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Ōnoki, A, and Hiruzen nodded in confirmation. Ebizō, however, shook his head slowly.
"Hm? Senior Ebizō, are you certain you never received the letter?" Mei asked, tilting her head slightly.
"Positive," Ebizō replied, his brow furrowed. "Not only was there no letter, no shinobi from the Hidden Mist ever set foot in the Hidden Sand Village—at least not that any of us are aware of."
"That shouldn't be possible," Mei said, her brows knitting together in concern. "We definitely dispatched someone."
"Maybe the messenger defected?" A suggested, rubbing his chin with a teasing lilt in his voice.
In recent years, quite a few shinobi had fled the Hidden Mist.
Mei shot the Raikage a sharp glance, clearly displeased. "If they were going to defect, why wait until now—after the village stopped being known as the 'Bloody Mist'? Back when things were truly hellish, hardly anyone ran. Why now?"
"How should I know what goes on in your village?" A replied with an easy laugh.
Mei glared at him. Behind her, Chōjūrō and Ao immediately tensed, hands inching closer to their weapons.
The previously calm atmosphere in the conference room turned razor-sharp in an instant. Everything now hinged on how Mei chose to respond.
"While it's true that the Hidden Mist once had many missing-nin—some forced to flee out of necessity, others choosing to leave—things have changed," Mei said firmly. "Today, anyone who wishes to return is welcomed back without question. There is absolutely no reason for our messenger to defect. In fact, even if they never returned to the Mist, as long as the letter reached the Sand Village and the messenger remained safe, we would be satisfied." She clenched her fist beneath the table, yet her face softened into a calm smile. "That's all that truly matters to us now."
A opened his mouth to retort, but he noticed the others watching him—especially Ōnoki, whose narrowed eyes glinted with clear amusement, as though he were enjoying the spectacle of A about to dig himself deeper. The Raikage wisely swallowed whatever quip had been on the tip of his tongue.
Arguing with a woman in front of the other Kage did not exactly project strength or maturity.
"In truth, it isn't all that complicated. There are really only two plausible explanations," Hiruzen said, stroking his beard thoughtfully. "Either the Mist shinobi got lost—after so many years of isolation, leaving the village and traveling to an unfamiliar land could easily lead to disorientation—or they were killed. Right now the Hidden Leaf and Hidden Sand are locked in open war. Accidental death at the hands of either side is, unfortunately, a real possibility."
Mei's expression tightened slightly.
More than ever, the Hidden Mist was desperately short of people. Every single life—child or adult—was irreplaceably precious.
If at all possible, she did not want to believe the second explanation.
"In any case, our ultimate goal here is Akatsuki," Mei continued. "Not only because of the unforgivable grudge they hold against the Hidden Mist, but because they abducted our Fourth Mizukage—along with the Three-Tails."
"As far as I know, the Hidden Rain Village serves as Akatsuki's primary base," Hiruzen interjected. "Since your informant gathered a great deal of intelligence on them, surely you already knew that much. Why not simply prepare to strike the Rain Village directly?"
"You're correct—he did confirm that much," Mei replied. "However, he also emphasized that Akatsuki members are normally scattered across different ninja villages. Launching a direct assault on the Rain Village could very well end in an empty-handed failure. More importantly, their defenses are exceptionally tight. Even someone as formidable as Lord Jiraiya barely escaped with his life. As Hokage, Lord Hiruzen, you should be well aware of that fact."
Hiruzen's brows furrowed deeply.
Jiraiya's infiltration of the Hidden Rain had been an extremely covert operation. How could an outsider possibly know the details?
"Where exactly did you hear that?" he asked, voice low.
"The same informant told me. It isn't exactly a closely guarded secret, but gathering that kind of information still requires considerable effort. Yet you, Lord Hokage, chose to conceal it while encouraging us to target the Rain Village. I'm curious—what exactly is your intention here?" Mei fixed him with a steady gaze. "You are all my seniors. I received your invitation, set aside the urgent reconstruction efforts back home, and traveled all the way to the Land of Iron for one reason only: to share what little intelligence we have on Akatsuki. I did not come here to waste time. I would appreciate it if everyone could show a little sincerity in return."
Hiruzen continued stroking his beard in silence, offering no immediate reply.
Though this was officially a Five Kage Summit, his true purpose in attending had always been to negotiate peace with the Hidden Sand. Akatsuki was a secondary concern—one he considered little more than an underground shinobi syndicate. Such groups were common in the ninja world. Even if Akatsuki was somewhat unusual, it hardly warranted the combined attention of all five great villages.
Ōnoki cast a sidelong glance at Hiruzen. He had once shared the Hokage's dismissive attitude—until the appearance of explosive clay bombs and the sudden disappearance of the Five-Tails forced him to reconsider.
"Do you know the identities of Akatsuki's members?" Ōnoki asked Mei.
She shook her head. "Not specifically. But someone does."
"Who?"
"Asachi Midorima. He should have met with the Raikage already."
"I know exactly who he is," A said. "He's currently the Six-Tails jinchūriki, training under Killer B to learn how to properly control a tailed beast."
"Thank you, Lord Raikage," Mei said immediately, offering a respectful bow of her head.
Despite the earlier verbal sparring, she genuinely appreciated that A was willing to extend assistance to Midorima.
"No need to thank me. We made a deal: he brought Killer B back safely, so I allowed him to train alongside my brother. But let's be clear—I still don't buy any of this 'Akatsuki is an existential threat' nonsense. At the end of the day, they're just another underground outfit. They can't possibly stand against a great ninja village. The only reason you keep bringing them up is because you want to use our strength to settle your personal score. We're not going to be anyone's disposable weapon."
Right now, the far more pressing issue was how to handle relations between the Cloud and the Mist.
"I see," Mei said quietly. She let her gaze sweep across the faces of the other four Kage. Aside from Ōnoki, who still showed a trace of hesitation, the rest clearly regarded Akatsuki as a minor nuisance at best.
The tragedies that had befallen the Hidden Mist had not touched their villages. They could not truly comprehend the depth of that pain.
Moreover, compared to a shadowy organization that had yet to directly threaten them, resolving the active wars they were already fighting remained the far more urgent priority.
"I understand now," Mei said softly. Realization settled over her like a cold weight. "In that case, I wish each of you a satisfactory outcome in your own negotiations. I'll take my leave."
She rose from her seat and walked out of the conference room. Chōjūrō and Ao followed close behind without a word.
"What do we do now?" Chōjūrō asked once they were outside.
"We return to the village," Mei answered. She glanced back over her shoulder at A, who sat with arms crossed, leaning casually against the back of his chair. A helpless sigh escaped her lips.
Midorima had warned her that Akatsuki was exceptionally dangerous. Yet these Kage were each pursuing their own private agendas. She only hoped they would not live to regret their complacency.
...
Deidara descended slowly from the sky, riding atop one of his massive clay birds. The creature touched down gently, folding its wide wings.
Sasori, seated against the trunk of a large tree, looked up. "Well? What's the situation inside?"
"We've located the Two-Tails," Deidara replied, a smug grin spreading across his face.
"The Two-Tails was never going to be the problem," Kisame said from where he stood nearby. "The real headaches are the Six-Tails and the Eight-Tails."
"With the four of us, it should be manageable," Deidara said confidently. His gaze shifted to the kunoichi standing quietly beside a tree. "Konan, once you've secured the Two-Tails, head straight back to the base. The Six-Tails and Eight-Tails—we'll handle them."
Konan blinked once in mild surprise, then gave a small nod of acknowledgment.