Madara: The Flying Raijin Technique Is Child's Play-Jiraiya's Intelligence Shakes Konoha to Its Core!

A deathly silence fell over the entire plaza in front of the Hokage Building.

The wind stopped. The clamor died away. Even the ninjas' ragged breathing seemed to have been snatched away by the golden flash that had appeared and vanished out of thin air.

Minato stood frozen on the rooftop, his body still poised to charge forward, but the Rasengan in his hand had already dissipated. His azure eyes reflected an empty sky, while his mind replayed that reality-shattering scene over and over.

The Flying Raijin Technique.

That had absolutely been the Flying Raijin Technique!

He knew that distinctive chakra fluctuation all too well—the way it tore open space and transported its user to a fixed location. It was the technique that had made his name, a Space-Time Ninjutsu created by the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju, powerful enough to change the course of a battle.

But why...

Why could Uchiha Madara use it?

And the golden light had been even more dazzling, even more domineering, than his own.

"Minato..."

Jiraiya's voice pulled him back from the depths of his shock. He slowly turned and saw an expression of unprecedented gravity on his teacher's face. His usual carefree, lazy air had vanished without a trace.

"That just now..." Jiraiya's voice was a little hoarse. "That was Lord Tobirama's technique, wasn't it?"

Minato nodded with difficulty.

He couldn't avoid the question, and he couldn't explain it.

Jiraiya drew a deep breath, his gaze sweeping over the Konoha High Command below, who were just as stunned, before returning to Minato.

"It seems we're in serious trouble."

Thirty minutes later, in the mostly intact office of the Hokage Building.

The atmosphere was so oppressive it felt as though you could wring water from it.

All nonessential personnel had been dismissed. Hinata Hyuga had been taken back to her clan compound by Hyuga Hiashi himself for an examination. The Kumogakure delegation, meanwhile, had been "escorted" by the Military Police Force under Fugaku's command and temporarily confined to the inn.

Only a handful of Konoha's top decision-makers remained in the office.

The Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato; the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi; the Hokage Advisor, Jiraiya; the Hokage Assistant, Fugaku Uchiha; Shimura Danzō; and the two Fourth Hokage Advisors, Nara Shikaku and Uchiha Nensa.

"Impossible! It's absolutely impossible!" Hiruzen Sarutobi was the first to break the silence. He looked at everyone with a stern expression. "The Flying Raijin Technique is a secret technique created by the Second Hokage. Aside from Lord Tobirama himself, only Minato and the guards under your command know it! How could Uchiha Madara possibly use it?!"

Danzō sat in the shadows in a corner. Bandages hid his expression, but his voice was as chilling as ever.

"The facts are right in front of us. That man isn't just alive; he's mastered Konoha's most closely guarded Space-Time Ninjutsu." His one visible eye slowly turned toward Fugaku. "Fugaku, does your Uchiha Clan have any explanation?"

"Danzō!" Fugaku snapped his head around, his Mangekyō Sharingan faintly visible in his eyes. "What are you implying? Are you accusing the Uchiha Clan of leaking the secrets of the Flying Raijin Technique to Madara?"

"Hmph. Our naturally evil Uchiha Clan could never earn that much trust from the village. There's no way the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju would have taught us a Space-Time Ninjutsu of this caliber!"

"That's true. Lord Tobirama and your Uchiha Clan certainly didn't have a warm relationship. I'm only discussing the facts, so I hope Clan Head Fugaku won't take it personally." Danzō remained unmoved. "Because aside from your Uchiha Clan, I can't think of anyone else in Konoha who could have ties to that ghost from the past."

"You!" Fugaku's chakra surged with anger.

"Enough!" Minato barked, cutting off their argument. He rubbed his aching brow and forced himself to calm down. "There's no point in accusing each other right now. The important thing is that Uchiha Madara is not only alive, but has gained powers far beyond anything we imagined."

The Rinnegan, Wood Release, and now the Flying Raijin Technique.

Each ability was enough to shake the Ninja World. And with all of them concentrated in one person's hands, they spelled a catastrophe beyond imagination.

"Minato's right. This isn't the time for infighting."

Jiraiya, who had been silent until now, finally spoke. He pulled a scroll from his robes and tossed it onto the Hokage's desk.

"On my way back to the village, I was investigating something." His expression was utterly serious. "An organization called 'Akatsuki.'"

"Akatsuki?" Everyone present was hearing the name for the first time.

