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After parting ways with Jiraiya and Naruto, Kaito and Gurē continued heading towards the Land of Demons.
However, Kaito did not anticipate that the Five Great Ninja Villages would come up with a rather extraordinary plan during this time.
Recently, the Five Great Ninja Villages had suffered losses at the hands of Kaito, with several of their ninjas having their chakra sealed, including some of their key members. This had caused a noticeable impact on the missions in each village due to the absence of these ninjas.
As a result, the leaders of the ninja villages did not want to delay any further.
To restore the combat capabilities of these ninjas, their only option was to comply with Kaito's demands and pay up.
It was easy to imagine how frustrating this situation was for the Five Great Ninja Villages, which had always been at the top of the ninja world.
The most crucial aspect was that this news spread throughout the ninja world at an astonishing speed.
Small ninja villages, which the Five Great Ninja Villages usually disregarded, likely took great pleasure in this turn of events.
Would they really just go and seek a deal with Kaito?
Kaito's ridicule of Sunagakure's Kankuro had been recounted by the Konoha ninjas present and spread widely. Consequently, Sunagakure was now widely recognized as being extremely poor.
With the Fourth Kazekage recently deceased and no Fifth Kazekage appointed, Sunagakure was not only recognized for its poverty but also seemed resigned and indifferent to its reputation.
Additionally, the Fifth Hokage and the Fifth Mizukage, being women, were less concerned with saving face.
However, the Fourth Raikage and the Third Tsuchikage could not tolerate this humiliation.
Both of them had been in a state of constant anger, having broken several desks out of frustration.
Eventually, the experienced Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, proposed a new solution by connecting with the other villages.
In Onoki's view, Kaito would not dare to completely antagonize the Five Great Ninja Villages.
He suggested that instead of the villages seeking out Kaito for a deal, they should designate a location and have Kaito come to them to lift the seals on the ninjas himself.
Most of the ninja villages agreed to this plan, albeit reluctantly.
Even though this move was merely a fig leaf, it was better than nothing.
Only Konoha's Kakashi, having interacted with Kaito a few times, felt that this plan was unreliable.
He had a strange intuition.
He believed Kaito did not care at all about offending the Five Great Ninja Villages.
"That person has a sharp and wise mind, but he is also somewhat willful," he remarked to Tsunade about Kaito.
Tsunade was troubled, especially with the latest news from Jiraiya indicating that Kaito seemed to have a positive view of Naruto. She couldn't discern his true intentions.
After much deliberation, she decided to temporarily align with the Five Great Ninja Villages' plan. If it didn't work, they could still approach Kaito for a deal later.
Seeing Tsunade had made her decision, Kakashi did not press further. Nonetheless, he felt that things would not be resolved so simply.
Finally, the Five Great Ninja Villages issued a joint statement.
They demanded that Kaito go to Kusagakure within a month to lift the seals on their ninjas and return the Box of Ultimate Bliss. Otherwise, they would issue a joint bounty on him.
...
Kaito did not rush on his journey, occasionally stopping with Gurē, who had taken human form, to rest in towns along the way.
Thus, he soon learned about the Five Great Ninja Villages' joint statement, though he had no intention of complying.
He continued his journey towards his goal without concern.
One day, in a restaurant in a certain city, a young man approached him with a letter.
Kaito glanced at the young man, who was trying hard to maintain a neutral expression, and chose not to comment on his obvious nervousness.
He took the letter, waved his hand dismissively, and the young man quickly disappeared.
After reading the letter, Kaito chuckled softly.
The letter, written in the name of the Five Great Ninja Villages, essentially told Kaito to ignore the public statement and instead come to Kusagakure to lift the seals voluntarily. The underlying message was that he would be rewarded, and the return of the Box of Ultimate Bliss was negotiable.
Kaito could guess their intentions.
Since they didn't know what the Box of Ultimate Bliss looked like, they figured any box could be passed off as the real one.
Whether Kusagakure acknowledged it or not was irrelevant to them.
They could claim any old box was the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
This was merely a face-saving measure for the Five Great Ninja Villages. As for Kaito's offense, they could deal with him later with an unbeatable team.
"Interesting," Kaito said, handing the letter to Gurē, who had been peeking curiously.
"Kaito, are you going to go?" Gurē asked after quickly reading the letter.
"No," Kaito picked up his chopsticks, casually replying, "Sealing the Moryo is more important."
Gurē stuffed a piece of meat into his mouth, asking, "What about the bounty?"
Kaito moved his chopsticks to the untouched vegetables, "It's meaningless. Unless absolutely necessary, they won't go all out against me. The bounty will just attract some clueless bounty hunters."
Gurē relaxed a bit, but said, "That would still be annoying, right?"
"You can handle them as practice," Kaito encouraged with a smile.
"You're so cunning."
...
In Amegakure, at the top floor of a tower-like building.
"Nagato," Obito's figure appeared in the void, his crimson eye staring calmly at Nagato, who was sitting in a chair, "It seems you've recovered well."
"What's the matter, Madara?" Nagato's tone remained indifferent.
"I want you to send Kakuzu and Hidan to intercept and kill Kaito," Obito ordered matter-of-factly.
Konan stepped forward, frowning, "No, you're sending them to their deaths. Kaito is too dangerous! Akatsuki can't afford unnecessary losses…"
"Konan!"
Nagato interrupted her, asking, "You plan to use them as bait and then act yourself?"
"Yes, Kaito must die," Obito replied, his voice filled with killing intent.
"Now is not the best time," Nagato was puzzled, "Why didn't you act during the Five Great Ninja Villages' siege on Kaito?"
Obito's aura suddenly faltered. Gritting his teeth, he said, "The battle ended too quickly, and the sea environment was unfavorable for Zetsu's search."
"Is that so? I don't see much chance of success in your plan," Nagato shook his head, "Akatsuki cannot afford unnecessary losses. I can't agree."
Obito's calm gaze turned icy cold. Forming a hand seal, he spoke with chilling determination, "I'm not here to negotiate. This is an order!"