"Lord Raikage? Lord Raikage?"
The voice of Mabui, his secretary, roused Ay from his dazed state. Shaking off the heart-wrenching images that weighed him down, he exhaled slightly. "What's the situation? How great are the losses?"
He had returned to the base in the Land of Hot Water, where the Cloud Ninja army was stationed.
Of course, he hadn't come back alone; he led the entire army through the harsh wind and snow. But unlike the high morale they had when departing, their return was so dejected it shocked the Cloud Ninjas who had stayed behind. The morale was at rock bottom, a sight that left many stunned.
"Lord Dodai has already counted the forces. The losses... aren't too significant. Casualties don't even exceed 200." Mabui answered cautiously. As the newly appointed secretary to Lord Raikage, she still hadn't mastered understanding his emotions like her predecessor.
"But most of the casualties are Jonin, right?"
Ay's face darkened.
He wasn't fully aware of the army's total casualties under Dodai, but the number of Jonin returning with him was only half of what it had been when they set out. The most painful blow was that his younger brother, Killer Bee, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, had been captured by Konoha while covering the army's retreat.
In his heart, he would have preferred to lose two or three thousand soldiers than for anything to happen to Killer Bee. The value of a perfect Jinchuriki in battle far outweighed thousands of soldiers, even if those included dozens of Jonin.
Mabui held her breath, remaining silent.
Fortunately, Ay wasn't the type to vent his frustrations on others. When things didn't go his way, he would usually take out his anger on walls or boulders with his fists. In the past, Killer Bee would come and cheer him up, although his strange way of talking always made Ay frown, sometimes even earning him a punch.
However, now Ay realized he might never hear that strange, off-beat voice again, and that thought filled his heart with a deep, tearing pain.
"I wonder how he's doing now..."
Hearing Lord Raikage mutter to himself, Mabui made her breathing as quiet as possible.
"Where's Dodai? Why hasn't he come yet?" Ay changed the topic.
"Lord Dodai went to visit Toroi with the medical ninja. He asked me to come back and report the situation to you, Lord Raikage." Mabui quickly replied, but just as she spoke, there was a knock at the door, and Dodai's voice came from outside.
It wasn't just Dodai who entered the room.
Following behind him were a mentally exhausted Cee and the unlucky Toroi.
Cee, who had been ready to die on the battlefield, had not had his wish fulfilled. As a genius Jonin proficient in both sensory and medical ninjutsu, he was highly valued in the village. His comrades believed it was better for him to survive.
So, Cee survived and retreated with the army.
As for Toroi, he had been knocked out and forcibly dragged back by Ay during the retreat.
"Dodai, I heard from Mabui that the army didn't suffer many losses?"
"Yes, those who died were mostly Jonin. The injuries among the Chunin were from tripping during the hasty retreat. The snow was falling so heavily that they couldn't see the ground clearly and hurt themselves. But none of the injuries are serious. The worst is a fractured bone, which will heal in about 20 days. Others only have sprained ankles or scratches..." Dodai rambled on about minor details. Ay didn't interrupt and patiently listened.
Normally, Ay would handle the morale-boosting himself, but this time, the crushing defeat weighed heavily on him. His fierce battle with Uchiha Fugaku had drained him, and maintaining his Lightning Release Chakra Mode for so long had exhausted him. After returning, he truly had no energy left to check on the troops, so he entrusted Dodai to do it in his stead.
Dodai talked on and on, but eventually ran out of things to say. He could only stare at the silent Fourth Raikage.
"We lost this time..."
After a long silence, Ay finally spoke, shocking Mabui. Cee's face turned pale, and Toroi looked as though his expression couldn't get any darker.
"It was a bitter defeat. Konoha is far stronger than we anticipated." Under Mabui's shocked gaze, Dodai bluntly echoed the Raikage's admission of defeat. But such a statement usually came with a "but."
"However, our battle with Konoha isn't over yet! Lord Raikage, why sigh here? Are you planning to send a letter of surrender to Konoha? If you've decided, I can help you draft it right now!"
"…I lost my composure."
Ay straightened his posture, his dejection dissipating slightly. Perhaps it was the brief rest, but there was more vitality in his expression now. "Bee... Since he fully mastered the power of the Eight-Tails, I never thought anything would happen to him."
"The situation isn't as bad as it seems. In terms of overall strength, we still have the advantage. This defeat was due to our lack of intelligence. If we had known that two Uchiha had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, we would have brought Yugito along..."
"It's three," Ay interrupted Dodai.
"Uchiha Fugaku. That should be his name, right? The former head of the Uchiha clan. He also possesses the Mangekyo Sharingan."
"…"
Dodai was left speechless. Having witnessed Susanoo's power firsthand, he knew that facing two was already difficult enough. But three? That changed everything.
"What happened? Lord Raikage, please explain." Dodai, unable to contain his confusion, pressed for details.
"I was entangled with Uchiha Fugaku. I thought I could kill him, even at great cost, but I failed. Toroi, what happened to you? How did you get controlled so easily?"
Ay turned to Toroi.
The Uchiha clan's genjutsu was known to be difficult for even Jonin to break in a short time. But controlling a Jonin entirely was another matter. Toroi's will shouldn't be that weak.
