Naruto: Drop System

"Seriously, what's so scary about that Akatsuki anyway? If they were truly that formidable, they would've already barged into Takigakure to capture me."

Takigakure, somewhere in the forests of the Land of Waterfalls…

A kunoichi named Fu—who'd had the Seven-Tails, Chōmei, sealed into her since childhood—was in the midst of rigorous training. She followed the notebooks and personal accounts left by past Seven-Tails Jinchūriki, attempting to master the beast's power perfectly.

After another day of intense practice, Fu—drenched in sweat—sat down on a rock to rest, drinking water and grumbling:

"Since they still haven't shown up, I guess the Akatsuki don't even dare to invade our Takigakure. I figure capturing the Fifth Kazekage was just some fluke."

"Speaking of… should I sneak out to have some fun?"

At that thought, Fu whispered with a look of yearning. She had basically learned to handle the Tailed Beast's power to a rudimentary degree. As long as she didn't fully transform for too long, she wouldn't immediately lose her mind. If she took on the form of the Seven-Tails, she could fly—easily shaking off those Anbu members who constantly watched and protected her, then return after she'd had her fill of freedom. Considering her status and potential, the village likely wouldn't punish her too severely.

At that moment, Fu felt a sudden rush of excitement.

Swish, swish, swish…

A series of slicing sounds came, growing louder. In the distance, Fu thought she heard bloodcurdling screams.

"What's happening?"

Alarmed, Fu stood and was about to extend her sensory perception when a low voice suddenly reached her ears:

"Finally found you… Seven-Tails Jinchūriki."

Even as the voice faded, a swirling vortex of space opened in front of Fu, and a figure in a black cloak with red clouds—his face hidden by a whirlpool-patterned mask—suddenly flew out. Seeing his attire, Fu—who had just been thinking that the Akatsuki were nothing special—felt instantly slapped in the face. But her youthful rebelliousness spurred her not to yield so easily.

Boom—

A terrifying surge of chakra flared from Fu's body. The blue aura around her instantly shifted to a dark-red hue, and her skin peeled away, revealing a monster with seven wing-like tails on its back. Screeching, she lunged at Uchiha Obito.

Obito seemed not to react at all, standing motionless where he was.

Not even three minutes later, Fu—her skin gone, her body radiating scorching heat—lay unconscious on the ground. The entire area was in ruins, covered in scars of physical destruction. Some craters still emanated powerful chakra signatures. Yet Obito's body remained unscathed, not a speck of dust on him. It was all Fu's doing.

"Lord Madara, you were too slow."

When the fight concluded, a White Zetsu clone suddenly emerged halfway, speaking in a playful tone:

"Kisame and Pain, along with Hundred Faces, finished their battles ages ago."

"As long as it's done,"

Obito replied calmly while skillfully placing sealing tags on Fu. "How's the situation at the Land of Iron?"

"Don't know," the White Zetsu clone answered frankly. "As soon as my other clones spotted Yagyu, they pulled back. Otherwise, none would have escaped."

"No matter. The outcome's predictable anyway."

Obito paid it no mind, continuing:

"Has Konan evacuated the citizens of Amegakure?"

"The evacuation's started. She's setting up barriers all over."

"Good… Let's be on our way. Before word reaches the Land of Iron and the Five Kage Summit wraps up, we'll seal this Jinchūriki first."

With the sealing done, Obito lifted Fu's body and flew into the Kamui space. In the blink of an eye, he vanished.

By deploying the entire Akatsuki, they managed in just a few minutes to capture every Jinchūriki from Four-Tails through Seven-Tails. Even the weakest of them, Hoshigaki Kisame, had finished off Rōshi—who wielded Lava Release—in a mere few minutes. Compared to the original timeline, his feats were even more astonishing.

Well, it made sense. In the original series, even after subduing Rōshi, Kisame was still carrying Samehada with little damage to his black cloak, and Uchiha Itachi never lifted a finger to help. Just by relying on Samehada's chakra absorption—and his own chakra on par with a Tailed Beast, plus Water Release—he overwhelmed Rōshi's Lava Release.

