As for whether Gaara's claim of it being "lost" was true... everyone had their own thoughts.
However, since the other party had already given a clear explanation, it would be inappropriate to continue pressing aggressively. Thus, they all tacitly chose to accept this statement.
Minato, who had been listening in silence, was feeling a far more turbulent inner storm than the other Kage.
A complex, inscrutable light flickered deep within his eyes, and his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
Gaara's survival was built upon Lady Chiyo's self-sacrificing forbidden jutsu...
So, how exactly did that mysterious 'Collector' do it?
What kind of heaven-defying method did he use to allow Kushina to survive after the Nine-Tails was completely extracted?
Not only did she miraculously survive, but she didn't even... leave behind any side effects?!
The Raikage's eyes, filled with undisguised scrutiny, slowly shifted toward the woman at the other end of the conference table.
"Now, I suppose it's the Mizukage's turn?" The Raikage's voice boomed like muffled thunder in the silent hall.
"To be blunt, among the Five Kage, your Hidden Mist Village is the most suspicious!"
His tone suddenly intensified, carrying an air of interrogation.
"Your Hidden Mist Village has been isolated for a long time, almost never engaging in diplomacy!
I have intelligence suggesting rumors that your place is the birthplace of the Akatsuki!"
Faced with this sharp questioning, a flicker of exhaustion and gloom crossed Mei Terumī's beautiful face.
She lowered her eyelids slightly, her long lashes casting a small shadow beneath her eyes, yet she did not immediately speak to refute the Raikage's aggression.
This silence served as a prelude.
After a brief silence, Mei Terumī took a deep breath. When she raised her eyes again, her gaze was filled with determination.
"Since things have come to this... then I shall tell the truth."
As soon as she spoke, the two elite Hidden Mist guards standing behind her visibly stiffened, shock instantly appearing in their eyes.
They knew better than anyone that what the Mizukage was about to say was a disgrace the Hidden Mist Village did not want known.
"Our Fourth Mizukage, Lord Yagura Karatachi..." Mei Terumī's voice trembled slightly.
"We highly suspect that for a considerable period of time, he was controlled by some unknown power! And Hoshigaki Kisame, who was his personal guard at the time, is now one of the core members of the Akatsuki!"
At this point, she closed her eyes in pain.
"Because of this, we have chosen to keep this shameful past deeply buried, unwilling to make it public..."
"Hmph! Everyone has their own hardships and reasons!" Raikage Ay was clearly disdainful of this "fig leaf" behavior.
He snorted coldly, just about to continue his harsh rebuke of what he saw as cowardly behavior.
"Lord Raikage, please calm yourself." A gentle voice spoke up at the right time, breaking the escalating conflict.
Minato spoke: "The Fifth Mizukage's actions are not incomprehensible."
Imagine if, as one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, your own Kage was controlled by someone else for years in the heart of the Village, right under the noses of many elite Shinobi...
This is no glorious matter; it concerns the dignity and prestige of the entire Hidden Mist Village.
For Mei Terumī to be able to speak honestly in front of the Five Kage today, the courage to face the past and the sincerity to seek cooperation are already quite rare.
The Raikage glanced at Minato, well aware of the formidable strength of Konoha behind him and his pivotal position in the Shinobi World.
After weighing his options, a dissatisfied grunt escaped his throat. In the end, he did not pursue the matter further, simply turning his head away sharply. He reluctantly accepted the mediation, temporarily suppressing the anger in his heart.
Raikage Ay's voice was low, carrying obvious impatience and anger.
"In the intelligence held by our Kumogakure, there is no substantive content regarding the 'Akatsuki' organization! Furthermore, I can clearly inform you all that there are absolutely no rogue Shinobi from my Hidden Cloud within the 'Akatsuki'!"
He scanned the hall, his clenched fists resting on the table, his knuckles turning slightly white.
Thinking about the intelligence revealed at this Five Kage Summit—that the core members were almost all rogue elites from other Shinobi Villages—he felt a surge of anger.
The fact that they were trying to drag the Hidden Cloud into this vortex as well made a nameless fire burn brighter in his chest.
Minato nodded slightly. Based on his understanding of the intelligence his teacher Jiraiya had gathered, what the Raikage said should be true.
