She had always longed for recognition, and now, the opportunity had come.
"Hey, big fox, wake up. Time to work, stop lazing around."
"Yeah, yeah, I got it."
Kurama's voice was full of reluctance. Clearly, this kind of trouble was the last thing it wanted to be part of.
But it had no choice.
Using Kurama to solve this problem?
The others glanced at Kushina, unsure of what Konoha was planning.
But soon, they understood.
With Kurama's cooperation, Kushina entered the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, her body enveloped in golden chakra.
A group of men stood there, eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.
Aside from Rasa, the rest had never seen a perfect jinchuriki before.
Takuya explained, "The Nine-Tails has the ability to sense a person's true nature. Once Kushina enters this state, she can root out the hidden White Zetsu."
"Found you!"
Kushina, eyes shut, suddenly opened them. Her chakra-formed hand shot toward one of Iwagakure's shinobi.
The targeted ninja panicked and immediately tried to escape.
But Kushina didn't give him the chance. Her chakra hand grabbed him effortlessly and squeezed—revealing the White Zetsu in disguise.
The enemy had been hiding right under their noses, meaning every move they made had been known to the other side.
Onoki's expression was grim beyond words.
"Just have someone follow Kushina. She'll root out all the remaining White Zetsu," Takuya said, surprised to see that one had even infiltrated the Tsuchikage's personal guard.
Black Zetsu's reach was even deeper than expected.
"Kitsuchi, take a team and follow Kushina. Make sure every last White Zetsu is caught."
Onoki slammed the table in frustration, sending his son out to handle the situation.
"Understood, Lord Tsuchikage."
The usually silent Kitsuchi led his men and hurried after Kushina.
Now that she could identify the enemy, they could finally trust the people around them again.
Everyone felt a sense of relief.
With Kushina working, the atmosphere in the meeting room lightened. A was momentarily stunned, Onoki looked excited, Rasa seemed deep in thought, while Yagura couldn't help but ask, "Takuya, can all perfect jinchuriki do this?"
You wish.
Takuya rolled his eyes.
"Every tailed beast is unique. This is a specific ability of the Nine-Tails. Even if someone else becomes a perfect jinchuriki, they wouldn't be able to do the same.
Besides, do any of your villages even have perfect jinchuriki?"
I'm not trying to single anyone out, but let's be real—none of you measure up.
Right now, only Killer B from Kumogakure and Yagura himself had any real potential.
As for the rest? Let's just say it varies.
Sunagakure was trying, but they were too poor to keep up with the effort.
Onoki wanted to train a perfect jinchuriki, but his current one refused to cooperate, barely acknowledging him.
The other jinchuriki in Iwagakure followed orders, but he was too old and stubborn to earn the tailed beast's recognition.
And Onoki wasn't cruel enough to simply dispose of his old comrade and replace him with someone else.
So the project had stalled.
Kumogakure was making progress, but it would take a long time. As for Kirigakure, that was another matter entirely.
With Kushina leading the effort, one by one, the hidden White Zetsu in Iwagakure were dragged out.
Surprisingly, there weren't as many as expected—far fewer than anticipated.
Most of them had already been flushed out in the chaos from a few days ago. Only a handful had remained hidden.
Still, this had shaken Iwagakure to its core.
In less than half an hour, Kushina had completed the task.
Onoki looked at the corpses of the White Zetsu scattered on the ground, his old face burning with shame.
Just this handful of enemies had them in a panic for days, forcing them to eat, sleep, and even relieve themselves together, never daring to be alone.
Absolutely humiliating.
Damn Uchiha Madara.
Onoki cursed him internally. This was a wake-up call.
The threat of Uchiha Madara had to be taken seriously—Iwagakure couldn't afford another crisis like this.
With the immediate danger gone, Onoki finally relaxed. He quickly had his people bring out the best food and drink to properly host their guests.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I think this incident has shown us all something important.
We need to take the matter of Uchiha Madara seriously."
Before, they had brushed it off, but now Onoki was worried.
Especially with Black Zetsu lurking around, still after the Rinnegan. Who knew what other tricks he had?
Of course, the others didn't realize it was Black Zetsu behind this—they all assumed it was Uchiha Madara himself.
That he was trying to reclaim what was his.
"I agree with the Tsuchikage."
Yagura was the first to respond.
Even though Kirigakure didn't have the Rinnegan, they weren't exactly clean.
Madara had controlled their previous Mizukage for a long time.
And with this recent event, he had shown up again.
Even though he was dead now, who could guarantee there weren't still agents left behind in Kirigakure?
Yagura decided that once this was over, he would definitely take Takuya to Kirigakure for a thorough check.
Otherwise, they'd never be able to sleep peacefully again.
Just look at Iwagakure—after only a few days, they all looked like they had lost their parents.
Yagura wasn't going to live like that. He wouldn't let Kirigakure remain under that kind of shadow.
"I agree as well," A said, thoroughly beaten down by this whole ordeal.
"Same here," Rasa added.
Sunagakure couldn't afford any more trouble.
They were already barely scraping by—another incident like this and they might as well call it quits.
With all the villages agreeing, Takuya spread his hands and asked, "Does Konoha have to get involved?"
After all, Madara would be targeting them first.
"Ahem!"
Onoki nearly choked.
Konoha not getting involved?
Then what was the point of all this?!
They might as well all just go home and sleep.
"Takuya, this isn't the time for jokes."
Onoki's face darkened again.
"Fine," Takuya shrugged. "Konoha agrees."
Since all four villages had agreed, it wouldn't make sense for Konoha to stay out.
Besides, Onoki was leading the charge.
If anything went wrong, he'd be the first to bear the consequences.
Takuya wasn't concerned—whether it was a meeting or a full Five Kage Summit, he had no objections.
"Do we need to hold a Five Kage Summit?" Yagura asked.
"It's not that serious yet," Onoki hesitated before refusing.
The reason was obvious—he hadn't given up on researching and controlling the Rinnegan.
A felt the same way.
If Onoki hadn't said it, A would have.
They were fine with uniting against Madara, but a full Five Kage Summit? No thanks.
His father was still in Kumogakure, guarding the village. He couldn't just leave, and he wouldn't leave.
So there was no way the summit would happen.
As expected, everyone still had their own agendas.
Looks like they hadn't suffered enough yet.
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(P)(S): If you're interested, you can read the rest of the Chapter at Patreon com/ Emik01.
DO NOT FORGET POWER STONE AND CHATTING