Here, Kisame went all out from the start, fusing completely with Samehada. He could siphon the enemy's chakra while his own ninjutsu absorbed the foe's ninjutsu chakra. Excluding pure taijutsu specialists or certain unique shinobi, even a Kage-level opponent would struggle to defeat Kisame. Some wouldn't stand a chance at all.

For example, if Gaara had faced Kisame, his sand would have become waterlogged—too heavy to manipulate effectively. Even with Shukaku sealed within him, controlling such cumbersome sand would rapidly drain Gaara's chakra, slowing the speed of his attacks and jutsu preparations. If, back then, the ones sent to capture Gaara had been Itachi and Kisame—Akatsuki's strongest duo—then unless Itachi moved, Kisame alone would have caused even more devastation to Sunagakure, defeating Gaara with shocking ease.

While the Akatsuki was making a full sweep and finishing fights in mere minutes…

In the Land of Iron, on the Five Kage Summit's stage, the participants were locked in a furious argument.

"We've deciphered the intel Jiraiya died obtaining. The Akatsuki's leader is called Pain, but actually there are six of them, and all have Rinnegan. Each one's power is different, and they can share fields of vision. Together, they form a seamless wall of defense with no openings. Even if one Pain is killed, another can resurrect it. If we can't kill all six at once, it means we can't kill them at all."

"Aside from Pain, the Akatsuki also consists of many S-rank rogue shinobi. They've already captured the One-Tail and Two-Tails. Though their base has been exposed, they might have already abandoned Amegakure. If they go into hiding and suddenly launch a full-scale assault on some village, that high-level threat might prove too much even for a Great Shinobi Village. That's why at this Five Kage Summit, I hope we can set aside our grudges, unite against this group that aims to gather all nine Tailed Beasts—likely to dominate the ninja world."

"Sunagakure supports the Hokage's proposal," Gaara interjected. "I've fought the Akatsuki. In my blurred memory, I realized they weren't simply transferring my Tailed Beast into another host. They extracted Shukaku from my body and sealed it into a specialized container. If that container can hold the chakra of all nine Tailed Beasts, it would surpass even the strongest of them. Combine that with the mythical Rinnegan, and the Akatsuki indeed wields enough power to disrupt the world order."

"At present, I remain skeptical," Ōnoki said. "All I want to ask is—if we do unite and defeat the Akatsuki, how do we handle the Rinnegan afterward?"

"If what the Kazekage said is right, I strongly suspect that container used to seal Tailed Beasts might be linked to the Rinnegan—maybe it's one of the Six Paths' ninja tools left by the Sage of Six Paths. After all, the legends of his tools aren't exactly secrets in the ninja world. Now that the Rinnegan has appeared, it proves those tools truly exist. Being able to handle all nine Tailed Beasts is a relic that upsets the current balance of power. So I propose that no one be allowed to have it—we destroy it," Tsunade declared.

"Tch, you have such a nice plan in mind, Princess Tsunade," Ōnoki sneered. "If we destroy the legendary Rinnegan, then once Yagyu matures, his Wood Release becomes an unstoppable force, right? The Rinnegan is the greatest among the Three Great Dōjutsu, but the Wood Release of Lord Hashirama is likewise a legendary kekkei genkai. Are you telling me we should set an example by sealing away Yagyu as well?"

"So what's your idea then, Tsuchikage?" Tsunade retorted with anger. "Do you want us to fight a war afterward, triggering a Fourth Great Ninja War?"

"Heh, I don't want that. But for Iwagakure to help, you have to guarantee that the Rinnegan and that Tailed Beast–sealing container won't be destroyed. The ninja world needs such a strategic deterrent."

Ōnoki cast a sidelong glance toward Yagyu, then gave Gaara, Mei Terumī, and the Fourth Raikage a meaningful look. Tsunade was livid, while the other three Kage seemed deep in thought. They secretly agreed with Ōnoki's words. Their forebears had shown them the outcome: Hashirama Senju and Uchiha Madara were the kind of monstrous gap in power that overshadowed everyone else—and these two had been from Konoha. If not for the unknown happenings that led to the Valley of the End, the First Ninja War might not have ended as it did. Over the years, the records of their own First and Second Kage had grown fuzzy, yet the "God of Shinobi," Hashirama, was still idolized as the one who ended the Warring States era. In this day and age, he was more famous than even the Sage of Six Paths—since the Sage was half-mythical, while Hashirama was a real founder of a new world order.

