The Five Kage Summit continued.
Uehara Naraku leisurely sipped on his juice, becoming a beautiful scene at the summit, drawing sideways glances from everyone present.
Gaara, the Fifth Kazekage, didn't look at him and instead stared fixedly at a certain spot, expressing his opinion: "...As a Jinchuriki of The Hidden Sand Village, I was once captured and imprisoned by Akatsuki. I have always believed that an organization like Akatsuki is an extremely dangerous existence..."
"...Slurp...Slurp..."
The sound of Uehara Naraku drinking juice suddenly grew much louder, intermittently interrupting Gaara. He slowly put down his juice and softly said, "These are all matters of the past; there's no need to keep talking about them, right?"
"..."
What kind of past matters are these!
Uehara Naraku glanced at Gaara, noticing his speechless gaze, and quietly said, "We in the Akatsuki were merely used by a vile person. What matters now is finding the real mastermind: Orochimaru, Uchiha Obito, and Yakushi Kabuto and their group..."
"That's right."
Tsunade immediately picked up on Uehara Naraku's words, not wanting the summit to turn into another pointless argument. She continued in a low voice, "Instead of arguing about past grudges, we should focus on the present danger!"
Tsunade slowly placed her hand on the table and said solemnly, "According to the information we have now, Orochimaru has mastered a weapon that can utilize the powers of other Tailed Beasts, and he has collected the One-tail to the Eight-tail…"
After saying this, Tsunade suddenly turned to Uehara Naraku and asked, "Uehara, is that right?"
This information had been given to Tsunade by Uehara Naraku.
For instance, the part about the ultimate weapon and that Yakushi Kabuto had taken the Eight-tailed Jinchuriki, along with the possibility of Orochimaru transplanting the Rinnegan power...
Uehara Naraku nodded, his expression gradually becoming serious: "Strictly speaking, Orochimaru has actually obtained all the Tailed Beasts."
"What?"
Tsunade's face showed a moment of astonishment before she seemed to realize something, a drop of cold sweat appearing on her cheek: "You're right..."
"What do you mean?"
The Fourth Raikage frowned displeasely, not understanding their cryptic exchange. What did it mean that Orochimaru obtained all the Tailed Beasts?
The Fourth Raikage looked at Tsunade and voiced his dissatisfaction: "Tsunade, what does this mean! Have you from Konoha also lost the Nine-tailed Jinchuriki?"
"No."
Tsunade pondered for a moment before speaking softly: "There is one thing, perhaps two here already know, and that is that the Nine-tails' Chakra was split in two long ago, with one portion inside the Reanimated Fourth Hokage, which means…"
"Correct."
Uehara Naraku rubbed his forehead and added quietly, "When Orochimaru sent Kabuto to snatch away the Eight-tailed Jinchuriki we intended to return, it actually signified that he has collected all the Tailed Beasts' Chakra.
Orochimaru now intends to resurrect what he calls the war weapon and no longer needs to capture the Nine-tails within Naruto; what he needs is only to transplant the Rinnegan for himself, thereby controlling the Gedo Statue."
At this point, Uehara Naraku continued: "Now that the Rinnegan is also in Orochimaru's hands, he has obtained everything he wanted and may actually be close to completing his plan."
These issues are extremely critical.
This means they must quicken their siege against Orochimaru, as the enemy has already gathered all the necessary tools, leaving only time as a factor.
Tsunade glanced at Uehara Naraku, her eyes hinting at hope, and slowly asked: "Wait, Uehara, there's one more thing… Why has Orochimaru always tried to capture Naruto?"
"..."
Uehara Naraku shook his head and speculated aloud: "Orochimaru may want to obtain the Nine-tails within Naruto to gain the complete Tailed Beast Chakra in the Ninja World, thus achieving an unbeatable power."
Continuing on, Uehara Naraku suddenly raised his head sharply: "Besides, there is another possibility: the Reanimated Fourth Hokage, who possesses the Nine-tails' Chakra, has always been his strongest asset, and he doesn't wish to easily squander it…"
These were evident to everyone.
Back when they were in Konoha Village, before Uehara Naraku arrived, Namikaze Minato was nearly unstoppable, able to suppress anyone perfectly— be it Nagato or Uzumaki Naruto, he forced them into dire straits!
Even when Uehara Naraku arrived in Konoha, in facing an attack from a group of Reanimation Ninjas of Kage level, only Namikaze Minato could barely withstand a few moves and even caused some trouble.
This revealed the gap to Tsunade.
Hence, Tsunade would spare no effort to win over Uehara Naraku, bringing him onto their side as a counter to those Reanimation Ninjas.
Both Fifth Mizukage Terumi Mei and Fifth Kazekage Gaara were well aware of this, and so they sought to probe Uehara's boundaries rather than confront him directly like the Fourth Raikage, A.
The Fourth Raikage and Third Tsuchikage believed gathering the Five Kage could suppress Uehara Naraku, for aside from their own peak-level strength in the Ninja World, they had the support of the five great Ninja Villages!
Once the Five Great Ninja Villages completely unite, there should theoretically be no crisis they cannot solve; this belief is nearly ingrained in their bones.
"Uehara..."
Tsunade slowly curled her fingers, frowning as she asked: "After Akatsuki's collection of the Tailed Beasts, how did they plan to use that war weapon, and is there any way to find it?"
"No."
