Ch.163 Akatsuki's Objective!

Shinji sorted through the entire process in his mind, then instructed Neji, "When we escaped from the moon, we encountered a battle between the Hidden Cloud and the Akatsuki. Some of them saw you with me, so you need to think about how to explain yourself when you return."

Neji, unaware of this situation, appeared surprised, "What? The Hidden Cloud and Akatsuki fought? Where? In the Land of the Moon?"

Shinji nodded slightly and recounted the events.

In this action, those who saw Shinji and Neji together included the elder of the Otsutsuki branch, Kakuzu, and Hidan—the so-called "immortal" duo—severely injured Hidden Cloud shinobi, Shi, and, finally, Deidara.

The elder of the Otsutsuki branch, as a member who misinterpreted the will of Hamura Otsutsuki, naturally harbored hostility toward all shinobi on Earth, so there was no concern about him collaborating with the Five Great Shinobi Nations. At most, he might contact the Hyuga clan to probe for information. However, since Neji had also infiltrated the Otsutsuki branch's castle, it was uncertain whether the Otsutsuki on the moon would still trust the Hyuga clan.

Meanwhile, Deidara still believed Shinji to be an "inner" member of Akatsuki, so the chance of him leaking information was low.

Thus, the ones who could potentially disclose information were limited to Kakuzu, Hidan, and Shi from the Hidden Cloud—assuming they were still alive.

Neji reached a similar conclusion and said, "Master, once I return to the village, I plan to report voluntarily."

Shinji glanced at Neji, waiting for more.

"Since those defectors from your organization and the Hidden Cloud shinobi saw me with you, continuing to hide it is pointless," Neji paused, as if organizing his thoughts, then continued, "So, I want to voluntarily report the encounter with you to the village."

Shinji asked, "How do you plan to report it?"

"That I accidentally encountered you while training outside," Neji's thoughts became clearer as he spoke. "Then, I was captured by you, later caught in the middle of the Akatsuki's and the Hidden Cloud's battle, and finally, you released me because you found out I was a branch member of the Hyuga clan and deemed me of no value."

Shinji smirked, "And what about the matters related to the moon?"

Neji shook his head, "Rest assured, Master, I won't mention anything about the moon—not a single word, to anyone! And when I return, I'll find an opportunity to return the scroll I stole from the Hyuga main family's estate, to prevent the main family from noticing the theft and suspecting me."

"Good!"

Shinji nodded in approval.

Neji's story should be sufficient to handle the village's inquiries.

It wasn't that Neji's story was flawless; rather, it was because Neji was just an eight-year-old boy, a branch member marked with the "Caged Bird" seal, with his life in the hands of the main family. It would be hard for anyone to believe that the Akatsuki, with its grand plans, would be closely connected to a young shinobi academy student like him.

Moreover...

When Kakuzu, Hidan, and Shi saw Shinji, Neji was unconscious, so the story aligned well with what they might say.

After finalizing their plan, Shinji let Neji leave first. Once Neji departed, Shinji quickly took a different path toward the village.

During his time outside, he hadn't filed for any travel passes with the village; instead, he had left a shadow clone behind while his true body snuck out. Therefore, he had to return to the village as quickly as possible; otherwise, his shadow clone might not hold up much longer.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!

In a series of rapid movements, several figures landed on the battlefield where the Hidden Cloud had clashed with the Akatsuki.

All of these figures wore the headbands of the Hidden Cloud Village, and their attire clearly showed that they were no ordinary shinobi.

At that moment, the Fourth Raikage landed and roared, "Search thoroughly! Don't miss a single clue!"

"Yes!"

The surrounding Hidden Cloud shinobi responded in unison before spreading out to comb the battlefield for any remaining traces.

Just then, the Fourth Mizukage arrived on the scene, leading a group of Mist shinobi.

Seeing the Fourth Raikage's grim expression, seemingly trying to contain his anger, the Fourth Mizukage hurriedly stepped forward and asked, "What happened here? What's going on?"

Standing beside the Fourth Mizukage were Mei Terumi, Zabuza, and Kisame, all frowning as they examined the area.

