Kumogakure.
The Third Raikage stood with his arms crossed, eyes closed, deep in thought.
Placed before him was Konoha's response to Kumogakure—a formal statement addressed to the entire shinobi world.
At the Third Raikage's side stood his son, the man widely acknowledged within Kumogakure as the future Fourth Raikage, A.
Along with them was the highly trusted up-and-coming military strategist, Dodai.
"What do you think?"
The Third Raikage's deep, steady voice sounded. "Konoha's reaction… is not simple."
Contrary to the stereotypical impression, Kumogakure had always presented itself as a village of "brutes," yet its leader, the Third Raikage, possessed an exceptionally meticulous mind.
The so-called violent savagery was merely camouflage, a disguise meant to make the calculations in his heart more effective.
"Konoha got battered like that in the Second Shinobi World War, and they still dare to act this tough?"
The young and hot-blooded Fourth Raikage craned his neck as he spoke. "They fought Sunagakure and Amegakure to a standstill, and when the war ended they barely demanded any reparations—just kept pushing to wrap everything up!"
"Old man, if you ask me, there's something wrong with them!"
The Third Raikage shot his son a glance. "Something wrong? Go on—say it."
"They must have developed a forbidden war technique!"
The Fourth Raikage declared with absolute certainty.
"And so what?" the Third Raikage replied. "What are you planning to do—drag the village's shinobi over there to test their mettle?"
As he spoke, he brought his hand down and smacked the back of his son's head.
The powerfully built Fourth Raikage, faced with an even more powerfully built father, was struck hard enough that he bared his teeth in pain.
"You need to learn to use your brain. Just fighting and killing won't let you keep your footing in the shinobi world for long!"
The Third Raikage was instructing his son.
"You need to understand the art of war—to know your opponent's thoughts, and the state they're in."
"Even if Konoha is putting on a show, look at Hiruzen's wording: he's already endured to the limit, in a state where he could ignite at the slightest spark!"
"Don't even mention that we can't start a war right now after losing Blue B— even if we could, we can't let Kumogakure face Konoha alone when they're in that state!"
The Third Raikage's gaze shifted to Dodai.
This newly appointed military strategist of Kumogakure, and a wielder of the Lava Release Kekkei Genkai, immediately spoke up: "Raikage-sama is right. Someone who has resolved to die will still bite a chunk of flesh off the enemy, even if it means dying for it."
"After the Second Shinobi World War, the Third Hokage's prestige dropped to a certain extent both within Konoha and across the shinobi world. His stance being this tough is probably meant to steady people's hearts and stabilize the situation."
"With a response like this, the Third Hokage has clearly decided he won't back down. So even if we win against Konoha, what we lose will definitely be more than what we gain."
The Third Raikage nodded. "Brat, do you understand now?"
The Fourth Raikage nodded thoughtfully. Though young, and reckless by nature, by following at his father's side, he was also absorbing—like a sponge—the qualities needed to become Raikage.
"Besides, the 'Second's legacy' that the Third Hokage mentioned is something we must weigh heavily…" Dodai said solemnly.
"I didn't live through the Second Hokage's era, but I've heard a little about it in the records."
The Third Raikage clicked his tongue and nodded.
"That man really was an extremely troublesome opponent…"
"All kinds of underhanded ninjutsu came one after another—impossible to guard against—and their power was absurdly high to boot!"
"His personality was as hard as iron as well. That's why the Second Raikage-dono wanted to sign an alliance with him—only for it to be ruined by those two pieces of trash…"
The "trash" the Third Raikage referred to were Kumogakure's most dangerous rogue ninja: Kinkaku and Ginkaku.
Hearing his father's words, the Fourth Raikage's expression grew solemn.
A man acknowledged by his father… Senju Tobirama?
"Although I respect the Second Raikage-dono's benevolence and breadth of mind…"
"But since there are no outsiders here, speaking frankly, I didn't support forming an alliance with Senju Tobirama back then either."
"Giving him time to research ninjutsu—who knows what he might come up with… In short, Kinkaku and Ginkaku are indeed traitors Kumogakure will never forgive, because they injured the Second Raikage-dono."
"But killing Senju Tobirama may well have removed a calamity for Kumogakure," the Third Raikage said.
The Fourth Raikage was stunned into silence.
