"Just how long have they been planning this?" Mei couldn't help but wonder in abject shock.
"Decades, more even," Daiki sighed, running a hand through his spiky hair, "They've been in the background fanning the flames of war between us all for ages. They want to keep us weak and against each other for when they're ready to put their plans into action. And it's why the Mist and Leaf specifically were targeted."
Her brows furrowed, "I could understand the Leaf, you have always espoused for peace between us, but why us? We've been long known as the Bloody Mist for a reason."
"Because of Yagura," Daiki shrugged, making her blink, "While personally I'm not too fond of the guy because he still forced my buddy to submit to him, he was in general a peace loving guy right? And he wanted to push for peace. If he ever got the chance, we would have most likely been allied already. And with us allied, the Sand wouldn't have dared push things like they have now, making for a three way alliance between three of the great five nations. It would cow both Cloud and Stone into submission and we would have been free as an alliance to grow stronger over time without interruptions."
"I see…." Mei bit her lip, her thoughts racing, "But because they wanted us weak for their plans, they couldn't allow that. So instead, they targeted Yagura and put him under some form of Genjutsu and made him do the complete opposite and destroy everything he'd been building up instead."
It was all beginning to make a vast amount of more sense now. And it brought a horrible pit to her stomach.
"It was the same reason why they targeted the Leaf as well and released the Kyuubi," Daiki added, "Someone attacked the previous Jinchuuriki when she was giving birth, when her seal was at the weakest and unleashed the Kyuubi. In the process of fighting them off and resealing the Kyuubi, the Yondaime died and we took a lot of losses in the process, not only only to the infrastructure of the village, but a lot of people too."
"They were behind the Kyuubi attack and the death of the Yondaime Hokage?" while she wasn't as surprised as she would have been due to the earlier revelations, it was still incredibly shocking to learn.
Minato Namikaze was a genius among geniuses. And monstrously power. Capable of killing a thousand Iwa shinobi in mere moments with his fabled Flying Thunder God jutsu. People thought of him as the second coming of Hashirama Senju and thought that if he were allowed to reach his prime, it would be all but impossible for the Leaf to be defeated even if the other four great shinobi villages allied against them.
It showed just how insidious they truly were, how far their reach went. And it brought another question to her mind.
"You said this was all pre planned to keep us weak in preparation for when they put their plan into motion," Mei swallowed, "Do you know when they plan to do so?"
"They've already started," Daiki replied, to her absolute horror, "They've already gotten their hands on the Five Tails, not that the stupid rock humpers have noticed, they don't give a fuck about their Jinchuuriki and haven't noticed he's been taken."
Oh…that was not good, not good at all. "I see, so is this the reason behind why you want an alliance?" Mei asked, as more and more things began to click into place, "Not only for the possible back up, but for the simple reason of making sure you don't have to worry about the rest of us when you try to deal with them."
"Admittedly, yeah," Daiki laughed a little bit, and it was actually a little comforting that he was still casual about things with such a discussion. It meant he had a plan of sorts, perhaps multiple, "We still have some time though, while they're moving right now, they won't start going all out in full force for another two years or so going by the information I've managed to gather, assuming nobody spooks them into action before then."
"All things considered, not a whole lot of time," Mei grimaced, "You can't even guarantee a force capable of quashing an S-class shinobi in ten years without committing an absurd amount of forces, never mind two. With out current lacking manpower, I can't guarantee anyone but myself being capable of dealing with even one of their ranks, and should I have to fight two it's unlikely I'll win."
Especially if they were monsters like Kisame, and considering Daiki had name dropped Orochimaru as a previous member, then for sure each of them had to be monsters in their own right.
And she could definitely see why Daiki advised her not to send her people after the Rokubi Jinchuuriki. If they brought him, or even just the Bijuu back. It would paint a target on the village.
With none of the Bijuu currently within the village, it would mean a lot of the Akatsuki's attention would be focused elsewhere other than them,
And they definitely couldn't deal with an assault from multiple S-class shinobi as they were right now, it would be the end of the Hidden Mist.
"That's fine, you alone are more than worth the alliance," Daiki winked, "Besides, it'll be in our best interests to help you recover your strength. And we'll be adding two S-rank shinobi to our ranks within the next two years, three if you don't already count Kakashi. Possibly four if another one works out right. And at least a bunch of Elite Jonin tier if I have anything to say about it."
"Not counting yourself?" Mei replied, raising an eyebrow at him. While trying her best to contain her won shock at the casual listing of such a thing. Putting the matter of Hatake Kakashi aside, that would still be two S-class he was confident about, with a possible third. And a confidence in multiplier Elite Jonin level ninja.
"Nah, I'm already S-class for sure," he laughed, "But yeah as far as that level goes we have me, old man Sarutobi, old man Danzo who I'll give a boot up the ass if he drags his feet again, Jiraiya, Gai who can hit on that level with the Eight Gates and I'll be dragging Tsunade back as well. So that's Five definite S-class levels, six once we get Tsunade back. And assuming everything works out to plan, that'll bring us to ten S-class ninja in the Leaf alone. And eleven with you included, that is again assuming you accept the alliance."
So nine S-class without a doubt in his mind at least, from the Leaf. Another possible one.
That…was quite the force.
If he was to believed, and Mei actually did believe the young man. Then the Leaf had already began to recover from the loss of the Yondaime and then some. Admittedly, Sarutobi Hiruzen was getting on in age, as was the Shimura Danzo, but neither were close to the age of that old gnome of a fence sitter Onoki, so she didn't doubt they would be combat ready when needed.
From that stand point alone, allying with the Leaf was the best bet. Taking refuge under the wings of a titan until they recovered their own strength would be a great way to protect the village.
And that of course wasn't taking into account that if the Akatsuki were successful then they would be destroyed anyway. So it was in their best interests to join hands with the Leaf.
"Before I give you my answer Daiki-kun, is there any other world shattering revelation you want to drop on me?" she smiled prettily at him.
_______________________________________
So about now would probably be a good point to drop a good old rough estimate of where Madara and Hashirama stand. And remember, stats aint linear, so like 200 in strength, doesn't mean twice as strong as 100 in strength, in would in fact be closer to four or five times stronger, if not more.
Name: Madara Uchiha (Post Resurrection No Eyes - When he Fought the Bijuu and Naruto/Sasuke/Gaara)
Chakra Capacity: 50,000,000
Chakra Control: 475/500
Name: Hashirama Senju (Sage Mode)
Chakra Capacity: 100,000,000
Chakra Control: 500/500