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"Tailed beasts?"
Ōnoki's heart gave a sharp lurch. The news of the Five-Tails' disappearance immediately flashed through his mind, filling him with fresh anxiety. He leaned forward slightly and pressed, "What exactly do they want the tailed beasts for?"
Hiruzen shook his head slowly. "I'm not entirely sure myself."
Although Itachi had brought back some intelligence concerning Akatsuki years earlier, the Hokage at that time had been Tsunade. Any official records would have been kept deliberately vague—more notes than detailed reports. And even those sparse documents had likely been buried under layers of bureaucracy.
Worse still, after Hiruzen resumed the position, the Hidden Leaf had become embroiled first in open conflict with the Hidden Sound Village, then in a full-scale war with the Hidden Sand. He had barely had time to breathe, let alone dig through old intelligence files compiled under Tsunade's administration.
Ōnoki stroked his long white beard thoughtfully.
Even though the conversation had ended on an "I don't know," the single piece of information—that Akatsuki was actively collecting tailed beasts—was already enormously valuable. It also strengthened his growing suspicion that Akatsuki might somehow be connected to the mysterious disappearance of the Five-Tails.
The next day, the Raikage A arrived at the meeting site. Almost immediately, he and Ōnoki slipped away into a private conference room, away from prying eyes.
The war between their two villages had started for reasons that still felt absurdly unclear.
It had all begun with the death of the Second Raikage's son—officially confirmed to have been killed on Stone soil by an Iwagakure shinobi.
Ōnoki flatly rejected the accusation. He told A point-blank that very few shinobi in the Hidden Stone possessed the strength to kill a jinchūriki—and any of them who moved would have done so under his direct knowledge and oversight. No such operation had ever been authorized.
A, naturally, refused to accept that explanation.
What was supposed to be a negotiation quickly devolved into the usual posturing: each side trying to extract the maximum concessions while giving up as little as possible. Admitting the other side's version of events would have ended the discussion before it even began.
Just as the stalemate seemed unbreakable, Ōnoki suddenly slammed his palm down on the table.
"One of our own jinchūriki has gone missing as well."
A blinked. "You're joking. First my brother's son dies on your territory, and now one of your jinchūriki is dead too? That's far too convenient. Who was it?"
"Han. We don't even know if he's dead or alive. After he clashed with Killer B, he simply vanished."
"What are you implying?" A shot to his feet, chair scraping loudly against the floor. "That Killer B killed him? You people really are something else—coming up with such a pathetic excuse. I underestimated how low you'd stoop."
"I didn't say Killer B killed him," Ōnoki replied patiently. "I said that after their fight, Han disappeared."
A gave a harsh laugh. "Let me make this perfectly clear: Killer B had nothing to do with it. If he had actually killed Han, he would have told me himself."
Without waiting for further explanation, A stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
"That boy A hasn't changed at all since he was a child," Ōnoki sighed heavily. "Still blindly trusts his family members without question."
"You're actually suspecting Killer B?" Kurotsuchi asked quietly.
"No, not really," Ōnoki said, shaking his head. "But because of that personality of his, I couldn't even finish what I wanted to say."
He had genuinely hoped this summit would at least ease the tension between their villages. Yet after two separate attempts at dialogue, they were no closer to resolution than before.
Both sides wanted to end the fighting. But neither could afford to be the first to blink. Neither Ōnoki nor A could accept making unilateral concessions—not when their own villagers would never forgive such a show of weakness.
The deadlock persisted right up until the moment Mei Terumī arrived in the Land of Iron, accompanied by Chōjūrō and Ao.
Even then, the Hidden Cloud and Hidden Stone still hadn't reached any kind of understanding.
That same evening, Ebizō finally arrived from the Hidden Sand—late, as was typical for the Sand's representatives.
With all five major ninja villages now represented, the Five Kage Summit officially commenced.
The following day's session was painfully awkward.
