Minato Namikaze had called this eting for one reason: to discuss Akatsuki's recent movents.
He looked across the room, his expression grave.
"Report the situation in each village."
A, as blunt and hot-blooded as ever, was the first to answer.
"Kumogakure was attacked by Akatsuki," he said sharply, his voice carrying clear anger. "Those bastards defiled the dead and toyed with the souls of our predecessors. Even my old man was brought back through Impure World Reincarnation."
His hand clenched into a fist.
"We lost at least five hundred shinobi. If Itachi hadn't shown up when he did, the damage would've been even worse. Damn it... I'd like nothing more than to blow their heads off."
"That's right," Ōnoki said from the side, his aged voice slow and heavy. "Mū-sama was reanimated as well. And it wasn't just us. The graves of past generations in every village have been disturbed by those wretches. On top of the First and Second Hokage already appearing before this... things are only going to get more troubleso from here."
His expression darkened.
"As everyone here knows, those summoned through Impure World Reincarnation possess endless chakra and bodies that don't break down from ordinary damage. Sealing is the only reliable way to stop them. The enemy stays hidden in the shadows, while we're left reacting in the open."
A let out a sharp, irritated snort.
"Hmph. Those cowards never fight head-on. They strike from the shadows and disappear before you can pin them down. We still don't even know where Akatsuki is hiding."
Minato listened in silence, though a faint headache was already building behind his eyes.
Even with the title of Yellow Flash, he could not be everywhere at once.
And this was no ordinary threat. Akatsuki had already begun unleashing reanimated monsters from the past, one after another.
More and more shinobi sent out on missions had failed to return. Fear had started spreading among the rank and file, and if things continued like this, panic and unrest would erupt inside the villages long before Akatsuki launched a full-scale assault.
It was obvious what their strategy was.
Akatsuki knew a direct confrontation would put them at a disadvantage, so instead they kept dispatching small groups of reanimated shinobi to strike different villages.
And whenever the Fantasy Kingdom's top fighters moved to intercept, those enemies would retreat imdiately instead of fighting to the end.
There was no way to pursue them properly.
Even if soone summoned through Impure World Reincarnation was marked with the Flying Thunder God seal, the caster would simply release the jutsu before tracking could lead anywhere. The signal would vanish halfway through.
"I've already sent every available shinobi from the intelligence division to continue the search," Kabuto Yakushi said at that mont, stepping forward at just the right ti. "Finding Akatsuki's base should only be a matter of ti."
He adjusted his glasses, then continued in a calm, asured tone.
"But right now, the more urgent issue is strengthening each village's defenses. I recomnd temporarily suspending all non-essential missions outside the villages. Each hidden village can handle internal relief and civilian support instead."
He paused briefly.
"The economies of the forr Five Great Nations have already been integrated. Financially, we can afford to endure this for a while. Once Akatsuki has been completely dealt with, we can restore the normal system afterward."
Minato narrowed his eyes slightly.
It was a harsh asure, but not an unreasonable one.
He was just about to give the order—
When suddenly, hurried footsteps echoed from outside.
A shinobi rushed into the room, clearly flustered.
"L-Lord Elders! Soone powerful has appeared at the village! The intelligence division identified him as... as..."
Seeing the ssenger stamr like that, A slamd a hand onto the table.
"Spit it out already!" he barked. "Why are you panicking like that? Are you even worthy of wearing that forehead protector?"
"Calm down, A," Minato said, his voice gentle but steady.
He stepped forward, easing the tension before turning to the ssenger.
"Take a breath," he said. "There's no need to panic. Just tell us."
The shinobi swallowed hard.
"Uchiha... Madara."
The instant that na left his mouth, the atmosphere in the room changed.
It beca heavy. Still. Suffocating.
No one there was foolish enough to underestimate what that na ant.
Senju Hashirama. Senju Tobirama. The great figures of every village's past.
Akatsuki had already used Impure World Reincarnation to drag many of them back into this world.
If that was the case, then Uchiha Madara appearing as well was hardly impossible.
And unlike Hashirama, who might still try to reason before acting...
Madara was different.
Madara was the kind of man who crushed you first and asked questions later.
And there was another problem.
Uchiha Obito had once acted under Madara's na.
If soone said Akatsuki had nothing to do with the real Uchiha Madara, no one in this room would believe it.
Minato's expression turned completely serious.
"Everyone," he said, looking around at the gathered leaders, "Madara's appearance here may not be a coincidence. We have to assu hostile intent."
He rose to his feet imdiately.
"Start evacuating the civilians at once. We'll go out and et the ancestor of the Uchiha clan ourselves."
At Minato's command, the entirety of Fantasy Konoha began moving in swift, orderly fashion.
At the village gates—
A man stood there quietly, his long black hair falling behind red armor, his posture proud and commanding. His eyes swept across Konoha with unmistakable interest, almost as if he were admiring sothing that had once belonged to him.
Standing opposite him was Uchiha Fugaku, accompanied by a group of Uchiha clan mbers.
As the ones responsible for Konoha's internal security, they had naturally been the first to arrive the mont Madara showed himself.
Madara glanced at them, then gave a cold, disdainful snort.
"Hmph. So this is what the Uchiha have beco. Trained into obedient watchdogs."
That was enough to make Fugaku's expression harden.
He held deep respect for Namikaze Kirito, and as both an elder of the Fantasy Kingdom and the current head of the Uchiha clan, there was no way he could ignore such contempt—even if it ca from a legendary ancestor.
"Uchiha Madara?" Fugaku said coldly. "You're nothing more than a traitor recorded in the clan's history. What right do you have to judge the Uchiha of today?"
Madara's lips curled slightly.
"Oh?"
And then—
He vanished.
In the next instant, he was already standing right in front of Fugaku, fist driving forward without the slightest warning.
Boom!
Under normal circumstances, that single punch should have sent Fugaku flying before he even realized what had happened.
But this ti, Madara's fist stopped.
Fugaku had caught it.
For the first ti, a flicker of approval passed through Madara's eyes.
At that mont, though, Fugaku himself was under imnse pressure.
The instant Madara moved, he had activated his Sharingan. Even then, it had only been by relying on the power of his Mangekyō Sharingan that he managed to barely track the movent.
And though he had blocked the punch—
The force behind it still made his arms ache and his teeth clench.
"Mangekyō Sharingan..." Madara said, the amusent in his voice deepening. "And an Eternal Mangekyō at that. So you took the eyes of soone close to you."
He clearly assud Fugaku had followed the sa bloody path he himself once had.
But Madara did not know the truth.
With Namikaze Kirito around, awakening a Sharingan that would never go blind was no difficult task at all.
Using the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit together with Hashirama's cells, he could stabilize and evolve a Sharingan far more easily than anyone from Madara's era ever could.
There was no need to steal the eyes of a loved one.
Otherwise, how could Fugaku and Itachi both possess Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan?
And Orochimaru had awakened a perfected Sharingan despite not even having Uchiha blood relatives to begin with.
Madara's assumption was wrong from the very start.
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