The sa scene playing out in Kumogakure was also unfolding in Iwagakure.
The difference was that in Iwagakure, whether it was Kitsuchi, Kurotsuchi, the Five-Tails jinchūriki Han, or even the Four-Tails jinchūriki Rōshi—who had never exactly gotten along with Ōnoki—their expressions were all grim.
"Send part of our ninja force to join the Three Nations Allied Army."
"If that allied force really does manage to kill Uchiha Chizumi while our Iwagakure does nothing at all, then life for our village won't be easy in the future."
Rōshi let out a sigh. He originally hadn't intended to return to Iwagakure.
But Ōnoki had died protecting the village, and Iwagakure truly was weak right now. No matter how many grievances Rōshi still had against Ōnoki, he could only co back for the ti being.
"Agreed."
"No matter how strong Uchiha Chizumi is, killing tens of thousands of ninja won't be easy."
"I've heard the Uchiha clan's Susanoo has to be maintained with ocular power. If ten thousand ninja just keep piling on, eventually they'll drain Uchiha Chizumi's eye power dry. And once that happens, he'll have no way out but death."
Han, the Five-Tails jinchūriki, also agreed with Rōshi's reasoning. It wasn't that the shinobi world had no idea how strong Uchiha Chizumi was—it was that all these shinobi were trapped by the limits of how they thought.
In their minds, no matter how strong a ninja was, their chakra was still finite. Even terrifying powers like kekkei tōta and kekkei genkai still had to consu chakra to function.
If ten thousand ninja surrounded and attacked one person, then no matter how strong that person was, his chakra would eventually run dry.
And besides, the Uchiha clan had never been famous in the shinobi world for having enormous chakra reserves.
"Then it's settled. We'll send part of our forces into the Three Nations Allied Army, but those ninja can't wear anything that identifies them as Iwagakure."
"At the sa ti, we can send a reply to the daimyo's court. It's not that Iwagakure doesn't want to send troops—it's that after being attacked by the Akatsuki, the village is already in a weakened state. We simply no longer have the strength to deploy forces while still protecting the Land of Earth."
After a long silence, Kitsuchi finally nodded.
He had wanted to bring the Five Kage to Iwagakure in the first place so they could reach an agreent to deal with the Akatsuki together. That was why he had hesitated so much over sending Earth Country ninja out.
Because if Iwagakure sent ninja into the Three Nations Allied Army, then it would also offend Konoha—and for Kitsuchi, who wanted revenge, that wasn't what he wanted to see.
But at the sa ti, he couldn't just ignore the daimyo's position either. After all, if the Land of Earth suddenly ended up with a second hidden village, the decline of Iwagakure's strength would be all but guaranteed.
"Troubled tis…"
Akatsuchi let out a sigh. The shinobi world wasn't in complete chaos yet, but it wasn't far off.
The Akatsuki had hidden their strength so deeply that Iwagakure had suffered catastrophic losses, while Uchiha Chizumi kept carrying out his so-called executions of evil, and now the daimyo had united to create sothing called the Three Nations Allied Army.
Only the upper ranks of Iwagakure truly knew why the village had made its choice.
As for Sunagakure…
Rasa paid no attention at all to what the Wind Daimyo intended to do, and didn't even care much that so of Sunagakure's ninja were leaving the village. Just holding the village together was exhausting enough for him as Kazekage. Why would he care whether the daimyo lived or died?
At the Akatsuki base in the Land of Rain—
"What a sha. We can't get involved in this Three Nations Allied Army."
"If we could kill Uchiha Chizumi in the middle of the chaos, that would be a full 1.2 billion!"
Kakuzu sighed heavily at the newly joined Hōzuki Gengetsu and Kimimaro.
Kimimaro had been planted there by Uchiha Obito, while Gengetsu had co to the Akatsuki of his own accord.
The two of them were still in the Akatsuki's probationary stage, but both Kakuzu and Sasori had clearly already acknowledged their strength.
Kimimaro's Byakugan, in particular, had caused quite a stir within the Akatsuki.
The one responsible for intelligence-gathering in the Akatsuki was White Zetsu, so they naturally knew the Hyūga clan in Konoha had nearly been wiped out. Seeing a Byakugan without the Caged Bird Seal join the Akatsuki was naturally enough to surprise them.
As for the identity Obito had arranged for Kimimaro, it was that of a Hyūga main family mber who had happened to be out on a mission. His only goal was revenge against Uchiha Chizumi, and that was what let Kimimaro fit into the Akatsuki.
As for Hōzuki Gengetsu, that was even simpler. He had joined the Akatsuki purely for what he believed was the restoration of the Land of Water, so of course he had no love for Uchiha Chizumi.
And since everyone here disliked Uchiha Chizumi, naturally the Akatsuki welcod them both.
"How about we get involved too?"
"The Land of Water was turned into that state by Uchiha Chizumi. If we could bring back his head…"
Hōzuki Gengetsu couldn't help chiming in after hearing Kakuzu's complaint.
"Exactly. Mr. Kakuzu, you're an official Akatsuki mber, but neither Gengetsu nor I have had our Akatsuki affiliation exposed yet. The two of us can absolutely join the Three Nations Allied Army."
"And if we manage to kill Uchiha Chizumi, then I can consider it revenge for the clan head."
Kimimaro said that with his usual blank face. He clearly approved of the identity Obito had arranged for him. Especially after accepting Tenseigan chakra, he genuinely didn't mind avenging Hyūga Hiashi.
"Stay out of this."
"The shinobi world is about to undergo another major upheaval."
At so point, the Deva Path had appeared beside Kakuzu and the others.
Nagato actually thought fairly highly of Kimimaro and Gengetsu. After all, anyone who joined the Akatsuki at a ti when they were short on mbers probably didn't have much ill intent…
"A major upheaval?"
Kimimaro and Gengetsu both looked at the Akatsuki leader in confusion.
"Uchiha Chizumi's strength far exceeds what anyone in the shinobi world imagines. Even if the Three Great Nations gathered a hundred thousand ninja into an allied army, killing him would still be difficult."
"That man can no longer be defined simply as a ninja."
Nagato, speaking through the Deva Path, gazed into the distance.
He truly did not believe the Three Nations Allied Army could kill Uchiha Chizumi. If Chizumi were that easy to kill, then in Nagato's eyes, he wouldn't even qualify as a true enemy.
"When soone who can no longer be asured by the standards of a ninja appears, the entire shinobi world will have to redefine what strength ans."
"And based on the intelligence the Akatsuki has gathered on Uchiha Chizumi, the daimyo of those Three Great Nations are definitely going to die."
"And once the daimyo of those Three Great Nations are dead… those Kage…"
Nagato shook his head.
He had a feeling that the Fourth Great Ninja War really was not far away anymore.
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