Rasa nodded: "Yes, Pakura, whatever conflicts exist between us should be set aside for now. The Village must commit all its strength to deal with Uchiha Madara."
Previously, Rasa had wished Pakura would just die quickly, but now he had to prevent her from dying.
Humans really are complex creatures.
The elders proposed: "Information regarding Uchiha Madara and the Eye of the Moon Plan should be sent to the Daimyo's Mansion."
"Frighten the Daimyo; he and the nobles will definitely not support the Eye of the Moon Plan."
"The Daimyo can only rely on us to fight, and we need him to provide a vast amount of resources."
The elders nodded. Rasa summoned a Jonin and ordered him to deliver the intelligence concerning Madara to the Daimyo's Mansion.
For Sunagakure, the pressure of Madara would force the Daimyo of the Land of Wind to support them once more, giving the Village some breathing room.
One had to admit, Sunagakure really had to thank Madara.1
Rasa asked Chiyo: "Grandmother, when do we set out for Konoha to attend the Five Kage Summit?"
Chiyo shook her head: "No rush. First, deal with Shukaku's matter. By the way, Rasa, your youngest son is about to be born, isn't he?"
Hearing this, a murderous intent toward Chiyo rose in Rasa's heart... Kirigakure front line.
Uchiha Fugaku and Shisui headed to Kirigakure camp alone.
The atmosphere in Kirigakure was somewhat strange; the Third Mizukage and high-level officials were all in the Village in the rear, directing operations remotely.
The current commander of Kirigakure on the front line was the Mizukage candidate who had recently become the Jinchuriki of the Three-Tails, Yagura Karatachi.
Yagura had Ao receive Fugaku and Shisui.
The moment Shisui saw Ao, a strong murderous intent surged within him.
Because during the previous war, Ao had killed a member of the Hyuga Main House and stolen one of their Byakugan.
Consequently, Konoha had issued a kill-on-sight order against him.
If a Konoha Ninja encountered Ao while on duty, they were to immediately abandon their mission to kill him and reclaim the Hyuga's Byakugan.
Fugaku patted Shisui's shoulder, and Shisui calmed down.
Now, the big picture was the priority.
After Yagura finished reading the intelligence on Madara presented by the Uchiha, he frowned and had Ao bring Fugaku and Shisui inside.
It wasn't that Kirigakure had heard nothing at all about Madara.
When Konoha withdrew all its forces from the Land of Fire's coastline back to the Village, Kirigakure became wary. Later, Kirigakure spies embedded in Konoha reported that Madara had been resurrected.26
Half-believing, Yagura sent scouts to investigate the information on Madara.
A subsequent series of reports proved that Madara had indeed been resurrected.
Yagura consolidated all of Kirigakure's forces to avoid starting another war with Konoha.
However, Yagura was not yet the Mizukage, so Kirigakure's next moves depended on the Third Mizukage's instructions.
But what was suspicious was...
After Yagura sent the intelligence about Madara's resurrection back to the rear headquarters, he received no response.
After Fugaku and Shisui entered and exchanged a few pleasantries, Fugaku said: "Lord Yagura, let's not waste any more words."
"Your country's Daimyo and nobles have likely learned the contents of the Eye of the Moon Plan. What is Kirigakure's stance on this?"
To fight, of course!
Could Kirigakure just sit on the sidelines and watch the other four great Ninja Villages fight to the death with Madara?
If Madara won, would they be victors just by submitting to him?
Madara's Eye of the Moon Plan had already written their ending!
On the other hand, if Madara lost, would the Shinobi Allied Forces spare them?
No matter what, they had to fight!
Yagura himself strongly supported preparing for war against Madara because he was the Three-Tails Jinchuriki, and Madara's goal was the Tailed Beast inside him.
But—
"I'm sorry, Lord Fugaku, but this matter still depends on the Mizukage's decision."
Fugaku was somewhat annoyed by the Third Mizukage's slowness.
Madara had likely already sent people to seize the Tailed Beasts, yet the Third Mizukage was still deliberating. Had this fellow been controlled by Madara?
