Declares War On The World
Jiraiya always preferred to arrive early for meetings, and the Kage Summit wasn't any different. It was set to begin at noon precisely: he was there at nine. The Toad Sage introduced himself to the samurai, placed himself in their custody, and was brought to Mifune. Their conversation was brief.
"I have no disagreement with you observing, Toad Sage," Mifune said. The Steel General had a decade on Jiraiya and looked every year of it, his face creased with countless wrinkles like paper that had been crumpled and thrown behind a desk. Unlike all the other samurai in their heavy, face-obscuring armor, he went bare-headed, though he wore a wrap around his head, hiding the terrible scar there. "We are both survivors of the Salamander, after all: it would not be my place to doubt you… So long as you do not disrupt the peace of the Summit."
"That's not why I'm here." Most everything in Jiraiya's mouth tasted like ash, words especially. "It just feels like my duty to watch. This is thanks to my students, after all."
Mifune nodded, showed him to the meeting room, and left him under samurai observation as he attended to other matters. Jiraiya found a corner and tried to meditate.
Obviously, he couldn't. There wasn't a sage in existence that could do that right now, he was sure of that. The same word kept playing over and over in his head: revolution, revolution, revolution.
His prophecy was about to come true. He was absolutely sure of it. The great revolution that the Great Toad Sage had foreseen was imminent, straining at the bounds of the pages of history as it tried to rip its way out. One of his students was about to change the world.
It was too easy to assume that it would be Nagato and Konan. They had called the Summit, ordered the execution of the Jinchuriki, and pushed everything over the edge.
But they hadn't crashed to the bottom of the cliff yet, and Jiraiya was an author who could not help but chart out the
could be's and the
may be's. Minato was coming here too, another subject of prophecy. It was selfish and absurd for him to be obsessing over it now, but the ancient Toad's utterance had dominated Jiraiya's life for so long that he couldn't help but be obsessed: obsessed and relieved that his anticipation was finally coming to an end.
Bring the revolution, he thought. Whether it's a firestorm or a rotation or something beyond my imagination, hit me with it as hard as you can. I want this to end: I
want to see the next step, even if it's not what I
wanted.
Absorbed in his thoughts, Jiraiya watched and waited as the mightiest ninja of the world arrived one by one.
Nagato and Konan were first, their coming marked by a great panic. The Cannon had come with it, and Nagato installed it on the roof of the fortress without much in the way of asking for permission. Jiraiya didn't want to see it again, but its placement was too loud to miss. The Amekage introduced themselves and their Honor Guard to Mifune as Jiraiya watched; Nagato ignored him, but afterwards Konan approached, accompanied by the young Uzumaki they'd brought along, Karin.
"Sensei," she said. "Glad to see you're alright."
"Konan," Jiraiya said, looking up at her and then over at Nagato. "I hope this ends how you wish."
She gave him a strange look, doubtlessly overthinking his words. For once, Jiraiya wasn't putting that much into them, but she couldn't know that. "Thank you, sensei," she eventually decided, before taking a seat beneath the grand banner of Rain. The meeting room was dominated by a semi-circular table large enough to seat twenty that curved around it, and Rain was placed on the leftmost end. There was a smaller table set opposite the middle of the curve, and that was where Mifune had placed himself, looking out over where the other Kage would be as the arbitrator.
But Nagato had placed himself there as well, sitting right next to the Steel General and removing himself from his fellow Kage. He and Mifune quietly argued, but the samurai was eventually forced to acquiesce.
Not a good start: the man claiming godhood spurned his peers.
Karin and the other Rain ninja, Jugo, took up positions behind Konan, and over the course of the next two hours the other Kage arrived.
The Tsuchikage was first. The man looked frail, but Jiraiya knew just how much strength was packed into his little body. In one of his novels, it would be tempting to make Onoki a miserable creature without any redeeming qualities, but Jiraiya knew that unfortunately wasn't the case. The Tsuchikage was both canny and paranoid, making his decisions based on the cold logic of ninja and little else. He was strong, dangerous, and successful.
