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The Hidden Mist Village had been attacked yet again, and the invaders were, once more, the Akatsuki. This caused the village's nerves, which had only just begun to relax, to snap taut once again.
Once or twice could perhaps be endured, but to be targeted like this three times in succession—it was simply beyond the pale. It was outright bullying.
Were they truly treating the Hidden Mist Village as though it were no longer one of the Great Shinobi Villages?
Laden with these three layers of deep humiliation, the entire atmosphere of the Hidden Mist Village transformed instantly.
Young shinobi, with Chojuro chief among them, were itching for a fight, swearing oaths that the moment they located any trace of the intruders, they would make them pay a grievous price.
The village elders, led by Master Genji, were also on high alert, maintaining a strict guard to deny the Akatsuki any further openings to exploit.
Mei Terumi had initially considered dispatching a heavy guard detail to protect the Second Mizukage's grave from being robbed. But she quickly abandoned the idea.
At present, the Hidden Mist Village's strength could only be described as pathetically weak. Akimoto Ruri was already considered one of the village's rare capable fighters. But was sending Akimoto Ruri to confront the Akatsuki a viable option?
In two words: suicide mission.
The Hidden Mist Village's population was already dangerously thin. If the Akatsuki were to target them again, they would truly be on the brink of total annihilation.
Prioritize protecting the living first, and then worry about the dead.
Mei Terumi found herself confronted with a terrible dilemma. She knew that no matter which choice she made, she would ultimately regret it. Yet a choice had to be made.
Despite the immense difficulties the Hidden Mist Village was facing, she personally composed four letters, entrusting them to four separate shinobi couriers, instructing them to deliver the messages to the other Great Shinobi Villages. Jugo, being the most thoroughly informed regarding the entire incident, was dispatched by her to the Hidden Leaf Village.
The contents of the letters were blunt and to the point, addressing two critical issues: First, that Kabuto Yakushi had been preparing to utilize the Impure World Reanimation technique to bolster the strength of a potential Allied Shinobi Forces. Second, that Kabuto Yakushi had been abducted by the Akatsuki.
Beyond these letters, the person Mei Terumi worried about most was still Midorima.
After all, having been without any news of him for such an extended period, she was genuinely deeply uneasy.
Still, the fact that the Akatsuki had not revealed any intelligence concerning Midorima could only be interpreted in one way: Midorima had not been captured.
At the very least, that was what Mei Terumi firmly believed.
...
The Hidden Cloud Village and the Hidden Leaf Village, separated from the Hidden Mist by only a narrow strait, were the first to receive the urgent missives.
Hiruzen had already initiated action the moment he received the message delivered by Fukasaku and Shima. On one hand, he worked to establish contact with the other Great Shinobi Villages and formalize the creation of the Allied Shinobi Forces. On the other, he directed each village to organize their available manpower based on their individual circumstances and begin converging upon the Hidden Mist Village.
For instance, the Hidden Stone Village, located the farthest distance from the Hidden Mist, had already begun mobilizing its forces.
It was for this reason that Jugo, who was en route to the Hidden Leaf, ended up encountering Hiruzen and his forces mid-journey.
Upon delivering the letter to the Third Hokage, Hiruzen also found the situation exceedingly thorny.
The Impure World Reanimation was a forbidden technique of the Hidden Leaf Village, one that was never permitted to circulate outside its borders.
The only possible explanation pointed directly to Orochimaru. As for the specifics of Kabuto's involvement and choices, Hiruzen could not entirely grasp them. However, one thing was now certain: with the Akatsuki having captured Kabuto, they had effectively gained access to the Impure World Reanimation technique as well.
The Raikage tightened security across the entire Hidden Cloud Village while simultaneously dispatching a substantial shinobi army to rendezvous with the forces of the other villages. Concurrently, he relayed the collective speculations of the major villages back to Mei Terumi.
Since the Akatsuki might launch a sudden assault on the Hidden Mist Village, the Hidden Mist needed to evacuate and secure its civilian population immediately, ensuring they would not be drawn into the impending great battle.
