Chapter 993: The Plan Changes

The Hokage’s secretary, Mabui, did not leave; as the Hokage’s secretary, she was naturally expected to be present.

“It’s like this, Raikage: aside from Konoha, all other ninja villages have lost their tailed beasts to Akatsuki. Originally, Hashirama Senju distributed the nine tailed beasts among the major villages to create mutual deterrence. Now that these weapons are under threat, shouldn’t we unite to confront Akatsuki?”

“That makes sense.”

The Fourth Raikage nodded, agreeing with Darui’s view—and he had other thoughts as well.

“Darui, unity is important, but before that, we must clarify what’s happening in Konoha. Right now, only Konoha still holds a tailed beast, and the Uchiha clan’s ties to Konoha run too deep.”

The Fourth Raikage suddenly remembered something and turned his gaze toward Mabui.

“Contact the other four ninja villages. Say the Cloud Village demands a Five Kage Summit. Under these circumstances, they won’t refuse.”

The Fourth Raikage planned to convene the Five Kage Summit. He had three goals: first, to forge a ninja village alliance; second, to assign blame; third, to smear Konoha.

Why did all the other villages lose their tailed beasts, yet Konoha’s remains untouched?

This excuse may sound frivolous, but it’s exactly the Cloud Village’s style—they once used a similar tactic to extort the Byakugan from Konoha, nearly succeeding.

The Fourth Raikage didn’t yet know that the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, could no longer serve as Hokage; thus, Konoha had appointed an acting Hokage: Danzo.

Danzo, that old schemer, could easily handle the Raikage’s extortion—and he welcomed the idea of the Five Kage Summit. If he represented Konoha at the summit, it would accelerate his official appointment.

Under these circumstances, with the Raikage preparing to hold Konoha accountable, the Five Kage Summit was imminent.

Outside the Raikage’s office window, several spore balls clung to the gaps along the windowsill. Each was no larger than a grain of rice, with not a trace of chakra fluctuation inside.

…

Akatsuki base.

Su Xiao and the others had finalized their next plan. Just as they were about to depart, Zetsu suddenly halted.

“My clone has obtained critical intelligence via the Spore Technique.”

White Zetsu spoke.

“What intelligence? Where from?”

“From the Cloud Village. Just minutes ago. These are spores I planted in the Cloud Village two months ago—placed close to the Raikage’s office. So I had my clone continuously monitor those few spore balls…”

White Zetsu explained the importance of those spore balls with a tone of self-praise.

“Just tell us the intelligence.”

Itachi grew impatient with White Zetsu’s chatter.

“The Fourth Raikage plans to convene the Five Kage Summit. It will be held in three days in the neutral country of Iron. From what I heard, his main goal is to hold Konoha accountable…”

White Zetsu provided detailed intelligence: five kage gathering in three days might seem rushed, but ninja are far more mobile than politicians—especially the kage themselves. Three days is more than enough, even with room to spare.

The shorter the timeframe, the lower the risk of the Five Kage Summit being exposed. With only three days, the enemy might not react until the summit is already over.

“Hold Konoha accountable…”

Itachi became interested. If the Raikage intended to rally the other four villages, he would sabotage it. Though his plan included uniting the five villages, it was still too early—his power was insufficient to confront all five.

But if the Raikage acted unilaterally, it was different. With so many tailed beasts captured, all five villages were simmering with rage. If he could successfully sow discord and incite them to kill each other, sparking war, capturing the remaining two tailed beasts would become simple.

The more Itachi thought about it, the more appealing it became. Besides, he didn’t want the five villages to unite just yet.

“Five Kage Summit.”

Upon hearing this keyword, Su Xiao immediately understood how far the situation had progressed.

“You’re interested?”

Itachi stared intently at Su Xiao.

“Of course… interested. I have personal matters to settle.”

“But what about the Nine-Tails?”

“Don’t worry. The Nine-Tails will come chasing after us on its own.”

Su Xiao glanced unconsciously at Sasuke. As long as Sasuke was present, Naruto would inevitably come running after him—no doubt about it.

Su Xiao was curious about one thing: without Naruto as the protagonist, how would the Fourth Shinobi World War turn out? Or, if he indirectly altered the war’s outcome, how much World Source—or other rewards—would he gain?

The more Su Xiao thought about it, the more intrigued he became. Undoubtedly, the Five Kage Summit was a crucial turning point. Participating as an Akatsuki member promised immense gains.

“Are you certain?”

Itachi sensed Su Xiao’s intent to join the Five Kage Summit, but he wouldn’t stop him.

For a mutually beneficial arrangement like this, Itachi had no reason to interfere.

“Deidara, send Zetsu’s clone to Sasori. The Five Kage Summit may be more important.”

“That decision seems unwise.”

A low, gravelly voice spoke—it was Black Zetsu. He immediately intervened upon realizing Itachi was concentrating their main forces on the Five Kage Summit.

“We’ll discuss it later.”

Itachi’s expression didn’t change. Though Black Zetsu was displeased, others were present, so he couldn’t say more.

“It’s decided. Except for Kisame, who’s already hunting the Eight-Tails, everyone else heads to the Iron Country, the summit’s location.”

Itachi sensed this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“Cause a big commotion? Hmm.”

Deidara’s mouth opened on his palm, extending a crimson tongue.

“Depends on the situation. But what if one or two kage died during the summit?”

Itachi’s meaning was clear: seize the chance to kill one or two kage. Only chaos would allow them to act freely.

“Depart in half an hour. Head to the Iron Country.”

The final plan was set: proceed to the Iron Country and seize the opportunity during the Five Kage Summit to assassinate the kage, targeting the Hokage, Raikage, and Mizukage as primary objectives. The death of any one of these three would likely plunge the situation into chaos.

Especially the Mizukage: Kirigakure had only just stabilized. If the Mizukage suddenly died, the village would instantly erupt into turmoil, and all accumulated hatreds would explode at once.

The meeting ended. As everyone prepared to depart, Bubu Wang remained still, looking up at Su Xiao with a gaze that seemed to ask: “Master, where’s my happy partner, Deidara?”

Su Xiao didn’t know the exact answer to Bubu Wang’s question. If he wasn’t mistaken, Deidara was buried somewhere underground, though the precise location was unknown.

Itachi and the Zetsu brothers walked deeper into the base—likely because Black Zetsu wanted to speak with Itachi. Nine times out of ten, it was because Itachi’s focus on the Five Kage Summit had angered Black Zetsu, who believed the Rinnegan was more important.

Itachi had his own thoughts: Nagato’s Rinnegan wouldn’t be an issue for six months. The Five Kage Summit, however, was imminent. He could clearly distinguish urgency and priority.