Still, Jiraiya couldn't help but wink when the Tsuchikage looked his way, eliciting a smirk from the man. Both of his Honor Guard were very easy on the eyes too. He recognized them, of course: Kurotsuchi, Onoki's granddaughter and an inheritor of Lava Release, and Yui Tono, a sealing specialist with vibrant purple hair who looked like she'd had a raw lemon stuck in her mouth for a couple years. Kurotsuchi was looking around with obvious curiosity, but Yui stared straight ahead and radiated contempt.
The Tsuchikage settled in, speaking quietly with his Guard, and had enough time to look like he'd spent all his life in this room by the time the Mizukage arrived.
Mei Terumi, Yondaime Mizukage, and accompanied by Eyestealer Ao and the only loyal Swordsman of the Mist, Chojuro. They all took their place without much ceremony, Ao giving Jiraiya a bemused look; neither of them had expected to meet again so soon. The Mizukage tried to stay calm, but Jiraiya could sense her disquiet no matter how carefully she hid it behind a coy smile.
Minato was the next one to arrive, and the one Jiraiya paid the most attention to. Everyone present observed the Hokage, Yui Tono practically vibrating as he entered, but none of them saw what Jiraiya did.
He'd expected grief, anger; Minato wasn't someone who lost control of their emotions, the perfect shinobi, but Jiraiya still expected a sign. He had imagined that he would come to his feet and console his student, giving him a bit of strength to continue forward.
But instead, Minato's coming froze Jiriaya's blood and turned his heart as solid and unmoving as a stone.
The Hokage entered like the deadly killer he was, every step perfectly paced and his attention falling across everyone and everything equally. In his full Hokage regalia, like the rest of the Kage, he absorbed the entire room in a moment, assigning threats, politely greeted Mifune and the other Kage, and took his seat with Rin and Gai behind him.
But his eyes gave him away. Minato was struggling, his mind absent. He was absorbed in himself, like Jiraiya and his prophecy were. Jiraiya could see, as clear as day, a shadow of Minato calmly rising to his feet and cutting the throats of everyone in the room. Doing it regardless of the Cannon being fired; doing it regardless of Konoha being damned in the process.
The Hokage was a razor edge that no one could touch without suffering a life-threatening wound, and Jiraiya found himself frozen in terror. Even more horrifying was that no one else present, not even Nagato, seemed to notice. His student's invisible killing pressure was apparent to him and him alone.
Minato made eye contact with him, and Jiraiya carefully inclined his head. The Hokage's mouth curled up into a smile, but nothing about him changed.
The rest of the Kage arrived just minutes later. Rasa of the Desert and his children filed in, not greeting anyone before they took their positions, and almost directly behind him were a contingent of Cloud ninja. There was no banner for them, but Darui seated himself nonetheless, looking both tense and confident. The Kazekage had an unexpected tagalong; Jiraiya allowed a grunt of surprise at Chiyo the Puppet Mistress being present. The ancient woman was bundled up in traditional robes and looked half-asleep, but he was sure it was an act.
Interspersed amidst the remaining Kage were four more arrivals, leaders of minor villages. Elder Eiji from the Hidden Waterfall, bearing twin swords and a cocky look; Namazu of the Hidden Rivers, an older, stocky man with a thick brown beard and mustache styled to have several whorling braids that stuck out from his face at severe angles; Lord Hirate of the Hidden Grass, former monk turned shinobi that still dressed the part with a clean shaven head and humble robes; and Mistress Jinmeiyō of the Hidden Springs, a tall and severe woman with rich garments covered in jangling beads inscribed with various jutsu formula. Each leader took a seat between some of the Kage, spreading out as their single bodyguard did the same, retreating to the shadows of the room to observe.
Now, finally, everyone was present, and noon arrived moments later. Jiraiya straightened up, taking in the whole room instead of each individual. There was a tremendous pressure with so many powerful ninjas gathered together, but it was subdued. Though Minato's aura continued to scream to Jiraiya, the various Kage regarded one another calmly, though all occasionally glanced at Nagato, removed as he was from the rest.