Just as the major shinobi villages were gradually converging upon the Hidden Mist Village, Obito, accompanied by Itachi and the now-captive Kabuto, met up with Pain.
"Well? Did you manage to find Igawa Bu?" Pain's gaze drifted behind Obito.
Obito had brought three individuals. Pain recognized Itachi, but the bespectacled Kabuto was a stranger to him. In addition, there was a third person wearing a deep hood, whose face remained completely hidden.
Obito snapped his fingers. The hooded figure reached up and pulled back his cowl, revealing his true face.
"Igawa Bu?" Pain was momentarily stunned. But then, almost instantly, he detected the anomaly.
The person standing before him possessed no aura of life whatsoever. His eyes were an unnatural, empty black.
"No. He is not Igawa Bu... Who is this?"
"This is the Impure World Reanimation. During my trip to the Hidden Mist Village, I managed to 'pick up' a little treasure." Obito clapped his hand onto Kabuto's shoulder. "This man can perform the Impure World Reanimation. Do you realize what this signifies?"
"What?" Pain asked, failing to grasp the full implication.
"We can resurrect our fallen comrades. This includes, but is not limited to, Kisame and Sasori. We can even retrieve the remains of our enemies and reanimate them—for example, those jinchuriki who have already perished," Obito elaborated.
"What about him?" Pain gestured towards the reanimated Igawa Bu. "Can you extract the Six-Tails' chakra from him?"
"Unfortunately, no. He has no trace of the Six-Tails' chakra within him. In that regard, he is utterly useless. However, having obtained Kabuto here, I do not consider this operation a failure. Now, we need to procure the corpses of several jinchuriki... Oh, I nearly forgot to mention. I also managed to acquire cellular tissue from the Second Mizukage. That means we can reanimate the Second Mizukage as well."
"So, what is our next step?" Pain had little patience for these "minor details." "What about the Six-Tails?"
"Since Igawa Bu proved useless," Obito tilted his head in contemplation, "we have no other choice. We'll have to force Midorima out of hiding. Destination: the Hidden Mist Village!"
...
Ryuchi Cave.
"Pant... pant..."
Orochimaru lay sprawled out on the ground, his limbs splayed in the shape of the character for "big."
Tagorihime stood over him, holding a small wooden stick, staring down at his prone form.
Earlier, she had accidentally used a bit too much force and raised a nasty bump on Orochimaru's head.
Surely he won't hold it against me?
Tagorihime leaned in closer to inspect her work. Orochimaru had encountered a critical error while attempting to enter Sage Mode and had very nearly been unable to return to himself.
It was all thanks to her well-aimed little wooden stick.
From that perspective, Orochimaru should actually be thanking her.
In an instant, Tagorihime's mindset underwent a complete and radical shift.
"Have I mastered the sage techniques now?" Orochimaru opened his eyes, still gasping for air.
"You're still a long way off."
Despite saying this, Tagorihime was inwardly astonished by Orochimaru's talent.
By now, he was almost capable of executing senjutsu, but each time he attempted it, she still needed to remain close at hand.
This was, she reflected, one of the few drawbacks of Sage Mode.
"And what about Midorima? How is he progressing?" Orochimaru asked.
"Him..." Tagorihime turned her head to gaze into the distance, her expression growing complex and unreadable. "I haven't been able to see him."
"What?! It's been over a week now, hasn't it?" Orochimaru asked in disbelief.
"There was no helping it. Garaga has been coiled around the entrance to that cave this entire time. An ordinary person can't even get close." Tagorihime frowned deeply. "I can't stand that wretched serpent."
In Ryuchi Cave, how many were there who actually didn't despise Garaga?
"Still, you don't need to worry about him," Tagorihime added, mistakenly assuming that Orochimaru was fretting over Midorima's wellbeing.
"Why do you say that?"
"Although his current situation is exceedingly dangerous, once he manages to overcome this hurdle, he will have become truly formidable," Tagorihime stated.
Orochimaru pressed his lips together into a thin line.
As if I needed you to tell me that.
The real question was whether Midorima could actually push through this trial.
To be perfectly honest, if he were in Midorima's position, he truly lacked the confidence to succeed.