Chapter 155
2-in-1-chapter
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"Big Brother."
"The Mangekyō Sharingan is a troublesome thing. If you encounter it, never let your guard down. Just now, the Eight-Tails told me that if I really run into a Uchiha who has awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, I must be extremely careful."
Killer B, sitting on the windowsill, scratched his head.
The moment Yugito mentioned the name "Mangekyō Sharingan," the Hachibi inside him stirred restlessly. It was not trying to break the seal, but warning B to be cautious. It told him not to wander recklessly anymore, not to run off to practice rap or hold impromptu concerts.
"Even the Eight-Tails says the same thing?"
Hearing this, the Fourth Raikage, inheritor of the name A, picked up the dumbbell he had just set aside and continued his strength training without changing expression. "Yugito, is that what you came to tell me? If you have nothing else, then return to your duties with Darui. Make sure the defenses at the Kusatsu Mountains are built quickly. Once the rest period is over, I will personally take the field and see for myself whether the Mangekyō Sharingan is truly as formidable as you claim."
Dodai opened his mouth several times as if to speak, but in the end he fell silent.
The Raikage's composure was not a bad thing. As Raikage, he was expected to maintain such calm. Even if the sky fell, he could not lose his footing, or how could he command the tens of thousands of shinobi in the village? Although Dodai believed the Uchiha could not be underestimated, this was not the time to contradict his leader directly.
The war with Konoha would not erupt immediately.
There was still time to advise him later, and time to gather more information on the Uchiha clan, as well as on that Konoha shinobi Darui had reported, the one with taijutsu of astonishing strength. Konoha's hidden resources truly ran deep. So many spies had been sent, and yet they still had not managed to uncover all of Konoha's trump cards.
"Yes, Lord Raikage."
Darui rose and gave a low, firm response.
But as he turned to leave, he noticed that Yugito remained rooted to the spot. A faint unease welled up in his chest. Was Yugito-senpai going to say something more? The next moment, his intuition proved right.
After a pause of hesitation, Yugito spoke again. "Lord Raikage, can we… not seek peace with Konoha?"
The words struck like thunder.
Everyone froze.
Dodai snapped his head up so fast he nearly twisted his neck, staring at her as if he had seen a ghost.
Was this truly the proud and battle-loving Yugito he knew?
"Konoha has received reinforcements. Even if we win the next battles, we will suffer heavy losses. I think it would be better to stop here. We failed to break into the Land of Fire, but our gains in the Land of Hot Water were not insignificant. If we negotiate peace with Konoha now…"
"Yugito!"
A cut her off. "Are you questioning my orders?"
"No, Lord Raikage. I only do not wish to see too many of our comrades sacrificed."
"Then wield the power of the Two-Tails to its fullest. The more you shine on the battlefield, the fewer comrades will fall." A did not lose his temper, but his voice rose several levels as he spoke. His brow furrowed deeper as he looked at Yugito's stubborn expression. "Enough, Yugito. If you are too tired, then rest. Darui will take charge of the defenses at Kusatsu Mountains. C, you will assist him."
"I understand."
With his golden curls, pale skin, and refined features, C rose and gave his reply.
Yugito said nothing further, but the set of her jaw made clear that she had not changed her mind.
"Yugito, go and rest. Once you are recovered, I will assign you new duties." A lifted his dumbbell in one hand and motioned for her to leave. The Two-Tails jinchūriki bowed her head silently and, braids swaying, left the office. Those who remained exchanged uneasy looks.
What in the world was happening?
"C, use sensory ninjutsu to check Yugito's condition." As soon as the door closed behind her, Dodai gave the order.
C glanced at Lord Raikage, and seeing A give a nod, he did not dare delay. Forming hand seals, he released his chakra and began probing Yugito's state with his sensory jutsu.
"C, how is it?"
"…Everything appears normal."
"No irregularities at all?"
"Perhaps my ability is insufficient, but I cannot see anything wrong with Yugito-senpai." C's tone carried frustration. He was not boasting—among all the sensory shinobi of Kumogakure, his skills ranked easily within the top five. If Nii Yugito had truly been manipulated by genjutsu, it would have been impossible for him not to notice.
Yet the problem was that he truly could not find the slightest trace of interference.
