Naruto evolution system

Chapter 205: Reactions from All Sides

Three days later.

Land of Fire, Konoha, Hokage's Office

"Lord Fourth, this is the latest intelligence report."

As he spoke, Kakashi handed over a document.

"Understood."

Minato Namikaze nodded, taking the file from him. However, upon opening it, his brows furrowed deeply after just one glance.

The report stated that the Four-Tails Jinchūriki of Iwagakure, Roshi, had been confirmed captured by Baishi.

If Danzo were still alive, he might have been pleased to hear this. After all, since Konoha had already lost the Nine-Tails, the loss of two tailed beasts by Iwagakure might have seemed like some form of balance.

But Minato thought differently. His concern was why Baishi was capturing so many tailed beasts. Including the Nine-Tails and the Five-Tails, Baishi now possessed four tailed beasts.

A single tailed beast was enough to serve as a village's trump card. Yet Baishi had four, which naturally incited fear in anyone.

Imagine if one day, Baishi appeared in a village and released all four tailed beasts at once—could that village possibly survive?

Even with Minato's usual calm demeanor, he couldn't help but feel anxious.

"This can't continue. We must figure out his intentions."

With this thought, Minato spoke, "Kakashi."

"At your service!" Kakashi replied promptly.

"I order you to immediately form a special operations squad. You may recruit members from anywhere within the village. Your sole mission is to investigate Baishi's movements. Even if you can't apprehend him, you must uncover his purpose for capturing the tailed beasts."

Minato's tone was exceptionally serious.

Seeing this, Kakashi straightened his posture and replied concisely, "Understood, Lord Fourth!"

With that, he turned and left the Hokage's office.

---

Land of Earth, Tsuchikage's Office

An intense argument was underway.

"See? I told you! Once the Jinchūriki lose surveillance, something bad will happen. Look what's happened now!"

The speaker was an old man with several scars on his face, looking particularly fierce—a staunch hardliner of Iwagakure.

Especially regarding the Jinchūriki, his consistent stance was comprehensive surveillance.

But since there was a hardliner, naturally, there were moderates. As soon as he spoke, someone stood up to oppose him.

"You can't conflate the two! Han was under your surveillance when he was captured too, wasn't he? This clearly isn't a strategy issue but a problem of the enemy's overwhelming strength."

However, before he could finish, the old man interrupted:

"And whose idea was it to give Han more freedom? If it were up to me, he wouldn't even be allowed to leave the village. How could he be captured then?

I refuse to believe Baishi would dare storm into our village and kidnap someone."

The rebuttal left the previous speaker speechless.

At this moment, someone tried to mediate:

"Let's not go too far. Regardless of the situation, both Han and Roshi have contributed a lot to the village. They deserve some respect."

Amidst the chaotic arguments, Onoki's expression grew darker and darker.

"Is this really the time to argue about how to treat the Jinchūriki? The village has just lost both tailed beasts, and they're squabbling about irrelevant issues. Are they out of their minds?"

Bang!

Onoki slammed his desk, shouting, "Enough! All of you, quiet!"

Seeing the Tsuchikage's anger, everyone fell silent.

Onoki's gaze swept across the elders before he sat back down and said, "I didn't call you here to argue. Now tell me, what should we do next?"

However, his words left the room in dead silence. None of the Iwagakure higher-ups had any suggestions.

The Third Shinobi World War had left Iwagakure in a dire state, with no promising talents in the pipeline.

There wasn't even anyone qualified to take on this challenge. Asking Onoki to act personally was unrealistic.

Faced with silence, Onoki sighed deeply after a long pause. He glanced at everyone with disappointment before waving them away.

At that moment, he felt utterly exhausted.

The mess left by Baishi months ago was still unresolved, and now the Four-Tails had been taken as well.

Even worse, his promising apprentice Deidara had recently been recruited by the Akatsuki organization.

All of it left Onoki feeling deeply powerless.

"Perhaps it's time to prepare some contingencies for Iwagakure."

In the quiet office, Onoki murmured to himself. Closing his eyes, it was unclear whether he was lost in thought or simply resting.

---

Over the following days, Sunagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure also received intelligence about the situation and tightened their surveillance on their Jinchūriki.

Sunagakure and Kirigakure were relatively subdued. One lacked the strength to take bold actions, while the other was busy handling internal issues and remained isolationist.

Kumogakure, on the other hand, became restless due to its military strength.

---

Meanwhile, in the Land of Rivers

Inside a mountain cave, several holograms gathered, seemingly discussing something.

At the forefront was Pain, a body controlled by Nagato using Yahiko's corpse.

Beside him stood Konan, while behind them were Black Zetsu, Kakuzu, Hidan, Deidara, Sasori, and Orochimaru.

Unlike the Akatsuki of another timeline, this version had significant differences in its development and members.

Since Uchiha Obito and Danzo had been killed early by Baishi, the Uchiha clan hadn't faced extermination.

As a result, Uchiha Itachi never joined the Akatsuki.

Similarly, due to Yagura's steady governance in Kirigakure, there weren't as many rogue ninjas. Both Zabuza Momochi and Kisame Hoshigaki remained loyal members of the Kirigakure ANBU.

At first glance, this Akatsuki seemed weaker than the one remembered.

However, Orochimaru's presence narrowed the gap significantly.

Compared to the Orochimaru of the original timeline, this version was far more powerful.

Even Baishi himself couldn't determine the extent of Orochimaru's abilities.

That said, Orochimaru wasn't entirely loyal to Nagato. His primary reason for joining Akatsuki was his interest in Nagato's Rinnegan.

Of course, finding trouble with Baishi was also something Orochimaru eagerly desired—not just because of their prior conflict but also due to his curiosity about Baishi's body and his apparent foresight.

(End of Chapter)

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