The hatred accumulated between the Five Great Shinobi Villages over decades would never vanish simply because of a single treaty.
They were buried explosives, merely waiting for the right spark.
Once they erupted, it would be with an unstoppable force.
Unfortunately, Takuno also knew that Nagato's current body truly didn't have that much time to wait for the alliance to fracture on its own.
In a way, the Five Kage had stumbled upon a decent solution by accident.
Furthermore, there was another difference: Minato's two bodyguards for this trip.
He had originally thought it would be that iconic silver-haired figure, Kakashi, and his usual partner.
However, reality completely overturned his prediction.
Standing in attendance to the left and right of the Fourth Hokage, Minato, were actually Sasuke and Neji!
This unexpected combination gave Takuno a slight start; then, his expression turned a bit peculiar—this was a truly well-balanced arrangement.
He instantly grasped the profound intent behind Minato's arrangement.
Choosing the most prominent young geniuses from the Shinobi World's two great clans, the Uchiha and the Hyuga, as bodyguards carried an unmistakable symbolic meaning.
This was undoubtedly a strong signal from the Fourth Hokage to both clans that he valued the status of the Uchiha and the Hyuga in Konoha equally, with no bias whatsoever.
An even deeper purpose was likely to use this opportunity for close cooperation to quietly bridge the long-standing, deep-rooted chasm and estrangement between these two ancient clans.
Takuno's thoughts couldn't help but drift back to a scene from not long ago.
On the stage of the final duel of the Chunin Selection, it was these two youths, Sasuke and Neji, who had fought to a spectacular draw.
Quite some time had passed since then, and though their current strength might not yet rank among the very top in the entire Shinobi World, as the Hokage's personal attendants, both their keen sensory abilities and solid combat techniques were more than sufficient.
Moreover...
With the Fourth Hokage, the 'Yellow Flash,' possessing the world-renowned Flying Thunder God Technique and extraordinary strength, how many people in the entire Shinobi World could truly threaten his safety?
This so-called bodyguard duty was likely far more symbolic and political in significance than an actual security necessity.
This bodyguard arrangement was less a security requirement and more a carefully placed chess move by Minato, using the rules as a pretext.
It aimed to appease the two great clans, harmonize their relationship, and consolidate Konoha's internal unity.
Additionally, Takuno hadn't expected that the matter of his other identity, The Collector, would actually come up in this meeting.
Furthermore, judging by their reactions, their wariness of The Collector was not a bit lower than their wariness of Madara.
Especially for Kumogakure and Iwagakure, they already had a very strong psychological shadow regarding The Collector.
The corners of Takuno's mouth curled up; for them, there might be a bit of bad news and a bit of good news.
The bad news was that The Collector really was a member of the Akatsuki.
The good news was that The Collector would not take action to help the Akatsuki; he was merely a spectator.
Even if the Akatsuki failed to capture the complete Eight-Tails this time, it wasn't a huge problem; at the very least, they would definitely be able to obtain some of the Eight-Tails' Chakra.
Looking back at the trajectory of the 'original work,' hadn't they achieved part of their goals with only a portion of the Eight-Tails' Chakra?
Back then, they had only obtained a tiny fraction of the Nine-Tails' power, yet it didn't hinder the earth-shattering emergence of the Ten-Tails in the slightest.
Takuno shook his head slightly, brushing away irrelevant thoughts, and his figure vanished from the meeting room in an instant.
Space shifted, spanning thousands of miles in a heartbeat.
In the next moment, his figure stood quietly atop a towering building within the borders of the Land of Iron.
The biting wind tore at his clothes as he cast his gaze toward the distant, ravaged battlefield.
Within his field of vision was the mountain-like body of the Eight-Tails Gyuki.
The once overwhelmingly powerful beast was currently in an exceptionally wretched state.
Several of its thick, pillar-like tentacles had been severed by sharp blades or energy, the stumps a bloody mess, with ink-colored chakra gushing out like blood.
The remains of those severed giant tentacles had long since been quickly pocketed by the Akatsuki members waiting for their chance.
However, Takuno knew full well that this small 'harvest' was far from the Akatsuki's ultimate goal for this trip.
Their ambition was to take advantage of the perfect opportunity when the Five Kage were not by the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki's side to complete the capture of the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Killer Bee, in one fell swoop!
Unfortunately, they had clearly underestimated the weight of their opponent.
