Chapter – 373 Samui?

At Amegakure.

After the entire battlefield was cleaned up and all the clues that might have been left behind by Akatsuki discovered… the leftover of tri-Alliance was ready to withdraw from Amegakure.

In the clean-up process, the tri-Alliance also found unconscious Samui.

After Samui was found the tri-Alliance hoped that some sort of useful intelligence of Akatsuki can be obtained from her… but strangely enough, she never regained consciousness.

She was alive… all her vital signs were normal… she was breathing, her pulse rate was normal, her body temperature was normal… yet she was unconscious and it didn't seem that she would regain her consciousness anytime soon.

Hokage even ordered Yamanaka Inoichi to check what exactly was happening with her… and see if he could find some memories of her of the time she was captured.

But after probing inside her consciousness for a long while… Yamanaka Patriarch found nothing except for pure emptiness.

It felt as if she was no longer there… or more precisely, it felt as if her soul was no longer present in her body…

It was strange considering the fact that she was alive… yet it seemed that there was no soul inside her.

Everyone was confused.

Raikage muttered with a frown, "What sort of Jutsu can do something like this? She is alive and at the same time she is not?"

Yamanaka Patriarch added, "In all my life as a Shinobi… I have never seen something like this before… it seems as if she is completely brain dead… but it's different from brain dead… it's more like there is nothing inside her brain… no memories, no emotions, no awareness, and to be exact, no existence… I am not even sure if she will ever regain consciousness."

Pakura questioned, "Is there any way she can be treated?"

Yamanaka Patriarch answered, "I am not so sure… perhaps I can try a few things but it will take time…"

"How much time?" Raikage questioned eagerly.

"I cannot say for certain… a few months at least… and even then I am not sure if it will work out." – Yamanaka Patriarch answered Raikage's question.

Raikage was silent upon hearing Yamanaka Patriarch's words.

Yamanaka Patriarch's words mean that Samui will have to stay in Konoha so that he can try those few methods to see if they work… staying in Konoha means she will be vulnerable to giving out Kumo's intelligence to Konoha…

All eyes gathered on Raikage… it is his decision…

In the entire Shinobi World when it comes to the study of the human brain, Yamanaka Clan is unmatched… so technically having Samui under the care of the Yamanaka Clan is reasonably the best option… but it also concerns the safety of the village…

'Currently, Akatsuki is the common enemy, I suppose I will have to risk it, there is no other option…' – Raikage thought silently, then said, "Alright, Samui will stay in Konoha… but two shinobi from my village will also be staying with her to take care of her…"

Hokage nodded in agreement, "That sounds acceptable, I have no problem with it."

Raikage also added, "Additionally, I also want a regular report of her status."

Yamanaka Patriarch nodded, "I will make sure to keep her status in check and I will also relay it to the two Kumo Shinobi on a regular basis…"

"In that case let Samui stay in Konoha and find out all that she may have come to know about the Akatsuki for the time she was captured." – Raikage said.

Hokage nodded, "Certainly."

With that agreement, the tri-Alliance finally split into three units and each unit went on their way to their respective villages.

The personnel of tri-Alliance left behind at the site of the pre-war council meeting was still there and they united with their respective units.

After all, was said and done, Maki, Baki, as well as the leftover Suna shinobi, followed Pakura to Sunagakure.

On the other hand, unconscious elder Chiyo and elder Ebizo along with two Suna shinobi and two Konoha shinobi (who were left behind at the place where the pre-war meeting was conducted) followed Jiraiya in search of Tsunade.

Killer Bee as well as other Kumo shinobi followed Raikage to Kumogakure.

While two other Kumo shinobi carried Samui and followed Hokage to Konoha as per Raikage's orders.

On their way to Konoha, Sandaime specifically summoned Hyuga Kuroto for some inquiry, "Kuroto… were you able to see through Tobi's mask and figure out his true identity?" – Hokage had hoped that Hyuga Kuroto with his Byakugan could have seen through the guise of Tobi.

But Hokage has to be disappointed as Kuroto shook his head, "Please forgive me Hokage-sama, but my Byakugan was unable to see through his mask… similar to the case with those of Amatsukami"

If real Hyuga Kuroto was present here, he might have taken the advantage of this opportunity and revealed that Tobi is actually 'Uchiha Obito', however, Sandaime Kazekage Puppet is not aware of this information, therefore, he shook his head, as Byakugan's penetration really does not work on Tobi's mask because of many seals on it.

Sandaime was disappointed, but he did not say anything more to Kuroto. The child had already done quite a lot and he cannot be blamed for this whatsoever.

After all, it was 'Hyuga Kuroto' who discovered Akatsuki's base and everything, even Samui was discovered by Hyuga Kuroto… so by no means... he is to be blamed.

Traveling all the way, the unit led by Hokage soon left the Land of Rain and returned to the Land of Fire.

After the three Kage returned to their respective villages, the news of the joint raid conducted by Konoha, Kumo, and Suna was announced.

The news was not still not made public due to many reasons but the higher management of each village was informed.

When the three elders of Konoha Elder Council learned that Hokage had secretly led the elite Anbu unit to launch a raid on Akatsuki they were shocked. And upon learning the devastating results they seriously berated Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Shimura Danzo was at the forefront of it all and angrily questioned as to why was such an important mission hidden from the Elder Council?

Faced with the anger and questioning of the three advisor elders, Sandaime was speechless.

