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Raikage Office Building.
The Fourth Raikage, A, dressed in a white robe and wearing his Raikage hat, held a dumbbell in his right hand. He was stretching his muscles while listening to the information reported by his subordinate.
"Based on the updated information from the Exchange Point, the mysterious ninja who killed Kinu has already taken his body to claim the bounty." Mabui held a file, her tone calm.
As soon as Mabui finished speaking, the Fourth Raikage slammed his palm down, splitting the table made of solid ironwood clean in half!
"This is going too far! That damnable fellow!" The Fourth Raikage's eyes widened with fury, yet he remained composed despite his rage.
The Raikage asked in a deep voice: "How likely is it that Konoha Village did this themselves?"
He had sent a Special Jōnin skilled in infiltration as an envoy, ostensibly to negotiate peace, but in reality to seize the opportunity to sneak into the Hyuga clan compound and kidnap the Hyuga princess, thereby securing the Byakugan bloodline limit for the Hidden Cloud.
If discovered by the Hyuga clan—preferably the Head Family—the envoy would become a suicide agent, throwing himself into a fatal confrontation on the spot. This would give the Hidden Cloud an excuse to pressure Konoha into handing over the culprit.
It was supposed to be a win-win move.
But suddenly, some mysterious masked ninja appeared, killed the Hidden Cloud envoy, and dumped the body in the Hyuga compound to frame the Hyuga clan.
As the Raikage, A knew exactly what the Hidden Cloud had done.
He didn't believe Konoha's version of the story; he believed they were simply protecting the Hyuga clan at all costs.
"There is a possibility. After all, a ninja capable of doing such a thing within the heavily guarded Konoha Village wouldn't be a nameless nobody." Mabui frowned slightly.
As the Raikage's secretary, Mabui was exceptionally intelligent, skilled in judgment and analysis, and held a vast amount of intelligence regarding the Hidden Cloud Village.
Therefore, Mabui also felt it was unlikely for such a person to exist independently.
"However..." Mabui put down the documents in her hand, a hint of sharpness flashing in her pale blue eyes as she added: "Konoha's insistence that it was done by a mysterious ninja is a clear sign they are protecting the Hyuga clan. If we continue to press them, Konoha likely won't hand over a Hyuga culprit."
"Hmph! Then we keep fighting! Fight until Konoha begs for mercy!" The Fourth Raikage's face twisted into a snarl, his left fist cracking loudly as he clenched it.
He wished he could lead the ninja forces to strike Konoha's home turf immediately.
"Raikage-sama, our Hidden Cloud Village no longer has the strength for further war." Mabui sighed, providing an analysis of the current situation of the Hidden Cloud and the Land of Lightning to the hot-tempered Raikage.
Forget invading Konoha Village; they hadn't even managed to break into the Land of Fire. The ninja forces of both countries had been in a standoff within the borders of the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Frost for months and were already exhausted.
This war needed to end.
"Also, this is the third table you've smashed this month!" Mabui glanced at the fragments on the floor; these were tables made from high-quality ironwood.
Mabui said helplessly: "The repair costs will be deducted from your allowance."
"Whatever!" The Fourth Raikage didn't care at all.
Lifting the dumbbell in his right hand, he looked out the window at a mass of dark clouds slowly drifting over. For some reason, he had an ill omen.
*What is Bee up to now?* The Fourth Raikage's first thought was of his sworn brother, Killer Bee—the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki who loved to rap and had been banned from leaving the village for years.
BOOM—!
Suddenly, a deafening explosion erupted from the ground floor of the Raikage Building!
The entire building shook violently, the rooms creaking as if they might collapse at any moment.
"Who is it!" The Fourth Raikage roared, tossing the dumbbell aside. He smashed through the office window and jumped down.
"Raikage-sama!" Mabui hurriedly followed.
The two leapt from the Raikage Building and landed on the platform below, seeing that nearly half of the lower structure of the building had been destroyed by the blast!
