The mountain winds howled through Iwagakure’s highest halls, but the summit chamber was carved into silence. Thick stone walls, reinforced by chakra, held back both noise and sentiment, though neither could be kept out for long.

  At the center sat the circular stone table, five distinct symbols carved into its surface, one for each Great Nation.

  The Kage took their seats in solemn order.

  ōnoki floated into place at the head of the circle. His old frame was wrapped in ceremonial robes, but his sharp eyes betrayed no weakness. Beside him stood his chosen aides, Kitsuchi and Akatsuchi, silent, arms crossed, their expressions rigid.

  Ay arrived next, all bluster and thunder. The Raikage’s presence was palpable, broad-shouldered, arms bulging, energy simmering just beneath his skin. At his side were Cee and Darui, the former tense, the latter unreadable.

  Rasa sat across from Ay, golden eyes steady and composed. His two guards flanked him, but they too said nothing, well-trained in diplomacy by now. He exchanged a brief nod with Minato.

  Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, was the last to take his seat, poised, serene, and deadly calm. Kakashi and Itachi stood at his flanks, the air around them unnaturally still.

  Unknown to the others, the Hokage Guard Platoon which was composed of Raidō, Genma, and Iwashi, waited outside the village's sensory perimeter, ready to leap through space at a moment’s notice.

  Finally, a ripple of whispers broke out as the Kirigakure delegation entered. Terumi Mei, not the Mizukage but unmistakably the face of the rebellion, walked in with poise and ambition. Two masked shinobi walked behind her, silent, measured, and on edge.

  ōnoki gave the formal greeting.

  “This is a gathering long overdue. Four of the nine Jinchūriki have now been captured. And if rumors are true… Konoha holds the remaining four under its watch.”

  Eyes turned to Minato.

  Ay was first to speak, voice like thunder breaking across the stone.

  “You’ve been stockpiling Jinchūriki under surveillance. We know you’ve got the Nine-Tails, the Six-Tails, and the Seven-Tails. And Rasa’s little trade deal explains the One-Tail. So what now? You just keep them all in a box while the rest of us bleed?”

  Minato smiled thinly.

  “Forgive me, Raikage-dono, but your village lost two Jinchūriki without uttering a word to the others. I reached out years ago about the Akatsuki threat. None of you listened.”

  ōnoki’s brow twitched. Rasa said nothing, but Minato caught the faintest inclination of agreement in his nod.

  Rasa spoke evenly.

  “I accepted Minato’s proposal after our trade routes stabilized. Suna has no love for Akatsuki. They are a greater threat to the Daimyō than any rival nation. My country is safer with Gaara under surveillance in Konoha.”

  Terumi Mei leaned forward, resting her hands lightly on the table.

  “We’ve had our own… chaos. You know Yagura has grown unstable. No word of the Akatsuki’s movements ever made it through to him, not through diplomatic channels, at least. Why is that?”

  Minato’s face didn’t change, but Itachi’s gaze flicked toward her. For a moment, the silence twisted.

  “Because your village is compromised,” Minato answered quietly. “We’ve confirmed through independent agents that Yagura may no longer be acting of his own will.”

  A low murmur passed through the room.

  Terumi Mei’s voice was strained.

  “You knew this? And said nothing?”

  “I sent word to your border operatives,” Minato replied smoothly. “It seems your internal chaos runs deeper than even you believed.”

  ōnoki’s hand slammed down on the stone.

  “That’s enough shadow games. We need unity, not finger-pointing. The Akatsuki have struck four of us, and unless we act as one—”

  Minato suddenly stood.

  Itachi and Kakashi shifted imperceptibly. His eyes weren’t on the others.

  They were focused on the stone wall behind Ay.

  “…What is it?”

  Rasa asked.

  Minato’s voice was quiet, but sharp.

  “I sensed one of my seals… this…”

  ōnoki frowned.

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  “A seal?”

  “Raijin Mark. One I placed… years ago. I can sense it. Less than three kilometers from here.”

  Then the chakra flared, immense and sudden.

  Darui’s hand went to his sword.

  “What the hell is—?”

  The chamber shook. Dust rained from the ceiling.

  A shinobi burst into the room, pale-faced and bloodied.

  “Akatsuki! A squad has breached the outer perimeter! They’re here!”

  Ay was already standing.

  “They dare come at this moment?”

  Minato’s expression shifted, his tone calm but deadly.

  “Split into combat units. Protect your Kage. They’re targeting us directly.”

  But what truly disturbed him wasn’t the attack itself.

  He knew what mark he had detected. He still remembered that day like it was yesterday.

  Obito.

  He had yet to capture his disciple since that day. In fact, he had barely acquired anything about him, as if Obito was avoiding like the plague.

  But for him to appear here, at a time like this?

  “They’re splitting our attention.”

  Itachi murmured, his Sharingan already spinning to life, crimson tomoe scanning the chaos.

  “The main assault will come from elsewhere.”

  As if on cue, the ceiling above them didn't just crack, it vanished.

  A rain of ice senbon fell from the sky, along with multiple other attacks.

  Simultaneously, the wall behind Rasa dissolved into a swirling vortex.

  “Well, that was simpler than I thought.”

  Rei said, as he desscended from the ceiling, blood writhing around him like a snake, while his ketsuryugan was already active.

  Beside him stood Sasori, his hulking Hiruko puppet already extruding a poison-laced mechanical tail.

  From the vortex, Obito stepped through, his single Sharingan locking onto Minato.

  “Sensei. It’s been a long time.”

  The Kage and their guards reacted instantly.

  “Doton: Doryūheki! (Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!)”

