As dusk fell, Hibari leisurely ambled back to the inn. Pushing open the door, he saw Kagami writing something at the table, seemingly quite productive.
"How was it? Any gains?" Hibari plopped onto the bed and asked.
"I think our speculation was correct; Kumogakure could launch a war against our Land of Fire and Konoha at any moment," Kagami said while writing.
Hibari wriggled on the bed, scooted closer to Kagami, looked at what he had written, then said, "It seems the intelligence you gathered is similar to mine, and we've reached similar conclusions."
Kagami nodded, then asked, "So what do we do now? Compile this intelligence and send it back to the Hokage?"
"That's definitely necessary, but this isn't conclusive enough. I plan to..." At this point, Hibari looked out the window. The lights of the Raikage's office building in the distance were still brightly lit.
Kagami followed Hibari's gaze, then frowned and said, "Are you crazy? You're too bold, aren't you? You want to go there?"
"The bolder the person, the greater the harvest. One must have ambition. If we do a job, we should love it. Besides, I don't necessarily need you to go inside. Just provide some cover for me outside. If anything goes wrong, just create some chaos so I can retreat," Hibari said with a laugh, very casually.
"I think you should reconsider..." Kagami said gravely.
"No need to reconsider, I've already decided. To be honest, Kumogakure right now is probably at its most vulnerable. After all, undercurrents are surging within the village, and the Second Raikage can't even control the situation. If I really get discovered, as long as my actions are clean and I create some false impressions, I can completely steer this incident towards their 'internal' conflicts... Kagami, miss this chance, and it's gone," Hibari said firmly, a resolute look flashing in his eyes.
Hearing Hibari's words, Kagami's expression became much more conflicted. After a long while, he sighed and said, "You're the Commander, you call the shots."
"Hahahaha, exactly! It's just an office building; I don't believe they can turn it into some dragon's den or tiger's maw," Hibari said with a hearty laugh.
Since they had reached a consensus, Hibari didn't delay any longer. He quickly stripped off his clothes, then changed into a pure black stealth suit, and even dyed his hair black with hair dye.
After several preparations, Kumogakure also quieted down. The moon hung in the sky, occasionally casting a sliver of moonlight, but the weather had not been very good these past two days. The clouds at night had become thicker than usual, making the night even darker than usual.
"This really is good weather for infiltration..." Hibari opened the window, looked at the gloomy sky, and said with a smile.
Kagami also looked at the external environment, then said, "No matter what, be careful. If things truly reach an irreversible point..."
At this point, a ruthless glint flashed in Kagami's eyes. He continued, "The Anbu's rules were set by you. You should know what to do, right?"
Hibari grinned and said with a smile, "Understood, understood. Don't worry."
There were actually many Anbu rules, but Hibari clearly understood what Kagami was referring to at this moment: 'no corpse left behind.' Although their relationship was usually very good, at such a critical juncture, Kagami could still harden his heart and demand that Hibari be mentally prepared for such an outcome.
Of course, Hibari didn't mind. If it were Kagami in his shoes, he would likewise harden his heart and demand that Kagami arrange his own 'afterlife.'
After saying this, Hibari casually put on a mask with a ghost face that he had prepared. Then, he nodded to Kagami. The next second, he transformed into a black shadow and shot out of the window, disappearing in a few breaths.
Near the Raikage's office building, Hibari's figure, seemingly merged with the night, was currently lying on the roof of a house, observing the movements and patterns of the guards patrolling the Raikage's office building.
Releasing a small amount of chakra to sense the environment around the building, Hibari smiled faintly and whispered, "It seems there are no barriers or anything to hinder my entry, just like during the day..."
As early as daytime, Hibari had simply scouted the surrounding environment, with the main focus being to check for any defensive or offensive barriers.
Now, it seemed there was nothing of the sort. But thinking about it, it was normal. Although each of the Five Great Hidden Villages had its own characteristics, ultimately, many things were borrowed from Konohagakure, such as ninja academies, Anbu, and other related departments.
Konohagakure's Hokage Residence previously didn't have any barriers for defense either, until the formation of the Barrier Team. At this time, the entire Konoha was already enveloped in barriers, and the Hokage Residence also received special attention.
During the day, with people coming and going, there were naturally no barriers, but at night, the barriers would automatically activate, isolating ordinary people.
Kumogakure probably hadn't caught up to this rhythm yet, so at night, they only strengthened some security measures and didn't implement anything extra.
