This is clearly not Iwakage Village; there aren't many buildings below. It should be a branch base of Iwagakure.
A massive rock landed on the circular crater.
Ōnoki hurriedly jumped down and used the Light-Weight Rock Technique to throw the shattered rock fragments aside one by one.
" Roshi! Han!" Ōnoki called out the names of the two Jinchūriki as he searched for them in the ruins.
Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi quickly used Earth Release Ninjutsu to lift up the house that had been crushed into rubble.
Shinsei also stepped forward to help, using his Chakra Enhanced Strength Technique to lift the huge rocks one by one, revealing a downward passage.
The man in the ninja uniform lay at the exit of the passage, clearly lifeless.
Ōnoki's face was ashen as he led the way into the passage. He could already guess that the two Jinchūriki had obviously been captured by the Akatsuki, but they still had a last glimmer of hope.
The dark passageway leads to an underground base.
The dozen or so dead ninjas didn't have many wounds on their bodies, but the ferocious expressions on their faces showed that they had suffered greatly before they died.
This situation reminded Shinsei of another ability of the Rinnegan —the ability to extract other people's souls and explore their memories.
The members of Iwagakure looked somewhat somber, and even the usually composed Ōnoki showed a hint of fear on his face. However, he quickly rallied, and a resolute expression appeared on his old face.
The group split up to search for traces of the enemy's departure, but soon reunited.
Kurotsuchi shook her head at Ōnoki: "We can't find any trace of which direction the enemy left from."
Shinsei wasn't surprised by this news. Since it was Pain who came, and he possessed the ability to fly, he naturally wouldn't leave any clues on the ground.
Ōnoki shook his head. "No need to search anymore. Since we can't find which direction they went, let's just go straight to their door."
Shinsei understood Ōnoki's meaning. No matter where the Akatsuki had hidden him, Pain was still the leader of Amegakure. As long as he cared about the lives of the Amegakure villagers, he would eventually show himself if someone came knocking.
Shinsei bit his finger open, slapped it on the ground, and a Katsuyu the size of a puppy appeared on the ground.
" Lord Shinsei!" the Katsuyu greeted Shinsei cheerfully.
" Lady Katsuyu, please tell Tsunade- sensei that the Four-Tails and Five-Tails Jinchuriki have been captured by Pain and should be on their way back. Please tell them to be careful!"
"No problem, Lord Shinsei, I will pass on your message!" The Katsuyu waved its antennae and vanished in a puff of white smoke.
"Back to Iwagakure." Ōnoki said nothing more and led the way out of the base.
The group returned to the large rock, which rose from the ground and carried them towards Iwagakure.
The high-speed flight generated a fierce wind that made it impossible to open one's eyes. Perhaps it was Ōnoki's anger that caused the massive rock beneath him to move much faster than before.
Half an hour later, a huge village appeared before everyone's eyes.
The landscape of Iwagakure is vastly different from that of Konoha. Towering mountains rise like swords into the sky, encircling the village on the ground.
A huge rock landed at the village entrance, and a ninja stepped forward and bowed to the crowd.
Ōnoki nodded and said to the approaching ninja, "Notify all Jonin to attend a meeting at the Tsuchikage Building."
The ninja vanished in a flash using a Body Flicker Technique.
Seeing that the village was safe and sound, Ōnoki finally felt a little relieved. However, the fact that the two Jinchūriki were still missing weighed heavily on his mind.
The group arrived at the Tsuchikage Building in the center of the village. Many ninjas had already received the news and were rushing over.
When other villages held meetings, Shinsei was unsure whether he should sit in on them.
Ōnoki turned to Shinsei and said, "You're the captain of the Rapid Response Force, so please join our meeting."
In the huge hall, many ninjas arrived one after another. Most of them were Jonin, and most of them had read Shinsei's information. Seeing him sitting next to the Tsuchikage, they were somewhat surprised, but not too much of an astonishment.
However, upon seeing Deidara sitting in a corner, many people showed angry expressions.
A chubby, somewhat simple-minded man walked up to Tsuchikage and whispered a few words in his ear.
Shinsei had read his intelligence; after all, he was the son of the Tsuchikage, Kitsuchi, a figure the intelligence department would definitely keep an eye on.
Iwagakure's efficiency is quite impressive. In the blink of an eye, the hall was packed with forty or fifty ninjas. Excluding those on missions, this was basically all of the village's elite forces.
Kitsuchi glanced at the list in his hand and said to the Tsuchikage, " Lord Tsuchikage, excluding those on missions, all the Jonin from the village have arrived."
Ōnoki's short frame floated up, hovering above the table, and he addressed the densely packed ninja below. "Our Jinchūriki, Roshi and Han, have been captured by the Akatsuki!"
These words immediately caused an uproar. It was clear that some people were unaware of the situation, while others had already received the information.
Anger rippled across the faces of many ninjas. How dare the Akatsuki, one of the Five Great Nations, provoke Iwagakure? The ninjas clamored to destroy the Akatsuki and rescue the two Jinchūriki.
Although Jinchūriki are generally not well-liked in their respective ninja villages, it's a different story if outsiders kidnap them.
As everyone was making a fuss, a white figure poked its head out from a wooden pillar on one side of the hall.
The newcomer was shirtless, and his striking green hair made him stand out. He extended his hand in greeting to the numerous ninjas in the hall.
Hello! Wow, there are so many people!
Ōnoki stopped the ninja who wanted to kill him, and said with a stern face, "Listen to what he has to say."
After the previous battles, information about these White Zetsu is no longer a secret. Killing them serves no purpose other than venting anger.
"I'm here to deliver a message!" White Zetsu shook his arm. "I'm an envoy now, you can't kill me."
Ōnoki floated in front of the White Zetsu: "What did your master tell you to say?"
White Zetsu pointed to Shinsei beside him and said to Ōnoki:
"Our leader said that if we want the two Jinchūriki to live, then we should kill that guy named Shinsei!"