Chapter 290: The Alliance
By decree of heaven, granted divine mandate, the noble houses have governed this world for a thousand years, guarding the realm and bringing peace to the land.
A thousand years ago, when the nations first took shape, the noble houses assumed their rule, and that rule endures unbroken to this day.
Foremost among the nobility stand the Daimyō, broad of heart, compassionate toward all under heaven.
Even Hagoromo, forefather of all shinobi and founder of their creed, met with the Daimyō in ages past and never once sought to interfere in their rule.
By this we know: the Daimyō, lord of his nation, father to his people, rules in accordance with heaven's own will — the rightful sovereign of this world, father and lord to all its common people.
Now, in the Land of Fire, Konoha's Fifth, Sakura Haruno, drunk on fame won too young, arrogant beyond her station, has strayed from the righteous path — rising against her betters, committing an outrage against all under heaven, assassinating a Daimyō. This is nothing less than treason.
The Land of Fire's Daimyō, Yōta Minamoto, ruled with diligence and compassion throughout his reign, caring deeply for his people — and met a cruel, undeserved death at her hands.
A tragedy. A sorrow. A shame beyond words.
For a thousand years, the lives of shinobi have served as the hawks and hounds of the noble houses.
The hawk — a fierce and noble hunter.
The hound — a loyal and faithful servant.
A shinobi's body was meant to serve as a nation's protecting blade. Now the Fifth Hokage has betrayed that founding purpose — a disgrace to shinobi everywhere. In recognition of Sakura Haruno's past service on the battlefield, the nobility offer this mercy: should she take her own life in atonement, Konoha shall be spared further calamity, and further needless bloodshed avoided.
Yet it seems Sakura Haruno has no intention of repentance, choosing instead to stand alone against the will of all under heaven — a futile, foolish last stand.
The Daimyō of the Land of Lightning, Ishida; the Daimyō of the Land of Water, Kasumiōji; the Daimyō of the Land of Earth, Inoue; and the Daimyō of the Land of Wind, Ishikawa, jointly declare this call to arms.
Let it be known: every shinobi across this world is hereby commanded to unite against Konoha, to put down this rebellion, and to destroy Sakura Haruno.
The Fifth Hokage. Condemned by all under heaven.
—
Land of Earth — Iwagakure
Ōnoki, the Third Tsuchikage, stared grimly at the jointly issued proclamation now in his hands — signed by every noble house across the shinobi world.
He hadn't expected the Fifth Hokage to actually go through with it.
And with such audacity, too — standing Konoha alone against the combined might of the entire shinobi world.
"Third Lord. What should we do?"
Han, tall and broad-shouldered, clad in crimson armor, looked at the Third Tsuchikage before him.
"Where's Old Rōshi right now?"
Ōnoki set the proclamation down.
"Last I heard he was somewhere in the Land of Hot Water. Not certain of his current location."
Han answered honestly.
"Bring him back. The shinobi world isn't what it used to be."
Ōnoki rubbed his temples, a wave of irritation washing over him.
Akatsuki hunting tailed beasts on one side, and now a Hokage refusing to accept her place, openly defying the ruling class, on the other.
All of it made him feel, keenly, that he was getting old — falling behind an era that was moving faster than he could keep up with.
"Third Lord, this..."
Han hesitated before moving to leave, his eyes still lingering on the proclamation in front of Ōnoki.
"What?"
"Something on your mind?"
Ōnoki noticed the look on Han's face.
"Third Lord... are we really going to make an enemy of that one?"
Han thought back to their first meeting with the Hokage, three years ago, in the Land of Snow.
Even then, he'd already sensed something dangerous in her — a quiet, deliberate ambition.
But—
Why exactly did I never tell anyone about it?
Han fell into a conflicted silence for a moment.
The instant he'd learned of the joint declaration to eliminate the "traitor," his first reaction hadn't been anger. It hadn't been fear, either.
It had been calm.
A calm laced, disturbingly, with something close to excitement.
So she really did it, in the end.
But the values he'd been raised on told him, without question, that the nobility held the blade shinobi were bound to serve. That deeply ingrained belief was now colliding with a stirring, restless desire somewhere deeper inside him — and the conflict left him falling into silence more and more.
"Isn't the answer obvious?"
"Some things simply aren't ours to question."
Ōnoki looked at the man before him, calm, clearly unwilling to discuss the matter further.
"Once you're gone, send word to Kitsuchi and Deidara, leading our forces. Tell them this war is different from anything before — no need to worry about supply lines. Go all out."
Hearing this, Han nodded quietly and withdrew.
There was, in fact, no need to worry about logistics at all. The Land of Earth's nobility had already emptied their coffers entirely for this war effort. A thousand years of accumulated wealth now had every forge and workshop across the Land of Earth running around the clock — kunai, shuriken, explosive tags, every kind of shinobi tool imaginable, along with soldier pills and countless other war supplies, pouring out like factory waste.
Watching Han leave, Ōnoki didn't dwell on it further. He turned his attention to arranging a video conference with the Raikage, Suna's acting Kazekage, and Kirigakure's elder strategist Genshi.
