Go eat some shit and die!
Akaba really wanted to say that, but after a moment's thought, he decided against it. Although Danzo wouldn't understand the words themselves, he would definitely catch the tone and hostility behind them.
Well then, why not catch two or three days' worth of sleep? He could take a break from drawing manga for those few days too.
Of course, though—the main reason was simply because he didn't feel like drawing himself.
Normally, Akaba used shadow clones to handle the workload while he lazed around doing nothing. Suddenly losing that ability forced him to do everything by hand.
It's easier to go from plain living to luxury than the other way round.
The Third and Danzo quickly reached a consensus. That day, they selected ninja with particularly strong spiritual energy throughout the entire village, naturally prioritizing the Yamanaka clan.
However, there was one problem.
Most members of the Yamanaka clan had been deployed to the front lines in the Land of River. Therefore, Danzo urgently recalled all the Yamanaka clan members stationed there and placed Kakashi Windseer in command of the overall military operations in the Land of River. The temporary camp would be managed by Sakumo.
This assignment wasn't due to Sakumo being Danzo's disciple—it was simply because of his immense strength. At such a young age, he'd already become an elite Jonin, further proving himself with accomplishments during battles in the Land of Whirlpools. Managing a mere temporary encampment was no challenge at all.
Without exaggeration, among his peers—including Akaba—Sakumo had already surged far ahead.
Early the next morning,
The Yamanaka clan returned to Konoha after traveling through the night.
With events like these, better sooner than later was always the best policy. Otherwise, nobody could predict what kind of chaos Madara and Black Zetsu might cause.
While few others understood exactly how much chaos those two could create, Danzo certainly did.
Sunagakure had suffered precisely from underestimating Madara and Black Zetsu's capabilities. Similarly, they hadn't anticipated the move involving Chiyo's son, using him to ignite hatred between Konoha and Sunagakure.
Even though major matters should proceed without delay, the Yamanaka clan's exhausting travel had significantly affected their mental state. Beginning the ritual now might shorten how long the summit meeting could last.
Thanks to this situation, Akaba could finally enjoy a proper rest and only arrived at Anbu headquarters around noon.
Since the ritual required considerable space, it wasn't held within Anbu facilities. Instead, they chose the Preparatory Division's training field. Orochimaru had set up his "Snake Formation" here to monitor surrounding areas, and combined with Anbu guards, safety conditions were completely guaranteed.
Unsurprisingly, Akaba arrived last.
When he got there, the Third and Danzo were already in place. A group of people busily constructed a spiritual energy combined barrier—one designed to maximize spiritual energy utilization.
There were numerous participants. It wasn't limited to the Yamanaka alone—the Uchiha, Hyūga, and Yuhi clans had also sent representatives. The vast training ground had become packed beyond belief.
Akaba took a glance. There were at least a thousand ninja present.
And this was even considering that many strong-spiritual-energy ninja remained occupied with war efforts in the Land of River. Without those conflicts, the number would've been much higher.
As he approached, Danzo whispered something to a nearby person before walking over and asking Akaba, "You're fine, right?"
"No problems. My mental state has been tuned to the best condition."
After answering, Akaba paused briefly before asking, "About Sunagakure..."
"Hiruzen and I agree—it'd be better to bring Ebizō into this meeting too. Since Chiyo's matter has already been discovered, we might as well inform Ebizō beforehand," Danzo replied.
"Alright, I'll talk to the elders of the Yumekuma clan."
Akaba nodded.
Then he summoned Little Yumekuma to create a dream and make contact with members of the Yumekuma clan. He didn't summon the two powerful figures directly because doing so would consume far more chakra.
According to Zhi Meng, one of those two great elders was the clan leader of the Yumekuma, and the other was its father—their strength ranked among the strongest in the clan.
But for such a large-scale shared dream involving many people, even those two alone weren't enough.
Among the Yumekuma clan, nearly everyone with special abilities took part in this operation. From that perspective, two days' worth of spiritual energy wasn't excessive at all.
Poor Akaba bore the brunt of it.
Though still young, Zhi Meng's talent was truly remarkable.
With some help from Akaba's power, she successfully pulled everyone on the training field into the grand shared dream created by the Yumekuma clan. But Akaba was different—he had been drawn into a strange dream.
This dream felt completely different.
Akaba could sense it existed somewhere between "reality" and "illusion," a state unlike any dream he had ever encountered before. If he really had to compare,
was it something like the Emerald Dream?
Certainly not that powerful—just slightly similar in nature.
"Little one, you're trying to reach the Kages of Earth, Lightning, and Water, the Anbu Commander of Sunagakure, and the Leader of Amegakure?"
At that moment, a voice spoke out.
Akaba looked down and saw a Yumekuma smaller than Zhi Meng.
Unlike Zhi Meng, however, it appeared very old, its body radiating terrifying spiritual energy. Perhaps precisely because its spiritual energy was too overwhelming, it suppressed physical growth, resulting in its tiny size.
Judging from the aura, this must be one of the two powerful elders from yesterday.
Hmm… its appearance was somewhat unexpected.
"Exactly. Please be extra cautious with Sunagakure—there might be a creature there in a very unusual condition."
Akaba warned.
Black Zetsu has lived an extremely long time and knows far too much—it may already be aware of the Yumekuma clan's existence. If their strength isn't enough, they could easily be discovered, rendering this secrecy pointless.
