"Stay at my house? No!"
"Your identity is sensitive now. I need to keep my distance from you."
"After all, your relationship with Konoha is far from friendly."
Tsunade flatly refused Yagyu's proposal. Mei Terumī's face broke into a smile.
"Well~ women are truly heartless!"
"Since you won't let me stay at your house, can you at least buy me a meal?"
"To celebrate Konoha's several decades of existence, let's go have a bowl of longevity noodles!"
"Hmm~ May Konoha Village live long, and may everyone in Konoha Village live long."
Yagyu spoke thoughtfully, causing Tsunade's face to darken.
"You bastard..."
Tsunade looked at Yagyu helplessly. After a moment, she shook her head and took him and Mei Terumī to Ichiraku Ramen.
Yagyu met the legendary Hagoromo Ichiraku here. It was a shame Teuchi was just an ordinary person.
At this time, the Hyūga clan ninja also thoroughly observed Yagyu and his group.
"Aside from Yagyu and the young man named Kisame Hoshigaki, the chakra of the other Kirigakure ninja is clearly abnormal."
"They possess massive and powerful special chakra within them, which appears similar to a Jinchūriki's."
"Kushina Uzumaki, Bī of Kumogakure, Rōshi of Iwagakure—their condition is very similar to that of most of the people from Kirigakure."
An Anbu ninja from the Hyūga clan knelt before Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others, reporting the situation to them.
"Are you kidding me?"
"If they are all Jinchūriki, wouldn't Kirigakure possess six Tailed Beasts?"
"Impossible!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head, saying without hesitation.
"Even if they aren't Jinchūriki, their situation must be taken seriously."
"If you think about it carefully, Konoha is truly very dangerous right now."
"If those six ninja from Kirigakure are all Jinchūriki..."
"That means there are now nine Jinchūriki gathered in Konoha Village!"
"If they start fighting inside Konoha Village, the entire village will be blasted to smithereens!"
Akimichi Tsume pondered for a moment, speaking with great alarm.
Danzō Shimura coldly snorted: "If you ask me, the negotiation location shouldn't have been set in Konoha Village."
"Knowing that Kirigakure might try to sabotage this Chunin Exam, why set the location in Konoha?"
"Hiruzen Sarutobi! If anything happens to Konoha, you, as the person in charge, will bear full responsibility!"
Danzō Shimura spoke without reservation, aiming his criticism directly at Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Now is not the time for internal finger-pointing."
Hiruzen Sarutobi glared at Danzō Shimura with dissatisfaction. That bastard only knows how to cause trouble through internal conflict.
"Communicate properly with the leaders of the three Great Hidden Villages, and we must devise a secure plan to eliminate Yagyu!"
"I believe they must also have made preparations. Joining forces still gives us a considerable chance of winning."
Koharu Utatane spoke up. She and Homura Mitokado were still among Konoha's highest-ranking officials.
...
Just as Konoha's high-ranking officials were discussing taking action against Yagyu, Yagyu had finished his meal at Ichiraku Ramen and returned to the guesthouse with Mei Terumī.
The room door was closed. Yagyu's disciples and subordinates were all gathered here.
Yagyu asked with a smile: "You've all had a look around Konoha, right? Tell me what you've gathered."
Ao spoke: "I am a sensory ninja. I can sense a lot of powerful chakra gathering inside Konoha Village, and there is also a considerable amount of chakra around the guesthouse. It seems Konoha sent them to monitor us."
Yagyu nodded: "Ignore them. They won't launch an attack here."
Zabuza Momochi grinned: "I think they are most likely to strike during the Chunin Exam."
Kisame Hoshigaki shook his head: "Even you can figure that out. Don't you think Konoha Village can figure it out too?"
Mangetsu Hōzuki nodded: "I agree! The Chunin Exam will be when our vigilance is at its highest."
"Konoha probably won't act then. The likelihood of them acting before is high."
Ao frowned: "There are still seven or eight days until the joint Chunin Exam. Does that mean Konoha will act within these seven or eight days?"
Mei Terumī shook her head: "That's too long! Such a long period could easily wear down our vigilance."
Yagyu spoke casually: "You are making the problem too complicated. Who says we can only wait for Konoha to make the first move? We can strike first and gain the advantage!"
"Since the four Great Hidden Villages disrespected us by excluding our Kirigakure and hosting a joint Chunin Exam, we don't need to give them any face either."
Zabuza Momochi asked excitedly: "When do we act?"
Yagyu said with a smile: "Don't rush! It won't be too late to act once the four Great Hidden Villages have finished discussing how to deal with me."
...
The next evening.
After several private meetings, the Konoha higher-ups reached a consensus with the leaders of the three Great Hidden Villages and gathered in the Hokage Tower to discuss how to deal with Yagyu.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, as the Hokage's advisor, was the first to stand up, speaking briefly. That brief speech lasted for over half an hour.
Finally, the meeting moved to the main agenda.
However, before they could begin discussing any serious matters, a dazzling golden light flashed in the distance.
A massive beam of light suddenly appeared. The golden light radiated outwards, making the entire Konoha glow as brightly as day.
The golden-silver light beam pierced the sky, instantly drawing everyone's attention.
Many people quickly put on sunglasses and looked towards the source of the golden light.
"That's Yagyu's ability. What in the world is he doing?"
"Prepare for battle!"
"Quickly contact the Anbu over there!"
"Hurry, go see what's happening!"
The high-ranking officials of the four Great Hidden Villages reacted, immediately dispatching people to investigate the situation.
Meanwhile, far from Konoha Village, a Kirigakure ninja unit was stationed there.
Gensui led the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and a large ninja force, waiting here for the signal from Yagyu.
"Lord Gensui, there's activity in the direction of Konoha!"
A Kirigakure ninja found Gensui and reported loudly.
"Golden light... there's no mistake. This is the signal Yagyu and I agreed upon."
Gensui stared at the golden light in the direction of Konoha for a moment, a brilliant smile appearing on his face.
"All troops advance! Attack Konoha!"