novel bin Chapter 467 Broadening one's horizons
Chapter 467 Broadening one's horizons
The escalating tensions in the ninja world did not affect the lives of ordinary people; in fact, they were completely unaware that an organization was prepared to fight against the world. This war was different from the past. The daimyo had not yet had time to guide public opinion, and people were still living in peace under the ninja village system. Only a few people could glimpse the true nature of the cycle of war through history.
As the information hub of "Hui," Beichen received intelligence from various regions immediately, but its method of dissemination remained unchanged, adhering to old practices and not revealing everything. It's important to understand that 70% of the residents here are resurrected through Edo Tensei, 10% are young descendants of ninjas, and 20% are researchers from elsewhere. If the remaining 80% of ninjas knew the current state of the ninja world, who knows how excited they would be?
However, when leaders at the decision-making level need to plan the future development path and make contingency plans for possible future events, there are some things that must be said during large meetings.
The number of attendees was slightly larger than usual, but the upgraded conference hall could also be used as a movie theater, so there was plenty of room. The jinchūriki who were granted special permission to observe some of the reports entered in the latter half of the meeting. They were shocked by the massive crowd; they had never seen so many people sitting together for a large meeting in their lives.
Even the most boisterous Fu toned down her manners. The group sneaked into the meeting hall through the back door like thieves, found random seats, and sat down. On the stage was a regional manager whose stiff voice read the data clearly indicated he was reading from a prepared script. But when it came to his experience, he raised his head, stood tall, and spoke eloquently, looking very proud.
"With so many people, it can't be reported one by one, right? How long would that take?" Lao Zi was very interested in Hui's management style and was the most attentive among the group.
After so many days, the group of people who lived together had become quite familiar with each other. Confined under the same roof, they had reached a point where they could talk about almost anything, except for village secrets. Old Zi, who had always trusted "Hui" the most, was now willing to say anything.
"Probably we'll pick a few typical cases to report, some good and some bad, and then make a summary report." Among the group, only Yugito could chime in; she held a high position in Kumogakure and sometimes had to deal with situations like this. This was a common management tactic, both a form of encouragement and a source of pride. However, given the sheer number of ninjas, a single village couldn't possibly have that many management positions, so the meeting inevitably dragged on.
Fortunately, "Hui" invited them at just the right time. After the representative finished speaking, the meeting entered its most important phase.
"Next, please invite the Minister of Intelligence to come up and give a report."
Normally, intelligence reports are issued about once a month, with only exceptionally important matters receiving urgent dispatches delivered to those who absolutely need the information. However, so much has happened in the ninja world in the past month that some people, except for those in less developed areas, have already learned some things through other channels. Therefore, the meeting was relatively calm when Izuna read out Akatsuki's recent actions one by one. But when he mentioned Pain's attack on Konoha, a burst of extremely noisy conversation briefly drowned out the loudspeaker.
"A direct attack on Konoha? Is Akatsuki really that bold? Are you sure it was just Pain alone?" Yugito was shocked that one person had accomplished a feat that Kumogakure had only dared to dream of for so many years.
"They're trying to collect all the tailed beasts, how could they not be bold? Besides, wasn't Sunagakure attacked too?" Old Purple was used to this, but he was more curious about Pain's fate. Unfortunately, the news ignited the atmosphere in the hall, and he couldn't hear a word of what was said afterward.
Fu patted her chest, still shaken. "I didn't expect what they said to be true. If I had chosen to return to Takigakure, perhaps..." Akatsuki's dark hand was about to reach into that isolated village.
"If I count the time, I was actually on my way to Konoha back then. If I hadn't agreed, I probably would have been captured by that Pain too, right?" Through thorough communication, Yu Gao had come to understand the strength of Akatsuki. He wasn't so arrogant as to think he could defeat the leader of Akatsuki.
The usually taciturn Han grasped a key point and asked, "What does 'on the surface' mean?"
"...The leader of such an organization might be more cautious? Put someone on the surface, but actually operate behind the scenes?" Yukito guessed.
Their conversation was cut short when one of the people on stage stood up and, with just a raised hand, silenced the room.
"I know everyone is concerned about the situation in the ninja world. Akatsuki is indeed coming on strong, but we should also have faith in the strength of the ninjas of the five great nations, shouldn't we?" Jinlun smiled and stabilized the order of the meeting room, gesturing for the stage to proceed smoothly.
The previous intelligence regarding the ninja world was truly shocking. The military force used to stabilize the ninja village systems, the Jinchuriki, were repeatedly attacked by Akatsuki, who now had their sights set on the strongest, the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails. Although the attempt to capture these two Jinchuriki failed, let's not forget what Izuna said at the beginning. Pain was only the visible leader; the one in the shadows, according to the intelligence department, is very likely the one who once struck fear into the hearts of the ninja world—Uchiha Madara!
This hypothesis had existed for a long time, but no concrete evidence had been found until they obtained a Rinnegan from Nagato. Out of curiosity, Izuna volunteered to cooperate with Tobirama's research, and this research yielded extraordinary results. The eye's power wasn't so obvious when driven by Nagato's chakra, but when it collided with Izuna's chakra, it surprisingly created a strange resonance. However, the eye still didn't return to its normal state; it remained the Rinnegan.
When Izuna discovered that resonance, he burst into laughter, exclaiming, "How could a pair of Sage Eyes appear out of thin air?" Sasuke explained that Nagato's eyes had been transplanted to him by an old man with Sharingan. At that point, Izuna had already begun to suspect his brother, and the familiar ocular power within the Rinnegan definitively confirmed this.
As expected of Uchiha Madara, he actually evolved the Sharingan into the Rinnegan, which means that Madara definitely did not die at the Valley of the End, but survived and lived to become an old man!
But... Madara has such an outspoken personality. Even when he ran away from home, he would cause some kind of commotion every now and then. So why has the ninja world never heard a single word about him?
No one could guess the whole story. They wanted to summon the person in person to ask him directly, but the Impure World Reincarnation still failed.