Hearts Are Hard to Read

Before the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path in Amegakure.

The three teams returned one after another.

Kisame threw the unconscious Six-Tails Jinchuriki, Utakata, onto the ground. Tobi brought back the sealed Five-Tails Jinchuriki, Han. Deva Path Pain placed the Planetary Devastation sphere sealing the Two-Tails before the statue.

Zetsu's true body rose from the ground, his voice tinged with satisfaction. "Mist Village suffered more than three hundred casualties, Rock Village over four hundred, and more than thirty percent of the buildings in each village were damaged. Cloud Village suffered the fewest casualties, around one hundred and fifty, but the Raikage Building was half destroyed. The loss of the Two-Tails dealt the greatest blow to their morale."

Deva Path Pain seemed not to hear Zetsu. Looking at the three Tailed Beast Jinchuriki beneath the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, along with the three already sealed, there were now six in total. He slowly said, "The plan went smoothly. Begin the Phantom Dragon Nine Seals."

Neji stood at his position, his expression calm but his heart a tangled mess. He had witnessed the terror of this three-pronged assault firsthand—using fewer than fifteen core fighters, the Akatsuki had simultaneously crushed three major shinobi villages and seized three Tailed Beasts. Such power had surpassed his understanding of a "shinobi organization," and it only strengthened his resolve to obtain the Ten-Tails' chakra and reach Six Paths Tier.

As a transmigrator, he knew full well how powerful the Six Paths of Pain were. The Preta Path's ninjutsu absorption, the Naraka Path's control over souls, the Asura Path's mechanical violence, the Deva Path's manipulation of attraction and repulsion... every ability was nearly impossible for him to counter at his current level. And Nagato himself was merely a puppet Obito Uchiha had placed in the spotlight.

He had gained a clearer understanding of the path ahead—ordinary Kekkei Genkai, even Kekkei Tōta, were nothing before the Rinnegan. He needed a more fundamental increase in power.

Nine days later, the three captured Tailed Beasts had been completely sealed. Pain also told everyone to return and rest.

The members dispersed one after another. Just as Neji was about to leave, Zetsu stopped him.

"Sake, you performed well this time." Zetsu's strange voice rang out. "Petrifying Touch was very effective in tying down the Mist Village shinobi. That technique that partially petrified Water Release was especially creative."

"Thank you for the praise." Neji answered calmly. "I was only doing my duty."

"Doing your duty..." Zetsu's aloe-like head swayed. "And what exactly is your duty? Is it merely to take revenge on Cloud Village? Or... do you have some other purpose?"

Neji's heart tightened, but his voice remained steady beneath the mask. "Who joins the Akatsuki without their own purpose? As long as it does not violate the organization's fundamental interests, the leader does not care, does he?"

Zetsu fell silent for several seconds, then laughed. "You're right. Then get some good rest. There will be even more 'exciting' missions ahead."

With that, Zetsu sank into the ground and vanished.

Neji returned to his room and set up a barrier. His face was filled with exhaustion, but his eyes remained sharp. He took out the secret scroll used to contact Konoha, yet hesitated for a long time without writing a word.

It had already been ten days since the intelligence from the three-pronged operation—should he report it back? Reporting it would frighten Konoha, but deciding how to respond was something the higher-ups needed to consider. Not reporting it would violate his duties as an infiltrator, and Tsunade would question his worth. In the end, he chose to make a partial report: the Akatsuki had captured the Two-Tails, Five-Tails, and Six-Tails. He omitted the specific battle details, but emphasized that Pain possessed six bodies, their respective abilities, and their terrifying strength, advising Konoha to prepare for the worst. Besides, even if he did not report it, once intelligence from the three assaults was put together, the conclusion would be obvious. Reporting it would at least earn him some trust.

After finishing the secret report, he sat cross-legged and began examining his condition. He had long since completed his Wind Release transformation. He had also learned several Kekkei Genkai from those Orochimaru had given him, but he had absolutely no clue about Kekkei Tōta. His Byakugan still showed no obvious signs of evolution, though he wielded it with greater mastery. Combined with Petrifying Touch, it often produced unexpected results.