Suddenly, a slender figure walked in.
This person had long reddish-brown hair, with part of her bangs covering her left eye. Though young, she was clearly a beauty in the making.
Behind her followed a shark-faced Ninja with a simple and honest expression, as if he were naturally a kind-hearted man who honestly performed hand seals.
Yagura was somewhat puzzled: "Mei Terumī, Kisame, didn't you return to the Village? Why have you come to the front line?"
Mei Terumī glanced at the two Konoha Ninja present, seemingly unwilling to share certain matters with outsiders.
Understanding the situation, Fugaku led Shisui out of Yagura's tent, then turned a corner and pressed his head against the side of the tent to eavesdrop.
Mei Terumī said: "The Daimyo has explicitly requested the Mizukage to abandon the Land of Fire's coastline and join Konoha in the crusade against Uchiha Madara."
"Most of the Village's high-ranking officials also support forming the Shinobi Allied Forces. The Mizukage has already ordered you, Yagura, to take full charge of the Five Kage Summit matters."
Yagura couldn't help but look pleased; this undoubtedly signaled to everyone that Yagura would be the next Mizukage.
Yagura then asked with some confusion: "What happened to the Mizukage?"
Mei Terumī replied: "The Six-Tails, Saiken, went on a rampage. The Mizukage is leading the Village's elites to suppress Saiken."
Yagura nodded and then had Ao call Fugaku and Shisui back inside.
At that moment, the Ninja Cat Hina appeared before Fugaku and Shisui.
"I'm sorry, Lord Fugaku, Lord Shisui, but you have been expelled from the Uchiha Clan."
"What?!"
"The Gunbai is in Lord Ryou's hands; he is the Uchiha's orthodox leader. He has decided to expel all Uchiha in Konoha from the Uchiha Clan."
"Motherfucker!"
Konoha announced the news of Madara's resurrection along with the Eye of the Moon Plan to the entire Ninja World. Now, wherever there were Ninjas, they knew about Madara and his Eye of the Moon Plan.
The Land of Iron, the Land of Hot Springs, the Land of Bears, the Land of Artisans... even the Land of Snow and the Land of Demons on the edge of the continent had heard that Madara was going to destroy the world!
The Land of Frost's black market.
After a busy day, Master Kakuzu prepared to head to the black market to exchange the bounty Ninjas he had hunted for money.
In the black market, Kakuzu learned of Madara's resurrection.
Kakuzu was a Ninja who had lived since the Warring States Period and had once assassinated the First Hokage; he knew better than anyone the power those two possessed.
The person in charge of the black market recommended that Kakuzu join the war; a gray organization like the black market could never support the Eye of the Moon Plan.
Kakuzu didn't want to get involved, but the person in charge told him about the Eye of the Moon Plan.
Kakuzu hesitated, then collected his bounty and began heading toward Konoha in the Land of Fire.
Kakuzu loved money, and he loved the money he earned with his own hands even more.
When Kakuzu was young, he thought money was important. Now that he was over eighty, he found that saying to be entirely true.
He had been betrayed by his own Village, and since then, money had been his only companion.
In this world, anything can betray you, but money won't.
But if a loaf of bread cost 500,000, Kakuzu would truly lose his temper!
Kakuzu didn't care if the world got better or worse, as long as it didn't interfere with his money-making.
Madara's Eye of the Moon Plan interfered with Kakuzu making money.
In the Land of Rivers on the other side, another S-rank wanted rogue ninja, Sasori of the Red Sand, had a different view.
"Letting everyone live in a beautiful dream, where the world is frozen in time, no longer advancing or regressing."
"This is art—eternal art!"
"Uchiha Madara, I acknowledge your art!"
Sasori began moving toward the Land of Rain. He pursued eternal art, and Madara's Eye of the Moon Plan corresponded to eternal peace
What Sasori sought was the word 'eternal'.
Because of Madara, the entire Ninja continent was suddenly swept into a storm.