After a lively night of celebration, they camped on the spot. The next morning, after breakfast, the group parted ways.
Kageyama Kogetsu first took Pakura home, then went to the Hokage Tower, and finally convened a meeting of Konoha's high-ranking officials.
At nine o'clock in the morning, in the small meeting room of the Hokage Tower, Konoha's leadership gathered.
Kageyama Kogetsu coughed twice to draw everyone's attention.
"I've called you all here suddenly today mainly because of the Akatsuki."
"Yesterday, all members of the Akatsuki secretly infiltrated the Land of Fire and headed straight for Konoha, attempting to capture the Nine-Tails."
"After receiving news from my undercover agents, I went and fought the Akatsuki. Although I didn't completely wipe them out, only the Masked Man and Black and White Zetsu escaped."
Having said this, Kageyama Kogetsu stopped speaking and took a sip of tea, giving everyone time to digest the information.
The meeting room instantly became noisy as everyone discussed the news.
A moment later, the aged Sarutobi Hiruzen coughed twice. After the room quickly quieted down, he spoke.
"Kogetsu, you did very well, but it was a bit too risky."
"You should have gathered enough manpower before going. You cannot afford to have any mishaps now."
Kageyama Kogetsu smiled. "The enemies were either powerful or had strange abilities, and they came quickly."
"There wasn't enough time to summon the Sannin. If I had summoned Jōnin and Chūnin, the losses would likely have been significant."
"Although I took some risks, I dared to do so because I had something to rely on. There were five of my undercover agents in the Akatsuki."
"The Akatsuki only has eleven core members in total. With five undercover agents and my sudden attack, it was enough."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes widened, and he exclaimed in disbelief, "What? Five undercover agents?"
"Besides Itachi, who else?"
Mitokado Homura and the others were also very surprised, thinking there was something wrong with their ears.
An organization with only eleven core members, and five of them were spies? What kind of joke was that?
"There's also my woman, the former Scorch Release user of Sunagakure, Pakura; two of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, Kisame Hoshigaki and Jūzō Biwa; and the rogue ninja from Takigakure, the immortal ninja Kakuzu."
"Pakura was once sold out to Kirigakure by the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa. I happened to encounter her and saved her in time."
"After spending some time together, she chose to follow me. I didn't bring her back to Konoha but chose to send her to Kakuzu, to make it easier to handle things that were inconvenient for me or Konoha ninja to deal with."
"Unexpectedly, after the two made a name for themselves in the ninja world, they caught the eye of the Akatsuki and were recruited."
"After I received the news, I agreed to their joining, thinking that I might be able to use the organization's power to do some things."
"Kisame Hoshigaki and Jūzō Biwa were recruited after Pakura, Kakuzu, and Itachi joined the Akatsuki."
"They agreed with my governing philosophy and my vision for peace."
"With their help, I was able to successfully defeat the Akatsuki."
Everyone tried to digest the huge amount of information in Kageyama Kogetsu's words, not knowing what to say for a moment...
"So you were also well aware of the Akatsuki capturing the Tailed Beasts from the various villages?" Mitokado Homura asked with a smile.
Kageyama Kogetsu nodded slightly. "More or less."
"The loss of Jinchūriki from the other villages is beneficial to Konoha. Plus, I had my own plans, so I didn't stop it."
Utatane Koharu smiled with narrowed eyes. "A very good plan. Do you know where those Jinchūriki are?"
"Except for Gaara of Sunagakure, the others are probably dead. I didn't see a single one of them during the battle."
Kageyama Kogetsu didn't want to reveal the matter of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. It would be too troublesome to explain. It was enough for them to know what they needed to know.
Hearing this, everyone looked delighted.
It was good that they were dead. With the loss of their Jinchūriki, the strength of the other villages would undoubtedly plummet, while Konoha's strength had surged. Let's see if they still had the confidence to start a war...
Although the Akatsuki's capture of the Tailed Beasts definitely involved a major conspiracy, now that the Akatsuki had been defeated, even if the conspiracy wasn't completely stopped, it would certainly have a huge impact on their plans!
It wasn't even certain if they could continue to implement it. Even if they could, enough time had been bought to disrupt it.
Moreover, Konoha's strength had greatly increased and would become stronger over time. They were not afraid of the Masked Man's schemes.
"Where are they?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked with interest.
"Pakura came back with me. The other four will lie low outside for a while and then act according to my instructions."
Everyone nodded.
Although it was a pity they didn't officially join Konoha together, it was acceptable. Lying low outside might bring unexpected benefits.
"Pakura has been with me the longest, has made many contributions, and her strength has crossed the threshold of a Kage-level expert."
"Therefore, I want to give her the position of head of the Police Force. What do you all think?"
Everyone expressed their agreement. Besides, there was no room for objection.
"Besides the five of them, Konan of the Akatsuki has also become one of my people."
"Konan was the absolute confidant of the Akatsuki's public leader, Nagato. Or rather, they weren't biological siblings, but they were closer than siblings."
"The leader, Nagato, was secretly killed by the Masked Man and Black and White Zetsu. I used revenge and the safety of Amegakure to appeal to her emotions and reason, and in the end, Konan decided to submit to me."
"Considering Nagato, Konan, and Yahiko—Yahiko is the orange-haired man on the bounty issued by Kumogakure."
"The three of them have a deep connection with Lord Jiraiya and can be considered his disciples."
"Out of respect for Lord Jiraiya, and since the three of them haven't caused any harm to Konoha and are prepared to secretly make Amegakure a vassal of Konoha, I agreed."
Hearing this, everyone started discussing again. There was a lot of information in these words too.
Kageyama Kogetsu sipped his tea leisurely. His decision was greatly beneficial to Konoha, and there was no reason for anyone to object.
If anyone objected, he would lose his temper.
"Ahem, Kogetsu, can Jiraiya's disciple named Konan really make Amegakure a vassal of Konoha?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked seriously.
Kageyama Kogetsu said lightly, "It shouldn't be a big problem. Hanzō and his trusted followers were secretly wiped out by Nagato and Konan long ago."
"The two of them have considerable prestige in Amegakure and have many trusted followers. Their strength and abilities are up to par."
"Of the eleven normal members of the Akatsuki, except for Black and White Zetsu, Hidan—the rogue ninja from Yugakure—and Jūzō Biwa, everyone else has Kage-level strength."
Hearing this, everyone was shocked.
So, a small organization had eight Kage-level combatants?
Forget small ninja villages; even Konoha only had such high-end combat power at its peak!
It made sense. If the Akatsuki wasn't strong enough, how would they dare to capture the Jinchūriki of the various villages?
With such strength, and by catching them off guard, it was no wonder the great ninja villages suffered heavy losses.
Sarutobi Hiruzen said solemnly, "Then go ahead and do it boldly according to your ideas. I am your staunchest supporter!"
"Indeed, Konoha needs young leadership."
"If I were still in office, with my personality, Konoha wouldn't have its current situation. I would only be recovering our strength step by step."
"I'm old. We old folks shouldn't hold you back."
Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu also expressed their support.
With the three of them stating their positions, the others naturally wouldn't have any other opinions.
Even if they did, they had to be sensible and hold it in, otherwise they would be dealt with.
The matter was almost settled. Even if there were different opinions, it was best to raise them privately.
Kageyama Kogetsu put down his teacup and smiled. "Thank you all for your support. As long as we remain united as always, we will surely create an unprecedentedly glorious situation for Konoha!"
It was already glorious enough now; they dared not even imagine it before. Hearing this, everyone's hearts stirred in unison.
"Now, let's discuss how to notify the ninja world..."
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