At that moment, the Deva Path walked forward, easily subdued the Grass shinobi, and personally seized Yugito.
"The game is over."
Pain spoke indifferently.
"Two-Tails jinchūriki, come with me."
"Damn it!"
Darui slammed his fist against the ground in "unwillingness."
"Nagato! This won't end here!"
"I'll be waiting."
Pain replied calmly before disappearing into the valley with Yugito.
The other attackers quickly retreated as well, leaving behind a battlefield filled with "wounded" shinobi.
Darui and the others "rested" at the scene for a while before beginning to clean up the aftermath.
"Captain Darui, what do we do now?"
One of the Cloud shinobi asked "worriedly."
"What else can we do?"
Darui answered heavily.
"We return to the village immediately and report everything to Lord Raikage."
"This mission has failed."
But inwardly, he was secretly pleased.
The first stage of the plan had succeeded.
Now it was time to see how Uchiha Kai would respond.
Konoha.
Divine Court Headquarters.
Uchiha Kai sat in his office chair, expressionless as he read the intelligence report before him.
The atmosphere in the room was so oppressive it was difficult to breathe.
Even Uchiha Itachi, who was usually calm and composed, could sense the killing intent permeating the air.
"Give me the details."
Kai's voice was calm.
But those who knew him understood that this kind of calmness was often more terrifying than outright rage.
"According to the report sent by Kumogakure, the escort team was attacked while passing through the border region near Kusagakure."
Itachi opened the file in his hands.
"The attackers were members of the Anti-Divine Court Alliance led by Nagato. Participating villages included Kusagakure, Takigakure, Otogakure, and more than a dozen smaller villages."
"Casualties?"
"Kumogakure claims three seriously wounded and seven lightly wounded. No fatalities."
Itachi paused briefly.
"However, according to intelligence gathered by our operatives, the attack appears to have been little more than a performance."
Kai raised his eyes.
"A performance?"
"The Cloud escort formation contained obvious flaws. The attackers also clearly held back."
"The most important point is that, with Pain's strength, if he truly wanted to abduct Yugito, he wouldn't have needed so many accomplices."
Itachi's analysis was precise.
With Nagato's Rinnegan abilities, dealing with a simple escort team should have been effortless.
There was no need for such a grand operation.
The only reasonable explanation was that Kumogakure and the Anti-Divine Court Alliance had staged the entire incident together.
"Interesting."
Kai chuckled softly.
There was no warmth in his smile.
"It seems our esteemed Raikage still isn't willing to accept reality."
"Should I send people to Kumogakure—"
"No."
Kai waved a hand dismissively.
"If they want to put on a show, then I'll play along."
"But since someone has dared challenge the authority of the Divine Court, they must pay the appropriate price."
He rose from his seat and walked toward the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking Konoha below.
"Send out orders."
"Summon all Divine Court leadership currently in Konoha."
"My father."
"Tsunade."
"Jiraiya."
"And all clan leaders who have already pledged their loyalty."
"One hour from now, we will hold an emergency meeting."
"Yes."
Itachi turned to leave but was stopped by Kai.
"Oh, and bring Sasuke as well."
Kai's eyes narrowed.
"Since someone wants to challenge the authority of a god, let them witness what true divine punishment looks like."
An hour later.
The main conference hall of Divine Court Headquarters was filled with people.
Uchiha Fugaku sat at Kai's right side, his expression solemn.
Although he possessed absolute confidence in his son's strength, the nature of this incident was extremely serious.
If mishandled, it could damage the authority of the Divine Court before it had fully established itself.
Tsunade and Jiraiya sat on the left side of the hall.
Their expressions were complicated.
They had only just agreed to support Kai's plans, and already a crisis had emerged.
The various clan leaders whispered among themselves, discussing the potential consequences of the situation.
Hyūga Hiashi's expression was especially grim.
The Hyūga Clan had only recently pledged loyalty to the Divine Court.
If the Divine Court's authority suffered a blow, the Hyūga would find themselves in an extremely awkward position.
"Everyone."
Kai entered the conference room.
Instantly, every conversation ceased.
He did not sit down.
Instead, he stood at the head of the conference table and swept his gaze across everyone present.
"I assume all of you have heard by now."
"Someone has abducted the Two-Tails jinchūriki that was meant to be delivered to the Divine Court."
His voice remained calm, yet everyone could hear the anger beneath it.
"This is a direct challenge to the authority of the Divine Court."
"It is also a challenge to the entire new order."
"Kai, how do you intend to deal with this?"
Tsunade could not help asking.
"Very simple."
A cold smile appeared on Kai's lips.
"Since someone wishes to challenge the Divine Court, I will show the entire shinobi world exactly what happens to those who do so."
He clapped his hands.
The conference room doors opened.
Uchiha Sasuke walked inside.
At this moment, Sasuke radiated a terrifying aura.
The purple glow within his Rinnegan flickered ominously.
"Sasuke."
Kai spoke calmly.
"Go to Amegakure."
"Bring Nagato back alive."
"As for everyone else…"
He paused briefly.
Murderous intent flashed through his eyes.
"Show no mercy."
Everyone in the room inhaled sharply.
Amegakure might not be a large village, but it still housed thousands of shinobi and civilians.
Was Kai planning to destroy an entire village?
"Kai, isn't that going too far?"
Jiraiya could not remain silent.
"The civilians of Amegakure are innocent—"
"Innocent?"
Kai turned and looked coldly at Jiraiya.
"Jiraiya-sensei, when Nagato launched his rebellion, what do you think the shinobi and civilians of Amegakure were doing?"
"Were they stopping him?"
"Or supporting him?"
Jiraiya was rendered speechless.
It was true.
If the people of Amegakure truly opposed Nagato's actions, they could have resisted him or informed the Divine Court.
Their silence was itself a form of support.
"And besides."
Kai continued.
"When I said 'show no mercy,' I was referring to the rebels involved in the uprising."
"As long as civilians do not resist, Sasuke will not harm them."
"But Amegakure, as a shinobi village, must disappear from the map."
His words were even colder than before.
Kai intended to dissolve Amegakure entirely, reducing it from an independent political entity into nothing more than an ordinary city.
"What about Kusagakure and the other participating villages?"
Fugaku asked.
"Not a single one of them will be spared."
Kai's tone never changed.
"Since they chose rebellion, they must bear the consequences of rebellion."
"After Sasuke finishes dealing with Amegakure, he will systematically purge every other rebellious village."
"But wouldn't that create an even greater backlash?"
Yamanaka Inoichi asked with concern.
"If other villages see this happen, they may unite even more strongly against us."
"Good."
Kai sneered.
"I would rather have them oppose me openly than scheme in the shadows."
"That way, I can eliminate all of my problems at once."
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