The meeting room fell into silence.
Once again, the debate among the five leaders had ended in a deadlock.
The main reason? The Fourth Raikage refused to accept Tsunade as the commander-in-chief.
In truth, he wanted the position for himself.
But neither Onoki nor Terumi Mei supported that idea.
Everyone knew how short-tempered the Fourth Raikage was. Entrusting their forces to him felt like handing them over to someone who might throw them into battle recklessly, acting purely on impulse.
A leader who couldn't control his emotions? Absolutely not.
With no agreement in sight, the discussion stalled.
---
Kakashi, observing from the sidelines, let out a quiet sigh and muttered, "Yeah… I figured this wouldn't be easy. This is going nowhere."
Beside him, Sakiya watched with sparkling eyes, casually licking a lollipop.
"Oh~ being Hokage doesn't sound so bad. Maybe I should be Hokage too."
Kakashi twitched.
For some reason, an unsettling vision popped into his mind—Konoha under Hokage Sakiya.
A time of absolute chaos.
Children running around with bizarre self-given titles.
Ninjas leaving on missions, shouting absurd declarations:
"In the name of the Almighty Hokage! With the power of the Eye of Death! We shall complete this mission!"
And when all hope seemed lost, when enemies pressed in—
A sudden shift in the sky.
Sakiya, Hokage of Konoha, descended dramatically, stepping down from an intricate glowing pattern in the air.
Behind her, the Konoha forces stood in awe.
With a lollipop in her mouth, her cloak billowed in the wind.
"Do not fear! For I, the Sixth Hokage, am here!"
She pulled the lollipop from her mouth and pointed it at the enemy with a dramatic flair.
"Now… Taste my secret technique!"
In a blink, she reached into her pocket and flung a lollipop straight at the enemy.
Smack.
The candy struck.
Enemies collapsed instantly, one after another, defeated by the sheer absurdity of the attack.
Only one opponent remained.
His eyes widened in horror as he gasped out his final words:
"L-lollipop… is… poison…"
And then—he was gone.
Sakiya, having just saved the Konoha ninja and wiped out the enemy, struck a bizarre and triumphant pose, a proud grin on her face.
The surrounding Konoha ninja watched in admiration.
"Hokage-sama! The strongest, without a doubt!"
---
Kakashi shook his head, pushing away the ridiculous thought that had just taken over his mind.
"What the hell am I thinking? Could it be…?"
He cast a sideways glance at Sakiya.
"Is this kind of absurdity contagious?"
Squelch.
Sakiya pulled the lollipop from her mouth with a pop.
Kakashi narrowed his eyes.
"What's the matter, you scheming little troublemaker?"
Sakiya grinned.
"Nothing," he muttered. "Just wondering… You're not worried about eating sweets in the middle of all this?"
Sakiya tilted her head, pretending to think, then flashed an impish smile.
"Not at all! I have a special candy-eating technique."
-----
Danzo, deep within Konoha, was already mobilizing his forces in a hurry.
The reason? Itachi's intelligence report.
The message was clear.
The Akatsuki were about to attack Konoha.
And the one leading the assault?
Not an army.
Not a squad.
Just one man.
Pain.
The so-called God of the Akatsuki.
The details that followed contained everything they knew about him.
-------
Pain.
A name that carried the weight of destruction.
A man with the legendary eyes of the Sage of Six Paths—Rinnegan.
Konoha's Assessment of Pain
Combat Power Evaluation:
With the eyes of the Sage, he holds power capable of destroying an entire nation.
Based on current intelligence, Konoha's forces will struggle to resist.
Known Abilities:
Pain operates through six bodies, collectively known as the Six Paths of Pain.
The most powerful among them is the Deva Path.
Deva Path Abilities:
1. Repulsive Force: A technique that unleashes a massive repelling force, deflecting nearly all attacks, including ninjutsu.
2. Attractive Force: The ability to pull objects, people, or even large-scale attacks toward itself before hurling them back at the enemy.
The abilities of the other Paths are still unknown, but the power of the Deva Path alone is devastating.
---
Itachi's intelligence report emphasized one thing repeatedly—Konoha cannot afford to underestimate this enemy.
Danzo understood the weight of the situation. This was not a battle Konoha could afford to lose. If he mishandled it, there would be no village left to fight over.
But he was not one to act without calculation.
He immediately mobilized all Root operatives for defense. He also summoned Konoha's two senior advisors, the head of the ANBU, and the leaders of various shinobi divisions.
A clear message was given—Konoha was about to face a catastrophic assault, and the enemy would arrive tomorrow.
His uncharacteristic urgency made the two senior advisors, Homura and Koharu, suspicious.
He had a plan.
He would not send Root forces into battle first. Instead, he would allow Konoha's main forces—the ANBU under Tsunade's command—to engage Pain.
Once both sides had exhausted their strength, Root would step in to "save" Konoha.
With Tsunade's forces weakened and the village in disarray, his influence would reach new heights.
And when the dust settled, becoming Hokage would be within his grasp.
---
Koharu narrowed her eyes at Danzo.
"Danzo, are you sure you've informed Tsunade?"
He remained calm, his voice level.
"Whether she is informed or not doesn't matter. She won't make it back in time."
This answer did not sit well with the advisors.
"Tsunade must be informed about what is happening to Konoha!" Koharu snapped.
Without waiting for a response, she turned to an ANBU operative.
"Contact her immediately!"
------
Danzo remained unmoved.
Itachi's intelligence had also included reports of Akatsuki planning attacks on the villages in the Land of Water and the Land of Lightning.
But Danzo had no intention of sharing this information with Tsunade or the other leaders.
The hidden villages had always been rivals. If another village weakened, it only benefited Konoha.
In truth, if Pain wasn't coming to destroy Konoha, Danzo wouldn't have gotten involved at all.
Now, Konoha was on high alert.
Ambushes were set. Defenses were reinforced.
All in preparation for the battle that would come tomorrow.
---
Far away in the Land of Iron, Tsunade found herself in yet another round of arguments.
But suddenly, beside her, a summoning formation appeared.
A small slug materialized on the table in front of her.
Her expression tightened.
This was the emergency communication method she had given to the ANBU.
If it was being used, something serious had happened.
The room fell silent.
Tsunade picked up the slug, bowed slightly to the other leaders, and excused herself.
"Apologies, I need to step out."
She moved to a quiet room, setting up a barrier to prevent anyone from listening in.
Only then did she signal for the message to begin.
The slug repeated ANBU's words.
With each passing second, Tsunade's expression grew darker.
By the time the message was over, her hands were clenched into fists.
She returned to the meeting room, her face cold and grim.
"Everyone, there's an emergency. I have to leave immediately and return to Konoha."
________
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