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The central mountains of the Land of Lightning were shrouded in swirling clouds and mist.
Rugged mountain paths wound upwards through the peaks, where a merchant caravan consisting of over a dozen horse-drawn carriages was slowly advancing.
The surrounding peaks were steep and the terrain treacherous. The climate was humid and perpetually blanketed in thick fog; anyone unfamiliar with the terrain would find it very easy to get lost.
"Oi, young man, we're almost at Kumogakure," a dark-skinned merchant named Joy shouted upward from one of the carriages.
His eyes were slightly vacant as his gaze drifted toward the black-haired youth lying on the roof of the carriage, fiddling with a small fox.
The small fox wore a mask on its head, and the kanji for "Three" (三) was printed on its forehead.
"Thanks, Uncle Joy." Menma tucked away the 'Nine Masked Beast' and flipped down from the roof.
This caravan was composed of several smaller merchant groups. Because the Hidden Cloud Village was located deep within the central mountains of the Land of Lightning—perched in a topographically challenging area hidden by clouds—it was difficult for outsiders to find.
Thus, Menma had used the trade routes of the Gato Company to find a small caravan heading to Kumogakure and had placed its leader under genjutsu control.
Soon, the caravan reached the main entrance of the Hidden Cloud Village.
Two Kumogakure ninja stood guard here, registering and cataloging every civilian and shinobi entering or leaving the village.
Menma hopped down from the carriage and looked out at the Hidden Cloud Village hidden among the clouds.
Amidst the cloud-shrouded peaks, oval-shaped platforms were built into the sides of the mountains, wrapping around the peaks to form a very unique architectural cluster.
The villagers mostly lived inside these oval structures.
Further in the distance, an inverted gourd-shaped building could be faintly seen flickering in and out of view through the thick mist.
"What's your name? What brings you to Kumogakure?" a guard's voice interrupted Menma's observations.
"My name is Danzo, I have no surname," Menma said with a grin, disguising himself with a cheerful personality similar to Naruto's.
Anyway, Lord "Shadow of the Pot" probably wouldn't mind a few more scapegoat marks on his back.
He pointed a thumb toward the merchant behind him and said, "I'm traveling with Uncle Joy this time to sell goods from the Land of Tea, and to find a certain Kumogakure ninja to express my gratitude."
"Danzo, eh?" One of the Kumogakure ninja made a quick sketch of Menma's appearance and registered him.
"What is the name of the ninja you want to thank, or do you have any distinguishing features? Maybe I know them," the other guard said, feeling a bit of goodwill toward this kid who kept talking about expressing his gratitude to a Cloud ninja.
"Hmm, he looked a bit fierce, had dark skin, and wore bandages wrapped around his head," Menma recalled, speaking aloud.
This description caused the gate guard to shake his head helplessly. "With just that description, it'll be hard to find someone. There are plenty of people dressed like that in Kumogakure."
"It's okay. I brought some local specialties from my hometown. If I can't find the person, I'll just give them out randomly," Menma said, gesturing toward the carriages behind him.
The gate guards didn't investigate too much; after completing the registration, they let the caravan pass.
Upon entering the village, Menma separated from the caravan and began walking toward the Raikage's Office building with the ease of someone who knew the way well.
During his time in the 'Limited Tsukuyomi World', he had traveled the shinobi world for years and visited many hidden villages. Most of the roads and buildings in Kumogakure were virtually identical to his memories.
*Yo~ yo~ yo~ yo~ yo~*
As he was climbing a set of stairs leading to a platform, a burst of music drifted down from above.
*No way, what a coincidence?* Menma's expression twitched.
"Starting my training since the break of day~ My stomach's growling, I need to find a way~"
"The Great Me loves rap, it's what I crave~"
"For lunch, it's Sukiyaki that I'll brave~"
"Yesh! Yesh! Yesh!"
When Menma stepped onto the large platform, he saw Killer B standing on a high stage with a microphone, rapping at the top of his lungs.
Beside him were two Kumogakure ninja, forcing smiles and clapping along.
The surrounding villagers were whispering among themselves, doing their best to steer clear.
*I remember that in the Limited Tsukuyomi World, Killer B was actually a very popular superstar.* Listening to Killer B's tone-deaf rapping, Menma actually felt a bit of nostalgia for the version of B from that world.
"Hey hey~ Yo~ Young man over there~"
"Is this your first time in Kumogakure? Yo~"
Whether it was the attraction between Tailed Beasts or something else, Killer B suddenly noticed Menma nearby. His gaze locked on from behind his sunglasses, and he called out loudly.
The two ninja with Killer B also looked over. Seeing an unfamiliar face, they immediately became alert.
"Hello, I'm a merchant from the Land of Tea here on business. I brought some local specialties to thank a Kumogakure ninja who once helped me," Menma said, proactively approaching them.
"I didn't expect to find a rap performance here."
Menma added that final sentence.
It caused the two Kumogakure ninja to let out forced, bitter smiles.
Killer B, however, acted as if he had found a kindred spirit. With a great leap and a mid-air flip, he landed steadily in front of Menma.
His hands began to gesture as he spoke in a rhythmic rap tone: "Yo~ Young man, you've got good taste~"
"How 'bout you come hear my~ solo concert in this place~"
Killer B had been restricted from leaving the village by the Fourth Raikage for many years. Usually, aside from training at the Unraikyo (Storm Cloud Ravine), he spent his time working on his rap.
Although the people of Kumogakure didn't discriminate against Jinchuriki as much as those in Konoha or Sunagakure, Killer B had still faced a fair amount of isolation after becoming one—he had even been targeted for assassination by former comrades. Plus, his rapping was annoying and sounded terrible.
"Maybe next time. I need to go check out the village's Mission Center," Menma said, scratching his head as he politely declined B's invitation.
The other two Kumogakure ninja walked over.
One of them asked, "Who are you looking for?"
"I don't know his name, I only have a rough idea of his physical features," Menma said, repeating the story he had told at the village gate.
After hearing Menma's explanation, the ninja frowned and said, "It won't be easy to find someone based on a physical description like that."
Ninja placed great importance on intelligence. Someone like Menma, directly using physical traits to search for people, could easily be flagged by Kumogakure.
Evidently, these two had also grown suspicious of Menma.
"It's fine. If I can't find him, I'll just leave the local specialties at the Mission Center as a way of saying thanks to Kumogakure," Menma said with a candid smile, giving off the vibe of a bright, sunny young man.
The Mission Centers of the various villages were generally located around the main administrative building where the Kage resided. That area also had the highest concentration of shinobi, so the two Cloud ninja weren't worried about someone causing trouble deep inside the village.
After all, in all the years since Kumogakure's founding, no one had ever successfully caused a disturbance inside the village.
Given the Raikage's explosive temper, he would probably jump straight through a window to punch someone at the first sign of trouble.
Not to mention, Kumogakure ninja were famously known for their ferocity.
As one of the Five Great Nations, Kumogakure's ability to wage prolonged wars against Konoha was a testament to the village's strength.
The three, including B, didn't try to force Menma to stay. They stepped aside and watched his retreating back.
"Yo yo~ He brought a thank-you gift?" For some reason, as Killer B watched the black-haired boy disappear into the mist, he felt a strange sense of unease.
"B! This person is not right!" Suddenly, inside Killer B's mental world, the Eight-Tails, Gyūki, issued a warning.
In the near distance, the Raikage Building suddenly exploded!
A plume of pitch-black smoke began to rise slowly amidst the cloud-shrouded peaks!
(End of Chapter)