Killer Bee, this Jinchuriki who usually seemed absurd in speech and behavior with his rapping, displayed such astonishing strength when the Eight-Tails' power sleeping within him completely erupted.
He could already perfectly master the power of the Tailed Beast, man and beast becoming one; that level of power was enough to rival the 'Super Kage' existences at the peak of the Shinobi World in some aspects.
Taking down Killer Bee in one go was no easy task!
It could be said that the reason Eight-Tails Killer Bee ended up so wretched in such a short time was also because of the Akatsuki's sneak attack.
If they had faced him head-on, he absolutely could not have been wounded like this in the brief time before the Five Kage arrived.
Now that the Five Kage and their bodyguards had arrived, it would be extremely difficult for the Akatsuki to capture the Eight-Tails from the hands of the Five Kage.
In fact, if Obito didn't step in to help, it would be very difficult for these members of the Akatsuki to retreat unscathed.
In a corner of the smoke-filled battlefield, accompanied by a faint light and a violent surge of chakra, the massive Eight-Tails form finally dissipated.
Killer Bee's exhausted figure fell to the ground, leaning weakly against a piece of shattered rock.
Only when he saw clearly that the anxious and concerned face before him was his older brother, the Raikage, did his tensed nerves relax slightly, and he completely deactivated his Tailed Beast Transformation.
At this moment, Killer Bee's condition was at its absolute worst.
His dark face, usually full of vitality and hip-hop style, was now as pale as paper, without a trace of color.
Beads of cold sweat slid down his temples, wetting his messy sunglasses lenses.
Every breath seemed exceptionally difficult, his chest heaving violently, as if even the strength to support his body had been exhausted.
This appearance was like a heavy hammer slamming into the Raikage's heart.
He still remembered how, back on the battlefield, Killer Bee had moved to save him at any cost.
And now, he had let the other suffer such severe injuries again...
Witnessing his younger brother suffer such a heavy blow, the fury in Raikage Ay's heart was instantly ignited to the extreme.
The violent Lightning Nature chakra that was already swirling around him now erupted like a volcano suppressed for a thousand years!
"Zzzzt, BOOM!"
Even more dazzling and piercing blue electric arcs leaped and hissed wildly, their density so high it was as if they formed a physical Lightning Release Armor outside his body.
The massive energy fluctuations even caused the gravel on the ground to tremble slightly.
Anger distorted his face; in his fury, even his signature spiky hair stood on end under the stimulation of the electric current, making him look like a demon emerging from the thunder!
Just then, the sound of rushing wind rang out.
The other four Kage, along with the leader of the Land of Iron, Mifune, finally arrived together at the core of this ravaged area.
They immediately saw the critically injured Killer Bee and the hair-raisingly furious Raikage.
The atmosphere was so heavy it was almost suffocating.
Raikage Ay forcibly suppressed the roar that was about to burst out, his gaze instantly locking onto Minato in the crowd.
His voice was hoarse, carrying an unquestionable resolve: "Fourth Hokage!"
When Minato's gaze touched Killer Bee's shocking injuries, his azure eyes also suddenly narrowed.
He and the Raikage brothers had clashed as early as the Third Shinobi World War, and he knew well how powerful they were.
And the Killer Bee before him, as a Jinchuriki who perfectly controlled the Eight-Tails' power, would only have become more refined in strength over the years.
Someone as powerful as him had actually been completely devastated in such a short time...
Even considering the factor of a sneak attack, this result was enough to show that the enemy's terror far exceeded estimates!
It seemed the intelligence about their formidable strength had not been exaggerated at all; in fact, it might have even been underestimated!
The Raikage's eyes, filled with overwhelming fury, stared intently at Minato as he spoke word by word.
"I trouble you! Use your best Space-Time Ninjutsu to send my brother to an absolutely safe place!"
This was a request that bordered on a command, the tone unabashedly urgent and filled with extreme worry for his brother's safety.
Immediately following that, the Raikage made a decision that caused the other Kage present to take notice.
He announced decisively: "Furthermore, the Tsuchikage's proposal... I, the Raikage, agree!"
He looked around at everyone, his gaze finally fixing on Minato again, his voice booming with the weight of entrusting the entire war situation to him.
"From this moment on, you, Minato, are the Commander-in-Chief of our Five Kage Alliance! The leader of the Alliance!"
This weight caused even the always-calm Minato to be slightly taken aback, followed by a brief silence.