Kumogakure's connection to 'Akatsuki' was indeed a blank, at least at the level of known information.
Minato then spoke up.
"Next, Konoha will share the intelligence we possess. As you have all stated before, we already have common ground on most of the information. However..."
His tone shifted, and his expression suddenly became incredibly solemn. "Here, I would like to propose a speculation based on existing intelligence for us to discuss together."
The other four Kage adjusted their seating positions almost simultaneously, their gazes all focusing on Minato.
Although he emphasized it was a "speculation," as Kage who understood the value of intelligence...
They knew very well that the Yellow Flash would never throw out groundless imaginings in such a setting.
"In fact," Minato's voice carried a hint of heavy memory, "as early as over ten years ago, Konoha's Nine-Tails suffered a deliberate attack and attempted theft. I believe you have all heard of this past event."
As soon as he said this, looks of suspicion and surprise flashed across the faces of the four Kage.
More than ten years ago? Could it be that the mysterious 'Akatsuki' organization's reach had already extended to the Tailed Beasts that long ago?
They naturally knew about the Nine-Tails Riot; they had even mocked Konoha at the time, but they hadn't linked that incident to the present.
But with Minato saying it like this, the time span sent a chill through them.
Minato's gaze seemed to return to that chaotic and bloody night.
"The one who attacked Konoha was a mysterious person wearing a strange whirlpool mask.
He displayed power enough to inspire fear, possessed the Uchiha's Mangekyo Sharingan, and was able to forcibly control the Nine-Tails, even summoning it via Translocation!"
"Sharingan?!" Raikage Ay suddenly looked up, his thick brows furrowed, his rugged face filled with shock and confusion.
According to the Hidden Cloud's guess, the one who caused the Nine-Tails Riot should have been The Collector, but...
That person had never shown the abilities of the Sharingan.
Could it be... that The Collector was hiding even more methods that had not yet been revealed?
"That's right, it was the Sharingan." Minato confirmed the Raikage's question, his expression becoming even more solemn.
"Based on the unique abilities he displayed, especially that terrifying power to summon and command the Nine-Tails, I have had to make a bold and unbelievable deduction..."
He took a deep breath and uttered, word for word, the name that held a place in the history of the Shinobi World:
"He is very likely... Uchiha Madara!"
Minato's voice echoed in the silent meeting room, carrying an unquestionable gravity.
Even examining it again after many years, he still stood by this judgment.
Merely possessing the Mangekyo Sharingan might not be enough to point to that legendary Shinobi, but that terrifying ability to summon and control the Nine-Tails—in Konoha's top-secret records, only one person had ever achieved it.
And that was the man who, during the Battle of the Final Valley, had driven the Nine-Tails to a heaven-shaking duel against the First Hokage Hashirama: Madara!
As soon as Minato finished speaking, it was like a giant boulder had been dropped into a calm lake.
In an instant, the meeting room fell into a dead silence.
Whether it was the steady Ōnoki or the volatile Ay, all the Kage's eyes snapped wide, their pupils filled with unspeakable shock and horror!
"Is this for real? That guy... wasn't he confirmed dead decades ago?"
Doubts rose one after another. Even though the speaker was Minato, it could not immediately dispel people's deeply rooted perceptions.
Ōnoki's brow was tightly furrowed, his tone carrying strong suspicion.
"That's right, didn't that guy die a long time ago?"
Facing everyone's doubts, Minato remained steady. He looked around and then clearly explained the basis of his judgment.
Afterward, his gaze finally fell on Mei Terumī.
"...It is based on these clues, combined with the fact that the Fourth Mizukage was once controlled by some power, that gives me higher confidence in this speculation."
"The one who controlled Lord Fourth Mizukage... was him?!" Mei Terumī's beautiful and sharp eyes suddenly widened, her face filled with shock.
This information pointed directly to that traumatic history of the Hidden Mist Village shrouded in darkness.
Minato nodded solemnly: "If the mastermind truly was him, then it is not surprising that the Hidden Mist failed to detect and stop it all in time."
In an instant, Mei Terumī fell into silence.
Although this explanation was bitter, Minato's words undoubtedly saved some face for the Hidden Mist.