As for the Mizukage — Kirigakure still hadn't chosen a new one.
The previous Fifth Mizukage, Utakata, had, frankly, been the tallest option among a group of short candidates to begin with. Now that this Fifth Mizukage — the Six-Tails jinchūriki — had been captured by Akatsuki, Kirigakure would have already collapsed into total leaderless chaos if not for Genshi, ninety years old, single-handedly holding the village together.
Even so, if Kirigakure didn't produce a new Mizukage within the next three years, the village would be finished for good.
Genshi was old. Far too old.
Ōnoki had no other agenda in all this. If the nobility across the entire shinobi world had pooled their combined strength to eliminate the Fifth Hokage, then he'd simply try to help make it happen.
As for joining forces with the Hokage instead?
The thought never crossed Ōnoki's mind. Absurd.
He, too, was old now. Seventy years old.
Long past the age of hot-blooded impulse, of leaping into action without thinking things through.
His only real priority now was raising a proper Fourth Tsuchikage for the next generation of Iwagakure.
Fortunately, with Deidara's return to the village, that decision now had a second candidate beyond just Kurotsuchi.
At seventy, Ōnoki couldn't afford another upheaval. He wasn't chasing glory — he simply wanted to avoid disaster.
If given the chance, though, Ōnoki wouldn't have minded personally using this opportunity to cut down this remarkably gifted Fifth Hokage of Konoha.
After all, no one — regardless of allegiance — really wanted to see a Hokage like her exist.
With that thought, something occurred to him, and he headed to the video conference room — only this time, he wasn't just contacting the Wind, Lightning, and Water villages.
He'd added one more contact to the call.
Amegakure.
—
Land of Rain — Amegakure
Central Tower
A blue-haired woman with short hair stood before an iron door, her amber eyes fixed on it with quiet worry.
Behind it — Nagato.
He'd been shut inside that room for two full days now.
"Lady Angel."
A voice pulled Konan out of her thoughts, and she turned to look at the figure before her.
The newcomer was small in stature, kneeling on one knee, eyes glinting with something close to fervent devotion as she looked at Konan.
"What is it?"
Konan asked, calm.
She recognized this girl — a genuinely promising shinobi from within Amegakure's own ranks. Her name was Ajisai.
"The Third Tsuchikage of Iwagakure has requested a direct video conference."
"To discuss how to move against the Konoha Hokage."
"Also present: Suna's acting Kazekage, Kumo's Raikage, and Kiri's elder strategist Genshi."
Ajisai's report left Konan momentarily distracted.
With everything happening around Nagato, she was, at present, the highest-ranking authority left in Amegakure.
She was aware, of course, of the scale of the shinobi world's mobilization against Konoha — aware enough to know Amegakure had already dispatched three thousand shinobi to join the coalition assault on the Land of Fire.
And now the Tsuchikage was reaching out to Amegakure directly — which meant, clearly, he intended to draw the village — no, Akatsuki itself — into the effort.
She glanced back once at the sealed iron door, sighed quietly, and headed toward the conference room.
By the time Konan arrived, several screens were already displaying the faces of representatives from each village.
The Third Tsuchikage. The Fifth Raikage. Suna's acting Kazekage. Kirigakure's elder strategist Genshi.
They'd clearly already been deliberating for some time; the conversation paused briefly as Konan entered.
"Didn't expect Akatsuki's leader wouldn't be the one joining us."
Ōnoki, looking at the blue-haired woman on his screen, recognized instantly that she wasn't Akatsuki's actual leader.
It had nothing to do with anything specific — simply decades of experience as Tsuchikage, honed instinct.
Konan's face was elegant, refined, her eyes clear and untroubled — nothing about her suggested someone capable of commanding S-rank missing-nin.
And according to intelligence Deidara had leaked, Akatsuki's leader possessed the Rinnegan.
This woman was, at most, a close confidante of that leader.
Akatsuki's White Tiger.
"Our leader is occupied with pressing matters. I've been sent in his place."
Konan wasn't skilled at dealing with figures like these, and kept her words brief.
"Can you actually speak for Amegakure? For Akatsuki?"
Killer Bee asked, wary.
He knew about Akatsuki's tailed-beast hunting, even if he didn't fully understand its purpose. But that they'd successfully captured a Mizukage and a Kazekage was proof enough of their strength.
That alone was reason enough for caution.
"I can."
Konan nodded slightly.
Beside her, Temari — Suna's acting Kazekage — kept a stony expression throughout, saying nothing at all.
The very people responsible for harming Gaara sat right there on this call, and she was expected to cooperate with them. Not disconnecting from the call on the spot already counted as remarkable restraint on her part.
Kirigakure's elder strategist Genshi, meanwhile, showed no reaction whatsoever, his expression perfectly calm.
"Now that Akatsuki's representative has arrived, we can begin the meeting properly."
"But first, allow me to ask something."
"Where is Akatsuki's Rinnegan?"
Ōnoki got straight to the point.
That drew a visible reaction from both Temari and Killer Bee, and even Genshi — a man who'd seen every manner of upheaval in his long life — raised his eyes at the question.