He himself didn't have a great desire for this leadership position, but at this moment, facing a situation where morale was flagging and the trust the Raikage had given in exchange for his brother's safety, refusing would not only be ill-timed but would also shake the army's morale.
He nodded steadily, accepting this sudden burden: "I understand."
However, in the depths of his heart, a thought flashed clearly.
This was a wartime expedient; the specific details of the Alliance leader would still need to be discussed further after this battle.
Without any redundant words, Minato's figure appeared beside Killer Bee.
"Whoosh!"
A golden flash swept past, and as the Flying Thunder God Jutsu Formula was activated, the two of them, along with the air in that space, distorted for a moment and instantly vanished from the spot.
Leaving behind only a faint lingering scent of chakra and a group of Kage-level experts with varying expressions.
On the battlefield, the air suddenly solidified.
Tendo Pain's cold eyes, engraved with the ripples of the Rinnegan, watched the Five Kage descend like a gale, a sigh echoing silently in the depths of his heart.
The failure in the early stages of the operation had already forged the current predicament.
Failing to instantly subdue the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Killer Bee, and letting his sky-shattering roar for help go out, Pain had already foreseen the shadow of this capture plan's collapse.
Raikage Ay's figure, enveloped in exploding lightning and boundless fury, arrived almost the instant the cry for help fell, at a speed that tore through space.
Following him, the four Kage descended together.
At that moment, the outcome was already decided.
Minato's Flying Thunder God Technique activated, and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki's figure vanished in a ripple of space, his destination a mystery.
Even with Pain's Rinnegan that could perceive all things, he couldn't capture those ever-changing spatial trajectories, let alone deduce the final landing point.
Konoha? It was the most likely, but the guess itself was meaningless.
Even if the target were indeed in Konoha, how could the current Akatsuki have the ability to teleport thousands of miles away?
Perhaps only that mysterious man calling himself 'Madara' had such means.
However, Pain knew that cooperation with that man was inherently full of uncertainty; whether he would intervene at this moment was entirely an unknown.
Rather than pinning slim hopes on an uncontrollable ally, Tendo Pain's mental gears instantly turned toward the more pressing reality.
How to retreat unscathed!
Before his thoughts could settle, an utterly violent chakra exploded!
Raikage Ay's eyes were blood-red, his Lightning Release Armor hissing all around him as he abandoned all defense and form, crushing toward Pain like a human-shaped natural disaster with unstoppable momentum!
Behind him, his loyal guards C and Darui didn't hesitate for a moment, their figures turning into two streams of light following their lord, instantly cutting into the core of the battlefield.
Kazekage Gaara and Mizukage Mei Terumi exchanged glances, reaching a consensus without needing words.
Though they knew that with the Akatsuki's bizarre and unpredictable methods, keeping all of them here was nearly a delusion, this was undoubtedly a perfect opportunity to heavily damage their core combat power!
Sand waves surged, and scorching acid mist filled the air; as the two moved, they also joined the fray without hesitation, immediately weaving the attack net even more lethally.
High in the sky, Ōnoki's brow was tightly furrowed as he watched the rapidly changing battle below, a flash of complexity and helplessness crossing his aged face.
"Father, you'd better not go down!" Kitsuchi's voice, heavy with concern, rang out beside his father.
"Yeah, old man, your injuries haven't healed yet, don't push yourself!" Kurotsuchi also urged him to stop. "Dad taking action is enough to represent our Iwagakure's attitude! Everyone will understand!"
Ōnoki was silent for a moment, feeling the dull ache of old injuries within him, and finally nodded heavily.
He understood that if he forcibly used Dust Release now, the price might very well be his own fall here.
Seeing this, Kitsuchi's eyes narrowed, and his massive body, carrying a rock-like weight, also dove from the air, slamming heavily into the battlefield to join the encirclement against the Akatsuki.
Sasuke and Neji looked at each other, somewhat hesitant.
"The impact of you joining the fray wouldn't be very large, so there's no need to go over," Ōnoki said, having seen their hesitation.
Immediately, the two were speechless; they also knew that with their strength, they were indeed quite lacking on a battlefield of this level.
So they silently stayed to the side, watching the battle over there.
Soon, Minato's figure also returned to this side, his gaze sweeping over to understand the situation.
"You two stay here; Tsuchikage-dono, Mifune-dono, please look after them."
With that, Minato's figure didn't linger and appeared on the battlefield in a matter of moments.