"Lord Bee…"
A Cloud Village ninja looked concerned.
Mabui, standing nearby, replied calmly, "Lord Bee knows how to distinguish between necessary duties. He would never lie to Lord Raikage."
The Fourth Raikage nodded. "Don't worry about Bee, he's just annoyed."
Turning to the intelligence officer, he ordered, "Continue gathering intel on Konoha's current forces. Focus especially on the Uchiha clan. I want to understand the extent of their unique powers."
"Yes, sir!"
The next day.
The trio, warmly received once again, arrived at the main gates of the Cloud Village. As they stepped through wearing their Konoha forehead protectors,
Boom!
A burst of lightning-style fireworks exploded in the sky, dazzlingly beautiful.
Wiping sweat from his forehead, Kakashi muttered, "That nearly gave me a heart attack. I almost pulled out a kunai."
Yun waved to the surrounding crowd of Cloud citizens and replied quietly, "Cloud isn't stupid enough to attack us here…"
"Whew…"
Kakashi quickly got into the mood, smiling and waving. And then there was the third member,
"Hahaha! I didn't expect such a warm welcome!"
"Friends of the Hidden Cloud, I am Konoha's proud Green Beast of Youth, Might Guy!"
"Your reception fills me with the spirit of youth! This is what true passion looks like!"
"Thank you! Thank you!"
He bounced around, bowing and expressing his thanks to everyone, making Kakashi's eye twitch. This guy adapted way faster than he did… Ridiculous.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Yun calmly observed the Cloud villagers. 'Their smiles… they seemed genuine.'
Because to them, this alliance with Konoha was a step closer to peace.
For the common people, peace, no war, was the ideal era.
But perhaps the root of all problems lay with the ninja leadership. Wars kept breaking out time after time, breeding hatred.
Those filled with hatred would never welcome peace, because it meant giving up on revenge.
Yun's eyes swept through the crowd, catching a few glares filled with hostility. These people had lost loved ones to Konoha and didn't want peace.
They walked the long road from the Cloud Village gate to the Raikage Building.
At the high platform, Kakashi, as Konoha's envoy, handed the alliance treaty to the Raikage.
The Fourth Raikage stamped the document.
A thunderous cheer erupted down the entire street. Everyone believed peace would continue, because today, Konoha and the Cloud had allied.
"Whew…"
Kakashi let out a breath of relief. 'Thankfully, nothing went wrong. Maybe I really had been overthinking things.'
'Now, as long as Konoha paid close attention during the return visit from Cloud's emissaries, everything should be fine.'
The Fourth Raikage then turned to the Konoha trio. "To show sincerity, you'll need to stay in the village for two more days. Bee would also like to spar with Uchiha Yun again, see if he's gotten rusty."
Kakashi hesitated. "Our village has been really busy lately. We were hoping to- "
"Hmm?"
The Raikage glared. "Is this Konoha's attitude toward the alliance? This is a matter of diplomatic relations between nations, brat from the White Fang family!"
'Ugh…'
Left with no choice, Kakashi nodded.
Yun, who had just been named, simply kept smiling and said nothing.
'Maybe if all the battle-hungry warmongers were removed, peaceful unification wouldn't be so impossible…'
Cloud Thunder Gorge.
Though the Cloud Village often felt barren, its high-altitude landscapes could be breathtaking.
Like now, at the Cloud Thunder Gorge, Uchiha Yun stood on a ledge, with clouds swirling beneath his feet, giving the sensation of walking on the sky.
Killer Bee shuffled nearby. "Right? Feels like flying! This sky-walking view doesn't it scare you? Yo!"
Yun smirked. "I'm not afraid of heights."
Bee dropped his rhyming and sat beside him. "Wanna spar? Let's see how much you've grown."
Yun chuckled. "We kinda have to. Your big bro won't let us leave without a fight."
?!
Bee eyed him closely. "You've figured something out, haven't you?"
Yun didn't answer the leading question. Instead, he stood and said, "Last time, neither of us went all out. I'm really curious, can I beat a perfect Eight-Tails Jinchūriki?"
Bee grinned and raised his fist.
Yun shook his head. "You know I don't do that. Got too many secrets in my head. Besides, right now… we're not exactly on the same side."
"Let's go."
With those words, the Mangekyō Sharingan flared in Yun's eyes.
In the next moment, his long sword ignited with fire.
Whoosh!
Yun vanished and reappeared behind Bee, swinging his blade. A fiery arc slashed toward Bee's back.
'Fast!'
Eight red chakra tails burst from Bee's back, sweeping away the flaming slash.
"You're a bit too careless, aren't you?"
Yun used the recoil to loop behind Bee again and struck down.
Slash!
The chakra tails tried to defend, but a searing cut still appeared on Bee's shoulder.
Szzzt!
The red chakra quickly sealed the wound. The recovery speed of a Jinchūriki, definitely impressive.
Yun, dodging the counterattack, smiled and locked eyes with Bee.
In an instant, Bee's world went dark. Around him, angry voices echoed in endless curses.
But moments later, the Eight-Tails inside him surged, disrupting the genjutsu with its own chakra. The darkness shattered.
Spurt!
A massive wound opened across Bee's chest, blood spraying.
"Bee!!!"
The Eight-Tails' voice roared in his mind. Bee quickly retreated in a flash.
"Bee! He's way too fast. The moment you broke the genjutsu, he slashed your chest!"
Bee nodded. "Time for another form! Yo!"
BOOM!!
A wild blast of chakra sent clouds scattering in all directions. Crushing pressure filled the gorge.
Bee had transformed, horned head, humanoid body, eight red chakra tails. A monster cloaked in deep red.
"ROARRRR!!!"
The deafening roar made Yun frown. "You don't need to shout, I get it. Big move time. Staying conscious in this semi-transformed state really does make you stronger than the average Jinchūriki."
...
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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