"That's right." Jiraiya's gaze sharpened. "It's a mercenary organization made up of powerful rogue ninjas, and it operates with extreme secrecy. Based on what we know, the only member we can identify is Kakuzu, a former elite ninja from Takigakure and an S-rank Rogue Ninja who once caused widespread destruction at the bounty station. According to the surviving witnesses, the three Akatsuki ninjas who recruited Kakuzu were all wearing matching black cloaks patterned with red clouds. One of them even possessed the legendary Rinnegan!"

"Based on the information I have, I suspect the leader of Akatsuki may be one of the disciples I trained in the Land of Rain. One of them possessed the Rinnegan. At the time, I thought he might be the Child of Prophecy."

Black cloaks patterned with red clouds! The Rinnegan!

Minato and Fugaku's pupils contracted at the same time.

Jiraiya caught the change in their expressions and continued. "The organization has recently become unusually active in the Ninja World. They've taken on a number of high-paying jobs, ranging from assassinations to overthrowing the governments of small nations. I pursued them for a long time before I finally tracked down their leader..."

He paused, then named a place no one had expected.

"...Amegakure."

"The Land of Rain?" Nara Shikaku frowned. "Isn't that Hanzo the Salamander's territory?"

"It used to be." Jiraiya's expression grew even more serious. "Not long ago, Hanzo died. Everyone in Amegakure who was loyal to him was purged by a mysterious leader calling himself 'Pain.' Now the Land of Rain is entirely under Akatsuki's control."

"What?!"

The news hit like another bombshell.

Hanzo the Salamander had once stood against the Konoha Sannin single-handedly. He was the man hailed as a "demigod"!

And he was dead just like that?

Jiraiya lowered his voice, as if every word carried tremendous weight.

"According to the information I uncovered, the leader of Akatsuki also possesses the legendary Rinnegan."

"Based on what we know, I believe Akatsuki's leader may be my former student, Nagato of the Uzumaki Clan. This may well have something to do with Uchiha Madara."

Boom!

His words crashed through the minds of everyone in the office like a bolt of thunder!

The Rinnegan!

Uchiha Madara!

The leader of Amegakure!

Akatsuki!

Nagato!

One clue after another connected in everyone's minds, ultimately forming a terrifying truth that sent a chill through them!

"You mean..." Minato's voice trembled. "Uchiha Madara... is the mastermind behind Akatsuki? He's been secretly controlling this elite group of rogue ninjas all along?"

"Almost certainly." Jiraiya's expression was grim. "That boy named Obito was secretly carrying out a plan involving the Tailed Beasts. Then Uchiha Madara showed up in person and used the Flying Raijin to rescue him. There's no way to explain all of this as coincidence anymore."

The air in the office seemed to freeze.

A resurrected Uchiha Madara represented the threat of a legendary individual.

But a Uchiha Madara commanding an elite group of rogue ninjas represented a terrifying army capable of waging war against any of the great nations!

"What does he want?" Minato murmured. "Why is he gathering so many powerful people? What is he trying to do?"

"Perhaps I can answer that."

Jiraiya took an intelligence map from the open scroll on the desk. Several locations had been marked in red ink.

"I discovered that the locations where Akatsuki carries out its missions seem to have no pattern. But if you compare them with the regions where the Tailed Beasts have been spotted in recent years..."

He traced a line across the map with his finger.

"...you'll discover something shocking."

"They're... hunting the Tailed Beasts!"

"Hunting the Tailed Beasts?!" A glint flashed in Danzō's one visible eye. "What do they want with them?!"

"I don't know." Jiraiya shook his head. "The Tailed Beasts are strategic weapons, the foundation that maintains the balance of power among the great nations. If anyone starts collecting them, whatever their purpose, it will inevitably shatter that balance and throw the entire Ninja World into turmoil!"

Minato sprang to his feet. He had thought of the most terrifying possibility.

His gaze unconsciously passed through the window, toward his home.

His wife, Kushina, was there, along with their newborn son, Naruto...

The Nine-Tails Incident. Obito's target had been the Nine-Tails from the very beginning!

He hadn't wanted to destroy Konoha. He had wanted to seize the Nine-Tails!

"Minato..." Jiraiya saw his student's expression and instantly understood what he was thinking. He spoke gravely. "The Nine-Tails Incident may have been only the beginning of their plan."

"They're after every Tailed Beast in the world."

"And because Konoha possesses the strongest one, it became their first target."

Minato slowly sat down, clasping his hands and resting his forehead against them.

He felt more pressure than ever before.

Within the village, there was the power struggle between Danzō and the Uchiha.

Beyond its borders, Kumogakure was provoking them, while the other hidden villages watched with hostile intent.