Mifune rose, clearing his throat. "Present your marks of office," he said, his voice not raised but carrying throughout the room; a general's . As one, the Kage removed their hats emblazoned with their villages' symbols and gently placed them down on the table; the minor leaders placed weapons, prayer beads, emblems, and a carved fish, doing the same. "You, the Rokukage, and the River Lord, Head Elder, Lord of Grass, and Mistress of Spring have assembled here at the Amekage's request," the Steel General said, both managing to not make a mockery of the word 'request' and impart equal importance to each title.
"One of the Amekage has placed himself apart from you," Mifune continued, glancing at Nagato to his side, and Jiraiya almost laughed at the boldness of the samurai. "Do not mistake this as him having undo authority; he has simply refused to move." Nagato looked up at the samurai, a hint of a smile tugging at his mouth as Mifune turned back to the assembled leaders. "I am Mifune, and I alone shall preside over these proceedings. If there is disagreement, I shall moderate it."
He sat back down, ramrod straight, and gestured graciously to all assembled. A consummate professional, Jiraiya thought; even among all these people, he radiated authority. He was the wise elder that Jiraiya had so often played at, and played poorly.
"You may begin."
"Rokukage?" Rasa immediately said with a snort, before the echo of Mifune's voice had even faded. He gestured to Darui, face twisting into a sneer. "Is there even still a Hidden Cloud to present a Kage at this Summit?"
"The Hidden Cloud still exists," Darui said gradually, looking at Nagato and somehow refraining from a cutting remark. "Though it is badly injured, that I cannot deny. Because of those dire circumstances… I am here to ensure we have a voice at the most important table in the world."
That opened the floodgates; everyone began talking at once, with Mifune occasionally interrupting as a calming presence. Jiraiya sat back, letting every word sink into him. The specifics didn't matter, not right now. Blame was the name of the game. Every leader went after Darui, blaming him for everything that had happened, the Calamity in the Land of Frost, claiming that the Hidden Cloud should be finished off as a lesson to future generations. As he listened to the mindless hatred, Jiraiya's mind wandered.
He wondered how Kushina was doing. The news of her imminent execution hadn't shocked him as badly as it should have. The second he'd seen her in the wake of the invasion with her seal shattered beyond repair, he'd known she would be living on borrowed time. No one could survive with the Nine Tailed Fox inside them and no means of containing it: even the Uzumaki seals and structures in Konoha would only keep her safe for a time. Her fate had been sealed the second she'd chosen to battle Kimimaro instead of letting him rampage.
Still, it was heartbreaking. But he'd suffered heartbreak before. At least Kushina had had time to say goodbye to her family and friends; at least she hadn't died abruptly, with no chance to dispel her regrets. As far as shinobi went, her circumstances could have been much worse.
"My predecessor did not do anything that any other Kage would not have," Darui's voice rang out, cutting through Jiraiya's musing, and he looked up at the various shocked and appalled performances. All the Kage, except Minato, acted offended, but Darui stood up, his steady voice raised but not angry. "The history of mankind is a history of conflict; the story of our Hidden Villages is a tale of war. Four now, in as many generations. For as long as the Villages have existed… they have all been chasing after greater weapons. Ninjutsu, secret formulas, Bloodlines, the Jinchuriki. And now, technology."
He crossed his arms, looking at Nagato once more. "Cloud may have had the… ill-fortune of being the first victim of Rain's project, but I will not accept us being named a unique evil."
For a moment that quieted all present, before the Mizukage spoke.
"Well," Mei said, almost playfully. "If that's the case, perhaps it's time to drag out the Cannon's designer? We could all get a look at the man that is really responsible for this mess." She smiled, her incredible beauty ruined by her hungry look. "And decide his fate."
The Kage nodded, and Mifune rose. "It would be ideal to advance the agenda," he said, nodding to two samurai guards. They left, and he continued. "Though I must once more protest the presence of the weapon here."
Nagato, who had been quiet since it all began, spoke. "It was your trade that made that thing possible," he said quietly. Mifune did not stiffen, did not turn to look, but Jiraiya could tell every ounce of his focus had fallen on Nagato. "And now, you are afraid to host it? Perhaps you should have considered that more carefully, before you helped create it."