The Sage of the Six Paths wasn't just legend. The Rinnegan was said to be his own dōjutsu.
None of them had realized Akatsuki actually possessed it.
Konan's expression stayed calm, but a single figure surfaced in her mind.
Deidara.
"Before I answer that, allow me to share one piece of information first."
"Five days ago, the Rinnegan already crossed blades with the Hokage."
Konan said, calm.
This wasn't information she could realistically keep hidden.
The confrontation between the Hokage and Pain had taken place out over the ocean, technically — but that stretch of water sat right along the Land of Fire's coastline. The Land of Whirlpools and the Land of Waves were both nearby, and given how much destruction Super Shinra Tensei and the Hokage's single fist stilling an entire storm had caused, the local fishermen in the area had inevitably caught wind of at least some of it.
"What?"
Konan's words left everyone visibly startled.
But their expressions quickly turned grim, one after another.
The Hokage had fought the Rinnegan directly. And now, the Hokage was preparing openly for war — while the Rinnegan's holder was nowhere to be seen.
Which meant—
The Rinnegan had lost.
"Did the Hokage capture the Rinnegan, then?"
Temari forced the question out, her voice hoarse.
"No. He managed to escape, thanks to the Rinnegan's own abilities."
Konan shook her head.
Even so, a dark cloud settled over the room.
Even the legendary Rinnegan hadn't been a match for the Hokage...
Was there even any point in fighting this war at all?
"Everyone. This war was never a question of whether we can win."
"It's a question of whether we have any choice but to fight it."
Ōnoki looked around at everyone present, and let out an internal sigh.
Exactly as he'd said — the Hokage had crossed a line the nobility could never let stand. This war was, at this point, entirely unavoidable, regardless of the odds.
And given each of their positions relative to the nobility, every leader here would almost certainly end up facing the Hokage personally, sooner or later.
As for the Hokage holding back, out of some sense of restraint?
Don't be absurd.
Warfare was the gravest matter any nation could face. Whatever limited personal rapport Ōnoki had built with the Hokage over their brief interactions, he could already tell — she wouldn't hold anything back in a confrontation like this, personal history or not.
And this wasn't merely a war over territory or resources, either. It ran far deeper than that — a war between social classes themselves.
If the Hokage simply wanted material gain, she already controlled the Land of Fire outright. A single word from her would put the wealthiest nation in the shinobi world entirely at her disposal.
"So — what's the plan?"
Killer Bee spoke up. As Raikage, he was, if anyone here, the one most eager to see the Hokage dead.
"The Land of Fire may be wealthy, and it's won all four of the previous Great Ninja Wars."
"More than once, it's defeated the four Great Hidden Villages outright in direct combat."
Genshi, silent until now, spoke slowly, drawing every eye in the room, Ōnoki included.
After all — this old man had been active during the Warring States era itself, back when Ōnoki himself hadn't even been born yet.
"Is Lord Genshi trying to talk up our enemy while tearing down our own morale?"
Temari's expression darkened at that.
"Respecting your opponent, and respecting yourself honestly — that's what genuine self-respect looks like."
"Belittling an enemy out of pride is nothing but an insult to yourself."
Genshi's words were calm, but carried real weight, and Temari fell silent at that.
Seeing her hold her tongue, Genshi continued.
"Konoha won all four previous wars because we were fighting each other, divided. Even in the wars we lost to them, it was never anything like what we face now."
"The entire shinobi world, united as one."
"Even Konoha cannot stand against that."
"I don't know the true extent of the Rinnegan's power. I don't know the full measure of the Hokage's strength, either."
"But there is one thing I know for certain."
"Every person eventually reaches their limit."
"However skilled this Hokage may be — is she truly a match for what Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha once were, in their prime?"
"A shinobi without Senju or Uchiha blood, standing against the full might of our combined coalition — I genuinely cannot imagine how she withstands that."
"After all... not every shinobi in Konoha is the Hokage."
"And it's no longer just the four of us — Wind, Lightning, Earth, Water, and Rain. The smaller nations — Snow, Bears, Rice Paddies, Waterfall — have joined as well."
"Nine nations combined, our forces number over sixty thousand shinobi."
"Konoha's forces, at their absolute maximum, number no more than twenty thousand."
"Sixty thousand against twenty thousand. The advantage is decisively ours."
Genshi turned his gaze toward Konan and continued, unhurried.
"According to our intelligence, the shinobi world's S-rank missing-nin — Kisame Hoshigaki, Sasori of the Red Sand, Obito Uchiha, and Hiruko — are all currently with Akatsuki."
"Add a Rinnegan to that roster, plus the combined forces of Wind, Lightning, and Earth."
"With a lineup like that, even Hashirama Senju himself would have struggled against it."
"Let alone a single Fifth Hokage."
"This war was already won before it even started."
At that, Killer Bee spoke up. "There's more than that. One more name to add."
Every eye in the room turned toward him, and a name — one none of them had heard spoken in a long time — left his mouth.
"Konoha's S-rank missing-nin. Orochimaru."
(End of chapter.)
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