Even though most of the attendees had known each other for decades, no one seemed particularly eager to speak. The atmosphere was thick with mutual wariness.
The older Kage—A, Ōnoki, Hiruzen, and Ebizō—were seasoned enough to sit in stoic silence for hours if necessary. Mei, however, was noticeably the youngest and least experienced in high-level diplomacy. The tension made her visibly uncomfortable; she shifted in her seat more than once.
Finally, Hiruzen broke the heavy quiet.
"Now that representatives from all five great ninja villages are present, we can begin the summit on schedule. But before we do, we need someone to chair the meeting."
All eyes turned toward Mei.
"Me?" Mei blinked in genuine surprise, glancing around the table.
Among the Kage present, the youngest in absolute terms was A, yet even compared to him, Mei was clearly the junior.
"You're not seriously suggesting one of us should moderate, are you?" A asked, one brow raised.
The Hidden Cloud was at war with the Hidden Stone. The Hidden Leaf was at war with the Hidden Sand. Any of the four Kage from those villages presiding over the discussion would immediately poison the atmosphere.
By contrast, the Hidden Mist—long isolated and rarely entangled in the same border conflicts—made Mei the most neutral and therefore the most logical choice.
The only real concern was whether she could actually command the room.
Even Yagura, the previous Mizukage, would have been considered relatively junior in this company. Whether these veteran Kage would respect her authority was far from guaranteed.
"I understand," Mei said, drawing a steadying breath. She met the eyes of each person in turn. "I'm sure all of you have been wondering what exactly has happened in the Hidden Mist over the past several years. Let me begin with that.
"Three years after the end of the Third Great Ninja War, a major incident occurred in our village. Both the Third and Fourth Mizukage were ambushed. The attackers belonged to an organization called Akatsuki. One of their members used the Sharingan to place both Mizukage under complete mind control. According to our investigation, that shinobi identified himself as 'Uchiha Madara.'"
Hiruzen's brows furrowed slightly.
Tsunade had once mentioned this same claim to him. His initial reaction had been disbelief—impossible. Yet Itachi had later confirmed it: yes, there really was someone in Akatsuki going by the name "Uchiha Madara."
"Madara?" Ōnoki murmured, fingers absently tugging at his beard. "That seems highly unlikely. Didn't he die long ago?"
As he spoke, his gaze flicked briefly toward Hiruzen.
The Battle at the Valley of the End was legendary. Konoha had even carved massive stone statues of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha directly into the cliff face to commemorate it.
"I've heard the same rumor," Hiruzen said quietly, nodding in confirmation of Mei's statement.
"I'm not here to accuse anyone," Mei continued. "I don't believe the Hidden Leaf would have used the name 'Uchiha Madara' if they intended to control our Mizukage through genjutsu. Nevertheless, because our leaders were compromised, countless tragedies unfolded in the Mist. Large numbers of shinobi and civilians who carried kekkei genkai were systematically persecuted. Even ordinary villagers were sometimes caught up in the purges. At the same time, many of our most capable ninja defected. Our village's strength plummeted dramatically. It was only recently that we managed to end that dark chapter. But the cost was enormous. Much of the village lies in ruins, and the Fourth Mizukage—himself one of our three jinchūriki—was abducted."
Hiruzen's frown deepened. He tapped two fingers lightly against the tabletop. "A jinchūriki…"
"Exactly," Mei confirmed. "On the night the Mizukage fell under control, one Mist shinobi witnessed the entire incident. He was immediately branded a traitor by the controlled Mizukage and hunted as a missing-nin ever since. Over the years, that shinobi has gathered a great deal of intelligence on Akatsuki. His conclusion can be summed up in one sentence: Akatsuki's target is not any single hidden village—it is every hidden village. In order to prevent the rest of you from suffering the same fate we did, we dispatched shinobi to each of your villages carrying formal letters of warning. We urged every Kage to remain vigilant against Akatsuki."
Mei paused to take a sip of water.
"I assume all of you received those messages?"