Mifune did not respond. He stared straight ahead, exuding peace. Jiraiya couldn't blame him. It wasn't the whole truth, but it wasn't a lie either. Iron was the foremost exporter of the chakra conductive metal the Cannon was constructed from, and the samurai were high up that particular pyramid. It was all their sins sitting above their heads now, weighing down on the roof of the Fortress in the shape of an ugly weapon: greed, hatred, Ninjutsu, coalesced into something awful beyond his most flowery description.
Well, maybe he could try while a mostly innocent man was dragged before the eyes of a world desperate for a scapegoat. How would he put it? Like a karmic spider, thick poison sacs bulging, weighed down by an ocean of blood-
Then there was a sound, and Jiraiya's sardonic musings whipped away in an instant. He cocked his ear, unable to believe what he was hearing; everyone in the chamber did the same. It sounded like water running over electrified stones, or a generator in the midst of heating up being dropped down an elevator shaft.
Obito Uchiha popped into existence, standing atop the Kage's table, and Jiraiya's mind stuttered to a dead stop.
For a full second, an eternity for shinobi, no one said or did anything. Obito looked around the room, trying to make eye contact with each and every person present, Jiraiya included. When Jiraiya looked into his one-time student's Eternal eyes, he sucked in a breath.
One-time student-!
A cruel slash was drawn through Obito's hitai-ate, bisecting the symbol of the Leaf. Obito had always had confidence issues for as long as Jiraiya had known him. He'd never believed he deserved a thing: always thought his eyes a crutch. Never desired for himself, only ever followed orders.
But today, there was a desire, a fire in his eyes, that leapt the distance between him and Jiraiya like an invisible flame and lit Jiraiya's own heart alight.
"Hokage!" the Tsuchikage called out. Honor Guard had erupted from the shadows, filling the room with ninja as nearly twenty shinobi leapt to their leader's defense. The ten remaining samurai in the room readied themselves as well, chakra erupting from their blades. "We must assume this treason!"
"Peace," Mifune commanded, his samurai circling the room. "An unwelcome guest will be removed, treason or not." He turned to Minato, his hand falling to his sheathed sword. "Hokage, command your man to leave. Or there will be consequences."
Minato looked around, the dead light in his eyes shattered, replaced by curiosity, fear, fury, a hundred other emotions Jiraiya couldn't identify. He looked back at Rin and Gai, and the both of them wordlessly shook their heads.
"It's treason, all right," Minato said, his tone mild and yet somehow cutting through the almost audible screech of chakra filling the room. "But it's not mine."
More and more ninja noticed the slash drawn through Obito's headband, and confusion and anger spread through the room. Mifune's hand tightened around his blade. Jiraiya was still transfixed.
Popping out of nowhere-
Facing down the Kage-
Looking around with those inhuman eyes, burning and yet bereft of cruelty-
Jiraiya's heart felt like it was going to burst out of his chest.
Nagato cleared his throat, standing up. Mifune glanced back at him, but did not interrupt.
"Obito Uchiha," Nagato said, and even Jiraiya didn't expect what came out of his mouth next. "Please step down; it's childish to stand on the furniture."
"I won't," Obito said, his face twisting into a carefree grin. He looked so happy and free, so much that Jiraiya felt a flash of insane jealousy. There were many explanations for this that fit neatly into preconceived notions: a clever and treacherous Leaf scheme, perennial Uchiha madness, a sacrificial play where Obito threw him on the sword to spare his teacher's wife.
But this wasn't any of that. Jiraiya felt it in his bones.
"That's quite rude," Nagato noted.
"Yeah," Obito grinned. "I didn't come here to be polite."
"Hmm," Nagato crossed his arms, apparently at a loss, and it was the Mizukage that spoke instead.
"Why have you come here then, Uchiha?" Mei asked, bracketed by her guards. Her eyes were clever, curious. "You can't seriously intend to interrupt us."
"Hmm." Now it was Obito's turn to cross his arms and consider. Jiraiya watched in total disbelief; how could he not have prepared a statement? He'd crashed the Kage Summit without even knowing what he was going to say!
