ninja world. Although the Akatsuki Nation was a significant threat, it didn't aim to annihilate the world.
In fact, some leaders even saw the emergence of the Akatsuki Nation as an opportunity to weaken the other villages and the five great nations as a whole.
Among the Kage, even though Gaara was only an acting Kage, he wasn't foolish enough to allow his village's ninjas to blindly follow orders from others. One bad command could lead to the loss of his ninja forces, such as sending them to face the Akatsuki's main fighters. While Gaara might not have thought of everything, his advisors certainly had. Sand Village's strategists now included not just Baki but also Chiyo and Ebizō, both of whom had come out of retirement to deal with the rise of the Akatsuki—especially since Chiyo's grandson, Sasori, was a key member of the organization.
"My suggestion is that we each lead our village's forces and attack the Rain Village from five different directions simultaneously," Ōnoki said after noticing the continued silence of the others.
At this point, it was impossible to form a unified ninja army. Not only were the five great villages wary of each other, but they also knew they couldn't afford to trust past enemies, even in the face of a common threat like the Akatsuki. The villages were spread out geographically, and gathering their forces into one place was simply not feasible under the current circumstances.
Rain Village's location was strategically positioned between the Land of Earth, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Fire. This position had made Rain Village the center of many past ninja wars. However, now that the Akatsuki had taken control, this location posed a significant threat to the three major villages. If Rain Village decided to attack, it could strike any of the five great villages, and given the way it had decimated the Iron Country, no single village would be able to withstand its assault.
The Iron Country had been a warning. No village wanted to be the first to act and provoke Rain Village. As the saying goes, "the nail that sticks out gets hammered," and the Iron Country had been the first nail.
In Daniel Davis' opinion, Tobi's approach during the Fourth Ninja War was too naive. He had overestimated his own strength, allowing the five great villages to gather their forces instead of dividing and conquering them.
Unlike the samurai, the ninja villages were not particularly loyal to their countries. Ninja villages operated as semi-independent entities, and their ninjas were loyal to their village Kage, not the feudal lords. This situation was entirely different from the past ninja wars, and since Rain Village now posed a direct threat to their survival, the Kage had no choice but to proceed with caution.
However, caution aside, it was undeniable that Rain Village was the enemy. The Akatsuki Nation's actions threatened the very foundation of the ninja system. If the Akatsuki succeeded, the ninja villages built by their ancestors would cease to exist.
Even Han Fei, a man with grand vision, was willing to gamble against Ying Zheng for the survival of his country. The Kage, with much narrower focus, would not hesitate to act for the survival of their villages.
Using diplomacy or reasoning to convince the five great villages to step down was possible—but only after they were thoroughly defeated.
"Don't just stay silent. You all understand what the rise of the Rain Village means. If we let them continue to grow, the foundation of the ninja world will be destroyed. I'm sure you've all received intelligence by now. Rain Village has been sheltering countless small villages and rogue ninjas," Ōnoki continued.
After the Akatsuki Nation's ideology began spreading, along with the distribution of propaganda leaflets, many smaller villages and rogue ninjas were drawn to it. Most ninjas didn't view missions with the same honor as someone like Naruto. For many, being a ninja was just a job, and the Akatsuki Nation offered a safer alternative—a job with no life-threatening missions, regular vacations, and even better working conditions.
Moreover, if they died in service to the Akatsuki, their families would receive a substantial pension, eliminating the fear of leaving their loved ones destitute. Previously, ninjas had no choice but to accept missions because that was the system. But now, with the Akatsuki Nation providing a choice, the traditional way of the ninja was losing its appeal. As for "ninja pride," it was no different than the outdated "samurai honor." Some cared deeply about it, but many did not.
Of course, the Akatsuki didn't accept just anyone. They were wary of spies and conducted thorough testing and interrogations to ensure loyalty, using sensory ninjas to detect lies.
"Let's not kid ourselves. Many of your genin and chunin have probably already started wavering. How much longer can you trust your lower-ranking ninjas to carry out missions?" Ōnoki added, his words hitting a sore spot.
The five great villages had been trying to suppress information about the Akatsuki, but as long as their ninjas ventured outside, they would inevitably hear about the Akatsuki's offer. A village could silence one or two ninja, but silencing everyone was impossible.
The vast majority of ninjas in any village were the lower-ranking genin and chunin, who were often treated as expendable. Only the most promising genin were assigned jōnin instructors, while the rest were typically sent on missions under the command of a single chunin.
"I agree with the Third Tsuchikage. We should each lead our forces and launch a coordinated assault on Rain Village as soon as possible," said the Fourth Raikage, who, for once, found himself in agreement with Ōnoki. The destruction of the Iron Country had silenced his earlier boasts about dealing with Rain Village alone.