To be sure, he had probed her three times.
Her chakra flow was steady and orderly, her mental energy showed no abnormal fluctuations, and aside from the presence of Matatabi's chakra, there was no trace of any third party's chakra at all. Yugito's body was clean, without the slightest anomaly.
"So it wasn't genjutsu?"
Dodai frowned, increasingly puzzled.
"That makes no sense. With Yugito's character, she should never have been the one to speak of truce or peace talks." He pressed a hand to his forehead and tried to reason it through, but could not understand what had happened to her. If she had not been under genjutsu, then was it possible she had simply been frightened by that Uchiha from Konoha?
The more he thought about it, the less convincing it seemed, but no other explanation came to mind.
He could not bring himself to believe Yugito was so fragile. To perfectly control a tailed beast required an unyielding will and overwhelming strength. Without both, such power could not be mastered. Yet if genjutsu was excluded, then fear seemed the only remaining explanation, however unsatisfactory.
"Have medical-nin conduct a full examination of Yugito shortly," ordered the Raikage, A.
"Lord Raikage, are you concerned about… drugs?"
"Something about Yugito's condition is wrong. Dodai, in the coming days, assign people to watch her closely. Whether her change arose naturally or was imposed by someone else, we must consider every possibility. I will not allow her to suffer harm." There were thoughts A did not voice. In truth, he hoped that Yugito had been manipulated by a Konoha shinobi. If so, once the method was identified, the problem could be solved.
What he feared most was that the words and changes had come from her own heart, not from outside control.
Kumogakure could not afford a Jinchūriki who shirked battle, feared war, or was soft-hearted. Yet raising a Jinchūriki was never easy. This generation was blessed with fortune—both Killer B and Yugito had achieved perfect control of their tailed beasts. That fact was one of A's greatest sources of confidence in daring to wage war against Konoha.
If anything happened to Yugito, Kumogakure had no way to replace her as the Two-Tails host immediately, and even if they found another, there was no guarantee that person could achieve the same mastery.
Unless absolutely necessary, a Jinchūriki would never be replaced lightly.
A continued lifting his dumbbells, his routine outwardly unchanged. Yet those who knew him could see the shadow that lingered across his expression, a cloud that would not disperse. Inwardly he weighed his next strategy, and once more acknowledged the truth—Konoha was not so easily confronted.
Even a starving camel is larger than a horse.
And Konoha was far from dead—it was only weakened.
"By the way, Dodai, investigate the identity of the Konoha reinforcements, especially the Uchiha clan. I want the name and full details of the Uchiha who fought Yugito." Just as Dodai reached the door, A added another command.
"Rest assured, Lord Raikage, that was already our highest priority."
Dodai agreed, paused three seconds at the threshold, and when no further orders came, departed.
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Walking along the sparsely populated street, Yugito looked at the tightly shuttered shops on both sides. Occasionally she encountered a villager or two, but they hurried past, lowering their heads at once upon seeing her Kumogakure forehead protector. Even in that fleeting instant, she still caught the hatred hidden deep in their eyes.
To be hated was only natural.
It was not the first time she had seen such looks.
In the past, she had felt nothing about it. The world was cruel; sympathy and compassion were for comrades of Kumogakure. As for others—let them die. She had not cared even for the lives of the Frost-nin, who were nothing more than Kumogakure's pawns, much less for the people of the Land of Hot Water.
But now, when those eyes of hatred met hers, it was as if a jar of bitter medicine had overturned in her chest. Emotions she had never known before—complex, indescribable—rose within her, leaving her uneasy and restless. Even Matatabi could sense her agitation.
"Yugito, what are you thinking?"
"Matatabi?"
"Your thoughts are in turmoil."
"…I cannot understand why Lord Raikage insists on marching south to attack Konoha. Life in the mountains was not prosperous, but it was not so harsh as to be unbearable. Each time we wage war against Konoha, we gain nothing in return, and instead so many of our comrades never come home."
"If only… if only there were no conflict, then no one would have to die on the battlefield."
Yugito stopped at the head of a small bridge, one hand resting on the railing. Outwardly she seemed to be gazing at the stream below, but her heart was immersed in her inner world, confiding her bitterness to the Two-Tails.
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