Chapter 78: Are You Kidding Me?
In the Hidden Stone camp, the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, was instructing his son, Kitsuchi.
"Kitsuchi," he said, "that's not how you do it."
"Why not, Father?" Kitsuchi asked, confused.
"A ninjutsu is only effective if it hits the enemy," Onoki said with a sigh. "Otherwise, it's just a waste of chakra. Your techniques are too extreme, always focused on range."
"But," Kitsuchi argued, "if the range of my jutsu is greater than the enemy's escape speed, then it will work, right?"
"What if you're facing a speed-type ninja?" Onoki countered.
"Then the range wasn't big enough!"
Onoki was speechless. He flew into a rage and punched his son on the head. "I said it's wrong, so it's wrong! How's your Dust Release training coming along?"
"Dammit, not again! I can't learn Dust Release!"
Just as Kitsuchi was about to argue further, a Stone ninja came to report.
"My lord! There's a situation in the direction of the Konoha camp!"
Onoki forgot about his son and flew into the sky, looking towards the Konoha camp. It was far away, just a black dot on the horizon. He was about to fly closer to investigate when he saw a massive explosion on the horizon. Though he couldn't hear the sound, from his experience, he knew it must have been incredibly powerful. A series of explosions followed, and Onoki's expression grew grim.
To be able to feel it from this distance... that level of explosion... is it the Cloud's Jinchuriki?
In his experience, only a Tailed Beast Ball had such power.
He hovered in the air, uncertain. The standoff with Konoha had been going on for a long time. Every inch of the Mount Tenmoku area had been fought over. Konoha, with its many clans and secret jutsu, had a higher average skill level, but the Stone had numbers. With nearly 20,000 troops in the Land of Rain, they were evenly matched.
But that was almost all the Stone had. Onoki was worried every day, and he had become much more cautious. He could not afford to lose.
The Cloud's recent entry into the war had caused both the Stone and Konoha to reduce their conflicts, both wanting to see how the war would unfold. If this was really the Cloud's Jinchuriki attacking Konoha, then this might be the Stone's chance. They could launch an attack and take out both the Cloud and Konoha. But it could also be a trap set by Konoha.
He had heard that the Cloud's Jinchuriki could hold off an entire village by himself. He was three parts disbelieving and seven parts envious. His own two Jinchuriki were still young and had no control over their tailed beasts. In fact, they were constantly being tormented by the beasts inside them, on the verge of a nervous breakdown. He didn't know when they would become proper Jinchuriki.
I don't know how the Cloud did it, he thought. There's never been a stable, combat-ready Jinchuriki in the history of the ninja world.
The Stone had two tailed beasts, but they couldn't use them. The village had always lacked geniuses. His own son, Kitsuchi, had some talent, but he was a simpleton.
After a long moment of thought, he decided to go and see for himself. An opportunity like this would not come again.
He returned to the camp and was about to give the order when a Stone ninja ran up to him, a look of disbelief on his face, a drop of cold sweat trickling down his cheek.
"My... my lord... there's someone outside the eastern side of the camp..."
Onoki, who had just been lamenting the lack of talent in the Stone, was even more annoyed. "You're a ninja, and you can't even speak properly?!" he growled. "So what if there's someone? This is the Stone's main camp! It's not like Hiruzen Sarutobi is here to die! Who is it?!"
"Lord Tsuchikage," the ninja stammered, "it's... it's the Third Raikage!"
"What?! How is that possible?! How many of them are there?" Onoki was shocked. Had the Cloud decided to attack the Stone first?
"My lord, there are only three of them!"
"Are you kidding me?! Have you confirmed it?! Forget it! I'll go myself!"
He didn't believe the report and flew directly to the eastern side of the camp.
He hadn't flown far when he saw four figures standing on a cliff, looking down at his camp.
Three days ago.
In the central tent, the Third Raikage was holding a war council.
"Gentlemen, you have worked hard. Now, we face a great battle."
He began to give a rousing speech. As the Kage of the village, the spiritual leader of the Cloud, he was a natural at it. Dana, Dodai, and Arashi nodded in agreement. In this, the Third Raikage had always excelled.
But as he listened, Dana began to feel that something was wrong.
"Blue Bee will lead the entire force in an attack on Konoha," the Raikage was saying. "He will use the Tailed Beast Ball for fire suppression. Konoha should have no one who can counter it. As for the White Fang, we will use the strategy we prepared. Our objective is to take them down in one fell swoop."
A Jonin asked, "Lord Raikage, if we commit all our forces to Konoha, what about the Stone?"
The Raikage nodded, his arms crossed, revealing his barrel-like biceps. "I will handle the Stone myself," he said. "We will open both fronts at the same time and drive them out of the Land of Rain within a week."
Dana: o(ﾟДﾟ)っ!
Wait a minute, Dad! What did I just hear?! That's not the plan we agreed on! You've just raised a death flag the size of a mountain!
Dodai also felt it was a bad idea. "No, Lord Raikage!" he said urgently. "That's too risky! There's no need to be so hasty!"
"Yeah, Dad," Dana chimed in. "You really don't have to. It's... it's not a good omen. I mean, it's not appropriate."
The Raikage just waved his hand. "Onoki's Dust Release is too dangerous for ordinary ninja," he said. "Without my speed, they would just be corpses. Don't worry. I have an unparalleled defense, the strongest attack, and the greatest speed." He then flexed his muscles.
"And the Stone's camp is too close to Konoha's. If there's a major battle on the Konoha front, there's no guarantee the Stone won't get involved. Fighting on two fronts is not a good idea."
In other words, the Third Raikage was worried about his elite troops. He knew that no matter how skilled they were, very few of them could survive a direct hit from the Dust Release, especially with Onoki in the air. Only someone with his speed had a chance against him. He didn't want the Cloud's elite to die for nothing. Every member of the Special Attack Force was a valuable asset. And by concentrating their forces on the Konoha front, they could minimize their losses.
Dodai, as the Raikage's retainer, was the first to object. "A ridiculous strategy like that is out of the question! Do you think we're afraid to die, Lord Raikage?! If we follow the original plan, we can minimize our losses, even against the Dust Release!"