Hokage Office.
Konoha's senior leadership had gathered to discuss how to deal with the Akatsuki Organization.
Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage, sat behind the Hokage's desk, frowning as she read the documents in her hands. Shizune stood beside her, holding Tonton.
In the reception area before the desk, the four Elder advisors—Third, Danzo, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura—as well as Shikaku, Kakashi, Asuma, Hyuga Hiashi, and several other elite Jonin sat or stood, each looking over the documents in their hands.
That was right.
After stepping down as Hokage, the Third had taken up the post of Elder advisor. Jiraiya, meanwhile, had gone to Kumogakure with Naruto and Yakumo, so he wasn't attending the meeting.
The documents in their hands contained the latest intelligence on the Akatsuki Organization, compiled and analyzed by the Intelligence Squad from the information gathered during the recent war.
From its leader, Nagato, and the suspected other leader, "A," down, the report listed more than a dozen Akatsuki members in exhaustive detail. Just reading it made their scalps tingle.
"Haah..."
Mitokado Homura put down the report in his hands and let out a long sigh.
Nagato's faction had fourteen members, including Nagato himself: Konan, the mysterious masked man (Obito), Zetsu, Kakuzu, Hidan, Deidara, Scorpion, Juzo Biwa, Itachi, Hiruko, Ranmaru, Shinnō, and Moryo.
The "A" faction had seven members, including "A": "A," "B," "C," "D," "E," "F," and "G."
Obviously.
Shion, code-named "X"; the biological exoskeleton, code-named "H"; Ryūsetsuna, code-named "J"; and Chiyo, code-named "K," had yet to make any high-profile moves as members of the Akatsuki Organization. Their existence therefore wasn't included in the report.
Even so, the two factions together numbered as many as twenty people!
These weren't ordinary wanted criminals. Even the Five Kage couldn't be certain of defeating the strongest among them, even if