"Akatsuki. It was an organization in the Land of Rain that I came across while tracking Uchiha Nobuhiko."
Watching Minato Namikaze return to the Hokage's Office, Chiba pursed his lips and reported.
"Akatsuki?"
Hearing Chiba's words, Minato Namikaze frowned slightly, as if something had occurred to him. "You mean that fairly powerful organization from the Land of Rain during this war? But as I recall, it was already destroyed."
Minato Namikaze knew about Akatsuki?
Chiba was taken aback by Minato Namikaze's words.
Based on what he knew from the original story, Akatsuki was first mentioned after the Third Hokage's death, during the part where Itachi returned to the village. At the time, Chiba had not thought many people knew of the organization before that.
But now, Minato Namikaze had immediately thought of Akatsuki and even stated its fate. Clearly, Minato Namikaze knew of the organization, and it had left a deep impression on him.
What was going on?
It was an organization born in a small country. It had never spread onto the battlefields of the great nations, only stabilized the war within its own country. Even after turning dark, it was keeping a low profile and remained largely unknown. Why, then, would the supreme leader of a major shinobi village like Minato Namikaze know about it?
No! At the time, Minato Namikaze had not yet become Hokage. He was merely a highly valued Elite Jonin.
Even he knew...
What exactly was going on?
After recovering from his surprise, Chiba's brow furrowed slightly as doubts flooded his mind.
"Teacher Minato, do you know this organization, Akatsuki?"
With that thought, Chiba voiced his doubts directly.
"Yes. The Third Hokage once sent me to investigate the organization. It was quite powerful, but it was determined at the time that it posed no