The eting slowly shifted its focus to discussing the peculiarities of "Upper Rank Two."
The Fourth Kazekage asked, "Did you really see him devour corpses?"
Zabuza, his body wrapped in bandages, nodded. "Yes, he seems capable of absorbing chakra by consuming corpses."
Kakashi added, "That's correct. I've confird it with my Sharingan. Each ti he consus a corpse, his chakra spikes significantly."
"Hiss—"
Many in the hall drew sharp breaths, their hair standing on end.
All those present were shinobi. Stealing corpses, destroying corpses, and even researching them were not uncommon.
But no one would ever eat corpses just for chakra.
Just hearing about it felt deeply unsettling.
Soone in the hall suddenly asked, "Could this be so kind of secret jutsu?"
"I've never heard of such a secret jutsu!"
"Hmph, it's probably one of those forbidden jutsu cooked up by the Akatsuki."
"Yeah, those lunatics will experint with anything!"
The hall buzzed with murmurs.
The Five Kage exchanged glances and subtly shook their heads, indicating that such a sinister technique wasn't from their villages.
Orochimaru, speaking as the representative of Otogakure, suddenly asked, "Does 'Upper Rank Two' truly possess immortality?"
Kakashi turned toward Orochimaru and replied, "We're not sure of the exact thods yet, but 'Upper Rank Two' does seem to have extraordinary regenerative abilities. Even if his arm is severed, it regenerates visibly within monts."
Soone quickly questioned the representative of Takigakure: "It's said your village has a secret immortality technique. Could 'Upper Rank Two' be using it?"
The Takigakure representative hurriedly denied it: "'Upper Rank Two' has no connection to Takigakure! Our village's secret technique, the 'Earth Grudge Fear,' was stolen by Kakuzu long ago."
Another voice piped up, "Doesn't the Akatsuki have soone called Hidan who's also immortal? Stop hiding, Yugakure! Tell us the truth!"
The representative of Yugakure had no choice but to respond: "We don't know how Hidan obtained his immortality either. That technique doesn't exist in our village!"
"Do you think we'll believe that?"
The hall erupted into chaos once again.
The one who had stirred up this topic, Orochimaru, now fell silent.
The reason Orochimaru had raised the question was that through reports from Kimimaro and Kabuto, he learned that "Upper Rank One" also possessed terrifying regenerative capabilities.
This suggested that regeneration wasn't exclusive to "Upper Rank Two."
It was highly likely that all the "Upper Ranks" in Akatsuki had such enviable immortality.
And this form of immortality was precisely what Orochimaru had been seeking!
Similarly silent were Konoha and Kirigakure.
Sasuke had been forthright with his report upon returning to the Hidden Leaf, detailing the fierce battle between "A" and Rengoku Kyōjurō.
Tsunade's team had also submitted their report on their clash with the horde of demons, leaving the Third Hokage well-inford.
The Third Hokage was thus acutely aware that the immortality displayed by "Upper Rank Two" was not an isolated case but part of a broader pattern among the "Upper Ranks."
The sa was true for Kirigakure.
The detailed account of i Terumi's battle against Tomioka Giyu had long been placed on the Fourth Mizukage's desk.
i's report even speculated that the mysterious warrior on the island might be an experintal product of Akatsuki and included a hypothesis that these creations might fear sunlight.
For now, neither Konoha nor Kirigakure intended to share these insights.
From the Third Hokage's perspective, sharing general information was acceptable, but core intelligence had to remain under Konoha's control to secure a stronger position at the Five Kage Summit.
As for the Fourth Mizukage, Haku's status as a spy sent to the Hidden Leaf remained a secret. With Haku being tested by Akatsuki, he represented a crucial piece in Kirigakure's infiltration strategy. Sharing such information was out of the question.
The arguing persisted until the Third Hokage intervened, finally calming the room.
From the earlier debates, the group reached at least one consensus: Akatsuki's power far exceeded their expectations. Any future operations involving Akatsuki would require extre caution.
This understanding also signified that the Five Great Shinobi Villages had abandoned any imdiate plans to rescue the Two-Tails Jinchūriki, Yugito Nii.
Even the Fourth Raikage had no choice but to acquiesce.
The failed rescue not only failed to recover Yugito but also placed the entire joint force in jeopardy.
Had Akatsuki deployed additional manpower to counter the joint force, the consequences could have been disastrous.
For now, based on reports from Kumogakure, Yugito seed to be under the genjutsu control of Akatsuki's "A" and was in no imdiate danger. This left a glimr of hope for her eventual rescue.
After the Summit
The Third Hokage summoned Jiraiya, Tsunade, Kakashi, and other key figures involved in the recent missions to the Hokage Office.
Taking a puff from his pipe, the Third Hokage tapped it gently. "The situation is more complicated than we anticipated. The power Akatsuki has shown so far is likely just the tip of the iceberg."
Jiraiya said, "If that's the case, we must establish contact with that individual as soon as possible!"
Tsunade expressed her doubts, "Can we trust him?"
The Third Hokage pondered briefly and said, "Sasuke is still in the village."
It was clear that Jiraiya and Tsunade were referring to Uchiha Itachi, a mber of Akatsuki. The Third Hokage's response implied that with Sasuke in Konoha, Itachi's loyalty could still be leveraged.
At this mont, Kakashi spoke up, "Hokage-sama, I have a hypothesis."
The room's attention turned to Kakashi.
After carefully choosing his words, Kakashi said, "I believe the 'Upper Ranks' and Akatsuki might not be on the sa side."
The Third Hokage, unfazed, asked, "What are your reasons?"
Kakashi laid out his analysis and added, "The mysterious warrior Sasuke encountered in the Land of Wind had abilities and a combat style identical to 'Upper Rank Two.' Yet, when he encountered Akatsuki's 'A,' he clashed with them just like 'Upper Rank Five' and 'Upper Rank Six' did earlier. This indicates that the 'Upper Ranks' and Akatsuki are not only separate factions but may even be enemies!"
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