One After Another

"The Fourth Generation."

Qing cried out in grief and indignation, looking at Shitsukura who stood motionless in place, his heart filled with immense depression.

Shitsukura stood frozen in place, a strange smile on his face, like a puppet.

At this time.

Only then did everyone realize that something was wrong.

Qing was the first to notice; Byakugan's insight was exceptional, and he instantly sensed the strange aura emanating from Shitsukura's body.

I had tried to look at it with Byakugan before, but to no avail.

White, gelatinous substance suddenly grew out of Shitsukura's body. Six White Zetsu wrapped around Shitsukura's body, gave Mei Terumi and the others a strange smile, and then sank directly into the building with Shitsukura.

"Boiling Release, Art of the Boiling Mist"

Mei Terumi reacted extremely quickly.

The White Zetsu made their move the instant they sank with their Shitsukura.

The grayish-white acid mist surged out rapidly, instantly corroding and melting the rooftop. The hard bricks and stones were as utterly defenseless as a soft cake.

Every inch of space shrouded in acid mist was completely empty.

"Qing, where did he go?"

Mei Terumi stomped her foot in frustration, her eyebrows furrowing with anger as she looked at the large hole corroded by the acid mist.

"I don't know, I can't see him. The Fourth Hokage is gone, he just vanished without a trace." Despite the freezing weather, Qing's forehead was covered in sweat.

This was the first time he had failed since he received the Byakugan.

"Gone?"

Mei Terumi frowned deeply.

"How could it possibly disappear? I've never heard of any method in the Shinobi World that could deceive the Byakugan! Space-Time Ninjutsu?"

Snowflakes fell from the sky.

The sounds of fighting in Kirigakure gradually subsided.

"Heh heh, so this is the Three-Tails Jinchuriki! I thought he was some kind of powerful guy, but he's just a kid!"

Hidan, with his slicked-back hair and three large scythes behind him, looked mockingly at Shitsukura lying on the ground.

The cave was pitch black, so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face, but there were colorful thought-forms standing on the outstretched fingers of the giant golem.

The only physical entity that exists is the pitcher plant-shaped creature.

"The Fourth Mizukage isn't a child, he's just short." Kisame- like face, chuckled as he defended himself.

However, his explanation sounded more like an insult, at least Deidara chuckled.

"Alright, enough talk, let's get started."

Senju Zen interrupted the pointless chatter, saying that time was of the essence and they needed to collect as many Tailed Beast as possible before the Five Great Ninja Villages came to their senses.

However, whenever the Five-Tails and Nine-Tails are mentioned, one cannot help but bring up that extremely unpleasant fellow.

In particular, some of the things that guy said made him extremely irritated. He even tried to discuss it with Black Zetsu, but to no avail.

"The Three-Tails is here, Kisame is in charge of the Four-Tails, but what about the Five-Tails?"

Unfortunately, Deidara, being so outspoken, threw out the difficult question directly.

The capture of the Tailed Beast was a division of labor: the One-Tail was Deidara's spoils, Hidan did a lot of work on the Two-Tails, the Three-Tails was brought over by Zetsu, and the Four-Tails was also scheduled to be handled by Kisame, but as for the Five-Tails, everyone remained silent.

Senju Zen, Uchiha Genso, Zetsu, Kakuzu, Hidan, Deidara, Kisame Hoshigaki —these seven are the core members of the Akatsuki Organization today.

All seven are experts, each possessing unique skills.

However, when it comes to the Konoha Disaster, even the current number one Shinobi World is somewhat intimidated. A person's reputation precedes them; if someone is called number one, how can they not have some real skills?

The experts present were all proud and arrogant, but that didn't mean they looked down on everyone.

An old ghost like Kakuzu, who has lived for eighty-eight years, is most adept at assessing the situation and knows very well what kind of opponent he should not provoke.

"I'll handle the Five-Tails and Nine-Tails matters personally. You all just focus on your own tasks." Senju Zen had to break the awkward atmosphere again, glaring fiercely at Deidara before saying, "Begin the sealing of the Three-Tails now."

"Has Iwagakure also been targeted?"

Orochimaru looked at the information in the document and laughed.

The Sand Village, Cloud Ninja, Stone Ninja all suffered misfortune one after another, losing their respective Jinchuriki.

The Sunagakure was devastated by bombing, and the Third Kazekage was nearly driven mad with rage. After discovering that the perpetrators were missing-nin ninja from the Iwagakure, he almost mustered his forces and headed north to wage war against the Stone Ninja.

Fortunately, before the Third Kazekage could send troops, news arrived that the Cloud Ninja had also suffered a terrible fate. Not two months after the Third Raikage's death, the Two-Tails Jinchuriki had also been kidnapped.

Immediately, they sensed something unusual.

It would be normal if only the Sand Ninja were tricked, but it's unacceptable that the Cloud Ninja also suffered, especially since the guy who made the move in the Land of Lightning and the Stone Ninja missing-nin who appeared in Sunagakure were not the same person, yet they were wearing the same style of robes.

After much deliberation, the Third Kazekage chose to remain still and observe the political climate first.

Then, not long after, they heard that Iwagakure Stone Ninja caught off guard by a massive flood. Damn it, the Land of Earth, like the Land of Wind, is a water-scarce place.

The villagers of Iwagakure hadn't seen such a large flood in decades.

The Four-Tails Jinchuriki, Roshi, was lured away from the village. When the Stone Ninja reinforcements arrived, they found only a devastated battlefield, and Roshi had disappeared.

"The Four-Tails has been captured, now it's the Five-Tails' turn!"

After laughing at the misfortunes of others, Orochimaru began to ponder his own problems.

"Kuyue, does your teacher know about this news?"

Orochimaru asked Kuyue, who was standing in front of the table, with a friendly expression.

"A copy has already been sent to the teacher."

"Kuyue, keep an eye out lately, Senju Zen and Uchiha Genso are probably coming to the village!"

Orochimaru clicked his tongue, pondering what to do about this.

Most importantly, Katsuki's attitude was very strange. After returning from the Land of Lightning, he made a special trip to the Uzumaki Clan and chatted with Katsuki for a whole afternoon.

"Katsuki- kun, are you really going to let those guys get away with this?"

Orochimaru stared blankly at the white ceiling, lost in thought. Outside the window, the cold wind howled, and snowflakes the size of a baby's palm danced in the air.

Katsuki made it very clear that his target was Madara Uchiha, and he would not rest until he completely eliminated Madara Uchiha, even if it meant sacrificing the Five-Tails and the Nine-Tails.

Upon seeing this, Kuyue bowed slightly and then quietly withdrew.

After leaving the Hokage Building, Kuyue strolled leisurely on the rooftop, leaving a trail of shallow footprints behind her, which were quickly swallowed up by the falling snowflakes.

She had already received instructions from her teacher regarding the matter of Senju Zen and Uchiha Genso; she didn't need to concern herself with it. Even if she discovered Senju Zen and Uchiha Genso, she shouldn't act rashly, but simply inform her teacher.

She preferred to obey her teacher's instructions rather than the Lord Hokage's.

"Huh? Have we got guests?"

Kuyue squinted, gazing towards the direction of the village's main entrance.

An unusual aura wafted through the wind and snow.

She couldn't manipulate celestial phenomena or control the appearance and disappearance of frost and snow, but she could still manage to extend the reach of her senses using the wind and snow. (To be continued)