Several years ago, after Kawaki Aoba's thorough investigation, the spies and traitors hidden within the ranks of the Hidden Leaf Village (Konoha) were thoroughly identified. However, due to certain sensitive reasons that could not be publicly disclosed, the upper and middle echelons of the village were not fully purged.
As a result, sleeper agents, like Tadazumi Masao, remained active to this day.
Yet, precisely because of the upheaval, Tadazumi Masao's covert operations became even more concealed. To the point that he hadn't been activated in years.
"Hey, Masao, Lady Nanri Kaori is preparing sea bass tonight and wants you to deliver one this evening," a servant specializing in errands called out to Tadazumi Masao at his stall in the market.
These words caused Tadazumi Masao's expression to falter for a brief moment.
However, he quickly recovered, smiling and nodding to the servant. "Okay, I understand."
Lady Nanri Kaori was Tadazumi Masao's relative. Delivering fish to her house was a regular task for him, happening several times a month.
But if sea bass was specifically requested, then that meant... his sleeper agent status had been reactivated.
His peaceful life had been interrupted. Tadazumi Masao sighed inwardly, knowing he could do little to resist the call to action. He could only hope that this rendezvous would proceed without incident.
Soon it was evening, and Tadazumi Masao selected a sea bass to take to Lady Nanri Kaori's house.
As he walked along the road, he noticed the village's atmosphere felt unusually tense. Many people seemed to be rushing about, some in a hurry, others with serious expressions.
Influenced by the atmosphere, Tadazumi Masao couldn't help but quicken his pace.
He arrived at Lady Nanri Kaori's house without any trouble, successfully exchanging the sea bass for information, but Tadazumi Masao's vigilance did not relax for a second.
With the information in hand, his mission had only just begun. Suppressing the tension rising in his chest, he did his best to appear normal, hurrying home as usual.
Inside the apartment he had just left, Nanri Kaori stood on the second floor, watching his departing figure through the window, praying that he wouldn't be discovered.
If it weren't for his background as a native of Konoha, Nanri Kaori would never have activated his sleeper agent status to transmit information. He was simply too unprofessional.
If the atmosphere in Konoha weren't so tense today, that guy would likely have been stopped and questioned on the road.
Sighing, Nanri Kaori decided to leave it to fate. Although Tadazumi Masao was inept, he was the safest of the sleeper agents she controlled. After all, the remaining merchants and spies she controlled weren't native to Konoha and were at a higher risk of being monitored.
What Nanri Kaori didn't know, however, was that her every move was being watched by the Surveillance Department.
The barrier established by Kawaki Aoba was sufficient to detect everything happening within Konoha, and high-ranking individuals like Nanri Kaori were key observation targets for the Surveillance Department.
As soon as she made her move, her act of betraying Konoha was uncovered.
Of course, Nanri Kaori wasn't the only spy from other villages.
The Surveillance Department didn't notify the Enforcement Squad to arrest these individuals, all by Kawaki Aoba's orders.
The emergency meeting convened this time, along with the rumors released during it, were part of Kawaki Aoba's deliberate strategy.
Exposing the spies within the village was just a minor matter. What Kawaki Aoba really wanted was to send certain information to the other four great ninja villages through these spies.
Sometimes, without a little pressure from behind, these spies wouldn't feel the urgency of the situation.
For example, at this moment, under the deliberate connivance of the Surveillance Department, deeply hidden sleeper agents were activated. Among these agents, nearly one-fifth of them successfully transmitted information.
Why only one-fifth? Because the others had been discovered.
Although the Surveillance Department had not taken immediate action, Konoha's regular counter-espionage operations had not ceased. There was no room for complacency.
Tadazumi Masao was undoubtedly one of the lucky few. His information was successfully transmitted through the fishing goods channel.
Because this information was deemed especially important, it reached Tsuchikage Onoki's desk in less than half a day.
"Unknown individuals are fighting in the Valley of the End within the Land of Fire, and the impact has reached Konoha?" Onoki read aloud, his concern deepening.
"Kawaki Aoba was severely injured by an unknown attacker and is now operating at less than 10% of his combat capacity?"
"And Konoha is preparing to attack the other four great ninja villages, planning to gradually consume the other villages?"
Onoki's alarm grew, especially when combined with the photographs attached to the intelligence. The images were horrifying—scorched earth, a landscape that resembled purgatory. It was hard to believe this was the Valley of the End.
Staring at the two pieces of intelligence in front of him, Onoki's gaze flickered, and his expression was one of deep uncertainty.
If this information was true, wouldn't Iwagakure be in danger?
Konoha wanted to gradually devour all four of the great ninja villages? Such ambition was terrifying.
Onoki began to think through the situation. As much as he feared Konoha's potential actions, he couldn't see any feasible way to counter them. How could they resist? With his own bones?
That would be heroic, but ultimately, it would be a futile death.
Moreover, the information didn't explain exactly how Konoha would target them. How could they prepare in advance?
It was almost as if they were being deliberately pushed toward an impossible situation.
Suddenly, Onoki realized something. He picked up the two pieces of information and examined them repeatedly.