That was the evaluation?
"The Shadow Clone Technique that all villages now use, and the ANBU system—those were created by him."
"Water Release aside, the Flying Thunder God Technique, capable of large-scale instantaneous movement using multiple anchor points, is essentially an enhanced version of the Heavenly Transfer Technique."
"The strategic value of that—surely you can understand it."
"The Impure World Reincarnation technique that summons the dead, manipulating an enemy's loved ones, infiltrating the enemy's ranks and detonating chains of explosive tags—all of that is something he has done."
"I've heard that the First Hokage even forbade him from conducting research—meaning he produced those results within just a few years…"
The Third Raikage spoke in a low, distant tone.
The Fourth Raikage's face darkened as he listened.
Only then did he finally understand why his father had just made such seemingly 'treasonous' remarks…
Forming an alliance with someone like that really was like dancing with a wolf.
"In my view, when the First Hokage said he forbade it, he was probably indulging him in private…"
The Fourth Raikage said indignantly. "Otherwise, how could so many techniques be developed in such a short time?"
The Third Raikage swept his large hand and glared sternly at his son.
"Watch your words!"
"The First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, is not someone a junior like you can casually judge…"
"Known as the God of Shinobi, he truly possessed a heart devoted to peace—it's just that the shinobi world could not accommodate such ideals."
The Third Raikage then shifted the topic: "So, do you see the deeper meaning behind Hiruzen's words now?"
"He mentioned the First Hokage to imply that the concept of 'tailed beast balance' was pioneered by Konoha—and that Kumogakure is the village coveting others' tailed beasts."
"And then he used Senju Tobirama as a deterrent, to tell all the great villages that Konoha's patience has reached its limit…"
"He played the prestige card of the Senju brothers."
Dodai picked up where the Third Raikage left off. "Exactly—and we have no choice but to accept it."
Diplomacy was a complicated affair.
It involved the reputations of predecessors, the situation among the various villages of the shinobi world, wording, interests, and more…
Yet it was also extremely important.
Handled well, a one-on-one confrontation could turn into two-on-one—or even three-on-one.
"Then are we just going to let the matter of Blue B end like this, old man…"
The Fourth Raikage let out a long sigh, unwilling to accept it. "Someone has to pay a price for this, at least!"
"We didn't even find his body—and there were so many ANBU casualties. This was definitely man-made!"
Just as Hiruzen had surmised, the actions of Orochimaru and the others left no traces behind; Kumogakure did not know that Konoha was responsible.
But since something had happened, a mature Kage should think about doing everything possible to recover the losses.
For example, seizing the opportunity to make an issue of it, and seeing whether some materials could be extorted from other villages…
"Have you still not realized what our real problem is?!"
Lightning surged around the Third Raikage as he spoke. "Even if it's almost impossible—suppose it really was Konoha. Can the village still go to war with them?"
"Once that response is issued, the village won't be able to find any allies willing to oppose Konoha. And if Konoha truly managed to assassinate Blue B without leaving a single trace, is that the kind of enemy you want the village to face alone?!"
"What you should be doing is tightening the village's security, leading everyone in intensified training, and becoming stronger!"
The Fourth Raikage, being loudly reprimanded by the Third Raikage, clenched his fists and replied at full volume: "Yes, Father! I was wrong!"
"Hm. That's my good son."
The Third Raikage nodded, then said to Dodai beside him, "Prepare our response to Konoha."
"Affirm that Hiruzen has inherited the will of the First and Second Hokage, and that—since the two nations once had the foundation of a friendly alliance…"
"Kumogakure acknowledges that its judgment was somewhat hasty. We have already found traces of the forces coveting the Eight-Tails, and we hope to reach a consensus with Konoha—so that one day we may jointly sanction those who undermine peace!"
Dodai immediately replied, "Understood!"
This was effectively a move to boost Hiruzen's prestige.
The subtext was clear: do not escalate matters further and truly provoke a war…
The Third Raikage narrowed his eyes and looked in Konoha's direction.
Although, from a purely theoretical analysis, Hiruzen was most likely just "a cornered rabbit biting back," deep down, he faintly felt that this old rival seemed to be displaying a different kind of capability…
"Enough. There's no time to dwell on Konoha."
"The completion of the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails jinchūriki must be put on the agenda immediately!"
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