Uehara Naraku shook his head, his voice serious: "Except through the Rinnegan, there's no other way to control it... Even if found, Orochimaru might directly summon it away, so we must find Orochimaru."
"Hey!"
The Fourth Raikage glared at Uehara Naraku and asked sternly, "What's the power level of that war weapon? After collecting the power of nine Tailed Beasts, how strong can it be, surely Akatsuki knows, right?"
"According to intelligence I have, it can destroy a nation with a single strike."
After saying this, Uehara Naraku frowned and added, "But in my opinion, it's likely more exaggerated than rumors suggest because, in my attempts to destroy both large and small Ninja Villages— like the Hidden Grass Village and the Ninja Villages of some present here, it's actually not that difficult…"
"..."
Everyone's faces couldn't help but darken.
Does this bastard think the kettle is too hot?
Really, talking about what's been avoided!
Damn it, they've all deliberately tried to steer clear of this topic, why does this bastard have to bring it up again!
As Uehara Naraku said this, he seemed to realize his indiscretion and softly continued, "Based on my own strength, compared to the power of the Tailed Beast Chakra, once the Gedo Statue is revived, I believe it might possess world-ending capabilities..."
"That's right..."
Tsunade's voice also grew somewhat solemn. She glanced at everyone present and said softly, "I think so too."
"So..."
The Third Tsuchikage's expression gradually became serious as he quietly summarized their exchange, "The enemy we have to face now is one that's already prepared with all the conditions to destroy the Ninja World, is that it?"
"Exactly."
Uehara Naraku looked at the Third Tsuchikage and nodded in approval, "That's pretty much it, Tsuchikage has quite the foresight."
"..."
Everyone in the venue fell into silence.
"Then what's there to think about!"
The Fourth Raikage slammed a fist on the table, surveying everyone present, "Let's quickly send people to find him and bring back all the Tailed Beasts!"
"That's where the trouble lies..."
Tsunade shook her head and spoke in a serious tone, "We need a large number of ninjas to search for Orochimaru's people... besides, his hiding place is secretive, Orochimaru also has many Kage-level ninjas at his disposal..."
"Yes."
Uehara Naraku seemed to be in sync with Tsunade, as he looked at everyone present and said softly, "If possible, you can check the Memorial Stele in your village to see if there's any evidence of it being robbed, it's best to compile a list of the stolen graves..."
"..."
What kind of situation is this!
Everyone present was somewhat speechless.
Uehara Naraku surveyed the crowd and explained in a low voice, "I could provide a list based on my speculation and the Reanimation ninjas I encountered during previous battles, I hope you won't be too shocked..."
Uehara Naraku's gaze first landed on the Fifth Kazekage Gaara and said softly, "The Hidden Sand Village's Scorch Release Bloodline Ninja Pakura, and the Fourth Kazekage Rasa..."
"..."
Gaara nodded indifferently, as expected from the information, he had seen Rasa but hadn't met Scorch Release Pakura yet.
Uehara Naraku noticed Gaara's lack of response and felt slightly displeased, shouldn't he at least say thank you!
Uehara Naraku raised an eyebrow and continued, "It's necessary to remind you that Yakushi Kabuto once controlled Scorch Release Pakura to compete with me in Scorch Release, that Reanimation ninja Pakura must not be underestimated, and her will already stands with Yakushi Kabuto, she can fight with all her might because she was betrayed by the Fourth Kazekage to vent anger on the Hidden Mist Village and died..."
"..."
Gaara was a bit speechless, and Terumi Mei wasn't too happy either, why does giving intelligence feel like public embarrassment!
And upon hearing Pakura was betrayed by the Fourth Kazekage, both the Third Tsuchikage and the Fourth Raikage snorted in cold unison...
Uehara Naraku's gaze slowly turned to the smirking Fourth Raikage, softly saying, "Someone from the Hidden Cloud Village might be the Third Raikage, because Yakushi Kabuto often went to the battlefield where the Third Raikage engaged in a fierce battle with the ten thousand troops of the Hidden Rock Village..."
"..."
The expression of the Fourth Raikage wasn't good.
However, the Fourth Raikage didn't lash out at Uehara Naraku, he instead furiously glared at the nearby Third Tsuchikage, since the war that led to the demise of the Third Raikage was orchestrated by the Third Tsuchikage Onoki!
This old fellow, if he couldn't win, he used human waves!
Uehara Naraku's gaze turned toward Onoki and Terumi Mei, quietly saying, "There's no need to speak further of the Hidden Rock Village, I imagine the Third Tsuchikage also met his mentor... As for the Hidden Mist Village, Terumi Mei met the Second Mizukage, and possibly an additional Fourth Mizukage."
"Master Mu..."
Onoki slowly lowered his head, his face showing a hint of reminiscence and concern, having been taught all by Mu since childhood.
"..."
Terumi Mei also slowly lowered her head.
Uehara Naraku's gaze finally moved to Tsunade seated in the middle, and his voice gradually carried a hint of solemnity as he slowly spoke, "Those controlled Reanimation ninjas from Konoha Village... should we reveal them now?"
"Go ahead!"
Tsunade waved her hand helplessly, "We've seen most of them anyway! It's all previous Hokage, really troublesome..."
Whether it's the Second Hokage Senju Tobirama, Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen, or Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato, they had already anticipated it.
"Yes."
After Uehara Naraku nodded, he looked at Tsunade and everyone present, and uttered the first Reanimation list from Konoha, "First Hokage, Senju Hashirama!"