Chapter 346: He Has Finally Arrived
Another day of negotiations had come to an end. The Fourth Raikage returned to his quarters, exhausted. Seeing Mabui follow him in, he said, "It's getting late. Go get some rest."
Mabui frowned. "Raikage-sama, Killer Bee wouldn't want to see you like this…"
Even with the remnants of the Eight-Tails left behind, a Jinchūriki who loses their Tailed Beast is left barely clinging to life.
And unfortunately… Killer Bee had been on the frontlines when it happened.
By the time the ninja awoke from their brief rest and resumed battle, a single kunai was all it would take to end Killer Bee's life.
When they finally found him, only his lifeless body remained. No one knew who had thrown that kunai.
In the end, the Raikage could only blame his own incompetence, silently condemning himself.
Mabui understood his grief, but as the leader of a village, he needed to recover as soon as possible.
"I know." The Raikage waved his hand dismissively. "I just want to be alone for a while."
Mabui sighed helplessly and turned to leave the room. But before the Raikage could even sit down and mourn his fallen brother, she quickly pushed the door open again, holding a letter in her hand.
"Raikage-sama, it's a letter from Bayakushi."
The Raikage's face instantly darkened with impatience.
"What did you say? Bayakushi?"
Back then, Jigen had first approached the Land of Lightning for cooperation. It was only because the Land of Earth had certain technologies useful for Isshiki's research that he ended up staying there.
But that didn't mean the Land of Lightning had severed ties with Jigen. And as Jigen's successor, Bayakushi had also maintained occasional contact with them.
However, Bayakushi possessed techniques that rivaled space-time ninjutsu, always contacting them unilaterally and appearing and disappearing without a trace. If not for Jigen's past contributions, the Raikage would have cut ties with him long ago.
Taking the envelope from Mabui's hands, the Raikage first examined the handwriting to confirm its authenticity before reading its contents.
Moments later, he folded the letter and put it away, his expression turning icy.
Noticing Mabui's gaze, he looked up and said, "Bayakushi has found traces of Konan and Tsukigami from the Akatsuki. He's asking if I'm interested in revenge."
"..."
Mabui shook her head. "Raikage-sama, don't act recklessly. We are not a match for the Ten-Tails' Jinchūriki."
"I understand."
The Fourth Raikage exhaled and sat down in a nearby chair. After a brief moment of thought, he said, "Go find Tsunade. I need to talk to her."
Mabui hesitated. "…You want the Edo Tensei?"
The Raikage's body stiffened, his expression complicated. "Was it that obvious?"
"Yes. You've been worrying about how to turn the tide of battle."
Mabui sighed helplessly. "But I don't see how it would help."
"We have to try." The Raikage looked out at the darkened sky. "Right now, we're at too much of a disadvantage."
…
"Absolutely not! This is not up for discussion!"
When Tsunade was brought in and heard that the Raikage wanted the Edo Tensei, she assumed he was desperate after defeat and was now turning to the dead for aid. She glared at him coldly.
"Throughout the history of the ninja world, only two or three people have ever been able to fight the Ten-Tails' Jinchūriki. I will not use Edo Tensei to desecrate my grandfather's legacy!"
"I never said I wanted to summon your grandfather. Senju Hashirama may be the God of Shinobi, but he still falls short compared to a true Sage. The person I want to summon is Killer Bee."
The Raikage's expression was sincere. "I just want to see him one last time. That's not too much to ask, is it?"
"..."
Tsunade narrowed her eyes and fell silent for a moment before saying in a low voice, "Raikage, we've known each other for a long time. If all you wanted was to see Killer Bee, you wouldn't be this calm. Be honest with me."
The Raikage glanced at Mabui. Annoyed by their perceptiveness, he sighed. "I want to summon the Sage of Six Paths."
Tsunade raised an eyebrow, utterly baffled.
What did he just say?
Did she hear that right?
Mabui was equally stunned.
Based on what she knew of the Raikage, he wouldn't use Edo Tensei to revive Killer Bee unless he had a way to bring him back to life properly. That much she had already figured out.
But even if he wanted to summon a legendary figure, she had assumed he would aim for someone like Senju Hashirama or Jigen. After all, in the history of the ninja world, only a handful of people had ever been able to challenge Hyuga Fuji.
Uchiha Madara was rumored to have been taken by the Land of Snow for infrastructure work.
There were no reports of Hashirama being summoned by Hyuga Fuji. Jigen was dead, and his soul was either in Hyuga Fuji's hands or in the Pure Land. If they wanted to strengthen the alliance's forces, those two were the best choices.
But the Sage of Six Paths? A figure from a thousand years ago?
Wouldn't his body have long since turned to dust?
"To be sure, let me ask you this—do you remember the requirements for Edo Tensei?"
Tsunade asked, "Without a piece of the target's body, you can't summon them."
"I know."
"Then why…? Wait. Did you find the Sage of Six Paths' corpse?"
Tsunade's eyes widened in disbelief.
No way. A thousand-year-old body still intact? That was impossible.
"I don't have his body, but I have his chakra."
The Raikage's tone was calm. "Explosive tags contain traces of their creator's chakra. Likewise, the tools created by the Sage of Six Paths naturally hold remnants of his chakra."
With that one sentence, Tsunade understood his plan and sighed, rubbing her forehead.
"There's no precedent for Edo Tensei summoning someone using only chakra. And I already told you—I won't agree to this."
With that, she turned and left without hesitation.
The Raikage watched her go, replaying the contents of the letter in his mind.
Aside from offering him a chance at revenge against the Akatsuki, Bayakushi had also mentioned something else—asking about his stance on Hyuga Fuji and what he thought about the failure of the allied nations.
That last part, at least, he was well aware of.
But what could Bayakushi possibly offer him?
His master had already been defeated. Did he think he could defeat Hyuga Fuji on his own?
The Raikage let out a bitter chuckle, feeling a headache coming on.
Maybe it was for the best that Tsunade rejected him. That way, he could focus his energy on his next decision. But he couldn't help but wonder if he would regret it later.
Then again, did he even have any other options besides Bayakushi?
…
The Next Day.
Early in the morning, the conference room was filled with heated discussion.
"We still refuse to accept the terms proposed by the Land of Water and the Land of Snow."
Led by Kitsuchi, most of the representatives remained opposed.
Then, they all turned their eyes toward the Daimyo of the Land of Birds, who was struggling internally. With no other choice, he stood up and read from the speech he had memorized the night before.
"We urge the Land of Water and the Land of Snow to reflect on their actions. The current state of the ninja world is moving toward peace, and your wars are disrupting that balance. For the sake of peace, we should all take a step back…"
Yagura listened with a smile, then turned to the empty seat beside him.
"What do you think?"
Slowly, Hyuga Fuji's figure materialized in the chair. He spoke in a calm voice.
"After ten days of negotiations, it's time to reach a conclusion."
"..."
The room fell eerily silent.
Many people looked at Hyuga Fuji and swallowed nervously.
He had finally arrived…
(End of Chapter)