The Tenseigan started from the Hyuga main family.

"Hinata has already reported what happened to me. But are you sure you really saw the Fourth Hokage?"

Inside the Hokage's office, Tsunade stared intently at Hyuga Sawatatsu, while Jiraiya beside her also showed excitement.

If they had known that the dragon vein of the ancient Loulan Kingdom would present such an opportunity to travel through time, Tsunade and Jiraiya might not have been able to resist going there themselves.

Anyone who lives in the ninja world has encountered a few regrets. Even if they know the hope is slim, who wouldn't want to go back in time, change history, and make up for the regrets in their heart?

"That's right, by sheer coincidence, we did indeed travel back to the past."

After receiving confirmation from Hyuga Sawatatsu, Tsunade and Jiraiya became even more excited.

"Do you think this is just an exception, or does the dragon vein possess such a special ability?"

Jiraiya spoke impatiently, having lost his usual composure.

"Isn't what Hinata and I experienced enough to prove that even if we go back in time and change history, we can't change the spacetime we live in? Instead of focusing our energy on such illusory fantasies, we should think more about how to deal with the Akatsuki."

Having a rare opportunity to stand on moral high ground and reprimand the three ninjas, Hyuga Zetsu naturally wanted to put on a good show.

"During my time in the Land of Wind, I inadvertently discovered that the Akatsuki and Orochimaru had collaborated. They used the Impure World Reincarnation to revive the former One-Tailed Jinchuriki. If I'm not mistaken, it's most likely for use against the Five Great Nations."

Such a thing actually happened?

With a formidable enemy at hand, Tsunade and Jiraiya exchanged a glance, no longer concerned with the affairs of the ancient Loulan Kingdom.

Chapter 144 The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path

"That bastard Orochimaru is still colluding with the Akatsuki. We haven't even settled the score with him for the last time he destroyed Konoha."

Tsunade, her face contorted with rage, slammed her palm down on the table, leaving a huge handprint.

Neither Jiraiya nor Hyuga Sawatatsu blinked; they were already used to Tsunade's temper.

As long as she didn't smash the table, it meant that Tsunade was already restraining herself.

"Including some of Shukaku's chakra, the Akatsuki now controls the power of six tailed beasts. Only the Six-Tails Saiken from Kirigakure, the Eight-Tails Gyūki from Kumogakure, and... Naruto remain."

Jiraiya's expression was somewhat grave as he mentally calculated the forces that both sides could mobilize.

Comparing the numbers of both sides, the five great ninja villages naturally have an absolute advantage, but it is difficult for them to truly make the most of this advantage.

Against a fully-formed tailed beast, having a large number of ninjas is meaningless.

"Besides guarding against the Akatsuki's manipulation of the Tailed Beasts to attack the army, we must also prepare to deal with the Gedo Mazo."

Hinata Zechen took a scroll out of his pocket and placed it on the table.

"The Demonic Statue of Heretics, what is that?"

Jiraiya and Tsunade exchanged a glance and picked up the scroll on the table.

"Danzo actually did such a thing. No wonder Nagato harbored such deep hostility towards Konoha. Ultimately, Konoha bears a great deal of responsibility for Yahiko's death..."

After reviewing the events of Danzo and Hanzo's collaboration in suppressing the Akatsuki, Jiraiya's face paled, and he felt utterly powerless.

Although this was Danzo's unauthorized action with the Root organization, he obviously couldn't explain it clearly to Nagato and Konan.

The two, grieving the loss of their dear friend, could only blame all their hatred on the bullying of a small country by a large one, and on taking revenge on Konoha.

"Is this the heretical demonic statue you spoke of?"

Tsunade's attention was focused on the lifelike Gedo Mazo depicted in the scroll.

Its enormous size far surpasses that of a tailed beast, and it commands illusory chakra dragons to instantly drain a ninja's chakra and life force...

The scrolls contained only a few lines describing each ability, but each one made Tsunade's eyelids twitch.

If such a monster were summoned during a fierce battle, how many ninjas' lives would it take to defeat it?

"Most importantly, they went so far as to cooperate with Orochimaru, a traitor to Akatsuki, to use the Impure World Reincarnation to revive the previous One-Tailed Jinchuriki. This is very likely in order to seal all nine tailed beasts into the Gedo Mazo in sequence, thereby reviving the Ten-Tailed. If they succeed, even the four Kage working together will find it difficult to defeat them. At that time, even greater trouble will arise."

Hyuga Zetsu had once explained the origin of the Ten-Tails, so Tsunade and Jiraiya naturally understood the seriousness of the matter.

Even powerful figures like Tsunade and Jiraiya would struggle to deal with any one of the tailed beasts. They couldn't imagine the immense power that would be unleashed if all nine tailed beasts were united as one.

"As long as we still control the three tailed beasts, we will definitely be able to stop the Akatsuki's plot from succeeding."

Thinking of Naruto training in Sage Mode at Mount Myōboku, Jiraiya couldn't help but show a look of anticipation on his face.

Arriving at Mount Myōboku three years in advance exponentially increased the difficulty for Naruto to train in Sage Mode, and so far he has only scratched the surface of natural chakra.

But without a doubt, with the Uzumaki clan's massive chakra reserves as a foundation, it was only a matter of time before Naruto successfully mastered Sage Mode.

"Not necessarily. Putting aside whether the Akatsuki will find Mount Myōboku, judging from their actions of reviving the former One-Tailed Jinchūriki, even if we successfully protect the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails, it's hard to guarantee that they won't use the same tricks."

Although Hinata Sawatatsu's words were somewhat vague, Jiraiya and Tsunade both understood what he was trying to say.

The previous Eight-Tails Jinchuriki of Kumogakure, Burubi, and the previous Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Kushina Uzumaki, wife of the Fourth Hokage!

