In the Land of Iron, inside the building where the Five Kage Meeting was being held, all the Kage of the five major villages sat within, gathered to discuss an alliance against the Akatsuki. The atmosphere was tense, the silence heavy.

The Raikage suddenly leaned forward and pointed toward Tsunade, the Hokage, his voice sharp.

"It is the failure of your Konoha that you were not able to catch the Akatsuki members."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Tsuchikage spoke up from the side, his tone dry yet cutting as he nodded in agreement.

"I also agree with the Raikage. Both Konohagakure and Sunagakure were unable to capture the Akatsuki members even after forming an alliance. This truly shows that the level of both your villages has fallen."

Hearing this, Tsunade did not react with anger as she might have in the past, despite her well-known short temper. Instead, she remained seated, her fingers lightly resting against the table as she lifted her gaze. Her voice was calm—controlled.

"The entire Akatsuki organization is made up of powerful S-rank ninjas," she said evenly, "each one capable of destroying armies of thousands on their own. And not to mention their leader—he was on a completely different level compared to the rest of his organization."

Her eyes briefly shifted toward the Raikage.

"Most of you here have seen just how powerful Inoiki is. Especially you, Raikage." A faint pause followed. "You were defeated by Inoiki just around two weeks ago, or something close to that, correct? You know better than anyone how overwhelming his strength is."

The room remained silent as her words sank in.

"And if even he was not able to completely destroy the Akatsuki," Tsunade continued, her tone steady, "then it should be obvious that it would be extremely difficult for any single major village to counter them alone."

She straightened slightly before going on.

"Not to mention, Konoha has already done a great deal in dismantling the Akatsuki. Most of their members have been eliminated. Only a few remain alive now."

Her expression hardened as she reached her main point.

"The real issue is that one of the remaining members can use space-time ninjutsu. His name is Tobi, and he calls himself Madara Uchiha. That ability is the primary reason the surviving Akatsuki members continue to escape."

A brief pause followed.

"If that were not the case," Tsunade finished firmly, "they would have already been captured by now."

As soon as the name Inoiki echoed through the meeting room, it felt as if an invisible weight pressed down on everyone’s hearts. The air grew heavier, the tension unmistakable. Everyone present knew just how powerful Inoiki was.

The fact that he had defeated the Fourth Raikage—something the Hokage had just stated openly—only deepened that pressure. More telling was the Raikage’s silence. He did not retort, did not deny it in any way. That alone confirmed the truth. Inoiki had defeated the Raikage, a man widely regarded as the fastest alive in the world at present. Only the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, had ever been capable of competing with him in terms of speed—or perhaps even surpassing him.

For a few among those present, unpleasant memories involving Inoiki resurfaced unbidden.

Mifune, in particular, could not help but recall events from several years ago. He remembered the day Inoiki came to the Land of Iron, not as a guest, but with a single purpose—to create a chakra weapon for himself. He had demanded chakra metal, and when the Land of Iron hesitated, Inoiki did not back down. He had attacked without hesitation, fully prepared to fight the samurai if they refused to comply. The pressure he exuded back then was overwhelming, Mifune thought grimly.

The Raikage and the Tsuchikage gradually calmed down as well, the weight of Tsunade’s words—and the truth behind them—settling in. Their earlier sharpness faded, replaced by a more restrained silence.

At that moment, Gaara, the Fifth Kazekage, finally spoke. His voice was calm, yet firm.

"Now is not the time for us to argue among ourselves. Rather than that, what we need to do right now is search for the remaining Akatsuki members and eliminate them as soon as possible."

Mifune nodded in agreement with Gaara and spoke next.

"What the Kazekage is saying is absolutely true. What we need to do right now is unite our forces against the Akatsuki. I suggest that we also seek the cooperation of the smaller countries. We should ask them to search for Akatsuki members within their own borders as well. That will make our task considerably easier."

As soon as the other Kage heard this, they nodded in unison. Clearly, they shared the same conclusion. The Akatsuki would not be foolish enough to hide within any of the five major countries. More likely, they were concealed within smaller nations—places that lacked the strength to resist or question them. In that sense, asking for "help" was merely a polite term. In reality, it would be an order. And the smaller countries and minor ninja villages would have no choice but to comply—after all, there was a reason they were considered weak.

Just as the Five Kage Meeting seemed to be reaching its conclusion, the atmosphere in the room suddenly shifted.

In the empty space at the very centre of the meeting room, the air itself began to distort. Out of nothingness, a swirling vortex formed, twisting space unnaturally. From within it stepped a man wearing a mask—this time not his familiar single-eyed orange mask, but a different one, bearing two eye holes.

Obito had arrived.

The moment he appeared, the guards brought by each Kage—who had been stationed behind the curtains on the balcony above—reacted instantly. They leapt down, landing beside their respective Kage with weapons drawn, bodies tense and ready to strike at a moment’s notice.

Obito calmly looked around the room, taking in the gathered leaders. He raised both his arms slightly, as if to show he carried no immediate weapon, and spoke in a deep, authoritative voice.

"I am Uchiha Madara. By now, you must have already learned of my existence from Yamanaka Inoiki." His gaze swept across the room. "I have come here today to inform you of the upcoming Fourth Shinobi World War." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

A brief pause followed, the silence suffocating.

"And this war," he continued, "will not be like the ones before. It will be a war between me—Uchiha Madara—and the entire Five Great Nations."

The moment the Raikage heard those words, rage flared across his face. He glared at the masked man and roared,

"So you’re the one claiming to be Madara Uchiha?!"

Lightning exploded around his body as his chakra surged. In an instant, he vanished from his spot and reappeared directly in front of Obito, his fist drawn back, ready to strike with full force.

But Obito stretched his palm forward and spoke calmly.

"Almighty Push."

In the next moment, an overwhelming force erupted outward. The Raikage was blasted backward violently, smashing through the wall of the meeting room. Stone and metal shattered as he was sent flying, his body rolling out of the chamber and disappearing from sight.

----

Want to get daily updates and read 20+ Chapters? Then join my Patreon!

Patreon Link: https://[email protected]/Hkj822

Join Discord Link: https://discord.gg/c4m4BxQq