Naruto: I have an attribute panel

Chapter 501 The Akatsuki Organization is Known Throughout the World

A disheveled ninja hawk flew across mountains and rivers, enduring wind and snow, and finally arrived at Kumogakure after soaring for four days.

This was two full days later than expected.

After the ninja in charge of communications received the secret letter marked with an urgent message, it underwent multiple checks before finally being delivered to the Fourth Hokage, A.

Raikage's office.

"Hahahaha, hearty laughter echoed throughout the entire Raikage Building, and even passersby downstairs couldn't help but look in the direction of the sound."

What good thing happened to their Raikage today that he's laughing so happily?

"Those water monkeys from Kirigakure were so careless that they let someone control their own Mizukage. And that Mizukage is an idiot; he's utterly disgraced the title of Kage."

The fourth-generation Ai slammed his fist on the table, unleashing a barrage of sarcastic remarks.

Mabui listened curiously from the side and gradually understood what was going on.

But it is precisely because I understand that I find it even more incredible—this world is too crazy, a mouse broke into a cat's lair, killed the cat's leader, and then left safely.

Even novelists wouldn't dare write something like this, yet it actually happened in reality.

The fourth generation of Ai took the letter and read it from beginning to end again.

But the more he looked at it, the more his brows furrowed.

The Akatsuki not only controlled the Fourth Mizukage, but also took the opportunity to steal the seal of the demon that Kirigakure had preserved.

If these are all established facts, and Konoha is sharing information, then what follows is Konoha's solemn warning.

The Akatsuki's ultimate goal is the Tailed Beasts, and Konoha has surprisingly discovered traces of the Akatsuki in the Land of Hot Springs.

Even though Konoha didn't explicitly state what this was, the Fourth Hokage, A, understood that most of the Akatsuki members from the Land of Hot Springs were there because they were after Kumogakure.

"Bang!"

The fourth-generation Ai slammed his hand on the table again, but this time it was an outburst of anger. The desk couldn't withstand the force and shattered, thus ending its mission.

"Raikage-sama?"

Mabui was full of questions, not understanding why her expression had suddenly changed when everything was fine just a moment ago.

"Akatsuki, what an Akatsuki! Do you really think Kumogakure is as useless as Kirigakure? Daring to cause trouble in Kumogakure!"

We must make sure they never return.

After venting his anger, the fourth generation of Ai finally calmed down.

He handed the letter to Mabui beside him and then asked, "Where are Yugito and Killer Bee now?"

Mabui glanced at the letter that was handed to him, then replied without looking up, "Yugito took on a mission to the Land of Frost and hasn't returned yet. Killer Bee has been training in the Cloud Thunder Gorge."

"Off on a mission?"

The fourth-generation Ai frowned, and just as he was about to ask something else, a knock sounded on the door.

"Come in," Ai said, her voice filled with impatience.

The person who came in was a middle-aged ninja. Ai recognized him; he was the person in charge of the mission hall today.

Upon seeing him, Ai suddenly had a bad feeling.

"What is it? Speak quickly!"

The middle-aged ninja swallowed hard, looked at the shattered desk on the floor, and suddenly felt that he had come at the wrong time.

But there was no other way; the situation was urgent, and I still had to report it.

"Lord Raikage, the two Yugitos received a guard mission to the Land of Frost. They should have returned to the village yesterday, but there has been no news of them since. Since it concerns Jinchuriki, I have come to report."

"You're saying—Yugito has disappeared?" The Fourth Hokage's eyes reddened as he stared at the middle-aged ninja, each word squeezed out of his mouth.

"It's still not certain, because there are times when we come back late. It's only because of the identities of the two of you, Yukito, that we've come to report."

The middle-aged ninja had started to stutter. Although he didn't know why the Raikage had suddenly become furious, it seemed that something was wrong with Hirai.

"Investigate! Investigate immediately! Follow the mission's route, search every inch of the path, and find out where Yugito is!"

With a roar from the Fourth Hokage, the middle-aged ninja hurriedly left the office and quickly arranged for people to search the village.

Ai's face was burning hot. How embarrassing! He had just been mocking the Hidden Mist Village, and now it was the Cloud Village's turn.

Isn't this karma coming a little too fast?

"Lord Raikage, the situation may not be as bad as it seems."

"You don't need to comfort me, Mabui. I know Yugito's personality. She wouldn't postpone her return to the village. Something must have happened to her."

