Chapter 261: Obito’s Target

Chapter 261: Chapter 261: Obito’s Target

Danzo had originally hoped that by representing Konoha at this Five Kage Summit, he could use Konoha’s status as the foremost of the Five Great Shinobi Villages to rally the other four villages into jointly suppressing Kamigami and the Akatsuki.

At the same time, he intended to secure a leadership role in the operation, gaining tremendous prestige and taking a solid first step toward eventually replacing the Third Hokage.

However, the Raikage’s blunt questioning suddenly made Danzo realize something.

Within Konoha, he might be the Advisor Elder who stood beneath only one man and above countless others, as well as the leader of Root.

But in the shinobi world—

Here, at the Five Kage Summit—

Without the title of Hokage, he was nothing.

At that moment, Danzo desperately wished that he was the one wearing the Hokage’s robes.

That he was the one who could speak on behalf of Konoha.

An uncontrollable ambition began blazing fiercely within his heart!

Forcing those thoughts down for the moment, Danzo calmly settled back into his seat.

"If you all wish to turn this Five Kage Summit into some absurd farce, then by all means, continue."

The Fourth Raikage also understood the consequences of starting a fight at the Five Kage Summit. With a heavy snort, he forcibly suppressed his anger and deactivated his Lightning Release Chakra Mode.

Seeing this, the Third Tsuchikage slowly descended from the air and returned to his chair, though his expression remained rather unpleasant.

Once everyone had taken their seats again, the Raikage scattered several documents across the conference table.

"Take a look for yourselves. Kamigami is filled with Kekkei Genkai rogue ninja from your villages."

The Fourth Kazekage glanced over the documents and immediately said, "That’s absolutely impossible! Aside from myself, there are no other ninja in Sunagakure who possess the Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai, much less a Magnet Style ninja who defected and became a rogue ninja!"

The Third Tsuchikage sneered. "Perhaps this Magnet Style ninja in Kamigami is none other than your village’s missing Third Kazekage."

After reading through the documents, the Third Tsuchikage was brimming with confidence.

After all, the Kekkei Genkai ninja within Kamigami either possessed Kirigakure’s Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, Konoha’s Mangekyo Sharingan, or Sunagakure’s Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai.

None of them had a damn thing to do with Iwagakure.

The Fourth Kazekage said with killing intent in his voice, "Lord Tsuchikage, I hope you understand exactly what you’re saying."

Chiyo, the Sunagakure elder accompanying the Fourth Kazekage to the Five Kage Summit, said, "It has already been confirmed that our Third Kazekage was killed. The culprit was my grandson, who strayed down an evil path. So I would ask Lord Tsuchikage not to make baseless claims."

In truth, Sunagakure had long since concluded internally that the Third Kazekage was dead.

Otherwise, they would never have selected a Fourth Kazekage.

They had continued publicly claiming that the Third Kazekage was merely missing and that his fate remained unknown solely to preserve the village’s reputation.

However, during the recent fierce battle against the Akatsuki, Sasori had personally admitted to killing the Third Kazekage.

There was no longer any way to keep the truth hidden, so Chiyo had no choice but to announce the matter on Sunagakure’s behalf.

After remaining silent for a long while, Yagura Karatachi—the Three-Tails jinchuriki who had only recently succeeded the Fourth Mizukage—finally spoke.

"Kirigakure no longer has any Ice Release Kekkei Genkai ninja. This Ice Style ninja from Kamigami most likely left Kirigakure before the turmoil in the village began. Moreover, we have never even heard of an Ice Style ninja possessing this level of strength."

The Raikage said in displeasure, "Every last one of you only knows how to shirk responsibility!"

Danzo chose the perfect moment to speak.

"I’m sure everyone here already understands the threat posed by Kamigami and the Akatsuki. Kamigami in particular is very likely to target the Tailed Beasts next. We must eliminate them as soon as possible!"

The Tailed Beasts were undoubtedly a matter that touched the nerves of every major shinobi village.

Having personally experienced the threat posed by Kamigami, the Fourth Raikage was the first to voice his agreement.

