"They only destroyed a few puppets of Sunagakure, but you are different. Your hands are stained with the blood of my village."
Jing Hang spoke coldly, his tone like a blade slicing through the air.
"I... I came with them, but I didn’t kill anyone!"
Higashi Shijin stammered, his words disjointed as he hurriedly tried to explain himself. His eyes darted toward Yahiko, silently pleading for help.
Yahiko’s expression wavered, conflicted. After all, Kitsuchi had made it clear: if Higashi Shijin didn’t return, Iwagakure would send its forces to retaliate.
But now, with his own life in Jing Hang’s hands, how could he have the luxury to worry about someone else? Iwagakure was not to be trifled with, but neither was Sunagakure.
"No blood on your hands? I find that hard to believe."
Jing Hang’s eyes gleamed sharply, his tone turning severe.
"Eight years ago, under orders from the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, you assumed the alias ’Mr. Higashi Iwa’ and funded Myōga Tarō of Amegakure to establish the Akatsuki organization. Later, you betrayed and assassinated him, triggering the Akatsuki Rebellion. That rebellion resulted in the deaths of thirteen soldiers from my Hourglass Group’s factory guard unit and over two thousand civilian casualties..."
Jing Hang glanced at Yahiko, his gaze piercing.
"If we tally it up, the Akatsuki organization suffered over ten thousand casualties because of that rebellion. And yet, you, the mastermind behind it all, have the audacity to claim your hands are clean? What a joke! Am I wrong, Higashi Shijin?"
Hearing Jing Hang call out his name, Higashi Shijin froze in shock, his face pale as a sheet.
These details had been unearthed by Rou Zhao from Iwagakure’s ANBU archives. Originally, Jing Hang had planned to hold Higashi Shijin accountable for these crimes. However, after the war between Iwagakure and Sunagakure, the leadership of Iwagakure underwent a "reorganization." The Fourth Tsuchikage, Shi, had a favorable relationship with Sunagakure, making it politically unwise for Jing Hang to pursue the matter. Later, when Shi fell under a genjutsu, the issue was left unresolved.
Now, Higashi Shijin had been sent directly to Sunagakure by Kitsuchi himself. Truly, what goes around comes around.
Yahiko’s face turned pale upon hearing this revelation. Mujima had expressed doubts about the incident before, but now the truth was laid bare. What made it even worse was that this time, Iwagakure’s butchers were once again behind the scheme. It was despicable to the core.
Yahiko lunged at Higashi Shijin, attempting to strangle him in a fit of rage.
"Magnet Release: Binding Cables!"
Higashi Shijin was instantly restrained, dragged aside by magnetic chains.
"Sorry, but you can’t kill him just yet. I still need information."
Jing Hang stepped forward and stuffed a cloth he had pulled out of nowhere into Higashi Shijin’s mouth.
"If you had stayed hidden in Iwagakure, I wouldn’t have been able to touch you for the time being. But you just had to walk onto my turf. That’s on you. Don’t worry; you’ll have your chance to speak."
Jing Hang waved his hand, and two Sunagakure ninja stepped forward to drag Higashi Shijin away.
Jing Hang then turned to look at Yahiko and Nagato.
"Alright, now let’s talk about your situation, shall we?"
Yahiko and Nagato exchanged uneasy glances.
"You said you wouldn’t make things difficult for us," Nagato said cautiously.
"I did say that," Jing Hang replied with a smile, "but I never said I’d let you go. You brought a thousand people into Sunagakure, not only meddling in a rebellion but also destroying so many of our puppets. Don’t you think you owe me an explanation?"
"We’ve lost many of our own people too!" Nagato retorted.
Jing Hang backhanded Nagato across the face, his voice thunderous.
"Damn it! I invited you here, and today, because of my vigilance, your plan failed. But if you had succeeded, Sunagakure would’ve been drenched in blood! When you make a mistake, you own up to it. Didn’t Jiraiya teach you even this basic principle?"
"Don’t touch him! If you’ve got a problem, take it out on me!" Yahiko roared.
"Oh, don’t worry. You’re not off the hook either."
Another slap landed squarely on Yahiko’s face.
"How dare you shout at me? Iwagakure throws a few coins your way, and you idiots rush off to do their dirty work. Do you think Sunagakure is made of clay?!"
Jiraiya’s teachings for Yahiko and Nagato had always leaned toward compassion, but lacked the necessary sternness. This led to the Akatsuki organization often excelling in combat but falling short in strategy. In the original story, even by the Fourth Great Ninja War, the Akatsuki’s overall style hadn’t changed. Over the years, they had lost more than ten Kage-level members, as if playing a twisted version of "rescue the elder," only to end up completely annihilated. Not only that, but even their amassed wealth was squandered by Konan, who used 600 billion explosive tags in a futile attempt to kill Obito. Such a waste!
It seemed it was time to teach them a lesson. (Honestly, this always felt like a plot hole left by Kishimoto. 600 billion explosive tags? Even if the Akatsuki robbed banks every day, it’d take them over a hundred years to amass that. Why doesn’t anyone call him out on this?)
Seeing the two remain silent, Jing Hang declared, "You’ll stay here and work to pay off the damages. Once you’ve compensated us, you can leave."
Land of Earth – Bottomless Pit
"My lord, it seems this rebellion has run its course. Sunagakure won’t be able to stir up much trouble anymore."
Zetsu reported to Madara.
"It doesn’t matter. As long as the objective was achieved, that’s enough. That little brat is probably busy cleaning up his internal affairs and dealing with the aftermath. He won’t have time for us for a while. I must admit, I underestimated Sunagakure’s current defensive and intelligence capabilities. They’ve grown far stronger than I anticipated."
Madara’s tone was calm, but his words carried weight.
"I still think waiting a bit longer would’ve yielded better results," Zetsu remarked.
"Hah, if we had waited, there might not have been a rebellion at all. Besides, the most delightful surprise from this incident wasn’t the rebellion itself."
Madara’s mood seemed particularly good.
"You mean the military standoff between Kumogakure and Iwagakure?"
"But it’s just a standoff. They haven’t actually started fighting yet."
"Hah, then we’ll just have to give them a little push, won’t we?"
Madara smiled faintly. After a moment, he added, "But just the two of them fighting would be too boring. Kumogakure is too strong, and Iwagakure is too weak. It wouldn’t last long. We’ll need to find a way to drag Konoha into this."
"Understood. I’ll figure something out. That shouldn’t be too difficult."
In the shadows, Madara’s eyes glowed faintly, like dim stars flickering in the darkness.
"The ninja world has been peaceful for far too long. It’s time for new powers to be forged in the fires of blood and war."
End of Volume Two: The Five Kage Summit Arc. The story now transitions into Volume Three: The Third Great Ninja War Arc.
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