The Kage had limited understanding of the Rinnegan's power, but Wood Release was a fearsome threat they had witnessed—whether personally or through photos. More than Pain and his Rinnegan, Yagyu was the potential menace. Even Gaara—who had a friendly relationship with Yagyu and whose own sister was fond of him—couldn't ignore the possibility that Yagyu might rise to complete dominance. After all, if he did, a single whim could reshape the ninja world, leading to countless deaths. Gaara, transformed by personal experiences, knew well how drastically power and authority could alter one's heart. He dared not bet that Yagyu would remain benign forever.

Hence, he kept quiet, not daring to speak.

Mei Terumī and the Fourth Raikage also had their own reservations, but they too stayed silent.

Observing the hushed tension, Uchiha Sasuke openly showed his disgust. This sort of dark political maneuvering had cost the Uchiha clan its existence. If not for the fact that his hatred had been diverted—thanks to Yagyu wiping out the entire four major clans—he might already be pondering some "revolution," much as in the original storyline.

Meanwhile, Yagyu merely rested his chin on his hand, watching the "comedy show" of the Five Kage with an air of indifference, quietly ridiculing them in his mind. They hadn't even begun to fight, yet they were already discussing how to claim or destroy the Rinnegan and the Gedo Statue, and they were even plotting to curb him openly. Their power was limited, but their ambitions weren't.

He couldn't help wondering what their faces would look like once news arrived that every Jinchūriki from Four-Tails through Seven-Tails had been captured.

At this point, Yagyu—receiving real-time intel from Hundred Faces—knew this Five Kage Summit was already diverging sharply from the original. In the manga, Obito—posing as Uchiha Madara—had crashed the summit with his Eye of the Moon Plan, demanding that Kumo and Konoha hand over Killer Bee and Naruto, or else the Fourth Great Ninja War would begin. Faced with the real "Madara," the Kage eventually decided to form an alliance. But now, none of them knew about the Eye of the Moon or the Gedo Statue, and their knowledge of Pain was limited to rudimentary Rinnegan powers. They had no real sense of what they were dealing with. Moreover, Obito wasn't showing himself as "Madara." The summit would likely drag on for days—if it even led to an alliance, it would be a weak one.

From Yagyu's perspective, that was a good outcome. If they failed to unite, he'd feel no remorse in dealing with them later.

Bang!

Suddenly, the sound of a palm slamming a table caught the attention of the Kage's guards. The Fourth Raikage had struck the desk, shouting:

"Put the Rinnegan aside for now! Aren't you all going to give me an explanation? The Akatsuki are basically composed of rogue ninjas from your villages—particularly from Konoha. That Hiruko took our Two-Tails host. Hokage, don't you think you owe me an explanation?"

"You're still trying to stir internal strife at a time like this, Raikage?"

Tsunade glared at him:

"We gave you that intel on the Akatsuki the moment we cracked it. You're the ones who ignored my warning. You still let your Jinchūriki go out on missions, then blame me after they got captured? If not for Yagyu, you'd have lost more than just the Two-Tails. Honestly, good intentions wasted on an ass."

Gaara joined in:

"If we're talking about accountability, then Tsuchikage owes me one as well. I've learned that Deidara was once your disciple, right?"

"Deidara defected years ago," Ōnoki said nonchalantly. "If you want revenge, go after him yourself. Sentence him to death if you like—makes no difference to me."

"We hold zero tolerance for rogues," Mei Terumī added. "Our Anbu pursue them endlessly. Whatever they do after betraying us can't be blamed on their former village, Lord Raikage."

Here the other four Great Nations stood united. There was no other way—after all, the Akatsuki had rogues from every major village except Kumo. Joining the Raikage in throwing blame around would only backfire on them.

"Hmph. If you won't give me a clear answer, there's no point continuing this."

The Fourth Raikage snorted, snatched up his Raikage hat, and left. The other Kage didn't stop him. Even in Hashirama's day, a Five Kage Summit often took more than a day. This one would presumably stretch on for days. Thus, the Five Kage all led their guards away.

Round one ended in a bitter stalemate.

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