Jiraiya started laughing, ignored by the rest of the room.
"I guess that's pretty simple," Obito decided, nodding. Jiraiya could see right through him. The words emerged without consideration, without thought, straight from his soul. There were many things he
should have said, that the hero was supposed to say: I'm here to save you from Nagato, I'm here to help you fight Rain, I'm here to prevent a disaster. Noble words that would have let him turn everyone against Nagato, and perhaps ensure a bloodbath to Obito and the Leaf's favor.
That wasn't what Obito said.
"I'm here to declare war on the world."
Maybe the room should have laughed along with Jiraiya, but a deadly stillness spread instead. As Jiraiya's laughter tapered off, he could see why.
"Ridiculous." Onoki's hands tightened into whitened fists.
"Absurd." Mei's eyes were wide and cautious.
"There's no way." Darui's hands inched towards the broad sword strapped across his back.
"Foolish." Gold dust was already dancing in Rasa's palms.
Konan and Nagato said nothing, watching as they readied themselves. Mifune did the same, eyes flicking between his samurai with silent commands.
The legend of Obito Uchiha was a terror known worldwide. The child who'd slaughtered twenty grown men; the ghost who bathed in lakes of blood; the Uchiha with an Eternal Eye; the Right Hand of the Hokage, the Untouchable Blade. Obito Uchiha, on any day, would be a dreadful opponent.
This Obito was an entirely different beast.
His chakra crackled around him. Both his eyes spun, their seven points seeming eager to cut. He stood strong before the mightiest in the world, as if daring them to approach. He'd undergone a transformation. Not just both of his eyes becoming Eternal, but something more than that. He'd shed every falsehood, shriven away the parts of him Jiraiya had assumed were true but had turned out to be fear and false modesty and useless baggage.
He was just as fearsome as Nagato, and he stood before the world without giving an inch.
"Obito," Minato said, the only one that hadn't prepared himself for a fight. He sighed, long and slow, and Obito placed his full attention on his sensei. Despite that, no one moved. Jiraiya watched as Karin began to tremble, overwhelmed by the fear and violent urges ricocheting around the room. "I wish you wouldn't do this."
"Too bad, sensei," Obito said, gesturing at his headband. "Don't work for you anymore, as I'm sure you can see."
"Obito, what the fuck are you doing?" Rin asked, looking confused and desperate. "You can't come back from this-!"
"Rin," Minato said firmly, and his student shut her mouth, looking helplessly between her teacher and her lover. Minato dragged his focus back to Obito, the same murderous aura that Jiraiya had seen when he arrived flickering back to life. It was directed at no one and nothing. There had been no collusion. This was just another factor beyond the Hokage's control, one more thing establishing his helplessness.
Minato wasn't the protagonist here, Jiraiya couldn't help but think. He often was in any given situation, but not here.
"You've endangered the village by doing this, Obito," he continued in the same quiet, serious tone, like a parent guiding their child. "Even if you've cut yourself from Konoha, you will still be seen as a ninja of the Leaf; your actions here speak for all of us. Please, think of your students, your friends… everyone. Stand down."
Obito stayed resolute, not speaking, and Minato continued, a breath of urgency in his voice. "No one can take on the world alone," he said, and Jiraiya knew Minato was speaking from the heart, digging up his deepest beliefs just the same as Obito had. Their ideals were clashing in the middle of the room with a physical impact, chakra on chakra. "No one can take on every grudge and every responsibility. Not me, not you, not even Nagato," he said, pointing at the Amekage. "You're being naive."
Obito raised a finger, and his chakra went still. The room tensed, ready to snap.
"You're wrong," he said, like it was that simple.
Minato blinked.
"Obito-" he muttered in disbelief.
Jiraiya couldn't tear his eyes away.
'You will guide that revolution. The choice that you make will decide which way that change goes.'
No matter what happened, no matter what Obito did, Jiraiya had to follow him with everything he had. If he had to die for him, he'd do it without hesitation. The day he'd been waiting for all his life had finally arrived.
"I'm not naive," Obito declared. His arms slowly dropped to his sides, his body relaxing. "No one, not even you, sensei, truly understands what I'm capable of."
