Returning to Konoha, Uchiha Fugaku's first stop was the Hokage Tower.
He needed to know what had happened during his absence—whether any major events had taken place, and if there were urgent matters requiring his attention.
"Lord Hokage, during your absence, two major incidents occurred across the shinobi world."
Uzuki Yugao had carefully documented everything that happened while Fugaku was away. The moment she saw him return, she immediately reported.
"Two major incidents?" Fugaku's expression grew stern.
He had only been gone a few days, yet in that short span, two major crises had shaken the world.
"First, Kirigakure was attacked by the Akatsuki. The Fourth Mizukage was captured by their leader, Pain. His current fate is unknown."
Yugao's voice carried a heavy tone.
"So, Kirigakure was attacked after all." Fugaku nodded slightly.
He had already suspected as much—after all, he had personally seen the Fourth Mizukage fall into Nagato's hands. To prevent the Three-Tails from being captured, Fugaku had even used Hidan's curse technique to kill the Mizukage.
"The Hokage-sama already knew Kirigakure was attacked?" Yugao was surprised at his reaction.
"On the mission to capture the Five-Tails, I encountered Pain. At the time, he was carrying the barely-alive Fourth Mizukage." Fugaku explained, then asked, "What of Kirigakure's losses?"
"Catastrophic. Heavy casualties across the village."
Her answer didn't surprise him. With Nagato's hatred for the Five Great Villages, such devastation was inevitable.
"And the second incident?" Fugaku pressed.
"Takigakure was attacked and destroyed by a Wood Release shinobi and another Akatsuki member. Their Jinchūriki, Fū of the Seven-Tails, was captured and is now missing."
"The Seven-Tails has been taken too…" Fugaku frowned.
Before leaving, he doubted Nagato could successfully seize the Three-Tails. While Fugaku managed to prevent that, the Seven-Tails had still fallen into Akatsuki's grasp.
That meant the Akatsuki now controlled the Two-Tails, Four-Tails, Six-Tails, and Seven-Tails—four tailed beasts already in their hands. Nearly half of the bijū had been captured. The plan to hunt them was progressing far too quickly.
Suddenly—
Swish!
An ANBU operative rushed into the office, dropped to one knee, and reported:
"Lord Hokage! An urgent message from Sunagakure."
He held out a scroll marked with a glaring red seal.
Yugao quickly took it and handed it to Fugaku. Unrolling the scroll, Fugaku read and decoded the contents, his expression tightening.
"Just hours ago, Sunagakure was also attacked by the Akatsuki. Gaara, the One-Tails Jinchūriki and son of the Fourth Kazekage, has been captured."
"Gaara too?" Yugao's face darkened.
The Akatsuki had struck one village after another—capturing the Three-Tails, Seven-Tails, and now the One-Tails.
"Sunagakure requests aid from Konoha, asking us to send an elite squad to help rescue Gaara." Fugaku continued.
Yugao hesitated, then said, "Lord Hokage, Sunagakure has long been Konoha's ally. I believe we should send a rescue team."
Fugaku shook his head. "Their friendliness isn't born from alliance, but from weakness. Sunagakure has behaved because they fear Konoha's strength, not out of true goodwill."
Yugao blinked in surprise. "Then… you mean Konoha won't help?"
"No—we will. But not because of Sunagakure. We must act to prevent the Akatsuki from gaining more tailed beasts."
Fugaku's gaze hardened. "Which Kage-level shinobi are currently unassigned?"
"Only Hatake Kakashi, Hokage-sama." Yugao replied.
"Just one?" Fugaku frowned.
Akatsuki always moved in pairs. Without at least two Kage-level leaders, the mission would be dangerously risky. He turned to the ANBU.
"Check if Might Guy has any active missions."
The operative left swiftly, returning moments later. "Lord Hokage, Might Guy is currently free."