  Kitsuchi slammed his palms together, and a massive, domed wall of rock erupted from the floor, shielding the Kage from the fiery debris.

  “Raiton: Rariatto! (Lightning Release: Lariat)”

  The Raikage, cloaked in a blinding aura of lightning chakra, shot forward like a thunderbolt, aiming to clothesline Obito before he could even take a second step.

  But his arm passed straight through Obito’s form as if through smoke.

  “Too slow.”

  Obito taunted.

  Kakashi and Itachi moved as one. Itachi engaged Sasori, his shuriken clashing against the puppet’s armored shell, while Kakashi’s Chidori crackled to life, his own Sharingan meeting Obito’s.

  Two Mangekyō, linked by a shared, tragic past, stared each other down across dimensions.

  Rasa’s Gold Dust surged forward, forming a protective barrier, while ōnoki took to the air, his hands glowing.

  “Jinton: Genkai Hakuri no Jutsu! (Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!)”

  A brilliant cube of light formed between his palms, aimed directly at Rei.

  Rei didn't flinch. His blood surged upward like a living tide and hardened into a dome, encasing him completely. ōnoki’s particle cube struck with a searing hum, slicing through matter at the molecular level… but the blood dome didn’t disintegrate, it shifted.

  The outer layers peeled away just in time, minimizing the impact. Rei emerged crouching, slightly scorched but grinning.

  “You nearly got me, old man.”

  Rei said, his Ketsuryūgan transforming slowly into a six petal flower, glowing like a furnace in his sockets.

  “But you’ll have to do better than that.”

  ōnoki's scowl deepened.

  “Then I will.”

  Meanwhile, the ceiling continued collapsing as Haku descended in a spiral of ice mirrors. His technique encircled the chamber’s upper walls, forming a dome of gleaming panels. Terumi Mei’s guards sprang to her defense, clashing with Haku mid-air. Ice clashed with boiling mist, jutsu detonating in the narrow space.

  “Don't let them isolate us!”

  Minato barked, vanishing in a flash of yellow as he reappeared beside Obito, kunai in hand.

  But Obito was already slipping into his warped dimension again.

  “Same tricks, Sensei,” Obito said mockingly. “But the game’s changed.”

  “Maybe. But your timing’s still predictable,” Minato replied, flickering behind him.

  Obito’s eye widened, but just then, Rei unleashed a torrent of blood spears toward the Hokage, forcing him to flash away mid-attack. One of the crimson lances scratched Kakashi’s shoulder, slowing his follow-up Chidori.

  “I don’t care what game you’re playing,” Ay bellowed, striking again, this time with Darui at his side. “You picked the wrong time.”

  Darui’s Black Lightning arced toward Sasori, who clicked his tongue as the attack engulfed Hiruko. The puppet’s outer layer cracked, but from its back, several smaller puppets launched out, armed with flamethrowers and chakra blades. One of them intercepted Itachi mid-swing, forcing him to draw back with a quick genjutsu feint, momentarily disrupting the enemy’s senses.

  Below the chaos, Rasa’s Gold Dust surged like a tidal wave, protecting the other Kage, but his eyes were fixed on Rei.

  “That boy… he manipulates iron in his blood like it’s sand…”

  “It’s not unlike your technique,” ōnoki said through gritted teeth. “Only more specific.”

  Across the chamber, Kitsuchi and Akatsuchi formed hand signs in tandem, then slammed their fists into the ground.

  “Combined Doton: Ganseki Sensha! (Rock Tank Jutsu!)”

  A massive boulder formed and hurtled toward the swirling vortex still suspended in the wall, aiming to crush it before reinforcements could arrive.

  But the vortex twisted, shifted—and another figure stepped through, cloaked in black robes.

  Zetsu.

  White Zetsu.

  “Oh, dear,” it said cheerfully. “They’re putting up quite the fight.”

  Obito didn’t respond. His gaze was still fixed on Minato.

  “This wasn’t about victory.” he murmured.

  Minato narrowed his eyes.

  “Then what was it about?”

  Obito gave a slow, sad smile.

  “A distraction.”

  Simultaneously, in Konoha…

  The afternoon was peaceful. Children played in the streets, merchants called out their wares, and the scent of dango drifted on the breeze. Ryuu sat on a high vantage point overlooking the Jinchūriki compound, his senses spread thin.

  Then, the sky above the village seemed to ripple.

  Six figures appeared out of nowhere, landing silently atop the Hokage Monument. They stood silhouetted against the sun, their black cloaks with red clouds billowing in the wind. At their center stood the Deva Path, his face a mask of cold indifference, his Rinnegan glowing subtly.

  Without a word, he raised his hand toward the unsuspecting village below.

  The first city-wide alert siren began to wail, a high, piercing scream that shattered the peace.

  Pain had come to Konoha.

  Ryuu felt his immense signature immediately and a chill ran down his spine.

  ‘No, not like this.’

  He recalled what happened to the village, how many people had perished. However Naruto was far from reaching the stage he had in those memories. Ryuu knew without a doubt it would be impossible to make Nagato understand and sacrifice himself to revive those he killed.

  So he had to make sure that no one would perish today.

  He vanished from his perch in a flicker of movement, reappearing on a rooftop overlooking the main thoroughfare just as the Deva Path raised his hand.

  The world seemed to warp around that outstretched hand.

  “Chou Shinra Tensei.”

  “FUCK!”

  Ryuu exclaimed, the zero-tails chakra immediately covering his entire body as he entered his Chakra Cloak mode. A large black dome expanded from him, ready to counter the massive force of the almighty push.