Orochimaru's drugs can only last another four months... I have to return and speak with Orochimaru in person.

At that moment, the Improved Earth Curse Mark within him suddenly stirred, as though it had been provoked by some external force. Neji immediately suppressed it with Sage Arts, but alarm bells rang in his heart—had Orochimaru tampered with the medicine, or was its effectiveness weakening?

It seems meeting Orochimaru needs to be moved up the schedule... Neji's gaze deepened.

Outside the window, Amegakure's rain fell without end. And the entire Shinobi World had already plunged into unprecedented panic and turmoil because of the Akatsuki's three-pronged assault.

From that day onward, no one dared underestimate the Akatsuki's might.

And Neji knew this was only the beginning. The real storm still lay ahead.

He rubbed his temples, determination flashing in his eyes. No matter what lay ahead, he had to keep moving forward—for the sake of removing the Caged Bird, breaking free from the Hyuga Clan's shackles, and taking control of his own fate.

The wheels of Shinobi World history had been violently set in motion by the Akatsuki, rumbling onward.

Everyone was merely a passenger upon those massive wheels, or... dust crushed beneath them.

News of the Akatsuki's three-pronged assault and its seizure of Tailed Beasts from three major shinobi villages crashed into the Shinobi World like a boulder thrown into a still lake, stirring monstrous waves. Mist Village, Rock Village, and Cloud Village—three major powers of the Shinobi World—had suffered devastating blows on the same day. Their Jinchuriki had been taken, their villages damaged, and their dignity trampled.

But what was even stranger was this—Konoha had emerged completely unscathed.

While the other villages wailed amid the flames of war, Konoha's lights still burned brightly, its barriers remained intact, and not even a single invading crow had appeared. The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Uzumaki Naruto, still swaggered through the village eating ramen, while the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki, Fū, studied peacefully under Konoha's protection.

This "special treatment," fueled by those with ulterior motives, quickly fermented into all kinds of suspicions and rumors.

Three days later, at an underground black-market intelligence station on the border of the Land of Earth.

"Have you heard? The Akatsuki was secretly cultivated by Konoha!" A scar-faced wandering shinobi lowered his voice. "Think about it. Why was Konoha the only one untouched? Why was the Seven-Tails sent to Konoha to 'study abroad' right after the Three-Tails disappeared? That's too much of a coincidence!"

"I heard the same thing," a middle-aged man dressed like a merchant cut in. "Konoha's Tsunade is the First Hokage's granddaughter, and the Senju Clan has always been ambitious. After becoming Hokage, she first drew Sunagakure to her side, and now she's using the Akatsuki to weaken the other three major shinobi villages. Once the time is right, Konoha will be the only voice in the Shinobi World!"

"That's not all," a third voice said sinisterly. "I have a friend doing business in the Land of Rain. He said the Akatsuki's leader, the one called Pain, used to be Jiraiya's student! And who is Jiraiya? One of Konoha's Three Sannin, Tsunade's comrade!"

"What?! Doesn't that mean Konoha's higher-ups knew about the Akatsuki long ago? They might even be the masterminds behind it?"

Similar conversations spread rapidly through the underground worlds of every nation and even among ordinary civilians. The worse Rock Village, Cloud Village, and Mist Village's losses became, the deeper their suspicion toward Konoha grew. Cloud Village in particular—when Fourth Raikage A heard these rumors from his hospital bed, he was so furious that he smashed the bed with one punch.

"Tsunade... Tsunade!" The Raikage gritted his teeth. "First, she used intelligence to weaken Cloud Village's defenses. Now she has the Akatsuki put on this performance? Is she trying to make fools out of us?"

His secretary, Mabui, analyzed the situation calmly. "Lord Raikage, there is currently no direct evidence that Konoha is colluding with the Akatsuki. But judging from the outcome, Konoha is indeed the only beneficiary. And... Lord Jiraiya truly did once take in a disciple who possessed the Rinnegan. That is no secret among the upper ranks."

