"Lord Hokage, my suggestion is that Konoha join forces with Kumogakure and the other shinobi villages!"
Inside the Hokage's Office, Jiraiya spoke gravely to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
By then, Kakashi and the others had already gone to search Konoha and its surroundings for suspicious clues. Only Hiruzen Sarutobi and Jiraiya remained in the office.
Although they were teacher and student, Jiraiya was still accustomed to addressing Hiruzen Sarutobi as Lord Hokage when discussing official business.
At Jiraiya's words, Hiruzen Sarutobi paused. Rather than immediately rejecting this rather out-of-the-blue suggestion, he first asked curiously for the reason:
"Oh? Why? There shouldn't be any destabilizing factors in the Shinobi World that warrant the Five Great Shinobi Villages joining forces."
Jiraiya hurriedly said, "There are. Have you forgotten about the Akatsuki?"
The Akatsuki?
At Jiraiya's reminder, the information Hiruzen Sarutobi had about the Akatsuki began surfacing in his mind, piece by piece.
He said, "The Akatsuki seem to be a band of mercenaries, don't they? They work for money. Although their members are rogue ninja from various villages, surely they aren't enough to threaten Konoha!"
Jiraiya countered, "We've all underestimated the Akatsuki far too much! Just recently, Kakashi and I accompanied Mr. Su Yu and witnessed the Akatsuki's true strength, as well as their true objective!"
Jiraiya's explanation piqued Hiruzen Sarutobi's interest. And seeing such a rare, serious expression on Jiraiya's face, he couldn't help growing serious as well.
"Oh? Their true strength?"
Jiraiya nodded emphatically and said, "That's right! The current members of the Akatsuki include Kakuzu, Sasori, Kisame Hoshigaki, Uchiha Itachi... and Nagato. Every one of them possesses Kage-level strength! In fact, because their abilities are so unusual, even a Kage-level fighter might not get the better of them! Among them, Nagato is the Akatsuki's leader, and unquestionably the strongest!"
After hearing