And now, on top of all those troubles, a terrifying organization called Akatsuki had appeared, led by Uchiha Madara and bent on hunting the Tailed Beasts.

The Hokage's seat felt so hot he could hardly bear to sit in it.

"We must inform the other Four Great Nations of this intelligence at once!" Mitokado Homura said urgently. "This concerns the safety of the entire Ninja World! We must form an alliance and fight Akatsuki together!"

"It's no use." Danzō doused him with a cold reply. "The Four Great Nations have long-standing grudges and distrust one another. Do you think they'll believe Konoha's word alone? They'd probably be happier to see Akatsuki weaken us."

Silence fell over the office once more.

Danzō's words were harsh, but they were true.

Just then, Minato raised his head.

The confusion and uncertainty had vanished from his azure eyes. All that remained was the resolve of the Fourth Hokage.

"Teacher." He turned to Jiraiya. "Sorry for the trouble, but please continue investigating Akatsuki, especially the identities of its other members."

"No problem." Jiraiya nodded.

"Fugaku." He turned to Fugaku Uchiha. "Increase security throughout the village, especially around the Jinchuriki. Arrest anyone suspicious on sight."

"Yes, sir!" Fugaku replied solemnly.

"Danzō." Minato's gaze finally settled on the shadows in the corner. "It's time for Root to get moving, too. I want every piece of intelligence in the Ninja World concerning Uchiha Madara and the Rinnegan, true or false."

Danzō said nothing, only giving a slight nod.

"As for me..." Minato rose and walked to the enormous floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at the village as it began to recover order from the chaos.

"I'll go to Mount Myoboku myself."

Jiraiya paused. "What are you going to Mount Myoboku for?"

Minato didn't turn around. His voice was calm, but carried an unwavering strength.

"The Great Toad Sage once prophesied that you would guide the 'Child of Prophecy' and save the world."

"Now Uchiha Madara has returned, and Akatsuki has appeared."

"I want to ask it..."

"Is my son, Uzumaki Naruto, the child in that prophecy?"

After a moment's thought, Minato drew a deep breath and looked at Jiraiya. "Teacher, what other useful information do you have about Akatsuki and that 'Pain'?"

Jiraiya's expression turned a little strange. He hesitated before speaking.

"There's one more thing. It may be... very important."

"While I was investigating in Amegakure, I heard a rumor."

"Apparently, after that man called 'Pain' took control of Amegakure, he introduced a very strange policy."

"He... seems to be using Amegakure's elite ninjas in some way to... develop the economy?"

"Develop the economy?"

The words coming from Jiraiya's mouth left everyone stunned.

Something about this didn't add up!

A terrifying organization leader with the Rinnegan, who had slaughtered an entire village, was supposed to be bent on conquering the world. Why had he gone off to build up the economy?

"That's right." Even Jiraiya thought it sounded absurd. "The information I gathered says he had elite ninjas with Earth Release alter the terrain to mine ore, then sell iron ore abroad for income. He had Water Release ninjas sell ninjutsu scrolls for money. He also built a small steel mill, using Amegakure's existing steel construction techniques to turn some of the iron ore into steel and structural components for sale."

The office fell silent.

Everyone stared at Jiraiya as if they thought he had gone mad.

Nara Shikaku rubbed his temples, feeling as though his brain couldn't keep up.

"Lord Jiraiya, are you sure you heard that right? They're mining? Selling steel? Selling scrolls?"

"Absolutely." Jiraiya shrugged. "It sounds ridiculous, but I spent a long time investigating in Amegakure before I got this information. And apparently, it's been working pretty well."

Minato fell silent.

His mind raced.

Uchiha Madara, Pain, two Rinnegan, Akatsuki, S-rank Rogue Ninjas, and now... economic development?

The seemingly unrelated clues tangled into a hopeless mess in his mind, leaving him unable to make sense of them.

But his instincts told him that something far larger and more terrifying than he had imagined was hidden behind it all.

Just then, an Anbu Ninja suddenly appeared in the middle of the office and dropped to one knee. "Lord Hokage, urgent intelligence!"

"Kiri­gakure has just sent all Five Great Nations a... succession notice for the Fourth Mizukage!"

"What?!" Hiruzen Sarutobi shot to his feet. "What happened to the Third Mizukage?"

"The notice says the Third Mizukage stepped down due to illness." The Anbu Ninja's voice trembled slightly. "And the new Fourth Mizukage's name is..."

"Kisame Hoshigaki!"

"At the same time, Kirigakure announced that it will establish formal diplomatic relations with Akatsuki!"