"That is the evidence!" the Raikage roared. "Contact Rock Village and Mist Village immediately. I want to convene a Four Kage Summit—no, a Five Kage Summit! Invite Konoha and Sunagakure as well! I want to question Tsunade face-to-face!"

Meanwhile, in Mist Village.

The Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumi, stood in the village square amid reconstruction efforts, listening to the rumors collected by the ANBU. Frost covered her beautiful face.

"Konoha... would it really do something like this?" she murmured. Reason told her that Tsunade was not that kind of person, and that Konoha had no reason to make enemies of three major shinobi villages at once. But emotionally, Mist Village's losses were simply too severe—the Six-Tails had been taken, more than three hundred people had died or been wounded, one-third of the village had been destroyed, and reconstruction would require years and astronomical sums of money.

More importantly, Mist Village had only just emerged from the darkness of the Blood Mist Village era and desperately needed time to recover. This attack had nearly reduced all those efforts to nothing.

"Lady Mizukage, Cloud Village has sent a secret letter proposing a Five Kage Summit to question Konoha." The ANBU captain presented a scroll.

Mei Terumi accepted the scroll and read it for a long time. At last, she sighed. "Reply to Cloud Village. Mist Village agrees to attend. But..." She lifted her head toward Konoha in the west. "I hope this is only a misunderstanding. The Shinobi World cannot endure another great war."

Rock Village.

The Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, floated above the reconstruction command center, his expression darker than ever. The Five-Tails' capture, Deidara's betrayal, the village's losses... all of it enraged him. Yet when the rumors reached his ears, his first reaction was not anger, but deep vigilance.

"Konoha... Senju Clan... Uzumaki..." Ōnoki muttered those surnames under his breath. As an old man who had lived through the end of the Warring States Period and witnessed the terrifying strength of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, he understood Konoha's foundations far too well.

"Lord Tsuchikage, what is your judgment?" Akatsuchi asked cautiously from beside him.

"Whether Konoha has secretly controlled the Akatsuki, there is currently no evidence," Ōnoki said slowly. "But Konoha truly is the only major shinobi village that was not attacked. That is a fact. And... for the Akatsuki to precisely strike three major shinobi villages on the same day, it must have had extraordinarily accurate intelligence. Where did that intelligence come from?"

Akatsuchi fell into thought. "You mean... someone leaked each village's defensive arrangements?"

"Or someone had long since figured out the details of every village." A sharp glint flashed through Ōnoki's eyes. "Send the order. Agree to Cloud Village's proposal for a Five Kage Summit. But before the summit is held, Rock Village will enter the highest level of combat readiness. Double all border patrols, and be especially wary of... the direction of Konoha."

"Yes!"

Sunagakure.

The Fifth Kazekage, Gaara, who had already been resurrected, sat in the Kazekage's office. Before him lay three secret reports—Five Kage Summit invitations sent one after another by Cloud Village, Rock Village, and Mist Village, along with a proposal for joint action from Konoha.

"Lord Kazekage, the situation is very unfavorable for us." Temari frowned as she analyzed it. "The three major shinobi villages clearly suspect Konoha now. If we remain too close to Konoha, we may be isolated or even treated as enemies."

Kankuro held his puppet Crow, unusually serious. "But Konoha did a great deal when it rescued Gaara before, and the Akatsuki is our common enemy. If we abandon an ally now, Sand Village's reputation will be ruined."

Gaara silently looked out the window. The desert winds never ceased, just like the turmoil of the Shinobi World. Having just experienced death and resurrection, he understood the Akatsuki's terror better than anyone. Those people were not something any village could secretly control.

"Reply to Konoha. Sunagakure agrees to jointly propose a Five Kage Summit." Gaara finally spoke. "But at the summit, Sand Village will maintain a neutral position. We will urge all sides to uncover the truth and fight the Akatsuki together."

He paused, then added, "Also, strengthen border defenses. No matter what the truth is, the Shinobi World is no longer safe."