Only one match remained in the round of sixteen: the fight between Sora and the Raikage.
This was the battle everyone had been eagerly anticipating. The Raikage was unquestionably among the strongest of the Five Kage, yet Sora's fame was no weaker—in fact, it was arguably greater. His extraordinary abilities defied all common sense, leaving everyone eager to see if his reputation was justified.
"It's finally here—the final match. We'll soon know if Sora is really strong or if he's just overhyped."
"Heh, he'll lose for sure. The Raikage is at least top two among the Kage. Sora doesn't stand a chance. It'll already be impressive if he lasts a few exchanges."
"Agreed. He might have a slight chance against anyone other than the Raikage or the Hokage, but these two? No way."
"I'm glad I didn't bet on Sora winning. I'd have lost everything!"
No one had confidence in Sora; everyone assumed he'd lose.
"Final match: A versus Sora! Competitors, please enter the arena!"
At the referee's call, Sora and the Raikage exchanged a glance and stood up simultaneously.
But just then, ninja from various villages hurried over to their respective Kage and whispered urgently into their ears.
"What?! You're saying Gaara was kidnapped?" Hearing Maki's report, Rasa's face immediately twisted in shock.
Gaara was his son. Even if he didn't particularly care for the child, he certainly cared about the Tailed Beast sealed within him!
Onoki had a similarly furious expression. Roshi, the Four-Tails Jinchuriki, was still present, but Han, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, had been ambushed and captured en route.
This was a blatant slap in the face to their villages!
The Raikage, Minato, and Mei exchanged confused glances, unsure why Rasa and Onoki were suddenly so enraged.
"Hokage! Was this your doing?!" Onoki slammed his hand onto the table, killing intent radiating from his aged face.
Konoha had invited them to this Ninja Path Tournament, but once they'd left their villages vulnerable, someone had attacked, capturing their Tailed Beasts.
Suspiciously, the Jinchuriki who came to Konoha hadn't been targeted. The situation was incredibly suspect.
Even Rasa, allied with Konoha, eyed Minato doubtfully.
"What exactly happened? Explain clearly first!"
Minato managed to calm down Sora, Orochimaru, and the others who were emitting menacing auras, then turned to clarify the situation.
Sora was particularly irritated by Onoki's arrogant attitude, so when Sora's presence surged, Orochimaru and the others naturally backed him up.
Onoki grimaced, seeing Konoha's overwhelming strength. He knew better than to push his luck here.
"Our Five-Tails Jinchuriki was kidnapped right after leaving Konoha. You're telling me you had nothing to do with it?"
"And my son was taken directly from Sunagakure! He's the One-Tail Jinchuriki," Rasa quickly interjected, anxiety clearly visible on his face.
Hearing this, even the Raikage and Mei began eyeing Minato differently.
Both of the Cloud's Jinchuriki were here, and Kirigakure's Tailed Beasts had already been captured by Konoha years ago—this was common knowledge.
Had Konoha grown so powerful that they now wanted to reclaim all the Tailed Beasts once distributed by the First Hokage?
With this thought, the shinobi of the four other villages subtly moved closer, preparing to unite against Minato's group.
They'd seen Konoha's strength clearly. Forming an alliance now was their only option, especially since they were deep in Konoha territory!
Noticing their actions, Minato smiled helplessly, unsure how to explain himself.
Currently, Konoha held all the advantages—timing, location, and manpower—so anything he said would likely be dismissed as deception.
In terms of timing, Konoha currently had all its elite shinobi present.
Location-wise, they were in Konoha itself, while other nations' ninja numbered barely over a hundred—just a drop in the ocean.
And manpower? Konoha boasted eight full-fledged Kage-level shinobi. Even if war broke out immediately, they could comfortably handle it!
Still, Minato patiently attempted explanations, but no matter what he said, their expressions remained skeptical—none would believe him unless allowed to leave immediately.
Seeing Minato's struggle, Kushina couldn't help but feel distressed, silently grasping Sora's small hand.
Noticing Kushina's upset feelings, Sora became furious. He slammed his palm onto the table with a loud bang, rising abruptly and snapping, "Are you stupid or just pretending? Look at yourselves! Do you really think we'd bother plotting against weaklings like you?"
With a scornful look, Sora continued fiercely, "Let's start with Kumogakure—last time, just a few of us almost wiped you out. If we wanted your Tailed Beasts, we'd have taken them ages ago. Why wait until now?"
"And Iwagakure, sure, you're not weak, but apart from Onoki, an old fossil, what do you even have? You took down the Third Raikage with ten thousand shinobi? Go ahead—try wearing us out like that!"
"As for Sunagakure, you're not even worth mentioning! Ask yourself honestly—can any of the eight of us standing here not wipe out half your village alone?"
"And Kirigakure is the funniest! One of your Tailed Beasts defected, and the other was voluntarily sealed inside a Konoha shinobi. Now you dare to be suspicious of us? Did you trade your brains for those curves?"
Sora's sharp tongue systematically humiliated each village, turning their faces as dark as charcoal.
Kushina, Tsunade, and the others stared wide-eyed at Sora, stunned as if witnessing a new continent. Despite knowing him for so long, they'd never realized he had such a vicious mouth, pinpointing every embarrassing fact mercilessly.
After his tirade, Sora felt considerably better.
Minato and Kushina were his family. If someone upset them, he'd ensure none of them would be comfortable!
Sora even thought that if these fools kept provoking, they might as well eliminate them right here and unify the ninja world under Konoha. He'd just have to work a bit harder, that's all.
Seeing the undisguised killing intent in Sora's eyes and feeling the powerful auras of Orochimaru, Tsunade, and the others who clearly supported him, the four villages wisely shut their mouths.
Internally, however, they cursed endlessly. Why were all of Konoha's Kage-level shinobi—aside from Minato and Jiraiya—taking orders from a mere brat?
Though not entirely foolish, their initial suspicion had been understandable given the lack of concrete intel from their villages.
However, Sora's ruthless scolding had quickly woken them up.
Today's Konoha was second only to the era of Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara. If Konoha truly desired the Tailed Beasts, only by uniting might they resist a little—but even then, total defeat was the most likely outcome.
Indeed, Konoha had no reason for such an elaborate conspiracy!