Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 477 Unveiling the Mystery of "Dawn"

Raikage Ai clearly prefers men who make a name for themselves in every way, and he wasn't just speaking blindly. His words made it sound as if Kumogakure was a complete victim, without any problems whatsoever.

"What do you mean by 'used them before'?" Gaara was more concerned about this question. He inherited Sunagakure as a mess, and it took him a lot of effort to get it to its current state. Many of the older generation of high-ranking officials disagreed with him, and they were even less likely to reveal those unspeakable histories.

Although A revealed that the Five Kage had used Akatsuki, he wasn't foolish enough to name names directly. Instead, he said ambiguously, "As the Kazekage, how could you not be informed? Go ask the old folks in your own village. You used Akatsuki in the past during the war."

"Now that the major powers have settled down, they have shifted from military expansion to military reduction." Onoki said with the superiority of someone who had been there before, "Because the tension between countries has eased, there is no longer any threat of war. So for the countries, the ninja villages that control military power have become a heavy financial burden."

"Even so, arbitrarily reducing the size of ninja villages carries certain risks. In the event of war, relying solely on ninjas with no combat experience would be problematic, potentially leading to defeat..."

Gaara, who had been swayed by this argument, understood. "So, one way to avoid the risks is to hire the combat mercenary group 'Akatsuki'?"

"All that talk is just making excuses for your actions." The Hokage smiled at Onoki. "You're the one who loves using this sword the most, aren't you?"

"The northwestern desert is where Akatsuki most frequently appears. Several small countries bordering the Land of Earth have experienced coups in a short period of time, and Akatsuki was involved in all of them. Lord Tsuchikage should be well aware of the reasons behind this, right?"

The Tsuchikage's smile vanished. His first thought was how Konoha's intelligence network had managed to find out things so far away, and then he tried to eliminate potential leakers, but of course, he came up empty-handed.

"These are just baseless rumors. I have no idea why 'Xiao' would target small countries. Maybe they're after their resources."

The Tsuchikage's stubbornness certainly left no room for criticism, but some things were undeniable. A directly brought up an old story from three years ago, the "Konoha Crush Plan" that caused a slight tremor in the ninja world. In that invasion, Orochimaru disguised himself as the Fourth Kazekage.

Then he turned his attention to the most enigmatic village, Kirigakure. This village has been isolated for years, does not engage in diplomacy, and is associated with the terrifying legend of the "blood mist," and there are even rumors that it may be the birthplace of Akatsuki.

Faced with such accusations, the Water Shadow broke her silence and revealed a shocking truth.

"We suspect that the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, is being manipulated, and the perpetrator is very likely 'Akatsuki.' We don't want to escalate the situation..."

Such crucial information had been kept from them; Ai had finally seen through these guys who valued appearances more than substance. "Tch, they're all cut from the same cloth..."

Onoki felt he had been insulted as well, and said, "Watch your mouth, Raikage. Speaking of which, in this era of reduced military spending, it's all your fault for seeking power and collecting ninjutsu at all costs. We had no choice but to hire Akatsuki in order to counter them."

"What did you say!" The Thunder Shadow, who had finally managed to sit down, stood up again. Fortunately, he didn't use too much force, which only made things worse for the table with the hole in it.

"Does the Tsuchikage mean he's admitting he hired Akatsuki? He just said he didn't know."

The Hokage's smug, gossipy attitude infuriated Onoki. He changed the subject and directly questioned the other party's identity, saying, "You're Naruto Uzumaki, right? I was just about to ask why you're the one who came. Wasn't the Fifth Hokage Princess Tsunade? Your Konoha can't possibly change a Kage every three years, can it?"

"Well, that's because Konoha was invaded by Akatsuki. Granny Tsunade exhausted her strength to protect the villagers and hasn't woken up yet. I was just filling in temporarily, and I was appointed by the Daimyo for no reason." The Hokage said this in a very casual tone.

The attack on Konoha was no secret. No matter how thorough the investigation, spies from various countries could always obtain intelligence through various means. Moreover, the commotion on the day of the invasion grew louder and louder, making it impossible to conceal. However, the appointment of the Daimyo was unexpected. It had only happened two or three days prior, and since Naruto had always claimed to be the "Acting Hokage," they had no idea about the Daimyo's appointment.

Once appointed, Naruto would effectively be the legitimate Sixth Hokage, though he himself wasn't particularly fond of the title.

"Furthermore, I disagree with the Raikage's accusation that all members of Akatsuki are rogue ninja from the other four villages."

A, who had initially developed a slight liking for the Hokage for repeatedly criticizing Onoki, immediately fell silent. "This is an indisputable fact!"

"That's all there is to it," the Hokage said calmly. "Uchiha Itachi was a spy that Konoha planted in Akatsuki."

These words shocked everyone present, because the crimes committed by this rogue ninja were far from ordinary.

"You mean, a rogue ninja who wiped out his own clan is a spy for Konoha?" the Mizukage asked incredulously.

The politically astute Kage had already fallen silent. The Uchiha affair was ultimately Konoha's internal affair; if the massacre truly had hidden reasons... it wouldn't be a trivial matter. Considering the Konoha leadership at that time, it doesn't seem so difficult to understand now.

"Regarding the 'Uchiha Clan Massacre' case, Konoha will naturally pursue the responsibilities that should be pursued, but this matter has little to do with the 'Akatsuki' that we are currently discussing. You only need to know that the information that Itachi Uchiha sent back is reliable enough."

Gaara recalled the information Sunagakure had obtained from Konoha, which repeatedly mentioned that Akatsuki's target was the Tailed Beasts. Unfortunately, no matter how much Sunagakure valued it, they couldn't protect their Kage status through sheer strength. Information that Naruto could bring up at the Five Kage Summit was no small matter; it could very well completely overturn the Five Kage's stance.

"According to him, the true leader of 'Akatsuki' has always been hiding in the shadows, and his name is..."

"Uchiha Madara."