Though they were not very familiar with the terrain of the Land of the Moon, the dry lake bed, the swathes of felled trees, and the pockmarked battlefield, full of pits of various sizes, clearly did not belong to a normal landscape.

This scene left them bewildered and shocked.

Even though they were among the elite of the Mist Village, they couldn't imagine the battle that had unfolded here just from the remnants.

When questioned by the Fourth Mizukage, the Fourth Raikage remained silent for a while before grumbling, "We fought against Akatsuki here!"

"You fought!?" The Fourth Mizukage was taken aback and urgently asked, "And the result? Did you capture any of them?"

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh.

Before the Raikage could respond, another group arrived at the battlefield.

Leading this group was none other than Danzo, one of the Hidden Leaf's advisory elders.

With a sinister expression, he scanned the surroundings, finally fixing his gaze on the Fourth Raikage. "Raikage, whatever you found should be shared with all of us."

The Raikage's veins bulged in anger, "You damn bastard!"

Seeing the Raikage about to lose his temper, the Fourth Mizukage quickly positioned himself between the two, separating them, and then said, "Lord Raikage, no matter what happened, you should inform us. A battle of this scale can't be kept hidden!"

Realizing that he might need the cooperation of the other Great Nations to rescue Yugito, the Fourth Raikage suppressed his rage and said, "We fell into an ambush set by Akatsuki here!"

Both the Fourth Mizukage and Danzo were momentarily stunned.

It wasn't hard for them to deduce from the Raikage's words that the Hidden Cloud had suffered a defeat in this battle.

The Fourth Mizukage then asked, "What are the losses?"

Reluctantly, the Fourth Raikage explained that Yugito and an elite Storm Release jonin had been captured by the Akatsuki.

"What!?"

The Fourth Mizukage was shocked.

Danzo also looked surprised, "Raikage, are you telling me that you, along with two Jinchuriki from your village, three jonin, and a squad of communication shinobi, fell into an Akatsuki ambush, and only three of you made it out alive, including yourself?"

The Fourth Raikage responded with a gloomy nod.

This revelation left the Fourth Mizukage and Danzo speechless.

Before this, they had already taken the Akatsuki seriously, which was why they had rushed to the Land of the Moon as soon as the battle ended.

But they hadn't expected that even with the Fourth Raikage, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki Killer Bee, and the Two-Tails Jinchuriki Yugito, as well as elite jonin like those with Storm Release and Magnet Release, the Hidden Cloud would suffer such a defeat at the hands of the Akatsuki.

They realized that if even the Hidden Cloud's formidable lineup could be defeated by the Akatsuki, their own villages would stand even less of a chance.

After the bloodline clan rebellion, the Mist Village's power and potential had been greatly diminished. Even with their best forces combined, they couldn't match the strength the Hidden Cloud had brought to this battle.

And although the Hidden Leaf was considered the strongest among the Five Great Nations, a series of events—the death of the White Fang, Tsunade's departure, Orochimaru's defection, the death of the Fourth Hokage and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and the Uchiha Clan's demise—had left the village in a transition period.

Currently, the village's remaining elite included the aging Third Hokage, Danzo, and the traveling Jiraiya.

Newer talents like Kakashi, Guy, and Asuma were still developing, not yet ready to take on leadership roles.

Thus, even the Hidden Leaf couldn't match the powerful forces the Hidden Cloud had fielded this time.

For Akatsuki to have beaten the Hidden Cloud without even revealing its leader showed that the organization was now a serious threat to a major village.

Realizing this, the Mist and Hidden Leaf representatives grew tense.

At this moment, a Hidden Cloud shinobi approached the Fourth Raikage and reported, "Lord Raikage, we've searched within a 20-kilometer radius and found no traces."

The Fourth Raikage growled, "How can there be no traces?"

The Hidden Cloud shinobi wiped the sweat from his forehead and cautiously replied, "It appears that they either erased the evidence or flew away from the battlefield, so we found no useful information."

The Fourth Raikage grabbed the shinobi by the collar, "What about the sensory squad? Did they sense Yugito's chakra?"

The shinobi nervously answered, "The sensory squad hasn't detected any sign of Yugito's chakra yet. It's possible that she is too far away, or..."

