"No," Itachi replied firmly.
His straightforward answer caused the other Akatsuki members to look at him with surprise.
Is he really that certain?
"With Konohagakure's strong foundation, it won't be destroyed even if war breaks out suddenly," Itachi continued. "At most, the village will suffer some losses, but it will recover quickly."
"Orochimaru may use his former position as a high-ranking official in Konoha to gain some advantages in the early stages of conflict, but he will ultimately fail."
"Don't underestimate Konoha. If a shinobi village could be destroyed so easily, Konoha wouldn't have survived until now."
Itachi seemed to be speaking the truth about Konoha's resilience. Kakuzu nodded in agreement, as if awakening from his money-induced daze.
Recalling some unpleasant memories, Kakuzu grew serious. "The Konoha Village established by the God of Shinobi is not to be taken lightly."
Hidan glanced strangely at Kakuzu. What had gotten into him?
It was unusual for Tendo Pain to agree with Itachi's assessment.
If Pain truly thought little of Konoha, he would have moved against the village with Akatsuki long ago.
The major shinobi villages weren't simple opponents.
Even with Akatsuki's strength, they needed careful planning to accumulate both funds and power.
Sasori spoke directly: "Let Orochimaru start his war with Konoha. It's better if he dies there. We won't have to bother hunting down our organization's traitor."
Hidan shouted, "Jashin-sama wouldn't want a sacrifice like Orochimaru anyway. Let him die."
"In that case..." Tendo Pain nodded, confirming his decision not to participate in the Konoha conflict. "Akatsuki will not take part in this war. We'll let Orochimaru weaken Konoha's strength for us, which will benefit our future plans."
"Hidan, Kakuzu, your current mission location is very close to the Land of Fire. Be careful not to get caught in the crossfire. Orochimaru's war will definitely provoke Konoha to counter-attack fiercely, which might affect you."
Kakuzu and Hidan nodded at this warning. The wrath of a major shinobi village was indeed frightening.
Zetsu, who had remained quiet throughout the meeting, watched as everyone prepared to leave. Suddenly, he threw something onto the ground with a loud clang, drawing everyone's attention.
"Hehehe... Hoshigaki Kisame was burned to ashes by Shihouin Naraku of Konoha, but I recovered this sword. Should we return it to Kirigakure?" White Zetsu asked with his usual playfulness.
"The great blade Samehada!"
Zabuza stared at the broken Samehada with gleaming eyes, filled with desire. Although he already possessed the Kubikiribōchō, it didn't stop him from wanting Samehada—after all, it was a symbol of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
Moreover, Zabuza knew well that each sword of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen had unique powers. If Samehada came into his possession, his strength would increase dramatically. Zabuza felt confident he could even challenge the weaker members of Akatsuki.
But in the end, Zabuza merely opened his mouth without making his request. Having just joined Akatsuki without making any contributions yet, he felt he had no right to speak up.
Kakuzu's eyes lit up with interest, though not because he wanted to use Samehada in battle. He wanted to sell it.
"Give me Samehada and I'll sell it. Don't worry, Kirigakure will do everything they can to buy it back. They'll definitely bleed money this time, hahahaha..."
Kakuzu couldn't help but laugh at the thought.
Black Zetsu glanced at Kakuzu without commenting.
He won't get his sale.
Currently, Kirigakure's Fourth Mizukage Yagura was under genjutsu control, so he had no intention of purchasing Samehada.
Of course, if other Kirigakure shinobi wanted to buy it, they would need to pay with their own funds, as Black Zetsu certainly didn't have the money.
"Ahem..." Zabuza finally couldn't contain himself. He coughed and said, "Kirigakure has a special jutsu that can summon back the seven swords of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen when they have no master."
"Oh, really?"
Kakuzu looked at Zabuza with disdain. Did he think Kakuzu had lived all these years for nothing?
It was just a summoning contract for a blade. There were many ways around it.
"We won't sell it for now," Tendo Pain decided. He didn't particularly care where Samehada ended up. Though the sword could indeed enhance a shinobi's strength, he hadn't determined how to handle it yet. "Store Samehada away for now."
Both Kakuzu and Zabuza looked disappointed.
"This Akatsuki meeting is now concluded!"
...
As the final stage of the Chūnin Exam approached, Konoha grew more lively.
Daimyō and nobles from various countries had already arrived and were resting in accommodations prepared within Konoha, waiting for the competition to begin.
Meanwhile, in secret, shinobi from Sunagakure and Otogakure had crossed the Land of Fire's border defenses and gathered at a hidden base near Konoha.
This base was a rendezvous point prepared by Orochimaru in advance. If they rushed into Konoha immediately, they would likely be discovered, causing the plan to destroy Konoha to fail.
The base contained not only supplies but also numerous ninja tools and weapons!
This demonstrated why traitors posed such a serious threat to any village.
Orochimaru understood the Land of Fire's border defenses, the organization of various groups within Konoha, and he had even personally trained many Konoha shinobi.
This explained why no one noticed when Sunagakure and Otogakure mobilized their forces. Orochimaru played too many crucial roles in making the plan to destroy Konoha possible.
However, Konoha wasn't completely unaware.
After all, Orochimaru's presence had been exposed, and with Shihouin Naraku's warnings and preparations, Konoha remained vigilant.
Time passed steadily.
The third and final round of the Chūnin Exam was about to begin.
A large crowd gathered at the prominent exam arena in Konoha, nearly blocking the entire street.
The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, and the Fourth Kazekage had already arrived at the venue. Daimyō and nobles from various countries had also taken their seats, awaiting the start of the competition.
The entire arena buzzed with excitement. Even though the matches hadn't begun, cheers and shouts filled the air.
"Where's Kakashi? Where's Naraku? Why haven't they arrived yet?"
Might Guy scanned the many faces in the audience but couldn't spot Hatake Kakashi or Shihouin Naraku.
"Everyone attended the meeting the day before yesterday, right?"
"Oh, I almost forgot, something might happen today..."
"Oh no!"
Might Guy smacked his head. "I actually forgot the most important thing and brought Lee here!"
Rock Lee's surgery had gone perfectly, but he was still in recovery. Not wanting to miss the exciting Chūnin Exam matches, he had begged Might Guy to bring him to the arena.
"It's alright! Nothing will happen anyway, and I'm here to protect Lee. He can't miss such a battle filled with youthful energy!"
Might Guy hadn't wanted Lee, who hadn't fully recovered, to attend the matches, but there was no stopping him. The fight between Hyūga Neji and Uzumaki Naruto was not to be missed. Lee regarded both as his rivals and would have crawled there if necessary.
Of course, even if something unexpected occurred, with Might Guy's strength, protecting his student wouldn't be a problem at all.
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