Land of Earth, Iwagakure.
"You didn't find him?"
"No."
Both Ōnoki and Han looked rather grim, though they had already expected this when they sent people to search for Roshi, the Four-Tails Jinchūriki.
Even so, they still found it rather hard to accept the news.
At present, they did not even know when Roshi had disappeared.
"Stop searching." Ōnoki sighed. "Roshi has probably already been captured by the Akatsuki."
Iwagakure's search had caused quite a stir. If Roshi had not been captured, he would certainly have noticed and contacted Iwagakure.
But even now, there had not been the slightest word from Roshi. That was telling enough.
Iwagakure could only prepare for the worst!
"Han, watch out for your own safety!"
"Since the Akatsuki's targets are Jinchūriki, you're definitely on their hunting list too, so you need to prepare in advance."
"I know." Han nodded. He had a relatively steady temperament, and as the Tsuchikage, he stayed in Iwagakure for long stretches, so his safety could still be assured.
It was just that the Akatsuki's strength was worrying.
"Oh, there's one more thing."
Han handed the document beside him to Ōnoki and said gravely, "Sunagakure's Fifth Kazekage, Gaara, was captured by the Akatsuki. Apparently, the One-Tail has already fallen into their hands."
"Gaara has been rescued, though. As for why he's still alive despite having the One-Tail extracted, that remains unclear."
Ōnoki took the document and read it carefully.
"So it took three villages working together to rescue Gaara. Wait, Konoha actually sent Shihōin Naraku?"
"What were they thinking?!"
After reading the document, Ōnoki thought back carefully. "Kumogakure's Two-Tails and Eight-Tails, Sunagakure's One-Tail, and our Four-Tails. Counting those, nearly half the Tailed Beasts have already fallen into the Akatsuki's hands."
"No!"
Han shook his head, rejecting Ōnoki's statement. "It's already more