Raikage Building.
The Fourth Raikage, A, dressed in a white robe with the Raikage hat on his head, was lifting a dumbbell with one hand while listening to a report from his subordinate.
"According to the latest update from the black market, the mysterious ninja who killed Kainu has already exchanged his corpse for bounty money," Mabui reported calmly while holding a document.
Bang!
The moment her words ended, the Fourth Raikage slammed his palm onto the table—instantly shattering the entire hardwood desk into pieces!
"This is an outright insult!" A roared, eyes blazing with fury—yet even in his rage, he forced himself to remain composed.
In a deep voice, he asked, "How likely is it that Konoha orchestrated this themselves?"
He had sent a highly skilled Special Jonin as an envoy—publicly for peace talks, but secretly to infiltrate the Hyuga clan and kidnap the Hyuga princess, securing the Byakugan bloodline limit for Kumogakure.
If discovered by the Hyuga clan, especially the main family, the envoy would simply die as a sacrificial pawn, giving Kumogakure justification to pressure Konoha for "justice."
It had been a perfect, no-risk plan.
Yet out of nowhere, a masked ninja appeared, killed the envoy, and threw his body into Hyuga territory to frame the clan.
A knew very well what Kumogakure had truly done.
Naturally, he didn't believe Konoha's claim about a "mysterious ninja." To him, it was nothing more than an excuse to protect the Hyuga clan.
"There is some possibility," Mabui replied, slightly furrowing her brows. "After all, anyone capable of pulling this off inside Konoha wouldn't be an unknown figure."
As the Raikage's secretary, Mabui was highly intelligent and analytical, possessing access to a vast amount of Kumogakure intelligence.
Even so, she personally found the idea of such a lone ninja hard to believe.
"However…" she continued after setting the document down, her pale blue eyes sharpening. "Konoha is clearly determined to protect the Hyuga clan. Even if we keep pushing, they're unlikely to hand over any 'culprit.'"
"Then we'll keep fighting!" A shouted, clenching his left fist. "We'll fight until Konoha begs for mercy!"
He looked ready to storm straight into the Land of Fire himself.
"Raikage-sama, Kumogakure can't afford to continue this war," Mabui sighed, calmly laying out the current situation.
Forget invading Konoha—their forces hadn't even managed to break into the Land of Fire. The two nations' armies had been deadlocked for months in the lands of Yu and Tsuki, and both sides were exhausted.
This war had already reached its limit.
"Also," Mabui added flatly, glancing at the shattered remains on the floor, "this is the third desk you've broken this month. Repair costs will be deducted from your allowance."
"Do whatever you want!" A waved it off carelessly.
Still holding the dumbbell in his right hand, he gazed out the window at the dark clouds drifting closer.
For some reason, he had an ominous feeling.
'Did Bee start something again…?'
His first thought was of his adopted brother, Killer Bee—the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki, a rap-obsessed troublemaker he had forbidden from leaving the village for years.
BOOM—!
Without warning, a thunderous explosion erupted from the lower floors of the Raikage Building!
The entire structure shook violently, creaking as though it might collapse at any moment.
"Who dares!?" A roared, tossing aside the dumbbell and smashing through the office window as he leapt outside.
"Raikage-sama!" Mabui hurried after him.
The two landed on the platform below—and saw that nearly half of the lower section of the Raikage Building had been blown apart.
If not for the fact that the building was anchored to surrounding peaks with support structures, it might have already collapsed.
A scanned the area furiously for the attacker.
Step.
Footsteps echoed from within the smoke.
"Who is it! Who dares attack Kumogakure!?" A bellowed, trembling with rage.
In decades since its founding, no one had ever invaded their village.
From the thick smoke, a figure slowly emerged.
As the haze faded, a white three-eyed fox mask came into view.
"Stop hiding like a coward!" A shouted.
Purple lightning chakra burst from his body as he activated Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
With a flash, he vanished—charging at the masked figure at terrifying speed.
"Die!"
Lightning Release: Guillotine Drop!
Massive lightning chakra gathered around his elbow as he slammed toward the mysterious ninja.
Just as his attack was about to connect—
Clang—!
A sharp metallic ring echoed.
A black scythe sliced through the smoke, clashing against the metal bracer on A's arm. Sparks flew everywhere!
At the same moment, more than half of the chakra gathered in his elbow mysteriously vanished.
"Who are you!?" A shouted, immediately retreating after his strike was interrupted.
"Raikage-sama!"
Mabui and two guards—Darui and C—arrived, positioning themselves beside him in combat stance.
"Who's the enemy?" Darui asked, gripping his sword tightly as he stared at the figures emerging from the smoke.
As the haze cleared, two more masked figures appeared floating in midair.
One, on the right, resembled a woman with flowing ribbons behind her.
The other, on the left, wore a black cloak and wielded the ominous scythe.
Both hovered like specters.
A focused his gaze on the scythe-wielding one—he had clearly felt his chakra being drained.
"That mask…" Mabui's pupils shrank. "It's the same mysterious ninja Konoha reported—the one who killed Kainu!"
"What!?" Darui and C exclaimed.
As high-ranking members of Kumogakure, they were well aware of that report.
"So it wasn't just a Konoha excuse after all," Darui muttered grimly.
"And it seems they're not alone."
Konoha had claimed a single attacker—but now three masked figures stood before them.
"Yo—!" A voice suddenly rang from above.
Killer Bee leapt down, landing beside his brother.
"Yo~ Big bro, you okay?"
After checking on A, Bee turned toward the masked intruders.
"Yo~ little guy from earlier~
Why you attack Kumogakure?"
Menma activated his malicious intent sensing—already feeling countless Cloud ninja rushing toward them.
One by one, figures appeared around the Raikage Building, surrounding him completely.
"Did Kumogakure ever need a reason when attacking others?" Menma's cold voice echoed from behind the fox mask.
"Today, I'm simply returning the favor."
He turned slightly and ordered:
"Take care of the small fry."
The Nine-Faced Beasts obeyed instantly.
The Heavenly Maiden of Jade lashed out with her ribbons.
The Reaper of Three raised his scythe.
Both charged forward—left and right—toward the encircling Cloud ninja.
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