Chapter 161: All the Blame Points Straight at Oborotsuki!
Meanwhile, Oborotsuki continued tailing Nagato, Obito, and the others, following them all the way from the Land of Lightning's sphere of influence back into the Land of Rain—Amegakure's territory.
On the other side, in Kumogakure, the Fourth Raikage and his people had finally received the intelligence report sent back by Motoi.
At this moment, inside the Raikage's office, a tall, muscular man with a beard slammed his fist down onto the desk with terrifying force.
That single, earth-shaking punch instantly reduced the solid wooden desk to splinters—like it was made of tofu.
"Lord Raikage… please restrain your emotions."
His secretary, Samui, looked helplessly at the desk that had been smashed to pieces and sighed as she reminded him.
"Hmph! Damn it!"
"How dare Kirigakure touch one of Kumogakure's jinchūriki! This is absolutely outrageous!"
"They must be planning to start another war!!"
The Fourth Raikage roared in fury, completely ignoring Samui's attempt to calm him.
He gritted his teeth, still not satisfied after destroying the desk. Turning around like an enraged bull, he prepared to smash through the wall and charge out to rescue his sworn brother Killer Bee.
"Lord Raikage!!"
"Please calm down!"
Samui shouted again when she saw what was happening.
"Don't stop me, Samui!"
"Killer Bee isn't just Kumogakure's Eight-Tails jinchūriki—he isn't just a strategic weapon! He's my brother!"
"I'm heading to Kirigakure right now with my men to force them to release Killer Bee!"
With that, the Fourth Raikage took large strides toward the door.
But at that moment, the office door opened, and Kumogakure elder Tutai walked in.
"Lord Raikage, where are you going in such a hurry?"
"Of course to rescue Killer Bee!"
Seeing Tutai, the Fourth Raikage restrained his temper slightly and appeared a bit more composed.
After all, this man had been the Raikage's advisor since the Third Raikage's era—an extremely important figure.
"Calm down, Lord Fourth Raikage."
"From the intelligence we've received so far, it's not necessarily Hōzuki Oborotsuki from Kirigakure who took action."
"Besides the confirmed enemy from Kirigakure's Hōzuki clan, there was also a group of unidentified enemies with exceptionally strong power."
"Moreover, we've lost contact with the front line. We can no longer reach Motoi or Killer Bee, so we cannot confirm with certainty that Killer Bee is currently in Kirigakure!"
Tutai's analysis visibly calmed the Fourth Raikage down.
He grabbed Motoi's report again, carefully reread it several times, and finally confirmed that what Tutai said was true.
"Lord Raikage, I already told you to calm down…"
Samui shook her head helplessly.
"Who exactly are those people wearing red cloud cloaks?"
"Does ANBU have any intelligence on them?"
The Fourth Raikage ignored Samui and asked Tutai in a deep voice.
"This is exactly what I came to report, Lord Fourth Raikage. I just returned from the ANBU intelligence department."
"Regarding the identity of that mysterious group, the intelligence department has analyzed and speculated that they very likely belong to an organization called 'Akatsuki.'"
"Akatsuki?"
"Yes. This Akatsuki organization is extremely mysterious. Its members possess unfathomable strength. The intelligence we currently have is very limited—we only know that they regularly accept high-difficulty underground black market bounty missions."
"And according to black market rumors, their mission completion rate is 100%—no matter how difficult the task they accept, they seem to complete it perfectly…"
Tutai relayed all the intelligence Kumogakure's ANBU had gathered about Akatsuki to the Fourth Raikage.
Hearing this, the Fourth Raikage's eyes instantly turned terrifying.
"Do we know where this Akatsuki organization's hideout is?"
"Not yet."
"Then immediately dispatch more personnel—have ANBU investigate this matter with full force!"
"Also, make arrangements, Tutai."
"I want a direct meeting with the Fifth Mizukage of Kirigakure!"
"Even if Killer Bee wasn't taken by Hōzuki Oborotsuki from Kirigakure, this matter is at least connected to them!!"
"If anything happens to my sworn brother, whether it's Kirigakure or Akatsuki—they will all pay the price!"
The Fourth Raikage roared his orders in fury.
"There's one more thing."
"Lord Raikage, the earlier disappearance of the Two-Tails is very likely also connected to this group. When you meet with the Fifth Mizukage, you can appropriately inquire about the relevant situation."
"But before we have definitive evidence, please exercise restraint."
Tutai reminded him.
"I understand. I know what I'm doing!"
After saying that, the Fourth Raikage turned and stormed out of the office in anger.
…
The news quickly reached Kirigakure.
Upon learning that the Fourth Raikage wanted to meet and talk with her about the disappearance of the Eight-Tails jinchūriki, Terumī Mei let out a helpless sigh.
"Oborotsuki, oh Oborotsuki… you kid really know how to stir up trouble for people!"
"Mizura, make the arrangements immediately."
Though she said this, Terumī Mei still decided to meet the Fourth Raikage and clarify the situation.
But just as she made that decision, new information arrived.
"Lady Terumī Mei, there is some bad news to report."
"Bad news?"
Terumī Mei looked seriously at the ANBU in front of her: "You should be called Hoshigaki Kisame, right?"
"Yes."
"What's the bad news? Is it about Hōzuki Oborotsuki?"
Terumī Mei's first thought was him.
After all, Oborotsuki had said he was going to tail Akatsuki and head to their headquarters to seize something.
Although Terumī Mei was confident in Oborotsuki's strength and knew he wasn't someone who could be easily defeated,
the opponent was Akatsuki—and possibly someone claiming to be Uchiha Madara.
So an accident wasn't impossible.
The unease in her heart grew stronger with every thought, and her gaze unconsciously became sharper.
"It's not directly about Lord Oborotsuki, but strictly speaking… it is related to him…"
Hoshigaki Kisame shook his head.
Hearing this, Terumī Mei immediately became even more puzzled.
"What do you mean?"
"Konoha and Sunagakure have joined forces to accuse Lord Oborotsuki of controlling the One-Tail Shukaku to attack Sunagakure, and controlling the Nine-Tails to attack Konoha."
"Now the two villages are jointly demanding that Kirigakure hand over the culprit and compensate them for their losses."
"If we refuse their conditions, they will consider declaring war on Kirigakure."
Hoshigaki Kisame spoke while handing over the latest intelligence just obtained by the intelligence department.
Hearing these words, Terumī Mei's brows instantly furrowed into a tight knot.
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