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"Back so soon?" Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at the two of them, clearly surprised.

Uchiha Akira said in a deep voice, "The situation took an unexpected turn. We felt this matter could not be delayed and had to be reported immediately."

"An unexpected turn?" A look of gravity crossed Sarutobi Hiruzen's face.

A sense of foreboding rose in Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart, leaving him feeling unsettled.

He scanned the two for a moment, realized something, and asked in a low voice, "Did Yamanaka Shigeyoshi and Aburame Shigang sacrifice themselves?"

"The enemy was powerful; Yamanaka Shigeyoshi sacrificed himself heroically during the battle," Uchiha Akira replied solemnly.

"Sigh... what a pity." Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed, then asked, "And what of Aburame Shigang? Why is he not with you?"

Uchiha Akira replied calmly, "Lord Hokage, Aburame Shigang may have been a spy for the enemy nation. After I engaged the enemy, he attempted a sneak attack on me, failed, and took his own life on the spot."

Even if he said the man was one of Danzo's, it would be useless without definitive proof.

Therefore, this was the only way to phrase it for now.

It was not yet the time to deal with Danzo.

"What?" Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression went blank for a moment; for a second, he almost thought he had misheard.

He quickly regained his composure and turned to look at Hyuga Kaoru. "Jonin Kaoru, is it truly as Jonin Ming says?"

"Lord Hokage." Hyuga Kaoru bowed respectfully, her voice serious. "It is just as Jonin Ming said. After Aburame Shigang failed his sneak attack on Jonin Ming, he took his own life on the spot."

"Hmph... damn that Danzo..." Sarutobi Hiruzen exhaled, his face looking unsightly. He didn't need to think twice to know it must have been Danzo's order.

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Uchiha Akira with deep apology. "Ming, I am truly sorry about what happened to Aburame Shigang. It was my failure as Hokage to misjudge a person. I am just glad you are safe."

"Lord Hokage, there is no need to blame yourself. Who could have guessed that someone from the Aburame Clan would defect to an enemy nation and become a spy?" Uchiha Akira said calmly.

"Indeed... I will have the head of the Aburame Clan pay closer attention to this matter..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen picked up his pipe, took a sharp drag, and exhaled forcefully, as if venting all the irritation within him.

Then, Uchiha Akira and Hyuga Kaoru exchanged a glance, and each produced a scroll, placing them on the table. They spoke in unison:

"Lord Hokage, these are the specific details of the mission. You will understand what happened once you read them."

"Very well, let me see what exactly transpired during this mission."

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded, then unfolded the scroll Hyuga Kaoru had handed over and began to read carefully.

As he read, Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression froze, his eyes filled with profound shock, as if he had seen something impossible.

"Rinnegan..." Sarutobi Hiruzen muttered, his aged face showing signs of unease.

He soon set aside Hyuga Kaoru's scroll and unfolded the one from Uchiha Akira.

"The abilities of the Rinnegan are different? The previous one had summoning abilities, while this one possesses repulsion and attraction..." Sarutobi Hiruzen brows knitted together as he scanned the text.

"Repulsion, attraction, and the ability to summon an incredibly massive, unknown Summoning Beast... capable of withstanding a barrage of lightning strikes from several kilometers away..." The more he read, the heavier Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart sank.

"Uchiha Madara!?" Upon seeing the content regarding the person claiming to be Uchiha Madara, Sarutobi Hiruzen shuddered, nearly falling back into his Hokage chair.

"He truly claimed to be Uchiha Madara?" Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression was deadly serious as he stared unblinkingly at Uchiha Akira.

"He did indeed claim to be Uchiha Madara," Uchiha Akira nodded calmly. "I suspect he possesses space-time abilities; both his arrival and departure were extremely sudden."

"Space-time abilities... does Uchiha Madara possess such power?" Sarutobi Hiruzen muttered, his face clouded with deep confusion.

He then continued to browse the mission scroll.

The beginning contained the mission report, while the latter part held Uchiha Akira's intelligence analysis of the enemy's abilities.

"Rinnegan repulsion is extremely strong, five-second interval; attraction interval unknown; combat experience minimal; estimated age is young... suspected to be a puppet rather than the original body..." Sarutobi Hiruzen recited the contents of the scroll, his face heavy with concern.

After a long moment of furrowed-brow contemplation, Sarutobi Hiruzen knocked heavily on his desk.

With a few swish sounds, three masked Anbu appeared, kneeling before the Hokage's desk.

"Go notify the advisors, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Minato, and the heads of every ninja clan. Tell them to drop what they are doing and assemble in the third-floor conference room within an hour," Sarutobi Hiruzen ordered in a deep voice.

"Yes, Lord Hokage." As the words fell, the three vanished instantly.

"Jonin Ming, Jonin Kaoru, you will also join the meeting shortly," Sarutobi Hiruzen said, looking at the two.

Half an hour later, the conference room in the Hokage Building was filled with the most important figures of Konoha.

Once everyone was seated, Sarutobi Hiruzen took out the copied scrolls and passed them to those present.

He scanned the room and said in a deep voice, "This is intelligence just collected from the Land of Rain. Everyone, take a look."

"Land of Rain..." Hearing Sarutobi Hiruzen's words, Jiraiya felt a stir in his heart, thinking of his three disciples. I wonder how Yahiko and the others are doing now? Surely, with them there, the situation in the Land of Rain must have improved significantly.

Lost in thought, Jiraiya unfolded the scroll and began to read carefully.

One look was enough to strike Jiraiya like a bolt of lightning, leaving him frozen in place.

He frantically spread the scroll, his eyes filled with profound disbelief, as if he had seen something impossible.

Jiraiya could not believe the contents of the scroll were true. His face was a mask of shock as he muttered, "Impossible... this is impossible..."

Orochimaru and Minato Namikaze, sitting beside Jiraiya, looked at him with surprise, their expressions thoughtful.

Jiraiya knows the owner of the Rinnegan, and their relationship is not simple... As Jiraiya's friend, Orochimaru guessed most of the truth in an instant.

"It seems the owner of the Rinnegan has a deep connection with Jiraiya-sensei; their relationship is far from simple..." Minato Namikaze mused, a suspicion forming in his mind.

Jiraiya's unusual behavior drew the attention of everyone present, and they all turned their gazes toward him.

While the news of the Rinnegan was certainly shocking, according to the intelligence reports, it had not yet fully matured, leaving Konoha with room to maneuver.

However, Jiraiya's current state was clearly more worthy of concern, and for a moment, everyone in the room found themselves sharing similar speculations.

"Jiraiya!" Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice carried a hint of anger.

Jiraiya seemed not to hear him, his mind completely immersed in his own world.

"Jiraiya!" Sarutobi Hiruzen roared in a fit of rage, his powerful chakra surging forth, causing the entire room to tremble.

At this time, Sarutobi Hiruzen was still in his prime, and his chakra was indeed significantly stronger than that of an average Kage-level powerhouse.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression was grim as he demanded in a deep voice, "What is the meaning of this? Do you know the owner of the Rinnegan?"