"The Black Zetsu mentioned in your manga? Fine then, I'll personally handle that side. Also, please use this jutsu formula to help stabilize and maintain the grand dream."
It gestured toward a spot not far away.
Below a distant hill lay a group of Yumekuma who seemed to be asleep.
They weren't truly sleeping—they were dreaming, maintaining the cycle of the grand dream and searching for individuals.
Though powerful, this was the first time the Yumekuma had ever controlled a dream on this scale. Clearly, they were inexperienced and needed Akaba's guidance to become proficient.
Soon enough, figures began to appear within the dream.
"Genjutsu?"
Raikage A lightly frowned.
He was strong, but genjutsu simply wasn't his forte.
However,
the next instant, he saw Onoki, the Third Mizukage, and Hanzo Sanshouo.
"Looks like someone's trying to reach out."
Hanzo softly chuckled, already suspecting who was behind it.
"Danzo, Hiruzen Sarutobi—if you dragged us here without showing yourselves, count me out."
Third Raikage A said impatiently.
"Ahem, don't jump the gun—not everyone's arrived yet."
Hiruzen Sarutobi finally appeared.
If he doesn't show up now, the Raikage's personality might truly leave. Although A isn't skilled in genjutsu, he can still dispel dream-genjutsu.
"The last one, the Third Kazekage?"
Onoki frowned. Although they were both "Thirds," the Third Kazekage was just a brat. Plus, Sunagakure had deep hatred toward Rock ninja. He really didn't feel like sitting down with some brat and chatting.
"No. Ah, here he comes."
Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled as he looked toward a certain direction within the dream.
The next moment, a figure appeared.
Ebizō.
Since this kind of dream communication was new to all of them, Ebizō felt a bit disoriented upon arrival. However, after seeing the people present, he quickly regained his composure.
Danzo hadn't entered from outside.
This type of "Kage"-level discussion required minimal chakra consumption, so fewer people inside was better, while more people outside was preferable.
After confirming everyone had arrived, Hiruzen cleared his throat and said, "I gathered you all this way mainly to avoid being spied on by certain individuals."
"Individuals? Other than our side, who else would have intentions against Konoha?"
A, the Third Raikage sarcastically remarked.
Since Hashirama Senju's time, Konoha had always been seen as a thorn in the eyes of other ninja villages. After the Senju brothers finally died, everyone thought Konoha would weaken—but no, Konoha remained strong.
"Madara and Black Zetsu. Are those two enough?"
Sarutobi lightly smiled, then turned his gaze toward Hanzo. "Hanzo, you previously mentioned encountering Madara, but actually, that wasn't Madara—it was Black Zetsu."
"Black Zetsu?"
Black Zetsu popped into Onoki's mind from the manga, and immediately, he slightly frowned.
Didn't that guy only exist in Manga? Isn't it just fiction?
The others reacted much the same—disbelief etched on their faces. After all, with that Venus flytrap-like plant appearance and split-face look, "Zetsu" definitely didn't seem normal at all.
"Black Zetsu is a special existence. He can manipulate others somehow, and his concealment abilities are extremely strong. Ordinary sensor abilities cannot detect him. Without him, we wouldn't fear Madara so much in Konoha."
Sarutobi explained.
"So there's another person involved. That explains Shamon's case..."
Ebizō gave a bitter smile.
As soon as they understood Black Zetsu's abilities, everything clicked into place.
Although Sunagakure's Anbu detected no intrusions, Shamon still mysteriously disappeared—that must've been Black Zetsu's doing.
"Wait, let me interrupt for a second. Is Madara still alive?"
Even though this was a dream, Sarutobi could feel the Third Raikage's eyes seemingly lighting up. He understood perfectly—A possessed great power and loved challenging strong opponents. If Madara were alive, A might genuinely be delighted.
Thus, Sarutobi dropped another bomb: "Madara has awakened the Rinnegan."
???
All five others simultaneously wore puzzled expressions, full of shock and surprise.
Rinnegan?
Isn't that the eye of the Sage of Six Paths!
Ebizō was under the most pressure—he felt relieved he hadn't acted rashly; otherwise, he might've ended up like Pain, facing destruction head-on.
"We didn't release this information earlier because even we weren't sure what Madara intended to do, and even if we told you, you probably wouldn't believe it. But now—"
Sarutobi happily grinned at Onoki and Ebizō.
The defection of Four-Tails was basically known to all the great ninja villages, though no one openly acknowledged it. But what exactly was going on with Sunagakure?
The other four looked toward Ebizō.
Ebizō smiled bitterly and said, "Our Third Kazekage has been controlled by Madara and has become the Jinchuriki of One-Tail."
Four-Tails, One-Tail—if these were just a coincidence, Hiruzen Sarutobi wouldn't have convened this secret meeting at all. Everyone exchanged glances, feeling an immense pressure weighing on them like a mountain.
Hanzo couldn't shake the feeling of unease.
Though Amegakure didn't host a Tailed Beast, Madara and Black Zetsu were still undermanned—yet there was no telling when they might come for them.
Silence hung in the air for a long moment.
After a long pause, Onoki quietly asked, "Is the head of the Senju still fit for battle?"
"Mito is still capable in battle, but Madara's Rinnegan is extremely powerful."
Hiruzen shared Konoha's intelligence regarding Madara's capabilities. At a time like this, they couldn't afford to mislead others. The more restraint others could place on Madara, the better it would be for Konoha.
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