The prestige of Sandaime was seriously affected by this failed mission. Even his control over the village was greatly weakened because of the heavy losses in the Anbu… moreover, this mission indeed caused severe losses to Konoha so he had no way to argue with the three.

Fortunately, enough, both Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu are old acquaintances of Hiruzen and understand his nature and troubles very well. So after a while of berating, both of them finally calmed down and did not pressure Sandaime too much.

Shimura Danzo is also not innocent. He had formerly teamed up with Hanzo to deal with the former leader of Akatsuki, Yahiko… so he knows that he has much involvement in making Akatsuki the way it is today, therefore, he also chose to stay in moderation after venting a little and did not pressure Hiruzen too much for his failure.

Because Danzo is growing more and more afraid as the true extent of Akatsuki's danger is being revealed and fears that the current leader of Akatsuki will definitely come after him sooner or later. Therefore, he does not want to lose his backing in the form of Hokage for the time being… until he is sure he can defeat the leader of Akatsuki and seize Rinnegan for himself.

After all three elders calmed down, Sandaime also breathed a sigh of relief. Taking a deep breath he muttered with a tired expression, "This time, the responsibility of this failure indeed falls on my shoulder…"

Utatane Koharu said, "That may be true, but I am really amazed that even the joint force of three villages could not confront Akatsuki on equal grounds, much less eliminating them…"

Mitokado Homura stated, "Moreover, such an Akatsuki was suppressed by Amatsukami… just what is going on with the shinobi world?"

Since the establishment of the shinobi village system, the five great villages have always been the leader of the shinobi world… they treat each other as somewhat equals while every other village or organization was looked down upon or used for their own benefits.

But now the pattern seems to be changing…

Sandaime sighed, "However shocking it may be, it is the truth… and we have no choice but to accept this reality. Five great shinobi villages that once stood at the top of the pyramid of power are no longer there… the likes of Akatsuki and Amatsukami now stand at the top."

After speaking so, Sandaime further explained the entire raid in detail, although he omitted the part of Tobi being able to use Mokuton for now.

Danzo's eyes flickered at a particular detail, "Hiruko was able to go toe to toe against the Raikage? Both in terms of speed and power?"

Sandaime nodded with a solemn look, "He was… in fact, he had the upper hand… in terms of both speed, reaction speed, as well as strength… Raikage himself admitted it."

'Chimera no Jutsu… I must obtain it from Orochimaru as soon as possible…' – Danzo thought.

At this time Hiruzen also mentioned Amatsukami's proposal to the three elders and asked what are their opinions on this.

Mitokado said after some consideration, "For the proposal from Amatsukami… since we cannot fight against Akatsuki… then it is best to use Amatsukami to confront them, by doing so we can make both organizations eliminate each other…"

Danzo nodded, "It's the best decision for the time being…"

Koharu also nodded in agreement, "I agree, it doesn't seem to be a bad decision… however we have to be careful when dealing with them otherwise…" – Koharu did not complete, and nor was there any need to. All the three elders understood the repercussions of playing with fire.

Sandaime finally nodded. He has considered this a lot and this seems to be the only way to restrain the power of Akatsuki.

At this time Danzo questioned, "Hiruzen, what do you plan to do with Sunagakure… Kazekage is missing, Chiyo and Ebizo are at death's door… only Pakura of the scorch remains…"

Hiruzen frowned at Danzo's words, "What do you suggest?"

Danzo said coldly, "I suggest we take Sunagakure under our full command… this way, Konoha's might will increase and we will stand a better chance against Akatsuki and Amatsu-…" "No!" – However, before Danzo could even finish his words he was interrupted by Sandaime.

Danzo frowned, and anger started to well up inside him, "Why not? Suna is at its weakest right now… Konoha can easily take control of Suna, in fact, you don't even need to use Konoha's Shinobi Army, my Root alone will be able to handle it…"

"I said no, that means NO!" – Hiruzen said coldly, "I want no aggression between any shinobi villages at this point… if we make a move, Tsuchikage will not stay behind… Raikage too will not stay silent… moreover, Suna will not easily accept it… And I am more than ninety percent sure that they will turn to Amatsukami and join hands with them… Neither will Konoha meddle in Suna's personal matters nor will we allow others to meddle in their personal matters, this decision is final, is that understood?"

"Understood!" – Danzo nodded, although begrudgingly.

The other two elders nodded as well.

Sandaime next said, "Next we will hold the Jonin Council meeting and relay the information to all the Jonins, we are in a serious need of manpower."

Danzo sneered, "After the thirds great shinobi war, most of the senior Jonin, especially the ones who are part of the noble shinobi Clans have retired from active shinobi lives. What do you plan to do about them?"

Hiruzen was silent and looked at Danzo expecting him to continue.

Danzo understood, and said, "Konoha is already short on manpower… I suggest that you order them to return to active duty and have them train more recruits from the academy… this way, the majority of the shinobi will be under the orders of the Hokage faction and solve the problem of manpower."

"Agreed" – Both Koharu and Mitokado nodded as well.

As experienced politicians both Mitokado and Utatane can very well understand what Danzo intends to do here… and honestly, they have no problem with it. The noble clans have been enjoying their luxury for quite a while, and it is time that they get to work.

Besides, as Danzo said, the current Konoha really does lack manpower.

After pondering for a while Hiruzen nodded.

Just as Danzo felt proud of himself, Sandaime glanced at him with a cold look and questioned, "By the way, do you have something that you want to tell me about experiments related to Shodaime-sama's cells?"

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