"I let my guard down!" Toroi's voice was low. "But… when I met Uchiha Fugaku's eyes, I suddenly wasn't afraid of the Sharingan anymore. I knew in my mind how dangerous it was, but I wasn't scared. Then, I saw a flash and mistook you, Lord Raikage, for Fugaku…"
He had already heard this explanation during the post-battle check-up.
"Not afraid of the Sharingan?" Ay's eyes widened.
This was unexpected. He had assumed Toroi was directly controlled by Fugaku's genjutsu, but now something felt off.
"Lord Raikage," Cee spoke up.
"What is it?"
"I think Toroi might have been caught in two layers of genjutsu. First, when he saw Fugaku's eyes, he was hit by a genjutsu that manipulated his fear. Then, a second genjutsu altered his perception, making him see Fugaku as you."
"However, genjutsu is about deception. It can't control a person's mind outright. As far as I know, no genjutsu can go that far." Cee gave a bitter smile.
His mind was clouded with confusion, and his head throbbed from the swirling thoughts.
"Manipulating someone's mind… Yugito!" Dodai suddenly exclaimed.
Ay's eyes narrowed sharply.
Cee's face paled.
They all realized that Yugito's change in behavior must have been linked to the Uchiha. Despite there being no evidence of genjutsu, the lack of any signs only made it more terrifying.
"Is this… the power of the Sharingan? Or perhaps the Mangekyo Sharingan?" Dodai's expression was grim. "Yugito changed after her fight with Uchiha Shisui."
"But Toroi seems fine now," Ay said, looking at Toroi.
Toroi quickly nodded, repeatedly saying, "I'm fine now!"
"Perhaps it depends on the person?" Dodai speculated.
He sighed, shaking his head. "We have too little intel on the Sharingan. Guessing won't get us anywhere. The real question is… what do we do next? Konoha now has three Susanoo users, and we've lost Killer Bee. The situation, to be honest, looks grim."
Dodai's words even made his teeth ache.
Three Susanoo users, three Mangekyo Sharingan wielders, and genjutsu capable of altering minds… just thinking about it was enough to give anyone a headache.
"Contact the Stone Ninja. Make them put in more effort!" Ay gritted his teeth. "Konoha is throwing everything they have at us. Let's make the Stone Ninja take advantage of this. As long as they push forward, Konoha will have to split their forces to deal with them."
He hadn't yet received information about Jiraiya's troops heading to the Grass Country to confront the Stone Ninja.
Since the war between Konoha and Cloud Village began, both sides had intensified their efforts to root out spies. After Konohagakure mobilized under Jiraiya and Zōsui, the entire village entered a wartime state, making it nearly impossible for Cloud Village's spies to relay intelligence.
"The Stone Ninja might not act as we expect."
"Regardless of how they move, as long as we can force Konoha to divide their forces, that's all that matters."
"So... Raikage-sama, what kind of result are you hoping for with this attack on Konoha?"
Tsuchidai asked.
This question shouldn't have been necessary, as from the start their aim was to take as much advantage as possible, without a concrete strategic goal. But after suffering a major loss, including the capture of the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki, and with little chance of winning the upcoming battles, it was time for a more focused approach.
"We can't keep fighting aimlessly..."
"... At the very least, we need to capture a few valuable prisoners from Konoha and trade them for Killer Bee," A replied slowly, then lowered his voice and continued, "At worst, we need to retrieve the Eight-Tails itself."
Though Killer Bee and the Eight-Tails were one, they were still distinct. If they could get Bee back, that would be ideal, but if the situation looked bleak, recovering the Eight-Tails was the priority.
To put it bluntly, the Jinchūriki could die, but losing a Tailed Beast was unacceptable. This was the view held by all the ninja villages, be it Kumo or Konoha—no different in that regard.
"In that case, we should send an envoy to contact Iwa," Tsuchidai said with a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, Raikage-sama hadn't been blinded by hatred and still understood the bigger picture.
He knew how deep the bond was between A and Killer Bee, his adopted brother, so he had been worried that A might act impulsively.
"And what if Konoha attacks again?"
C asked cautiously.
"Then we'll fight back! We lost this time because we underestimated the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan. But now that we understand the Uchiha's abilities, we can prepare a counter. Even if we can't easily defeat Konoha, they won't keep getting the upper hand." Tsuchidai responded firmly.
In ninja battles, the greatest danger was lack of information.
A prime example was Jiraiya's battle with Pain. Even though Jiraiya struggled to defeat the Rinnegan-wielding Pain, if he had known the secret of Pain's Six Paths, he likely could have escaped unscathed.
Susanoo might be formidable, but Kumo ninjas weren't pushovers either!
They had dealt with Tailed Beasts before, and they would deal with Susanoo in a similar way. Though the two weren't entirely alike, they could adapt their strategy if necessary. With Kumo's military strength, they could afford some losses. In terms of sheer numbers, Kumo was now the strongest of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
"Let's do that!"
A made his decision.
And so, Kumo's envoy set out westward through the wind and snow, heading toward the Land of Earth.
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