"Deluded words from a deluded child," Onoki called out, and Obito shot him a blood-freezing glare. The Tsuchikage was halfway through a hand-sign before he realized what he was doing, and stopped. Obito ignored him.
"I'm going to stop this Summit," Obito said, taking a step forward. He dropped off the table and landed without a sound.
The whole room, bar Minato and Nagato, stepped back.
"I'm going to save Kushina. And the other Jinchuriki while I'm at it.
All of them," he continued. Another step, another retreat.
Obito's absurd words sounded far too true for anyone's comfort.
"And then, I'm going to go home," he said, chuckling. Another decision, right from the heart. Jiraiya saw him make it in that instant; he'd come here with no foresight, trusting everything to the moment.
"And you know what? I won't even have to kill a single one of you stupid bastards to do it."
The declaration rang throughout the chamber, and for a moment Jiraiya thought that some of the Kage, the greatest ninja in the world, might break and run. Nagato looked uncertain; he did not fling himself at Obito, knowing that it would be pointless if Obito wasn't attacking.
Then, someone started clapping.
It was so ridiculous, so crude, that somehow Jiraiya knew who was responsible without even having to consider it.
He looked towards the nearest entrance, and Yahiko walked into the chamber, continuing his mocking applause.
"Manage that without killing anyone?" his blind student asked, 'looking' around the chamber despite his closed eyes. He was in Sage Mode, navigating as if he had sight, and Jiraiya resisted the urge to tackle Yahiko and strangle the life out of him. He'd have to at least wait until he was in Sage Mode himself. He immediately started meditating, freezing his body as Yahiko kept speaking, the chamber too shocked to react. Even Mifune was overwhelmed by his sudden arrival. "That would be a hell of a thing."
The man who hate had blinded looked at his fellow Amekage with a smile. "Konan," he said pleasantly.
"Yahiko, how the hell are you here?" Konan asked, rage starting to spread across her fine features.
Yahiko ignored the well-founded question. "Why does the Hidden Leaf still exist?" he asked. "Wasn't any interruption to be punished immediately?" He gestured to Obito on the table, the question rapidly spreading around the room.
It was a fulcrum, Jiraiya saw. Yahiko was a bastard, but he was a smart one. The other Kage were all weighing their chances now; turn on Nagato, butcher the Rain, and run off with their Jinchuriki. Sack the Summit; after all, Nagato hadn't yet followed through on his threat.
"Obito no longer represents the Hidden Leaf," Minato declared, staying ahead of the rising tide of blood. "He has renounced the Village, and gone rogue."
He threw away his student just like that, but Jiraiya couldn't blame him. Doing anything else right now could be deadly.
"Oh?" Yahiko asked in mock surprise. "Truly?"
"Truly," Minato said emphatically. "I came here in good faith, Amekage." How he couldn't be seething, veins exploding out of his head, Jiraiya would never understand.
"Well, that's convenient," Yahiko said with a beatific smile. The scars around his eyes crinkled. "Then, Hokage, could you do us all the service of killing this intruder? Before he's mistaken for one of your own?"
Obito raised an eyebrow, and Yahiko turned his smile to him. "We can't have our
peace talks interrupted, after all."
Jiraiya's eyes flickered to Nagato, interrupting his meditation for a moment. His student was struggling, but only for a second. Yahiko had checkmated him; if he did not agree, all the Kage in the room would turn on him instantly, each fighting under the hope it would not be
their village the Cannon struck first. Desperation and fear made the air hazy.
Nagato nodded.
"Dispose of your rogue, Hokage," he said. Despite Mifune's bold words earlier, he was silent; the illusion of his authority was shattered. Nagato stood up, looking around the room. "Everyone who wishes to assist is free to. We'll resume the Summit when Obito Uchiha is dead."
All at once, too much happened for Jiraiya to track.
Obito flung himself at Nagato, ripping up a piece of the table under his feet.
Minato flung himself at Obito, a knife emerging from his cloak.
And half the room followed him.