In particular, the amount of Nine-Tails' chakra that has leaked out is far too great. When the Nine-Tails wreaked havoc on Konoha, countless people secretly collected its chakra, making it impossible to trace.

"A thousand days of guarding against thieves will never solve the root of the problem. The best solution is to concentrate our forces this time to defeat the Akatsuki. Victory is not an option!"

Tsunade stood up, her face showing determination.

-----------------

In a dark, secret chamber, a colossal demonic statue of the Outer Path stood silently in the center, its ten fingers forming stone pillars, each supporting one of eight figures.

The absence of the artistic duo and Orochimaru left Akatsuki with only seven members, forcing Obito Uchiha to step into the limelight and become a member of Akatsuki.

Even though everyone was in the state of using the Nine Sealing Techniques of the Illusionary Dragon, extracting the tailed beasts from the Jinchuriki's body and sealing them into the Gedo Mazo, Obito Uchiha clearly felt a gaze lingering on him for a long time.

Without even looking up, Obito Uchiha knew very well that the owner of that gaze was Itachi, who was also from the Uchiha clan.

Are you still holding a grudge about killing Uchiha Izumi back then?

Despite having his identity revealed by Hyuga Zetsu, Uchiha Obito still wore the orange vortex mask and did not show his true face.

"It's almost finished."

Just then, Pain's voice rang out, invigorating everyone.

The Five-Tails Jinchuriki, Han, was enveloped in blue chakra, with blood-red chakra being extracted from his eyes, nose, and mouth; his life force was already negligible.

It is foreseeable that once the Five-Tails Kokuou is completely extracted, Han, as the Jinchūriki, will inevitably die on the spot.

As the last wisp of crimson chakra flowed into the gaping maw of the Gedo Mazo, the blue chakra enveloping Han gradually dissipated, and his body, now without support, plummeted from mid-air, crashing heavily to the ground.

Within the whitish eyes of the demonic statue, a new pupil gradually took shape, moving the entire eyeball up and down, sending chills down one's spine.

"It's over."

Pain let out a sigh.

From the One-Tailed Shukaku to the Five-Tailed Kokuo, the Gedo Mazo now has five tailed beasts sealed inside, giving Nagato a rare feeling of ease and comfort.

Since the Gedo Mazo was first summoned and a large number of black rods were inserted into Nagato's back, this is the first time that the Gedo Mazo has voluntarily stopped drawing chakra from Nagato.

Was the Gedo Mazo really a special container created to seal the Tailed Beasts?

Sensing the change in the Gedo Mazo's state, and recalling Hyuga Sawatatsu's meaningful words, Nagato couldn't help but become suspicious.

He could sense that with each tailed beast sealed, the Gedo Mazo would become more sentient, as if something terrifying was about to awaken.

"It's finally over."

Looking at the corpses on the ground, Kakuzu had already made up his mind to take them to the black market for bounty money later.

"It took thirteen days to subdue the five tailed beasts. Lord Evil God will surely blame me for not praying."

Hidan twisted his neck forcefully, making a series of cracking sounds, and complained loudly as well.

"Everyone, thank you for your hard work. Being able to complete the extraction of the Tailed Beasts ahead of schedule means that Akatsuki is destined to win this battle against the Five Great Shinobi Villages!"

Nagato put aside his doubts and, controlling Pain, spoke.

Chapter 145 Dawn's White Tiger

In the shadow beneath a large tree, Hinata Zechen gazed at the neat stone steps paved with bricks leading to the mountain peak, and the orderly trees planted on both sides, and couldn't help but stroke his chin.

"Are you sure the Akatsuki's base is located in a place like this?"

With his gaze following the mountain path upwards, even without activating his Byakugan, Hyuga Zetsu could roughly see a temple in the forest at the summit.

"After repeated confirmation by the intelligence and surveillance teams, we have confirmed that members dressed in Akatsuki uniforms enter and leave the temple every day. Although it is not the headquarters, it is at least an important base."

A member of the Aburame clan, wearing a Konoha headband, sunglasses that covered his eyes, and with almost no exposed skin, stood behind Hyuga Sawatatsu and spoke in a low voice.

With ten days remaining until the deadline set by the Five Kage Summit, the participants from each ninja village had already assembled, deploying a tight network from four directions to gradually compress the Akatsuki's operational space within the Land of Rain.

Hinata Zechen's mission is to eliminate this important Akatsuki stronghold.

Roll your eyes!

Hyuga Zechen's eyes bulged with veins as he activated his Byakugan to look inside the building, only to be blocked by a giant barrier.

“There are indeed Akatsuki members inside. You can retreat now. This place will likely become a battlefield.”

Hinata Sawatatsu waved his hand, signaling that the personnel responsible for gathering intelligence could leave first.

"Yes."

The member of the Aburame clan was very decisive. After responding, she turned and left with her three companions.

"Sai, set up defenses and traps at the foot of the mountain to prevent any enemy from breaking through."

After leaving behind a message, Hinata Sawatatsu leaped up and, without any attempt to conceal his actions, rushed along the mountain path toward the building at the summit.

"Yes, Lord Zechen."

A young man's voice came from the woods, and then mice and sparrows made of ink scattered in all directions.

Masked figures moved swiftly through the woods, forming combat squads that occupied various passages and set up traps to intercept any fleeing enemies.

After walking for a while, Hinata Zechen felt that the surroundings looked more and more familiar.

By the way, the place where Orochimaru ambushed Itachi Uchiha and tried to take over his body seems to be right here?

When Xiang Zechen saw the red torii gate located halfway up the mountain that day, he finally realized why it looked so familiar.

So, who would be on the mountaintop?

Hinata Sawatatsu quickened his pace and soon arrived outside the temple.