A brief silence fell over the office. Mabui understood that the Raikage was right; Yugito might have indeed been captured by the Akatsuki.

"Go, arrange for the secret service to track them down immediately. Perhaps we can still rescue Yukito."

Also, have Killer Bee return from Thundercloud Gorge and stay in the village during this time; he mustn't go anywhere else.

"Yes, I'll take care of it right away." Mabui accepted the order and immediately left the office.

The Fourth Raikage rose, went to the window, and looked at the peaceful Hidden Cloud Village, his fists clenching tighter and tighter.

"Akatsuki~ Organization~"

He spat out those three words through gritted teeth, his eyes blazing with fury.

Ignoring the Raikage's anger, in fact, the Cloud Village was not the only place whose tailed beasts had been stolen in the past few days.

Compared to the Ninja Hawks that took off for Kumogakure, which were delayed for two days due to a blizzard and were ambushed by Akatsuki without their knowledge, Iwagakure fared much worse.

The ninja hawks that flew to Iwagakure delivered the information to Onoki in just one day.

While Onoki was dissatisfied with Kirigakure's poor performance, he also felt a sense of empathy for them.

But the next moment he was enraged by the Akatsuki's arrogance. This was no longer just a terrorist organization; it was a challenge to the existing order of the entire ninja world.

Unfortunately, Konoha's intelligence only stated that Akatsuki's presence was discovered in the Land of Hot Springs, which was too far from Iwagakure. Otherwise, he would have definitely sent someone to kill this Akatsuki member.

"Someone, tell Han not to leave the village during this time."

On the surface, Onoki looked down on the Akatsuki organization, but in his heart, he was still quite wary of them. After all, Iwagakure had suffered losses, and he still needed to be on guard.

However, some things are simply beyond your control.

The day after receiving the communication from Ninja Hawk, Zetsu used his disguise technique to trick Han, who was training alone, into leaving Iwagakure.

Needless to say, what happened next was that the demon and the blood crow joined forces, launching a sneak attack and ambushing Han before he even had a chance to transform into a tailed beast, knocking him unconscious.

The time it took to succeed was almost the same as that of Kakuzu and Hiruko.

Thus, in a short period of time, the Akatsuki successfully captured both the Two-Tails of Kumogakure and the Five-Tails of Iwagakure.

The news wasn't kept secret for long. After searching for a week, both ninja villages revealed the information on their own initiative.

This caused an uproar throughout the entire ninja world.

Some smaller ninja villages gloated, secretly mocking the Five Great Ninja Villages for being unworthy of their reputation, having been repeatedly defeated by a terrorist organization.

They succeeded in capturing all three locations.

Some smaller ninja villages are even more pragmatic. For them, an organization that can still exist after provoking the five great ninja villages is simply a natural enemy.

Of all these places, the most anxious and uneasy was Takigakure Village.

This once glorious ninja village captured the Seven-Tails on its own during the First Hokage's time and even boldly sent ninjas to assassinate Hashirama Senju (Kakuzu: I just dropped a shuriken from 800 meters away).

But now, they only have a few big cats and little cats left, and the whole village relies on natural geographical barriers and the legacy of their ancestors to deter enemies.

With such power, how could they possibly protect the Seven-Tails?

Meeting room in Takigaku Village.

All the high-ranking members of Takigakure Village are gathered here.

The sixth-generation leader, Kui Mu, knelt at the head of the table, flanked by four elders.

"Gentlemen, Iwagakure has now announced that all of their Four-Tails and Five-Tails Jinchuriki have been killed, and Kumogakure has also announced that their Two-Tails Jinchuriki has been captured by Akatsuki."

I want to know if our Takigakure village has the ability to protect our property.

The meeting room was silent; everyone kept their heads down.

When the leader, Kui Mu, saw that everyone was pretending to be dead, a surge of anger rose within him.

Normally, they'd argue like cats and dogs over the smallest things, but now that something's really going on, they're all turning a blind eye.

"Snap"

Chief Kuimu slammed his hand on the coffee table next to him, spilling a perfectly good cup of tea.

The four elders instinctively raised their heads and immediately saw the leader, Kui Mu's, dark face.

"Cough cough."

The First Elder, who was kneeling on the right, coughed twice to cover up his embarrassment.

"Chief, there's no need to worry. Takigakure Village has always been secluded, and no one outside knows our exact location. With the help of the Hero's Water, as long as there are no traitors in the village, the village's defenses are absolutely impregnable."

