The ninja world was anything but quiet.
Beneath the apparent calm, an undercurrent of tension surged endlessly, with every major power locked in silent confrontation. More than ten days had passed since Sunagakure and Otogakure launched their joint assault on Konohagakure, yet the ripples of that catastrophe had not subsided in the slightest.
Especially within the Hidden Leaf.
The Fifth Hokage had yet to be officially appointed. No decisive signal had been sent to the outside world. Under such circumstances, the eyes of every shinobi village remained firmly fixed upon Konoha, watching, probing, waiting.
For those villages that had once been suppressed or humiliated by Konoha's strength, that attention carried no small amount of malice.
Among them, Kumogakure was the most notable.
Several years earlier, the infamous Hyūga Incident the so-called Byakugan Affair had nearly ignited a full-scale war between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning. At the time, only the political maneuvering of the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, had deprived Kumogakure of a legitimate casus belli. Coupled with Konoha's overwhelming strength and the uncertain stance of neighboring Iwagakure, the Cloud Village had ultimately chosen restraint.
But that was then.
The wounds of the Third Great Ninja War had long since healed. After more than a decade of silent accumulation, Kumogakure had once again reached its peak. Its strength had recovered. Its confidence had returned. And with that confidence came ambition.
Now, Kumogakure once more believed it possessed the qualifications to survey and reshape the entire ninja world.
The reported death of Naruto Uzumaki.
The loss of the Nine-Tails.
The heavy casualties suffered by Konohagakure.
To the Hidden Cloud, this was nothing short of a once-in-a-generation opportunity.
Especially for the notoriously hot-blooded Fourth Raikage, A.
Of course, impulsiveness was his reputation but that reputation was misleading. The Fourth Raikage was not reckless. His directness was a matter of temperament, not stupidity. If he intended to act, he would do so only after thorough investigation and careful prioritization.
And from his perspective, there was one matter that far outweighed all others.
The whereabouts of the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki
Uzumaki Menma.
Compared to that, Konoha itself could wait.
After all, the Nine-Tails was a tailed beast that surpassed even their own Eight-Tails in raw destructive potential.
Yet nearly ten days had passed.
And the intelligence division had produced nothing of value.
The Land of Lightning.
The easternmost reaches.
Kumogakure.
At the summit of the village stood a massive, imposing building, its highest floor reserved for the Raikage alone.
Inside his office
Bang!
The Fourth Raikage's massive fist slammed down without restraint.
A dull, thunderous impact echoed through the room.
Crack Crash!
The desk beneath his hand clearly replaced not long ago seemed to let out a final groan before shattering completely.
Fragments scattered across the floor.
The surrounding Kumo shinobi, however, did not react in the slightest.
They were long accustomed to this.
Compared to his predecessors, the Fourth Raikage exercised remarkable restraint in matters of state. Yet the more he suppressed his emotions during critical decisions, the more violently he sought release elsewhere.
On average, the lifespan of the furniture in this office rarely exceeded three or four months. The longest-serving desk had not even lasted half a year.
"What the hell is going on!?" A roared. "Ten days! Ten full days have passed!"
His eyes burned with fury as chakra pressure surged from his towering frame, filling the room with an oppressive chill.
"I don't need an exact location but you can't even give me a general lead!? What exactly is the reconnaissance division doing, huh!?"
An ordinary Kumo shinobi would have been paralyzed with fear at the sight of their Raikage in such a state.
But everyone present here was different.
They were his most trusted confidants.
On the far left sat Dodai, the one-eyed strategist wearing a black eyepatch a veteran advisor whose qualifications traced back to the era of the Third Raikage himself.
To the right stood Darui, dark-skinned, white-haired, his slanted bangs partially obscuring his left eye. Within Kumogakure, he was widely acknowledged as the strongest contender for the next generation's Raikage.
Nearby were Cee, the sharp-eyed sensory ninja, and Samui, whose calm demeanor contrasted sharply with her voluptuous figure. Both served as the Raikage's confidential aides.
Together, they formed the core decision-making body of Kumogakure.
"After all, Menma left alongside Orochimaru," Dodai said calmly. "Obtaining reliable intelligence in such a short time frame is inherently difficult, Raikage-sama."
"Hmph!" A snorted. "Difficult doesn't mean impossible! This is the best chance we've had in years! Konoha has finally exposed a fatal weakness!"
His gaze hardened.
"And don't think Iwagakure isn't thinking the same thing. That old fox Ōnoki is undoubtedly watching just as closely."
A knew all of this.
And that was precisely why his impatience burned so fiercely.
He wanted Menma now.
"You need to allow time," Dodai continued evenly. "And more importantly, Raikage-sama, I believe a brute-force approach would be… unwise."
A's brows furrowed.
"Uzumaki Menma has defected from Konoha. That alone means there is no path of return for him. His identity as the son of the Fourth Hokage is already public knowledge throughout the ninja world."
Dodai's tone sharpened.
"We don't need to rush. He is only twelve years old. His potential is enormous, and his malleability even more so. We could approach him as equals. Persuasion may succeed where force would only invite catastrophe."
This was not the first time A had heard such arguments.
When intelligence regarding Menma first surfaced, Dodai had already suggested friendly contact. But A had rejected the notion outright.
Menma was not a shinobi raised in Kumogakure.
That alone made him unreliable.
From the Raikage's perspective, the most secure solution was simple.
Capture Menma.
Extract the Nine-Tails.
Seal it into a shinobi loyal to Kumogakure.
That was the correct path.
"I agree with Dodai-san," Cee added after a brief pause. "A twelve-year-old is still highly adaptable. His hatred toward Konoha is inevitable. That resentment is leverage we can exploit."
Samui nodded silently.
They understood better than anyone the terror of tailed beasts.
Kumogakure possessed two.
And now, they were setting their sights on the strongest of them all.
If they chose violent seizure, one need only recall the Third Raikage's legendary battles against the Eight-Tails to understand the risk involved.
From Dodai's perspective especially, the current Raikage, powerful as he was still fell short of his father's monstrous peak.
"We'll discuss this later," A said after a long pause.
His voice was lower now, restrained but no less dangerous.
"The priority is determining the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki's exact location."
He turned slightly.
"And what about Konoha? Any new intelligence?"
Despite the advice of his subordinates, the Fourth Raikage had no intention of abandoning his course so easily.
In most matters, he was rational. He listened.
But once his will hardened, even reason struggled to sway him.
Such stubbornness, after all, was a long-standing tradition of the Raikage line.