After all, the level of power represented by that legendary name was an existence that could stand on equal footing with the 'God of Shinobi' Hashirama, who founded the era of Shinobi Villages.
The Kage present knew in their hearts that against such an opponent, any oversight was excusable.
However, the Raikage questioned directly: "Impossible! Wait! Wasn't it 'The Collector' who caused Konoha's 'Nine-Tails Riot'?!"
Hearing this, Minato looked at the Raikage with slight confusion, then shook his head and corrected him with a certain tone.
"The Collector did indeed appear during the Nine-Tails Riot incident, but he only stole a batch of precious forbidden jutsu scrolls while Konoha was in chaos.
The true disaster, the culprit who released and controlled the Nine-Tails and caused that tragic upheaval, was not him."
After hearing this explanation, the expression on Raikage Ay's rugged face shifted, and he finally fell into a brief silence.
He did not speak to refute it again.
Although Kumogakure's original deduction of the entire event had been off in the specific process, mistakenly viewing The Collector as the mastermind...
Looking at the result, their core judgment wasn't entirely wrong.
That Collector had indeed successfully stolen the Nine-Tails chakra he coveted during the Nine-Tails Riot, which was likely the reason he hadn't attacked Konoha again since.
"Could that guy have an immortal body?!" The Raikage slammed a fist onto the table; clearly, Minato's well-reasoned speculation had convinced them.
"It's possible..."
Ōnoki couldn't help but recall the events of back then, especially the scene when he and his master, the Second Tsuchikage, were blocked at the gates of Konoha by that man. His voice trembled slightly.
"To think he really is a monster!"
After he spoke, the meeting room fell into silence, everyone clearly immersed in shock.
Finally, it was Ōnoki, who had convened this Five Kage Summit, who broke the dead silence.
"Everyone," he looked around, his gaze lingering briefly on each Kage's face, carrying an unquestionable sense of urgency.
"Facing a legendary threat like Uchiha Madara, we can no longer afford to sit and wait for death!
The Akatsuki has been confirmed to have taken the chakra of five Tailed Beasts!
Now, of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, only the Eight-Tails remains in the Hidden Cloud, and the Nine-Tails is guarded in Konoha.
These two portions of power must be held at all costs; we must never let the enemy have their way so easily again!"
Ōnoki's speech was powerful and struck at the core.
None of the Kage present refuted him; this was the fundamental purpose for which they had gathered here.
Although the Akatsuki's ultimate plot for capturing the Tailed Beasts was still shrouded in mist, they were all very clear on one point: they could not let their conspiracy be successfully implemented!
Just then, a complex expression appeared on Minato's face.
He took a slight breath and spoke with gravity: "There is one thing that I believe you all may not yet be aware of."
As soon as he said this, the gazes of the other four Kage immediately focused on him, filled with inquiry and doubt.
Did Konoha possess other key intelligence regarding the Akatsuki?
Meeting everyone's gaze, Minato announced the shocking news.
"During the Chunin Exams previously held in Konoha... the Nine-Tails was already taken by the Akatsuki."
The moment the words fell, it was as if a silent thunderbolt had exploded in the secret room!
All the Kage, including Ōnoki who had just spoken, stared with wide, startled eyes, their faces filled with disbelief.
Even the strongest Konoha had failed to protect their Tailed Beast?!
Had the strength of the Akatsuki really reached such a terrifying level?!
However, Minato's next words pushed this shock to an even deeper level.
He paused and added: "Furthermore... the one who took the Nine-Tails was likely not a formal member of the Akatsuki. The one who acted was 'The Collector'."
The Collector!
This name was like a cold curse, instantly draining the last trace of sound from the secret room.
Dead silence descended once more, heavier than before.
Ōnoki's pupils contracted sharply as dusty memories surged back like a tide.
That figure, that absolute power that easily suppressed the Four-Tails and forced them to hand over the Five-Tails, that terrifying pressure that made even the soul tremble...
If this being known as The Collector truly stood on the side of the Akatsuki, then the threat he posed was likely not a bit less than that of the legendary Madara!
A deep chill rose from the heart of this veteran powerhouse.
Fourth Raikage Ay's face instantly turned ashen, his clenched fists' knuckles turning white.
To him, this name was a nightmare that could not be shaken off.