Nagato was nearly struck in the head by a chunk of stone, and then the room descended into complete chaos; ninjutsu cracked and shattered the walls, flames devouring the banners of the villages, and Ao, who had pursued Obito as well, was flung across the room, slamming through a stone pillar and tumbling to a stop. Shinobi who had not entered the battle, including Konan, Yahiko, Nagato, the Tsuchikage and his guards, Rin and Gai, Rasa and his children, Chiyo, and several of the minor leaders scattered for cover, and Obito transformed into a whirling maelstrom of violence as he and Minato descended into a battle that was impossible to follow.
Sage Mode finished. Jiraiya surged to his feet, but as he did Karin began shouting.
"There's more coming!" she said, drawing the attention of the room to her despite Obito, Minato, and a dozen other ninja ricocheting around it. "At least twenty!" He could feel them now too, though not with the same certainty as Karin; shinobi were converging on the fortress from every direction, cutting down samurai guards as they streamed in through the underground tunnels and over the vast walls.
A handful of them felt familiar; the rest didn't. Obito's team was here, but the others-?
"More treachery!" Yahiko shouted, gesturing wildly around the room. "Who else is attempting to undermine this meeting?!" He turned to Nagato, who had yet to pursue Obito: the Rinnegan was taking in every aspect of the fight, watching the dance Obito and Minato had fallen into with unmistakable fascination. "Nagato, this can't stand! You have to use the Cannon!"
"Some of them are heading for it!" Karin confirmed, and Nagato took a deep breath. Part of the ceiling shattered, Obito punching the shards of stone into the ninja assaulting him with enough force to shatter bones. Mistress Jinmeyō's bodyguard went down with a cry of pain, their leg facing the wrong way.
"Nagato, you did your best, but the Summit has failed!" Yahiko said. Some of the Kage looked ready to attack him, and he spun towards them eagerly. "The Cannon-!"
"Will not be fired until it is clear what's happening," Nagato declared, and Yahiko's eager look slipped away. "I will guard it. Kage: defend this Summit with your lives." He looked around at those not engaged with Obito. "If you betray it, you
will be punished."
Obito lunged for him again, but in the midst of a battle with Minato it was too much; he was nearly stabbed through the lung, and by the time he dodged the attack and came to his feet Nagato had made several hand signs and vanished, carried away by the Flying Thunder God. Yahiko immediately chased after Obito, adding himself to the fight. With Nagato gone, Konan immediately began barking orders.
"Mifune!" she said, and the general nodded stiffly. "Organize your samurai! The Fortress is under attack! Tsuchikage, Kazekage, Eiji, Hirate, take your ninja and kill the intruders!" She was spitting, enraged by the apparent betrayal. "Karin, stay by my side! If anyone touches the Jinchuriki, we will
vaporize their home!" She gestured to Rin and Gai, watching the battle between Obito and Minato in horror. "You as well, Leaf ninja!
Go!"
The room emptied, ninja fanning out through every exit to kill those that had put them all at risk as Obito continued to battle Minato, Yahiko, Mei, Darui, Jinmeiyō, Namazu, and their various guards all at the same time. Somehow, he wasn't losing.
"And
you," Konan said, spinning towards Jiraiya. He gestured innocently at himself.
"Who, me?" he said, his toad-like features painting him as the picture of innocence. Lord Hirate pushed by him, expecting Jiraiya to give and stumbling when he didn't.
"Karin, restrain him!" Konan snapped, and even though he knew she was capable of it Jiraiya was surprised as the miraculous golden Adamantine Chains erupted from the young Uzumaki girl and encircled him, wrapping his body tightly and forcing him to his knees. He watched the technique with interest, comparing it to Kushina's. "No more interruptions! Not even from you, sensei!"
Konan paced the chamber, observing the near-incomprehensible fight Obito was putting up. Neither she nor her sensor, engrossed in the sudden invasion, had noticed Jiraiya's sleight of hand.
"The Summit won't be ended," Konan declared, looking up towards the ceiling, where beyond Nagato was guarding the Cannon from forces unknown. "The Jinchuriki won't be saved."
"Whoever they are, we'll track them down and kill them all."
. I had this whole spiel planned about this quote
