Chapter 995

After the Akatsuki arrived in the Land of Iron, they dispersed into four groups.

Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, and Am stayed outside Snowwind Mountain; Su Xiao was waiting for the right moment—it was unwise to infiltrate the tower inside Snowwind Mountain now.

Nidaime, White Zetsu, Karin, Kirigakure Suigetsu, and Gōzu had already infiltrated the tower within Snowwind Mountain, waiting for the Five Kage to arrive.

Deidara was piloting a clay bird in midair, standing atop its back; in this blizzard, the enemy was unlikely to spot him.

Tobi was also outside Snowwind Mountain, waiting for the right moment.

The wind howled, and a snow sledge sat buried halfway under drifting snow.

Su Xiao leaned against the snow sledge, snow dusting his head; he looked at Bubu Wang and Am—the two were in a “contest.”

Bubu Wang and Am glared at each other, their eyes locked, as if sparks crackled between the dog and the ox.

Bubu Wang strained to widen his eyes, bloodshot and bulging, his paws pressed against his lower eyelids.

Am, meanwhile, bulged his bovine eyes, prying his upper and lower lids apart with thick fingers, tears streaming down.

Just twenty minutes ago, bored, Bubu Wang approached Am, inviting him to “play happily”—a staring contest: whoever blinked first had to eat fifty jin of snow.

The two had been locked in this stare for twenty full minutes; compared to Am’s terrifying 85-point Strength stat, Bubu Wang was clearly about to collapse—like an egg against a stone.

About thirty minutes later, Bubu Wang’s eyes rolled back, then shut—he couldn’t hold on anymore.

“Hohohoho.”

Am pounded his chest with his fists, resembling a giant gorilla; Bubu Wang hung his head, eyes watery, and began devouring snow in huge mouthfuls—he had to eat fifty jin, and no one would stop him.

As Bubu Wang wept while eating snow, a spiral spatial distortion appeared, a twisted figure emerging within it; when the vortex vanished, the figure stabilized, stepping onto the snow.

Crunch.

Two footprints sank into the snow—the newcomer was Tobi, his purpose unknown.

“You seem quite relaxed.”

Tobi walked forward slowly, glancing at Bubu Wang with confusion—clearly unable to understand why the dog was eating snow.

“Burp~”

Bubu Wang let out a burp, water dripping from the corner of his mouth—he’d already consumed nearly twenty jin of snow.

“Do you expect me to act like Sasuke—ambush right inside the Kage summit hall?”

Su Xiao glanced at Tobi; Tobi smiled—he knew Su Xiao would never enter the hall like Sasuke.

“I plan to declare war on the Five Great Shinobi Villages during this opportunity.”

Tobi stared at Snowwind Mountain in the distance, lost in thought.

“So soon?”

Su Xiao didn’t understand why Tobi wanted to declare war now—in the original story, Tobi only gained the strength to challenge the Five Villages after securing Orochimaru’s aid.

“It’s just a declaration—not immediate war. Besides, even without declaring, the outcome will be the same. You must have guessed the true purpose of this Kage summit.”

Tobi sighed—he didn’t want to declare war now either; time was too tight.

Su Xiao immediately understood: the Kage summit was called because each village had lost a Tailed Beast; under this pressure, negotiation was the wisest move, and secondly, to unite against Akatsuki.

Akatsuki had indeed committed many atrocities; originally, it resembled a rogue ninja mercenary group—except for Kumogakure, all other villages had hired Akatsuki to fight their wars for them.

In truth, Akatsuki’s rise owed much to Kumogakure.

Though Akatsuki and Kumogakure seemed unrelated, they weren’t: Kumogakure was a faction of martial fanatics who distrusted Akatsuki and thus never hired them.

Yet over the past decade, Kumogakure had expanded rapidly, scavenging for jutsu everywhere and demanding exorbitant “military funds” from the Lord of the Land of Lightning; when refused, Kumogakure developed its own ninja tech to boost its finances.

In this relatively peaceful era, the lords of the Five Great Nations had all cut funding to their respective villages, weakening their strength; ninja stopped producing, becoming high-cost killing weapons in peacetime—but vital forces in war—so lords could only slightly reduce their expenditures.

This led to a situation: Konoha, Sunagakure, Kirigakure, and Iwagakure’s combat power gradually declined, while Kumogakure expanded rapidly.

With no other choice, the other four villages resorted to cheaper methods to counter Kumogakure—Akatsuki was clearly the best option; hiring Akatsuki cost little—no more than training two or three chūnin—and how could the four villages resist?

Thus, Akatsuki’s rise owed much to Kumogakure.

Now, once the Kage summit began, regardless of the outcome, they would reach one consensus: destroy Akatsuki.

Under this situation, whether Tobi declared war or not had little impact on his future plans; rather than wait for enemies to come knocking, he chose to strike first—at least he wouldn’t lose the initiative.

The Kage summit could no longer be stopped; annihilating all five Kage was impossible; the alliance of the Five Villages against Akatsuki was now inevitable.

What Tobi wanted now was to kill one or two Kage, then immediately declare war, throwing the Five Villages into chaos first.

The Five Villages’ intent to eliminate Akatsuki was already clear—after all, Akatsuki had captured so many Tailed Beasts; whether to declare war now wasn’t critical. Besides, declaring war didn’t mean immediate war—Akatsuki had one great advantage: the Five Villages were in the open, Akatsuki was in the shadows.

When war began wouldn’t be decided by the Five Villages—it would be decided by Akatsuki.

“Then declare war. But…”

Su Xiao lowered his voice; soon, Tobi’s eyes narrowed.

“This…”

Tobi seemed hesitant.

“Agreed.”

Tobi and Su Xiao reached an understanding; the cold, tedious wait began.

…

One day later, inside the central tower of Snowwind Mountain.

The tower had stood for many years, its construction dating back to the early founding of the Land of Iron.

The ancient tower showed no signs of decay; its footprint was vast—roughly the size of a soccer field—and concealed secrets within; its overall shape resembled a pyramid, with a massive base tapering to a sharp peak.

As host, the Land of Iron had chosen the sixth floor of the tower—the highest level—for the Kage summit; this demonstrated proper hospitality while minimizing risks.

The entire tower was built of solid rock, like a war fortress, its interior labyrinthine; without familiarity, even a map might lead one astray.