The leader, Kuimu, glanced at the Grand Elder but completely ignored him.

Everyone here already knows these things; do you really need to repeat them?

No matter how strong Takigakure is, can it be stronger than Iwagakure and Kumogakure? The Akatsuki still managed to steal their Jinchūriki.

"Pah! If you're all too embarrassed to say it, then I'll say it."

The Fourth Elder, sitting at the back, couldn't stand it any longer. He straightened up, pointed at the First Elder, and started cursing.

"What the hell is this 'hero's water'? When the enemy comes, who will drink it—you or me? It'll be those tough young men from the village who will drink it."

"The village of Takigakure is getting worse with each generation. I think it's because of the Hero's Water, or rather, because of us old folks who hold high positions but are still alive."

"You think you can stop an opponent like the Akatsuki by relying on geography? You've probably forgotten just how powerful a Kage-level ninja really is."

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"Or you want Fu to take her place. Fu is so young, she can't even control the tailed beast's chakra. If the tailed beast goes berserk, the entire Takigakure will be wiped out."

The Fourth Elder's mouth rattled off like a machine gun, leaving the First Elder utterly humiliated.

The other two elders also looked embarrassed, but they nodded to each other secretly.

The Fourth Elder's words may be rough, but they make a valid point; he said what they wanted to say but dared not.

"I think we should find outside help."

"Yes, yes, let's find some outside help."

With the Fourth Elder explaining everything clearly, the Second and Third Elders followed suit, all looking rather timid.

They've all grown old and no longer have the courage they had when they were young.

Leader Kuimu then turned his gaze to the Grand Elder and asked, "Grand Elder, what do you think?"

The elder's face turned from green to purple in turns, as if a dye shop had been opened.

He raised his hand and pointed tremblingly at the other three elders, even stuttering as he spoke.

"You—you people are simply betraying your ancestors! What does Takigakure rely on to stand firm? It's this natural geographical barrier. If you invite outside help today, tomorrow the entire ninja world will know where Takigakure is. That will be the time when Takigakure truly perishes."

The other three elders were speechless for a moment after hearing his words.

To be honest, Takigakure wasn't worried about the village's location being exposed at the beginning, because he truly had the ability to protect himself.

However, as the number of talented people in Takigaku dwindled generation after generation, this barrier became increasingly important.

Seeing that the four elders remained silent, Chief Kui Mu finally began to express his opinion.

"Takigakure's strength is indeed insufficient to protect the Seven-Tails from being taken by the Akatsuki, so we still need to find outside help."

"Chief, you can't—"

"Let me finish speaking." The elder was about to object when the leader, Kui Mu, raised his hand to interrupt him. "What the elder said makes sense. The safety of Takigakure is very important. Therefore, I have decided to find a secluded place outside the village and let Fu live there directly. As long as she is not in the village, we will not have to worry about the village's location being exposed."

The First Elder, Second Elder, and Third Elder all had their eyes light up. This was indeed a good idea. Why hadn't they thought of doing it this way before?

Only the Fourth Elder, looking gloomy, opened his mouth as if to say something, but seeing the excited expressions of the others, he swallowed his words.

The next step was to discuss who should be brought in as the external helper.

This is no small task.

They are facing a terrifying organization that has already snatched teeth from the jaws of Iwagakure and Kumogakure, and this is very likely to be a long-term mission.

Both one's own financial pressure and the strength of the task undertaker must be strictly considered.

Finally, after some discussion, they abandoned Iwagakure, which no longer had any tailed beasts to protect, and chose Konoha, which was more expensive.

They hoped to use money to protect their tailed beast from being taken by the Akatsuki.

This scene in Takigakure is just a microcosm of the many ninja villages, large and small, in the ninja world.

As the Akatsuki's operations began, traces of the Akatsuki were discovered in more and more places.

Their actions are no longer limited to capturing tailed beasts. As their reputation expands, missions that were previously only available at gold exchange shops or came from various countries and were not exactly honorable have also come into their purview.

But here, there are more imposters and those who use others' names to intimidate others.

This also makes it more difficult for the five great ninja villages to capture the Akatsuki organization.

Those powerful and wealthy individuals, as well as those desperate criminals, don't care about the state of the ninja world.

Anyway, the world won't be destroyed. As long as they are doing well, nothing else matters to them.