"Konoha agrees," Tsunade added after a moment of consideration.
"How about you, Kazekage and Mizukage?" Ōnoki, the Fourth Raikage, and Tsunade turned their attention to Gaara and Mei Terumi.
"Mist agrees," Mei said after a brief pause. She knew more about the Akatsuki than the other villages due to Zabuza and Haku's involvement, but she understood that the survival of the Mist Village was at stake.
"Sand agrees," Gaara nodded. With the other four villages on board, he couldn't afford to abstain.
"Now that we're all in agreement, I suggest we launch the attack in seven days," Ōnoki proposed.
"That works," Mei Terumi agreed, despite Mist Village being the farthest from Rain Village. With enough speed, the ninjas could make it in time.
"Before we proceed, what do we do if someone decides not to attack?" Gaara suddenly asked, breaking the uneasy silence.
Gaara's question immediately created tension among the Kage. Though none had spoken the thought aloud, they all understood the possibility. Each village was acting independently, and when the time came, some might choose not to engage and instead arrive late or avoid the fight altogether. This would allow them to reap the benefits while letting others bear the brunt of the battle.
Gaara's question was met with irritated glares from the other Kage, but he remained unfazed. Sand Village had already decided not to make the first move. After all, Sand was the weakest of the five villages, having lost the Fourth Kazekage and many ninjas. They had no reason to initiate the war.
In Gaara's mind, Rain Village would likely target Konoha, Iwa, or Kumo first, leaving Sand to observe from the sidelines. While some might see this as narrow-minded, it was a strategic advantage for the Akatsuki.
Gaara's blunt words left the room in a long silence. Everyone understood the dilemma, but no one trusted the alliance enough to guarantee cooperation.
Just as Ōnoki was about to speak, a ninja appeared behind him and whispered something in his ear, causing his expression to change.
The same thing happened to the Fourth Raikage and Tsunade.
"It seems an urgent matter has come up. We'll continue this discussion another time." With that, Ōnoki disconnected his video feed, followed quickly by the Raikage and Tsunade.
"Looks like something serious is happening," Gaara said, exchanging a glance with Mei before they, too, cut the connection.
"Why did you do that, sister?" Ebizō asked Chiyo once Gaara had left the room filled with monitors. He was puzzled by Chiyo's actions during the meeting.
"What did I do?" Chiyo replied casually, walking toward the door.
"You know what I mean. The five-village alliance was almost a done deal, but your words changed everything. Have you been in contact with them... with Sasori?"
Ebizō suspected that Chiyo had sabotaged the
alliance on purpose due to her connection to Sasori.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Chiyo said, giving him a sharp glance before leaving the room.
Once she was alone in a hidden chamber, Chiyo carefully checked her surroundings. Satisfied that she was alone, she pulled out a black smartphone and made a call.
"Contacting me at this time... It seems the five great villages are preparing to act," came the voice on the other end. It was Uchiha Madara—or rather, a shadow clone of Daniel Davis, disguised as Madara.
"Yes, they've decided to move forward," Chiyo replied, relaying the details of the Kage summit.
"Even now, they're still scheming against each other. The five great villages, huh," Madara chuckled coldly.
"I've done what you asked. Don't forget what you promised me," Chiyo reminded him.
"Don't worry. Reviving your son and daughter-in-law is no problem. I already promised Sasori. You're just earning a little extra goodwill," Madara said.
After the formal establishment of the Akatsuki Nation, Daniel had set many plans in motion. One of those plans included using a shadow clone disguised as Madara to make contact with Chiyo. In exchange for resurrecting Sasori's parents, Daniel had convinced her to support the Akatsuki's cause.
Had Chiyo been younger, she wouldn't have accepted such a deal. Back then, her loyalty to Sand Village would have been unshakable. But now, in her old age, Sasori and his parents meant more to her than the village. If she could reunite her family, she wouldn't hesitate to betray the entire Sand Village.
"Thank you for your efforts. Sasori is here if you want to visit him. He'd probably appreciate it."
"I'll come by later."
"Too bad there's no one like you in the other villages," Madara mused before ending the call. Sand Village had Chiyo, who would do anything for her family, but no such person existed in the other villages.
While the Akatsuki had been attacking the Iron Country, Madara had stayed behind to guard the Akatsuki Nation, ensuring that no one took advantage of their absence.
During this time, Daniel had been busy implementing various plans. One of those involved introducing smartphones to the ninja world. The tallest tower in Amegakure now served as a signal transmitter, and a Quinjet acted as a mobile base station, allowing communication with Chiyo. Though the technology was still limited, only the Akatsuki members and Chiyo currently had access to smartphones.
The ninja world's technological foundations were solid, and smartphones had great potential for market success, especially with Akatsuki holding an exclusive monopoly on them.
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