Hearing the discussions among those Jonin, Mabui's brows furrowed, but she said nothing.
A moment later, carrying a document in hand, she walked into the Raikage's main tent.
Raikage A sat in a chair with his upper body bare, bandages wrapped around his right shoulder.
Beneath the bandages, traces of blood could faintly be seen.
Those were the wounds left behind by Jiraiya.
Killer B sat nearby, humming an off-key tune. He also had several injuries on his body, but his spirits were high.
Walking up before the Raikage, Mabui respectfully asked:
"Lord Raikage, are your injuries alright?"
The Raikage shook his head, his voice low.
"That bastard Jiraiya really does have some skill after all."
"Even under our pincer attack, he still managed to wound me and retreat safely. Truly worthy of being one of the Sannin."
He paused and moved his injured right shoulder a bit, his brows furrowing.
"But it's nothing serious. It'll heal in a few days."
Mabui nodded and opened the document in her hands.
"All the seized supplies have been loaded into sealing scrolls. I've used the Heavenly Transfer Technique to send them back to the village."
"Food, weapons, medicinal supplies, wealth... these resources will be enough to sustain Hidden Cloud Village for a very long time."
The Raikage nodded in satisfaction.
"Good. Use all these resources to cultivate more ninja."
Mabui immediately lowered her head and recorded his words into her notebook.
After finishing her notes, she hesitated briefly before speaking.
"Lord Raikage, what are our next movements?"
The Raikage stood up and walked toward the map hanging on the wall, tapping his finger against Hidden Leaf Village's location.
"Continue advancing. Hidden Leaf Village won't last much longer."
"Jiraiya is injured, Hiruzen is dead, and Tsunade has only just taken office. As long as we push a little harder, Hidden Leaf Village's defenses will collapse."
He turned around, a cold glint flashing through his eyes.
"At that point, we'll divide the Land of Fire together with Hidden Stone and Hidden Sand."
"That bastard Gento Uchiha stole our missions and extorted our money."
"Sooner or later, I'll settle this debt with him!"
His fists clenched, cracking loudly as hatred filled his voice.
"One day, we'll definitely take revenge against the Uchiha!"
"Hidden Cloud Village's dignity will not be trampled upon!"
He returned to his seat and looked toward Mabui.
"Pass down the order. Let the troops rest briefly, then continue pillaging!"
Samui nodded.
"Yes!"
...
Two days later, in the northern region of the Land of Fire, within a small town ravaged by war.
The Hidden Cloud ninja were recklessly plundering wealth.
They kicked open the doors of shops, stuffing grain, cloth, gold, and silver into sealing scrolls.
They barged into civilian homes, driving out the crying residents.
One Hidden Cloud Chunin carried a sack of rice over his shoulder and grinned at his companion.
"The Land of Fire is seriously rich as hell."
Another Jonin lit a cigarette and narrowed his eyes.
"The Hidden Leaf ninja already fled long ago. This place is our granary now."
"I heard Lord Raikage plans to push all the way to Hidden Leaf Village. We'll be able to loot even more stuff then!"
"Haha, then we'd better hurry. Don't let those bumpkins from Hidden Stone get there first."
They laughed without restraint, unaware that death was quietly approaching.
"Enemy attack! A large number of ninja are approaching from the south!"
The Hidden Cloud Anbu responsible for keeping watch only managed to issue a single warning before his head was separated from his body.
Shortly after, a dense black mass of figures surged out from the forest.
It was the rapidly advancing Uchiha force.
The Hidden Cloud ninja instantly froze.
The Jonin who had been laughing moments ago now turned pale.
"This is bad... it's the Uchiha!"
"That man is Gento Uchiha, the one who forced Lord Raikage back!"
"Why are they here? Didn't they say Hidden Gento Village was neutral?"
Someone subconsciously took a step backward.
The shadows of the previous war were still engraved within their hearts.
The Uchiha were enemies they did not wish to face.
At the same time, the Raikage rushed over after receiving the report.
When he saw the dense army of Uchiha forces outside the town, his whole expression darkened.
The Raikage stepped to the front lines, facing Gento from a hundred meters away.
"Gento Uchiha! What is the meaning of this?"
Gento calmly walked to the front of his formation, arms crossed over his chest.
"You people of Hidden Cloud launched a large-scale invasion against the Land of Fire without the permission of the Land of Hot Water. This has already severely impacted the Land of Hot Water's trade and security."
"As the Feudal Lord of the Land of Hot Water, I cannot simply stand by and ignore it."
The Raikage's pupils contracted.
"We're attacking the Land of Fire. What does that have to do with your Land of Hot Water?"
"Of course it has something to do with us."
Gento spoke at an unhurried pace.
"The trade routes of the Land of Fire have been severed by you. The civilians of the Land of Fire have been slaughtered by you. The supplies of the Land of Fire have been stolen by you. And among those supplies were many shipments destined for the Land of Hot Water. So tell me, does it matter or not?"
The Raikage's face reddened with anger.
"What utter nonsense!"
"I think you're obviously here just to pick a fight!"
"Gento Uchiha, do you really think I'm afraid of you?!"
Although his tone remained forceful, deep within his heart lingered a trace of caution that was difficult to notice.
Behind him, the Hidden Cloud ninja whispered among themselves. Some tightened their grips on their kunai, while sweat formed across others' foreheads.
They knew this battle would likely be even more dangerous than the last one.
Killer B stepped beside the Raikage and spoke in a low voice.
"Big Bro, should we retreat first?"
The Raikage gritted his teeth.
"Retreat? Retreat where? Do we not care about Hidden Cloud Village's reputation anymore?"
"If the Uchiha insist on courting death, then we'll fight!"
Killer B nodded and removed his sunglasses, revealing excited eyes.
The Eight-Tails' chakra began surging across his body, forming a dark-red tailed beast cloak.
Golden Lightning Release chakra also erupted from the Raikage's body, making him resemble a god of war.
The two exchanged a glance. Their many years of teamwork meant no further words were necessary.
"Lariat!"
The two figures exploded forward simultaneously!
Golden lightning and dark-red tailed beast chakra intertwined together as they moved at speeds impossible for the naked eye to capture.
Deep footprints shattered the ground beneath them as the two charged toward Gento from opposite sides like twin meteors!
This was their strongest combined technique, one that had severely injured Jiraiya and crushed countless powerful enemies.
Its speed was so fast that even the Sharingan struggled to follow it, while its power was great enough to destroy an entire mountain.
Yet in the face of the A-B Combo's overwhelming attack, not the slightest trace of panic appeared on Gento's face.
Gento stood in place without dodging or retreating.
His hands hung naturally at his sides, and he did not even form hand seals.
Only at the instant the Raikage and Killer B reached him did his eyes change.
The red Sharingan faded away, replaced by pale-purple eyes.
The Rinnegan.
He raised both hands, his palms aimed directly at the Raikage and Killer B as his voice turned cold.
"Shinra Tensei!"
---
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