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After taking off, Naruto quickly locked onto the previously marked Flying Thunder God seal, then teleported directly to the border of the Land of Iron using the Flying Thunder God Technique. From there, he summoned the Giant Bird using the Animal Path and soared straight toward the Land of Lightning!
There was no helping it. That guy, the Raikage, really couldn't be dealt with without a face-to-face meeting.
In Kumogakure, inside the office of the Fourth Raikage, A, the atmosphere was tense. Standing before him were his secretary Mabui, his right-hand man Darui, the village's sensory ninja C, and elite kunoichi Samui, Karui, and Omoi.
Raikage leaned back in his seat and asked gruffly, "Mabui, how are the preparations for our military forces coming along?"
Holding a report sheet in her hands, Mabui replied, "Aside from the shinobi assigned to protect the Daimyō and those stationed within the village, all combat-ready shinobi suitable for the battlefield have been assembled."
Raikage let out a grunt of satisfaction, then turned his attention to Darui. "Lazybones, how's the integration of the units?"
Darui answered, "Boss, the medical corps, sensory division, frontline combat units, and logistics escort teams have all been established. I've appointed captains to each."
Raikage nodded. Darui was dependable when it counted, and that eased his mind a bit.
He then turned to C and said, "C, you'll lead the Sensory Division. You're our best bet for ensuring the safety of Kumogakure's forces."
C gave a curt nod. "Yes, Lord Raikage."
Suddenly, Karui stepped forward with concern etched across her face. "Lord Raikage, what about my master?"
Omoi, visibly uneasy, added, "Yeah, even if he hasn't joined the Akatsuki, that Naruto doesn't exactly seem harmless anymore. What if he sets his sights on our Master Bee and the Eight-Tails?"
Samui shifted slightly, her shoulders aching from standing too long, but she remained composed.
C frowned and said, "I suspect Lord Killer Bee has been manipulated. There's no way he'd willingly follow Naruto without some sort of coercion."
Raikage snorted in irritation. "He just wanted to run off and play again. That bastard Naruto must've used some kind of trick to lure my idiot little brother into leaving with him!"
His voice rose in anger, fists clenched.
Darui spoke up, "Should we keep pressuring Konoha then?"
The Raikage nodded firmly. "Yes. That punk can't hide forever. If we can't get to Naruto himself, we'll shake his damn village. Mabui, has Konoha responded to the diplomatic message we sent?"
Mabui answered flatly, "No response yet."
C stepped forward, a trace of worry in his expression. "Lord Raikage, according to the intel reports, just days ago, the masked man—Uchiha Madara—led tens of thousands of White Zetsu clones to assault Konoha. Naruto led their forces and pushed them back."
Raikage's brows furrowed slightly.
Karui's eyes widened. "Wait, Naruto is that powerful?"
Omoi asked nervously, "Then... should we even be messing with him?"
Karui smacked Omoi on the back of the head. "Idiot! What are you saying? No matter how strong Naruto is, he's still not stronger than our Raikage-sama!"
Darui watched silently, keeping his thoughts to himself: Honestly... maybe Boss really can't beat Naruto anymore.
C continued, "Moreover, those White Zetsu clones can absorb chakra and transform. Normal sensory ninja can't detect them."
He paused, letting the weight of that statement sink in.
"Konoha was caught off guard at first because of all the infiltrators, but once Naruto entered the battlefield, everything changed."
Darui leaned forward, intrigued. "Can Naruto detect the clones?"
C nodded. "Yes. In his Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, Naruto can identify disguised White Zetsu clones. He created countless shadow clones and formed mixed squads with Konoha shinobi. With that, they quickly eliminated the infiltrators."
"That's incredible!" Karui exclaimed, and even Omoi looked stunned.
C turned to the Raikage and said solemnly, "From this war, we can see something important—Naruto does care about Konoha. Whatever his reasons were for leaving or for killing Danzō, when Konoha was threatened, he didn't hesitate to step in."
He took a breath. "So, yes—pressuring Konoha to get to Naruto might work, but there's one issue we've overlooked."
Raikage narrowed his eyes. "What is it?"
C hesitated, then said, "I only recently learned this, but the Hyūga Clan—whom we intended to pressure—might not respond like they used to. The heiress of the Hyūga clan, Hinata, is someone Naruto deeply cares about."
Darui let out a long sigh. "We're screwed."
The Raikage gritted his teeth, visibly troubled.
C pressed on. "I'm worried Konoha will still show respect to us for the sake of the alliance. They understand the importance of unity. But Naruto... he may not care for politics anymore. If we provoke him directly or endanger someone he cares about—especially with Lord Killer Bee not on our side—he might come straight to Kumogakure looking for blood."
Karui folded her arms and retorted, "So what? We've still got Lord Raikage, and our village is full of elite jōnin. Naruto alone can't take us down!"
But the room fell quiet after her words.
Darui, C, and even the Raikage didn't respond. They had seen the raw, terrifying power Naruto displayed before. That farewell gift he had left behind... none of them could forget it.
C looked directly at Karui. "If you haven't seen Naruto fight, you won't understand. Yes, we are strong—Kumogakure has always been powerful—but our village simply can't withstand the kind of destructive force Naruto can unleash."
Darui added solemnly, "Even Lord Kazekage's absolute defense couldn't handle that level of attack completely. Imagine that unleashed in our village. Decades of effort, all gone in an instant."
Raikage suddenly stood, rage flaring in his eyes. "I won't allow Naruto to destroy my village!"
With a roar, he slammed his fist into his desk. The granite table exploded into pieces, debris scattering across the room.
Mabui covered her forehead and sighed. She couldn't even remember how many desks had been broken in this office already.
As tension rose in the room, the doors to the Raikage's office burst open, and a shinobi rushed in, panic on his face.
"Lord Raikage! It's urgent—someone has invaded the village!"
Raikage's eyes went wide. "What?!"
C immediately activated his sensory abilities and connected to Kumogakure's barrier network. Through the layered defense systems surrounding the village, he sensed a single person casually walking into the village. The defensive lightning barrier continuously rained down bolts of thunder, but the figure kept moving unharmed.
C focused harder. There was some kind of invisible spherical barrier surrounding the intruder, effortlessly blocking the strikes.
"This chakra..." C's eyes widened in shock.
Raikage barked, "What is it, C?!"
C slowly turned toward him, eyes still glowing. "The person we were just talking about... might already be here."
Everyone in the room froze.
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