When word arrived that Konoha had been attacked first by the Sky Ninja Village Remnants and then by Orochimaru, and that the Third Hokage, who had stayed behind to defend the village, had fallen after a fierce battle, the other villages' Kage didn't feel any joy at Konoha's misfortune.
On the contrary, those villages, which had suffered plenty at Konoha's hands in the past, all felt a deep sense of kinship.
Because Konoha wasn't the only one weakened now. Kumogakure, Kirigakure, Sunagakure, and Iwagakure were hardly in any better shape.
The smaller villages, such as Takigakure, Kusagakure, and the Snow Ninja Village, were even more defenseless against the powerful Akatsuki Organization.
Sure enough, what everyone feared soon came to pass.
Kirigakure suffered heavy losses in the attack, and even the Fourth Mizukage, who was hiding outside the village while recovering from his injuries, was defeated and captured by the Akatsuki Organization.
After Konoha, Kirigakure had also suffered a crushing defeat.
Mei Terumi roared, "Damn it! We can't let those bastards from the Akatsuki Organization get away with this!"
Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki shook his head gently. "Mizukage, don't let your emotions cloud your judgment! According to the intelligence, the Akatsuki Organization's purpose in attacking Kirigakure was to force the Fourth Mizukage out. Their goal hasn't changed—it's still the Tailed Beasts!"
Bang.
The Fourth Raikage slammed his fist onto the conference table. "But we can't just sit here and take their attacks!"
At the beginning of the war, the Ninja Village Allied Forces had the initiative, and with intelligence secretly provided by Itachi, they had caught the Akatsuki Organization off guard.
The dozens of bases the Akatsuki Organization had painstakingly established were picked off one by one by the Allied Forces' precise strikes in just a few days.
Unfortunately, the Akatsuki Organization's