'That's why I said this timing is the best opportunity to infiltrate Kumogakure's core. Miss this chance, and it's gone...' Hibari grinned, a look of excitement flashing across his face, and murmured to himself.
Hibari was, of course, very interested in whether Kumogakure was secretly harboring offensive plans against the Land of Fire, but that wasn't all. Some of the formidable ninjutsu passed down through generations in Kumogakure were also highly coveted by Hibari.
Among them, what he valued most was the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, a ninjutsu only of 'B-rank,' also known as the 'Lightning Release Armor Technique.'
This Lightning Release Chakra Mode, in Hibari's opinion, was a very interesting ninjutsu that could later develop into a very powerful ninjutsu-infused taijutsu. If he could get his hands on this in Kumogakure, it would be a definite win.
Besides, such a vast Kumogakure surely had some kinjutsu tucked away, didn't it? If he could conveniently swipe them, he would make a huge profit.
'Treasure, treasure... Only on the eve of war and during wartime can one so justifiably plunder...' Hibari licked his lips, thinking excitedly.
Normally, even if Hibari wanted to cause trouble in Kumogakure, Konohagakure wouldn't allow it. It was only at times like this that the Five Great Hidden Villages would employ all their tactics, using whatever had the most destructive power.
He thought of the future, when Ao from Kirigakure in the Land of Water even took a Byakugan from the Hyūga clan. That also happened during wartime; nothing came of it. After the war ended, there was no need to even return it; Konoha just kept an eye on it.
Just as Hibari was pondering these miscellaneous thoughts, he suddenly saw another shadowy figure stealthily flipping into the Raikage's office building from a rooftop slightly lower than his position...
'Holy cow, what a coincidence? Running into a colleague?' Hibari thought with some surprise, watching the scene.
Seeing this, Hibari was unwilling to wait any longer. After all, there was only one set of intelligence. Whoever got their hands on it first would claim it. If someone beat him to it, he might as well go home and cry.
With that thought, Hibari's figure vanished from the rooftop at an extremely fast speed, then swiftly entered the Raikage building.
Looking at the small river flowing through the courtyard and past the guards, Hibari couldn't help but sigh enviously, murmuring to himself, "At times like this, I really wish I knew the Hozuki clan's Hydrification Technique..."
However, even while thinking this, Hibari wasn't entirely without a way to deal with these guards. From behind a tree's shadow, he formed the 'Tiger' hand seal. Then, with a slight shift in his chakra, he whispered, "Transformation Jutsu!"
Under Hibari's deliberate control, the technique made no sound. Soon, a small fish wriggled a few times in the dirt, fell into the small river flowing through the courtyard, and quickly swam towards the guards.
No one suspected a thing. The members of the guard squad seemed not to notice the small fish at all, allowing Hibari to smoothly infiltrate the backyard.
In the small river in the backyard, Hibari, transformed into the small fish, was now resting on the surface, blowing bubbles, and observing the surroundings.
"Although I always thought the defenses here seemed strict but had many loopholes, I really didn't expect to get in so easily..." Hibari's dark fish eyes poked out of the water, constantly observing the situation around him, thinking to himself.
At this moment, the backyard was where the Raikage's office was located. As long as he could bypass the two alert guards at the entrance and quietly enter the building, there shouldn't be much risk after that.
Just as Hibari was contemplating how to bypass these two guards and enter the office building, a black shadow suddenly swooped down from a large tree, and a dazzling flash of lightning appeared in its hand.
However, this flash of lightning lasted only for an instant. It briefly illuminated the courtyard before quickly extinguishing, without making any sound.
But in Hibari's line of sight, this entire scene was clearly visible.
'Damn, so confident? Are you a thief or a burglar...?' Hibari thought with some surprise.
In that one instant, Hibari saw a figure, dressed in pitch-black clothing like himself, leap directly from the tree. With extreme speed, it brought forth a flash of electricity, using two hand chops to instantly knock out both guards at the entrance.
"That was too easy, wasn't it? I should really give Raikage-sama some advice." The figure said softly to himself while dragging the two unconscious guards into the shadows.
Hibari heard these words. He thought to himself, 'Give the Raikage advice? Could it be an inside job? No wonder they seem so familiar with this place...'
While thinking, Hibari saw the person, after placing the two guards, walk to the door and directly push it open.
'Damn it...' Hibari cursed inwardly, seeing the person's nonchalant demeanor.
Sure enough, the next second, a flash of electricity burst from the door, and then the figure was directly blasted backward by the electricity, sent flying...
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