Kawaki Aoba is seriously injured. If he were assassinated at this moment, would there be an opportunity to capitalize on it? What are the odds of success?
Even if the probability were only 10%, it might still be worth taking the risk.
But then again, was the other party truly injured, or was this a trap to lure them in?
Gazing at the purgatory scene in the photo, Onoki's mind was in turmoil.
A voice in his head kept urging him that this was an opportunity, a once-in-a-lifetime chance. If he could eliminate Kawaki Aoba, Konoha, while still powerful, would no longer possess the strength to dominate the four great ninja villages.
Yet reason warned him that this could easily be a trap set by Konoha. If he fell for it, the consequences would be dire.
Konoha might still be able to wear them down with its slow, methodical approach, but if the assassination of Kawaki Aoba failed and gave Konoha an excuse to initiate war, wouldn't the destruction of their villages be inevitable?
After a long silence, Onoki exhaled deeply.
This wasn't because he had reached a decision, but because, as Onoki considered, "The other villages must have noticed Konoha's major incident. Such a golden opportunity... they must recognize it as well."
Coincidentally, at that very moment, the Fourth Raikage, A, in Kumogakure was having the same thought.
"That old fox Onoki is clever. With such an opportunity right in front of him, possibly the only one, I refuse to believe he won't be tempted."
He slammed his fist on the desk, the Fourth Raikage gritting his teeth in frustration, wishing he could make the decision for Onoki.
Needless to say, Sunagakure and Kirigakure were also grappling with the same dilemma. One had already become Konoha's subordinate, constantly living in fear, while the other was oblivious to the fact that their Mizukage was being manipulated. It would be a miracle if they could make any meaningful decisions.
However, this situation did remind them that without a means to restrain Kawaki Aoba, their annihilation would only be a matter of time, given Konoha's growing strength and ambition.
If they had no other options, they might consider a desperate, suicidal attack, fighting Konoha to the bitter end.
But the current reality was that they actually had a solution.
The Ten-Tails.
Although it was just one side of the story from that shadowy figure, what if it were true?
A Ten-Tails Jinchuriki could rival Kawaki Aoba's power.
However, the challenge of gathering all nine tailed beasts seemed nearly impossible.
They were standing at the edge of a cliff, with a dangerous and narrow path ahead of them, and the fierce tiger of Konoha looming behind, ready to strike at any moment.
They wanted to step onto that path, but the dangers ahead made them hesitate.
At this moment, to push them forward, they needed a force that could give them the courage to move.
Outside the Raikage's office, Mabui, the Raikage's secretary, didn't even knock before pushing the door open and walking in.
Her face was filled with excitement as she slapped a document down onto the Raikage's desk.
"Raikage-sama, the experiment you ordered earlier has succeeded! The chakra of the Eight-Tails and Two-Tails fused together, but the fused chakra quickly became inert and completely unusable. The research department hopes to obtain more tailed beast chakra for further experiments."
Hearing this, the Raikage's eyes lit up.
It had actually succeeded! Didn't that mean the fusion of the Ten-Tails was possible?
In times of despair, hope is the most precious thing. The worst thing, of course, is that hope turns out to be false.
Now, the successful tailed beast fusion experiment proved that the Ten-Tails might truly exist.
If that were the case, then the so-called Ten-Tails was likely the result of combining all nine tailed beasts. The 'awakening' was essentially the fusion of the nine into a far more powerful entity.
Although this theory was just speculation, it wouldn't be hard to verify its accuracy.
If the Ten-Tails did exist, what better way to confirm that than by asking the tailed beasts themselves?
"Someone, bring Killer B to me."
Following the Raikage's instructions, Killer B quickly arrived at the Raikage Building.
"Yo yo, Big Brother called B... to come, a hurried urgent matter... where, B's power... strong, troublesome things easily... solved."
After hearing Killer B's rap, everyone present had become immune to it.
The Raikage, however, remained unfazed by the noise and immediately got to the point.
"B, you're the perfect Jinchuriki. You can communicate with the Eight-Tails inside you. The village has a question to ask it: Are there really only nine tailed beasts? If there's a Ten-Tails, can we create it by gathering all nine?"
Even Killer B, usually carefree, was taken aback by the question.
Weren't there only nine tailed beasts? What was the deal with the Ten-Tails?
Although he was confused, Killer B didn't hesitate to follow his brother's orders.
He calmed himself and entered the sealed space within his mind.
Upon arriving, Killer B was about to greet the Eight-Tails, Gyuki, in his usual rapping tone, but before he could speak, Gyuki's fierce eyes glared at him. Without allowing him to say a word, the Eight-Tails spoke in a deep voice: "The Ten-Tails doesn't exist. There are only nine tailed beasts. Now leave."
Killer B's eyes snapped open, and he was forcibly kicked out of the sealed space.
No matter how he tried to call out, Gyuki ignored him completely.
After reporting the situation to the Raikage, the latter simply waved him off and let Killer B leave.
The Raikage, though reckless like his father, wasn't a fool. The tailed beast's refusal to answer was, in itself, the best answer.
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