"Good. Kakashi and Guy will lead the rescue team as captain and vice-captain. Select twelve elite shinobi to accompany them." Fugaku ordered.
Guy's physical prowess was already close to its peak. With the Seventh Gate open, his strength rivaled a Kage's. Though not officially recognized as one, Fugaku counted him among their Kage-level forces.
Soon after, ANBU operatives rushed to summon Kakashi and Guy. Upon hearing the news, both men quickly assembled twelve top-tier ninja and departed on the rescue mission.
At Konoha's gates, a tall man with long white hair and a boy with golden blond hair walked into the village.
The man wore a forehead protector with the kanji for "oil," red markings under his eyes. The boy had bright blue eyes and six whisker-like marks on his cheeks.
They were none other than Jiraiya of the Sannin and Uzumaki Naruto.
"Ero-sennin! Let's go to Ichiraku Ramen first!" Naruto's eyes lit up, drool escaping at the thought. During his years away, what he missed most wasn't training or even the village—it was Teuchi's ramen.
"I have other matters to handle. Go ahead—I'll catch up later."
With that, Jiraiya vanished in a flicker, leaving Naruto briefly disappointed before his excitement returned. He ran off eagerly toward Ichiraku's.
Back at the Hokage Tower, Fugaku exhaled in relief upon hearing of their safe return. Jiraiya was powerful enough to retreat even if confronted by two Akatsuki members—so long as he didn't encounter Nagato himself.
Moments later, the window slid open and Jiraiya stepped inside.
"So, you've already heard."
"Just now." Fugaku nodded calmly. Despite Jiraiya's ability to suppress his presence, Fugaku's sensory training allowed him to notice him.
"Any attacks on the way?" Fugaku asked.
"Yes. We were ambushed by Deidara of Iwagakure and Konoha's own rogue shinobi, Hiruko."
Jiraiya's tone was grave. He didn't elaborate on the battle's outcome, but the fact he stood here alive said enough.
"Hiruko too?" Fugaku muttered.
Hiruko—an S-rank rogue from Konoha, a man of mediocre talent in combat but genius in ninjutsu development. His Chimera Technique allowed him to fuse with other shinobi, stealing their kekkei genkai—essentially a crude imitation of corpse fusion. Like Shinno, Hiruko wasn't the type who should have joined Akatsuki. Yet here he was.
"Yes. Akatsuki has recruited many S-rank missing-nin. Their strength is formidable." Jiraiya said grimly. The more he learned, the more dangerous Akatsuki seemed.
"I didn't have time to gather intel. How many tailed beasts have they captured now?"
"The One-Tails, Two-Tails, Four-Tails, Six-Tails, and Seven-Tails." Fugaku listed.
"Already five?" Jiraiya's face darkened. More than half of the tailed beasts were now in Akatsuki's hands.
He took a deep breath. "I've been investigating Akatsuki for years. Their base is likely in Amegakure. I plan to leave Naruto here and infiltrate the village myself."
"Abandon that thought." Fugaku shook his head. "Even you wouldn't survive there. It's suicide."
Though he and Jiraiya weren't close, he couldn't allow Konoha to lose another Kage-level fighter.
Jiraiya studied him, surprised. "You seem to know far more about Akatsuki than I do."
"That's because I do." Fugaku replied. "Hanzo is long dead. Amegakure is now completely under Akatsuki's control—their true stronghold."
Jiraiya's face darkened further. "Then what of their leader? What do you know about him?"
Fugaku's eyes narrowed. "He calls himself Pain. But in truth, his real identity is…"
He paused, meeting Jiraiya's gaze.
"Your former student—Nagato."
Jiraiya froze, his face draining of color. "What? That's impossible…!"
The leader of Akatsuki, the man feared across the shinobi world, was none other than his disciple. The revelation hit harder than any blow.
Fugaku didn't argue further. Instead, he activated his Sharingan, projecting an image he had recorded in battle.
"See for yourself."