Because Yagami participated in the whole process, Ōnoki almost forgot that he was invited by Mizukage to help, but he didn't really contribute to this matter.
Even if the battle situation turned out like this due to the lack of intelligence, it was because they did not consider the importance of proper reconnaissance.
"That's enough, Tsuchikage. Uchiha didn't participate much in this matter. Instead of worrying about who is responsible, let's discuss what to do next! The Akatsuki organization just left Amegakure, and there has been no significant loss as a result."
Terumi Mei stepped forward to smooth things over, admitting to herself that she didn't like this kind of situation.
The main issue was that none of the people she was talking to liked solving problems.
They only shifted responsibility and passed the blame.
She didn't understand what benefit it brought them.
Would it make the enemy disappear or bring the dead back to life?
"There's nothing to talk about. We, the five major countries, have issued a wanted order for the entire ninja world, and we must completely eliminate the Akatsuki organization!"
The Fourth Raikage snorted coldly. The strength of the Akatsuki organization far exceeded his expectations. This was no longer a threat that the temptation of the Rinnegan could offset.
The most important issue was that their target was the Tailed Beasts in each village, and they also aimed to activate a genjutsu over the entire ninja world. Previously, they dismissed this as the Akatsuki's fantasy, but now it seemed they had the strength to carry it out.
No matter how valuable the Rinnegan was, there was a chance it could fall into the wrong hands. Instead of risking another village obtaining it, it would be better to destroy it outright. Then all villages would maintain the status quo.
"That's true, but we all know the strength of the Akatsuki organization.
To be able to defeat them next time, we must figure out some critical details.
First, we need to investigate the detonating tags.
This time, we lost nearly a hundred shinobi.
Eighty percent of the casualties were caused by that serial explosion.
You've also seen the Paper Release ninja among the members of the Akatsuki organization.
We must determine whether the Akatsuki organization can carry out a serial explosion of that scale again."
Sarutobi Shinnosuke said. Although he wasn't the Hokage, he still had a voice in this coalition meeting. After all, this wasn't a situation requiring a single decision-maker. He was summarizing experiences and lessons learned.
The reason he brought this up was that the casualties from Konoha were primarily due to the explosion. All the auxiliary shinobi had been relocated by Raikage for protection, leaving Konoha shinobi unable to save themselves.
"That female ninja's techniques are very peculiar, but it's unrealistic to say that she could create detonating tags on that scale by herself!"
Terumi Mei recalled the battle with Konan.
While there were detonating tags among the flying papers, she didn't seem to use them excessively.
Clearly, Konan's ability to create detonating tags was real, but it wasn't something she could do infinitely. Otherwise, every piece of paper would have been a detonating tag.
Even as Mizukage, Terumi Mei couldn't endure such an attack.
"In other words, the Akatsuki organization has significant financial resources and is extremely wealthy."
Yagami thought of the Orochimaru-Kakuzu duo, whose current whereabouts were unknown.
According to information from Orochimaru, after robbing the Iwagakure and Kumogakure shinobi, the Akatsuki organization suffered losses, leaving behind only Amegakure and five corpses.
Beyond that, their objectives were nearly complete.
Although Iwagakure was poor, Kumogakure was not!
Moreover, with the commercial trade led by the Uchiha, the two villages had recovered to some extent. But now, being targeted by Kakuzu, one could only imagine how furious Ōnoki and A would be upon their return.
"Then put pressure on the bounty club to stop processing the Akatsuki organization's bounties and simultaneously warn the surrounding small countries to prohibit any contact with the Akatsuki organization!" someone suggested.
The economy is the lifeblood of development, and the Kage who controlled their villages understood how to suppress the Akatsuki's growth. Without money, no matter how strong an individual's abilities were, the organization couldn't expand.
"It's feasible to warn the smaller nations, but forget about the bounty club! You can't monitor the bounty club across the entire ninja world. It's impossible to stop them entirely."
Yagami rolled his eyes at the suggestion.
Many of the bounty club's trading points were hidden.
Not to mention, there were countless such trading points scattered throughout the ninja world.
If the Akatsuki organization truly sought them out, what would the bounty club's leaders do? Refuse their business?
Once the results of this battle spread, everyone would know that the coalition forces of the five major villages had suffered losses at the hands of the Akatsuki organization. No one could expect the bounty club to have the courage to oppose the Akatsuki organization outright.
It wouldn't be surprising if the Akatsuki organization chose to simply seize the money from these trading points rather than exchanging bounties.
Hearing this, the Fourth Raikage sat back, frustrated. He understood the difficulty of the situation.
The discussion shifted away from this topic. After deciding on economic sanctions against the Akatsuki organization, the leaders began analyzing Rinnegan's abilities.
Obito, Sasori, and Konan had relatively straightforward abilities, and much information could be gleaned from combat encounters.
The Rinnegan, however, posed the real challenge. According to Yagami's observations, the six individuals wielding the Rinnegan were all clones. The true wielder had yet to reveal himself.
Even so, Ōnoki and the Fourth Raikage were overwhelmed in battle, especially against the powers of the Deva Path. Ōnoki's Dust Release had even been deflected, and the Kage had been knocked back numerous times.
Listening to the intelligence shared by Ōnoki and the Fourth Raikage, Yagami couldn't help but reflect. Although he had not fully unravelled the secrets of Pain's Six Paths, he had uncovered much more than what Jiraiya had sacrificed his life to learn in the original timeline.
With this shared knowledge, Jiraiya's fate might change. Perhaps he wouldn't fall to Nagato in the same way as before. This information could even allow Jiraiya to reason with Nagato and Konan. Without the influence of Naruto's idealism, convincing Nagato to change his mind might still be difficult, but it could have some impact.
…
After brief repairs in each village, the coalition forces disbanded on the spot.
In truth, it was mostly the Kirigakure shinobi who were left repairing. The other villages had only a handful of survivors.
Most of their companions' bodies had been blown to pieces, leaving no remains to recover.
Several days earlier, three teams totalling over a thousand shinobi had entered Amegakure. In the end, only the Kirigakure-led team returned. For the other villages, it felt as if several ninja squads had failed to complete a joint mission. The atmosphere was utterly desolate.
"What! All... all dead?"
Sarutobi Shinnosuke returned to Konoha and immediately reported the outcome of the war. The Third Hokage and the others were stunned, nearly losing their composure.
The coalition's main force included several high-ranking clans. Losing so many Jōnin and Chūnin was devastating for the ninja clans.
"It doesn't mean that everyone is dead! Many members of the perception and medical units survived..."
Sarutobi Shinnosuke explained hesitantly. Despite the Fourth Raikage's domineering nature, he hadn't allowed Konoha shinobi to remain idle in the rear. Apart from those who had stayed behind at their posts, all Konoha shinobi who entered Amegakure had perished—except for Sarutobi Shinnosuke.
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