The Fourth Mizukage narrowed his eyes, "Or what?"

The Hidden Cloud shinobi opened his mouth but couldn't bring himself to say it.

With the Five Great Nations targeting Akatsuki, a high-ranking official from their ranks falling into Akatsuki's hands would mean nothing good.

And being a Jinchuriki, Yugito's fate was either death or being sealed away.

The Fourth Raikage released his grip, letting the shinobi go.

He knew full well that he had made the decision to abandon Yugito. If anyone was to be held accountable later, he, as the Raikage, would be the first in line.

Seeing the Fourth Mizukage's thoughtful expression, Danzo seemed to realize something as well, saying, "Why did Akatsuki capture the Two-Tails Jinchuriki? Could their goal be the Tailed Beasts?"

The Fourth Raikage's eyes widened in realization.

Amid the intense battles and the subsequent efforts to recover Yugito, he had not considered why the Akatsuki had targeted them.

But now, hearing Danzo's suggestion, it suddenly seemed plausible that Akatsuki's real target was the Jinchuriki—or more precisely, the Tailed Beasts within them.

Since the Akatsuki's activities had drawn attention from all the Great Nations, including his own Hidden Cloud, it made no sense for them to target the strongest village first.

It would have been more logical to go after weaker villages like the Mist or Sand.

Yet Akatsuki had specifically targeted the Hidden Cloud, laying an intricate trap in the Land of the Moon, luring him to lead his elite forces into an ambush, resulting in Yugito's capture.

Comparing the Hidden Cloud to the other villages, the key difference was that the Hidden Cloud's Jinchuriki were not only adults but also fully capable of utilizing their Tailed Beasts' powers as perfect Jinchuriki.

Thinking from the Akatsuki's perspective, if their goal was truly the Tailed Beasts, the logical first target would be the Hidden Cloud.

After all, the Hidden Cloud was the toughest target.

If Akatsuki went after other villages' Jinchuriki first, it would alert the Hidden Cloud's perfect Jinchuriki, making capturing them far more challenging later.

The Fourth Mizukage and Danzo quickly reached the same conclusion.

"Given the current situation, the threat may be greater than we imagined. I propose we initiate another Five Kage Summit!"

The Fourth Mizukage suggested.

Danzo, with a grim expression, nodded.

Akatsuki's strength and ambition had exceeded his expectations, filling him with unease.

The Fourth Raikage also agreed, "Indeed, Yugito might still be alive. We should immediately form a special team and rescue her from Akatsuki's clutches."

With their consensus, they instructed the communication shinobi to contact the Hidden Stone and Hidden Sand, then set off towards the Hidden Leaf Village.

A few days later.

The news of the battle between the Hidden Cloud and Akatsuki in the Land of the Moon quickly spread throughout the shinobi world.

Along with this news came the details of the battle.

Learning that the Hidden Cloud, led by the Fourth Raikage, with two perfect Jinchuriki and three elite jonin, had been defeated by Akatsuki left every village in shock.

It's worth noting that the shinobi world is not just composed of the Five Great Nations; there are also many smaller villages like the Grass, Waterfall, Sound, and Hot Springs.

The strength Akatsuki had displayed was now enough to pose a serious threat to these smaller villages.

Soon after, more detailed reports of the battle began to circulate.

It was revealed that Akatsuki had used the monster Moryo and Shinno to hold off the Hidden Cloud's strongest "AB" duo. The Sand defector, Sasori of the Red Sand, single-handedly defeated three elite Hidden Cloud jonin, while the previously underestimated duo of Kakuzu and Hidan silently dealt with Yugito, the Two-Tails Jinchuriki.

Additional details also surfaced.

For example, during the battle, Sasori controlled a puppet that could manipulate iron sand using Magnet Release.

It's known that the ability to use Magnet Release is not exclusive to the Hidden Sand; some Hidden Cloud shinobi also possess this kekkei genkai.

However, the Hidden Cloud's Magnet Release could only attach magnetism to metals, not control iron sand as freely as Sasori did.

The only person in the shinobi world known to have mastered this was the Third Kazekage, the strongest Kazekage.