Chapter 147: Ch.147 Reopened Five Kage Summit!
The Five Kage Summit was convened once again, but this time there was noticeably less tension in the air.
The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, slowly scanned the room, locking eyes with the other four Kage, before saying, "I'm sure by now everyone understands the threat posed by the Akatsuki."
The Hidden Leaf had already gathered information from Kakashi about the other four villages' attempts to abduct Sasuke. However, it was clear that now wasn't the time to hold these villages accountable.
According to repeated evaluations from the intelligence division, Akatsuki's elite forces were now comparable to any of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
Furthermore, considering Akatsuki's secretive nature and its members' ability to act quickly and covertly, any individual village that faced them would likely not fare well.
Thus, it was imperative to unite the strength of all five villages to deal with the looming threat of Akatsuki.
Noticing the implied message in Hiruzen's words, the Fourth Raikage snorted heavily, clearly irritated.
The Fourth Mizukage commented, "This Akatsuki is unlike any ordinary bounty hunter organization. They're constantly recruiting rogue shinobi from each village to strengthen their ranks. There's definitely a larger conspiracy behind it."
The Third Tsuchikage and the Fourth Kazekage both nodded in agreement.
They were all seasoned leaders. Previously, they had undermined each other because they had not considered Akatsuki a serious threat, thinking it was merely a slightly more powerful bounty hunting organization.
But now, with a clearer understanding of Akatsuki—especially after confirming that the organization had the potential to challenge the Five Great Shinobi Villages' dominance—they naturally began to take the threat seriously.