"They asked for Lord Shengu Xuan by name!"
The Anbu Ninja's urgent voice was like a boulder dropped into a still lake, instantly making every member of Konoha High Command present look utterly grave.
"So soon?" Tsunade's brows knitted tightly. This is bad.
The commotion in Konoha had simply been too great.
First, Pain had invaded and razed the entire village. That world-destroying surge of chakra could probably have been sensed throughout the Shinobi World.
Then Shengu Xuan had intervened, bringing an even more terrifying clash of powers that lay entirely beyond the bounds of the Shinobi World, followed by the immense life energy when Nagato finally used Rinne Rebirth...
This string of "major incidents" was like lighting countless suns in the night. It would have been hard not to attract attention.
"What do they want?" Shikaku Nara asked calmly, his mind already racing as he analyzed the situation before him.
"They... they said..." The Anbu Ninja swallowed, a trace of something strange in his tone. "They said they wanted an explanation from Konoha's 'new god.'"
"An explanation?" Tsunade snorted, her fiery temper flaring at once. "Konoha was beaten into this state, and so many people died! We haven't even settled accounts with them, and they're already demanding an explanation from us? An explanation for what?!"
"I'm afraid... they mean this."
Jiraiya pointed at the enormous crater beneath their feet, then at the sun that had just risen in the sky, a symbol of a "miracle." With a wry smile, he said, "An explanation for why Konoha was 'reborn' after being 'destroyed.' And an explanation for where this 'god' who can rule over life and death suddenly came from in Konoha."
In the eyes of the other four great shinobi villages, this was ten thousand times more terrifying than the