Returning to the Village
Konoha, Hokage's Office.
That's the gist of the matter.
Sakura Haruno, the young girl, stood with her hands on her Tsunade and said calmly.
"So..." The blonde woman sat at her desk, looking at the two people in front of her with a serious expression, and asked, "The Seven-Tails was ultimately taken by Akatsuki?"
The atmosphere was a bit oppressive.
Having served as Tsunade for so many years, Hokage's authority has grown. Just by lowering her voice and narrowing her eyes, she exudes a sense of impending doom, sending chills down one's spine.
"Yes," Sakura replied, nodding regretfully and admitting with a sigh of relief, "I'm sorry, our mission failed."
She secretly glanced back at Sasuke beside her.
The look in his eyes seemed to imply that it was all Sasuke.
It's not that she's shirking responsibility; it's the truth—if it weren't for protecting the injured and unconscious Sasuke, Akatsuki would never have been able to snatch the Seven-Tails right under her nose.
The taste of failure in her first major mission was fresh and bitter, something Sakura would savor for a while; especially when she thought she was powerful enough to change many things, reality slapped her in the face first.
Therefore, it's inevitable to have this thought: sometimes when a mission fails, you always feel it's because your teammates weren't good enough...
--This is exactly the same thought I had when I was struggling in a low-level game in my past life.
Sasuke noticed the girl's movement. He was standing slightly behind and to the side of Sakura. He turned his head slightly and gave her a nonchalant Byakugan roll in return.
"If I hadn't held Uchiha Itachi back, you wouldn't have been able to defeat Akatsuki!" That was probably the meaning behind his eyes.
His expression remained calm and composed.
The brief interaction between the two did not escape Tsunade's notice. She smiled, her solemn expression instantly dissipating, and said with a laugh, "Alright, no need to apologize. I didn't mean to blame you! Success is certainly the goal of a mission, but if success requires sacrificing teammates, then how to carry out this mission becomes a matter worth considering."
The blonde woman paused for a moment, then continued, "Regarding this mission alone, facing the Akatsuki duo, especially the combination of Uchiha Itachi and Kisame Hoshigaki, without any preparation, and escaping unscathed is already a success. I'm afraid even if I or Jiraiya had personally gone, we probably wouldn't have been able to protect the Seven-Tails... So you don't need to hold a grudge."
"Moreover, you also killed Kisame Hoshigaki. I estimate that even for an organization like Akatsuki, the loss of a 'Tailless Tailed Beast' is a serious loss, and it should greatly dampen their increasingly unbridled arrogance."
The Fifth Hokage praised it as authentic.
"If capturing a Tailed Beast comes at the cost of losing another," the Third Hokage interjected, chuckling, "Even Akatsuki couldn't afford that price, could they?"
The Third's hearty smile immediately eased the tension.
"As for the Seven-Tails..." Tsunade frowned at this point and exchanged a glance with the Third Hokage.
"I'll write a letter to Takigakure to explain things to them; I don't think they'll have any objections." The blonde woman waved her hand. "The key lies with Akatsuki... We still don't know why Akatsuki is collecting the Tailed Beast, let alone what will happen to the situation once the Seven-Tails is in their hands."
"Of course, whatever they intend to do—whether it's using powerful Genjutsu to manipulate the Tailed Beast as weapons, sealing them into their own bodies to become new Jinchūriki, or some other unknown and more sophisticated method—it's clear that the more Jinchūriki they obtain, the more Akatsuki's strength will increase, and conversely, the more our strength and that of other countries will weaken..."
"In short, I don't intend to cover this up. On the contrary, I want the other four countries to know immediately that Akatsuki has taken the Seven-Tails from us! Although this will cause us to lose face internationally, we can't worry about that now. We must let those stubborn old fogies know how dangerous Akatsuki is!"
The Fifth Hokage said calmly.
They openly stole the Jinchuriki of the Tailed Beast from Konoha, and even managed to send two Kage-level wielders at once! With these facts laid bare, other countries have no choice but to be wary!
Sakura Haruno added, "Yes, and I now suspect that we actually underestimated the danger of Akatsuki... If the Akatsuki members aren't stupid, they should know that this act of collecting Tailed Beast would arouse the fear and even hostility of all the countries on the continent, and even lead to their joint annihilation by the Five Great Nations. So the question is, why do they dare to openly attack the Tailed Beast? And not just one or two, but all of Tailed Beast!"
Just like in the previous world, Akatsuki's act of capturing Jinchūriki is akin to a terrorist organization acquiring nuclear weapons... This will inevitably cause a huge uproar among the Five Great Powers. If that organization also intends to seize all the nuclear arsenals of the Five Great Nations, then it will surely provoke a worldwide war of attrition!
Even the most foolish organization wouldn't, or wouldn't dare, do such a thing.
Unless--
"Unless," the girl coldly voiced her suspicion, "They have the confidence to stand against the entire world."
This possibility immediately moved everyone present.
Tsunade rubbed her temples, looking troubled, and said, "Even if they gathered all Nine Tailed Beasts, and even if Akatsuki had ten or fifteen Kage-level ninjas, that kind of strength might seem impressive, but using it to fight the entire world is just wishful thinking!"
"Either Akatsuki really has that ability..." Sakura said in a heavy tone.
Before Shippuden, Genin, but after Shippuden, their fighting power has inflated so dramatically? Sakura Haruno found it hard to believe. But Akatsuki's fearless actions were truly chilling.
"Or perhaps it's like this?" Sasuke interjected, breaking the tense atmosphere in the office. "For example, they might think that after collecting a large number of Tailed Beast, they can use their strength to make the Five Great Nations, thus gaining a status equal to them! After all, they possess the power to overpower a great nation, and the cooperation between the Five Great Nations is unlikely to be seamless; on the contrary, there are many contradictions. Therefore, it has aroused hostility from all over the world, and we might also be divided and split up by Akatsuki, eventually being defeated one by one, and forced to compromise with Akatsuki!"
Tsunade her head.
"Sasuke, you're overestimating the Kage of different countries. I've dealt with the Tsuchikage, Raikage, and even the Kazekage; I know what kind of people they are... Your possibility is the only one, but the probability is quite high!"
The Third Hokage nodded in agreement. "Tsunade is right. Sasuke, you must believe that in the face of such an enemy, the Five Great Nations have the courage to put aside their animosity and fight side by side!"
Sakura Haruno shrugged, indicating that she neither agreed nor disagreed.
Humans have both flaws and merits. Since these two seasoned veterans—whose ages already exceed the combined age of her two lifetimes—have expressed this view, she has nothing good to offer.
Sasuke opened his mouth, wanting to hold on a little longer, but unsure of what to do, he hesitated for a moment.
Seeing this, Tsunade simply waved her hand, silencing Sasuke's words. "That's it! Go back and write up the mission summary report, then hand it in to me."
"Mission report?" The two young ninjas below the stage widened their eyes, exchanged a glance, and then simultaneously turned their gaze back to Tsunade.
"Ahem, that's right. Starting this month, everyone has to write." Tsunade twirled her pen lightly, ignoring the horrified looks on her two subordinates' faces. "No writing, no mission pay!"
"By the way, this mission is recorded as an S-rank, so the report needs to be at least 3,000 words. That's all, you can leave now."
"Sakura, stay here for a moment."