"I agree!"

The young Fourth Mizukage was himself a jinchuriki, so he did not hesitate either.

"I agree!"

After exchanging a glance with Chiyo beside him, the Fourth Kazekage also said, "I agree!"

Seeing that the outcome had already been decided, the Third Tsuchikage nodded as well.

"I have no objections."

Once all Five Great Shinobi Villages unanimously agreed to jointly suppress Kamigami and the Akatsuki, Danzo and the Four Kage immediately began discussing the specific details of the campaign against the two groups.

However, the Third Shinobi World War had only ended a short while ago.

The divisions and grudges between the Five Great Shinobi Villages simply ran too deep.

Furthermore, unlike in the original timeline, there was no one at this Five Kage Summit declaring war against all Five Great Shinobi Villages.

As a result, Danzo’s proposal to establish a joint suppression force was immediately rejected by every village.

Both furious and helpless, Danzo could only say, "One day, all of you will regret the foolish decision you’ve made today!"

The Four Kage exchanged glances with one another, but not a single one of them was willing to budge.

In the end, the summit reached a compromise.

Each of the Five Great Shinobi Villages would be responsible for suppressing Kamigami and the Akatsuki within the borders of its own country, while all five villages would share intelligence concerning the two groups.

Outside Yokosuka City.

Obito stood silently atop the crown of a large tree, his expression indifferent as he gazed toward Yokosuka City in the distance.

At that moment, Zetsu’s figure emerged from the tree trunk.

"It seems the Five Kage Summit has already ended."

"So soon..." Obito was somewhat surprised before asking, "What did they discuss?"

Zetsu gave an awkward chuckle. "There are too many sensory ninja inside Yokosuka City. I couldn’t get anywhere near them."

Obito asked again, "When are they returning?"

Zetsu replied, "They’ve already begun their return journeys. The Raikage was the fastest to leave—he’s no longer inside Yokosuka City."

Obito nodded and fell into thought.

If he wanted to launch a surprise attack against one of the Kage, ambushing them during their return journey was undoubtedly the best opportunity.

The Fourth Raikage and the Third Tsuchikage were immediately ruled out.

Those two Kage were simply too powerful. The slightest mistake could result in Obito being defeated by them instead.

Therefore, Obito narrowed his targets down to two people—

The Fourth Kazekage and the Fourth Mizukage.

As for Danzo, Obito couldn’t even be bothered to deal with him.

Besides, keeping an ambitious man like Danzo alive would actually help intensify the internal conflicts within Konoha, dragging the powerful village into infighting.

After pondering for a moment, Obito asked, "Who are the Fourth Kazekage’s guards?"

Zetsu thought back for a moment before answering, "Sunagakure elder Chiyo and Sunagakure ANBU Captain Pakura."

"Neither of those two will be easy to deal with!" After a brief pause, Obito asked, "Then who are the Fourth Mizukage’s guards?"

The Fourth Kazekage had attempted several times to eliminate Pakura, the Scorch Release Kekkei Genkai ninja who threatened his position as Kazekage.

The first time, an urgent request for aid from the Priestess of the Land of Demons forced him to temporarily abandon the idea. Instead, he dispatched Pakura to the Land of Demons to assist the Priestess in dealing with the demon Mōryō, which was wreaking havoc across the shinobi world.

The second time, he had already finished arranging the purge and was just about to put his plan into action when the Dragon Vein was suddenly stolen, forcing him to shelve it once again.

The third time was only recently.

He had finally made up his mind that, no matter what, Pakura had to be eliminated.

But by sheer coincidence, the suppression force Sunagakure had just assembled encountered several members of the Akatsuki, including Sasori. After a fierce battle, Sunagakure’s elite forces suffered devastating casualties, forcing the Fourth Kazekage to once again postpone his purge of Pakura.

Thus, Pakura of the Scorch Style—who had been eliminated by the Fourth Kazekage in the original timeline—was still very much alive.

And what the Fourth Kazekage probably never expected was that precisely because Pakura was still alive...

She had inadvertently saved his life.