Had the Raikage Building not been built upon a mountain peak with supports connecting it to other peaks, it might have already toppled.
Raikage A searched everywhere for the enemy.
*Step—*
The sound of footsteps came from the smoke.
"Who dares to act so insolently in the Hidden Cloud Village!" The Fourth Raikage was beyond furious. Since its founding decades ago, the Hidden Cloud Village had never been successfully invaded.
Within the billowing smoke, a figure slowly appeared. As the smoke dissipated, a white three-eyed fox mask became faintly visible.
"Playing tricks!" Purple lightning-natured chakra erupted from the Fourth Raikage's body as he activated his Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
He glared at the figure in the smoke and shouted sternly: "Come out!"
The Fourth Raikage's form blurred as he charged toward the mysterious person in the smoke with extreme speed.
"Die!"
"Lightning Oppression Horizontal Chop!" (Lightning Release: Gyūryūbau!)
Countless bolts of lightning chakra gathered on the Raikage's elbow, sizzling and crackling, as he launched a ferocious strike at the mysterious person.
Just as the Raikage's elbow was about to strike the mysterious person's mask.
*Zheng—!*
A clear ring pierced the air.
A black scythe swung out from the billowing smoke, cutting through the haze.
It collided violently with the metal bracer on the Raikage's wrist, letting out a crisp *clang* as sparks flew!
At the same time, the lightning chakra concentrated on the Raikage's elbow inexplicably diminished by more than half.
"Who?!" Having failed to land the hit and seeing his technique interrupted, the Raikage decisively retreated.
"Raikage-sama!" At that moment, Mabui and two members of the Raikage's guard, Darui and C, arrived at the battlefield. They stood to the left and right of the Raikage, entering combat stances.
"Who is the enemy?" Darui gripped his long sword, staring intently at the three masked figures emerging from the smoke.
As the smoke cleared, two more masked figures wearing long robes were seen floating in the air.
The one on the right had ribbons fluttering behind them and appeared to be a woman.
The masked person on the left wore a black robe and held a black scythe.
The two hovered in mid-air like ghosts.
The Raikage focused his gaze on the masked figure with the scythe; he had felt a large portion of his chakra being drained just now.
"That's...!" Mabui also saw the mysterious person opposite them, her pupils shrinking: "The mysterious ninja reported by Konoha who killed Kinu!"
"What?!" Darui and C were also taken aback.
As the Raikage's guards and high-ranking members of the Hidden Cloud, they were naturally aware of the news that had come from Konoha a few days ago.
"I thought it was just a poor excuse from Konoha, I didn't expect it to be true." Darui looked at the two masked figures floating in the air, his expression grim: "And it seems the opponent isn't alone."
Konoha's report mentioned one mysterious ninja, but those attacking the Hidden Cloud now were three masked individuals!
"A-da!" A whistle came from overhead.
Killer Bee, carrying his seven swords, also arrived at the battlefield.
"Yo~ Big Brother, you okay~?"
Killer Bee first greeted his brother, Raikage A, then looked toward the three mysterious masked figures as the smoke vanished.
"Yo~ Little brothers~ why attack the Cloud today~?" Killer Bee struck a pose with his hands, issuing his question.
Uzumaki Menma's malice perception was fully active; he could feel the ninjas of the entire Hidden Cloud Village rapidly approaching.
Before long, figures landed one after another around the Raikage Building. Ninja after ninja wearing Hidden Cloud forehead protectors surrounded Uzumaki Menma.
"Did the Hidden Cloud look for a reason when you attacked others?" A low voice came from beneath Menma's white three-eyed fox mask.
"Today, I am merely returning your own tactics to you." After speaking, Menma gave the order to the two Nine Masked Beasts behind him: "Eliminate these small fry!"
The Jade Maiden brandished her ribbons, and the Shinigami raised his scythe.
One to the left and one to the right, they charged out.
(End of Chapter)