"Chakra Cannon? What's that?" Ōnoki asked, baffled at the name he'd never heard before.
The Raikage briefly explained the weapon's principles and destructive power.
When he reached the line — "With a single shot, even the moon could be blown apart" — Ōnoki's face went pale. Cold sweat poured down as he roared:
"Raikage! Kumogakure actually dared to research something so dangerous? Just what were you planning?!"
He had good reason to panic. Kumogakure and Iwagakure had been bitter enemies for generations. Their countries shared a border, and the Third Raikage had even died at the hands of the Stone.
So if Kumogakure finished such a weapon… who would they point it at first?
Possessing both the Two-Tails and the Eight-Tails wasn't enough. Now they had developed a weapon capable of annihilation from across continents. Kumogakure's ambitions couldn't be clearer.
If not for this whole "Koji Kashin" incident disrupting things, in a few years the other Four Great Nations might have found themselves helpless before Kumo's might.
"We only researched the Chakra Cannon to defend against falling meteorites from space," the Raikage claimed.
But the excuse sounded weak.
Meteorites? A weapon that could blow apart the moon, all just to counter rocks that might fall once in several decades? Who did he think he was fooling?
No wonder he'd been so desperate to call a Five Kage Summit — his village had practically been gutted.
"The urgent matter is finding this organization," Rasa said firmly. "If we let them run free, all of us will be in danger."
Bijū, chakra cannons… the very thought was chilling.
If he hadn't already confirmed the details multiple times, he would have suspected all this was the handiwork of Uzumaki-dono himself.
"The problem is, we have no idea where they are," Ōnoki cut in with a dry laugh. "Even little Raikage here has no leads. How are we supposed to find them?"
"Since their goal is the tailed beasts, they'll act again. We just need to make thorough preparations and wait for them to show themselves."
What he said made sense, but Ōnoki's true motive was to seize the chance to weaken Kumogakure. The Chakra Cannon had convinced him that Kumo was far too dangerous, and needed to be suppressed.
If the enemy struck again, Killer Bee would most likely already be dead.
Even if Kumo could cultivate a new jinchūriki, that would take time — time during which their military strength would be sharply diminished.
To Ōnoki, that was the best possible outcome.
He recognized the threat but didn't take it seriously enough. After all, these were only Madara's "disciples," not Madara himself. And it was Kumo's jinchūriki who had been captured, not Iwa's.
For him, the ideal scenario was Koji Kashin and Kumogakure destroying each other.
"Unacceptable! My brother is still waiting to be rescued," the Raikage shot back, eyes blazing as he glared daggers at Ōnoki. Clearly, he had no patience for someone who'd siphoned off his intel only to wash his hands of responsibility.
Ōnoki just spread his hands helplessly. "But if we can't find them, what can we do? Wander the world like headless flies? Really, Raikage?"
He even managed to slip in a jab at the end.
"Without their location, all we can do is wait," Mei agreed, siding with Ōnoki.
Scouring the world blindly was simply impractical. They were shinobi — they had missions, duties, and families to feed.
"You don't understand their danger at all. Nor the danger of the Chakra Cannon!" the Raikage roared, smashing his fist down. The desk before him shattered to splinters.
Table: HP –10,086.
Rasa met his glare calmly. "Then what do you propose, Raikage?"
It was as if the Raikage had been waiting for that question. He stood at once, declaring:
"My proposal is this: the Five Great Nations must unite. We will form a Shinobi World Alliance Army — and hunt these bastards down!"
"…"
"Impossible!"
The Wind, Stone, and Water Kage all refused in unison, without a moment's hesitation.
In the original timeline, the Allied Shinobi Forces had formed because every village had lost their jinchūriki to Akatsuki. They all shared a common enemy.
But here? Only Kumo had suffered. Why should the rest of them band together?
Leaving aside the logistical nightmare of shared resources, there was the central issue: who would command the army?
The Five Kage were equals — none would bow to another.
In the canon timeline, cooperation had been possible only because Akatsuki had little direct Kumo involvement, and because the other villages already had some dealings with them.
But this time was different.
And without Tobi's dramatic "I am Uchiha Madara" stunt at the Kage Summit — without that direct provocation forcing unity — there was nothing to bind these rivals together.
As things stood, each village schemed for its own benefit. The Five Great Nations were nothing but a scattered heap of sand.
If Obito had simply stayed hidden — manipulating dead jinchūriki in secret, using White Zetsu's perfect transformation to stir discord — the villages would have collapsed into infighting. Then, he could have crushed them one by one and conquered the world.
Instead, he'd thrown his cards away. The villages had hated each other for generations; grudges weren't washed away by a single speech.
And without Kabuto's Edo Tensei army bolstering his side, Obito had charged into war with only a hundred thousand White Zetsu?
That was squandering Madara's legacy on a galactic scale.
A man desperate to posture without the strength to back it up. Truly worthy of his nickname "Second Fool."
"Nine-Tails brat. What about you, Konoha?" the Fourth Raikage turned to Naruto, the only one who had yet to speak. There was a faint note of pleading in his tone — if he could at least secure Konoha's support, it would be something.
But unless some dramatic event occurred to unite the villages, an Allied Shinobi Army was nothing but a dream.
"I have no interest in any so-called alliance." Naruto's answer was blunt. The Raikage's face instantly darkened, his expression souring.
An alliance? What a joke.
Kiri's vengeance hadn't even begun. Kumo's grudges weren't finished.
"I've listened long enough, and heard nothing of real value," Naruto added, turning his gaze toward Kirigakure — more precisely, toward Ao.
"If I'm not mistaken, Ao-dono's eye is a Byakugan, isn't it?"
"I don't know where you acquired it…"
"…but the Byakugan belongs to Konoha."
Naruto's voice was calm, but his words carried a lethal edge.
"I'll ask you to return it. Dig out your own eye as an apology."