For Obito now, wanting to delay or even completely stop Naruto was no longer so easy.
The scene of that earlier energy breath was still vivid in his mind.
Even compared with the Tailed Beast Bomb released by the Nine-Tails back then, it is hardly any less powerful.
At least judging by the destructive power Naruto had displayed so far, it had, to a certain extent, already surpassed that of his father, Namikaze Minato.
'Hmm… Namikaze Minato…'
Once the name of his former teacher came to mind, a series of memories resurfaced.
'How could I have forgotten that?'
He clapped his hands, and Zetsu emerged from the ground.
"How is Nagato's side?"
"Nothing major. A new Asura Path has been replenished."
After saying this, Zetsu added another sentence.
"As for Konan, after the ink on her body was removed, she returned to normal."
Speaking of which, the special ability Jiraiya suddenly used, while more subtle than Ninjutsu, was actually easier to remove.
Unlike those various and sundry Sealing Techniques that required corresponding unsealing formulas to break.
After a moment of silence, Obito still dismissed the thought of having Nagato make another move.
He couldn't really explain this plan either.
So he might as well take action himself.
Land of Lightning, Kumogakure.
Just like its name, this was a Ninja Village located at an extremely high altitude, with clouds floating right beside it. (T/N: Kumogakure means Village Hidden by Clouds.)
Compared to Konoha Village, with its excellent environment and flat terrain, this place was indeed not very suitable for living.
No wonder the Raikage always had his heart set on Konoha.
Perhaps the 'bond' between the two villages was formed right at the beginning of their founding.
Late at night, the Fourth Raikage, A, was still sitting in his office handling official business.
Don't be fooled by his usual rough and boisterous appearance, often delegating his work to his secretary-
But when it came to truly critical matters, it still required his, the Raikage's, approval to make a decision.
Unlike the other Ninja Villages, power in Kumogakure was highly centralized, truly achieving a militarized management where the highest orders were issued by the Raikage himself.
In this regard, he did much better than the Hokage's line and others.
At least he wouldn't be interfered with by so-called senior advisors on key matters, thus missing certain opportunities.
Similarly, after the appearance of the two powerful Missing-Nins, Kinkaku and Ginkaku, Kumogakure also increased its supervision, adopting a 'zero tolerance' policy towards Missing-Nins.
This can be seen from the fact that there isn't a single member from Kumogakure in the famous Missing-Nins Organization, Akatsuki.
In short, the successive Raikages could be said to have worked hard and diligently, managing to develop the now powerful Kumogakure under such living conditions.
Their aggressive style was largely influenced by their leaders.
But this vertical management model resulted in a large number of important matters piling up on the Raikage alone.
These decisions were not something a secretary could help with.
And precisely because of this, Raikage had to handle official business late at night like this.
Think about a certain old man who usually spent his time peeping at others with his crystal ball.
Tsk tsk.
The wind from the valley continued to blow, its sound filtering through the window cracks into Raikage's ears.
'Hmm-'
'It seemed very late already.'
After handling the last document from the front lines, Raikage finally stretched his muscles a bit.
The surroundings were completely silent.
So silent it was unusual.
Raikage possessed Chakra Reserves far exceeding ordinary people and terrifying reaction speed, but sensing was his shortcoming, so he needed specialized Sensor Ninjas to assist him.
This also led to the situation today, where the enemy had arrived at his doorstep before he became aware of them.
As the Fourth Raikage rose to his feet and assumed a combat stance, a thin mist began to disperse throughout the Raikage's office.
"Mabui! Darui! C!"
Raikage's voice echoed throughout the entire building, but there was no response.
This made his heart sink slowly.
To be honest, Raikage wasn't afraid of assassination, as he had absolute confidence in his own strength.
But he also knew that the people around him did not possess his level of power.
Fighting spirit mixed with rage surged within him. A layer of crackling Lightning Release Chakra Armor materialized over Raikage's body.
This was his signature Ninjutsu, the [Lightning Release Chakra Mode].
By stimulating his body's cells with Lightning Attribute Chakra, his already formidable physical strength was elevated to an even higher level.
Whoosh!
A kunai shot out from a blind spot behind the Raikage, aimed directly at his head.
"Got you!"
Despite his weaker sensing abilities, at this distance, with the Lightning Release Chakra Mode active, Raikage could dodge actual lightning, let alone an ordinary kunai.
He completed the turn and counterattack within a thousandth of a second, his movements fluid.
He finally saw the attacker's appearance.
A figure in a cloak, its face obscured.
"A sneaky bastard, you think you can kill me with this? Who the hell do you think I am!"
Raikage threw a punch directly.
The boost from the Lightning Release Chakra Mode was instantly maxed out. The fist, moving at a speed comparable to instant transmission, even broke the sound barrier.
Boom!
After the punch landed, a shockwave sent everything in the office flying. The mist from earlier completely vanished.
The force of this punch was immense, even blasting a large hole in the wall.
Lights flicked on in the surrounding buildings one by one, and the sound of noisy voices quickly rose again.
Those were the alarmed Kumogakure's Jonins.
But even this punch failed to harm the intruder.
"Genjutsu?"
With his enhanced dynamic vision, Raikage clearly saw his fist indeed hit the target, but it passed right through them.
After their bodies separated from the overlapping state, the figure's hood was blown back by the force of the punch, revealing the face beneath… a face very familiar to the Raikage.
It was the Konoha's Jinchuriki, Uzumaki Naruto, whom he had sent people to ambush and kill a month ago!
"This is payback for last time. Our business isn't finished yet-"
This Naruto smiled at the Raikage, then fell backward.
Below him was the cliff.
"Uzumaki Naruto-"
Raikage also recalled that the Ninjas he had sent out had followed the trail but ultimately failed to find any trace of their target. Instead, they ended up fighting another group of guys skilled in Water Release Ninjutsu.
As he pondered this, he went to the room downstairs and found the three individuals unconscious due to severe injuries.
Thankfully, none were dead.
'The retaliation came quickly.'
As the one who proposed the assassination plan, Raikage was naturally psychologically prepared for a counterattack.
'Indeed, you can't trust anyone from Konoha!'
'In that case, consider this a formal declaration of war!'
A similar incident occurred in Iwagakure. The Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, was also attacked.
Although the attacker retreated unscathed under Onoki's Kekkei Tota, [Dust Release], they still revealed their appearance.
It was precisely the Uzumaki Naruto from the intelligence they had received earlier.
However, the cunning old Onoki sensed something amiss and immediately restrained his eager Ninjas.
"I'm afraid things aren't that simple."
He had no grudges against the other party, so why would they come after him?
Upon closer thought, it didn't hold up.
Moreover, Konoha had sent them a message not long ago.
'Probably, someone was trying to use me.'