The Raikage Building.
The Fourth Raikage, A, wore a white robe and the Raikage's hat, holding a dumbbell in his right hand as he stretched his muscles while listening to his subordinate's report.
"According to the updated information from the bounty exchange, the mysterious Ninja who killed Kainu has exchanged his body for the bounty." Mabui said calmly, holding a stack of docunts.
Bang!
The mont Mabui finished speaking, the Fourth Raikage slamd his palm down, splitting the entire hard ironwood table in half!
"This is too much! That damn bastard!" The Fourth Raikage's eyes burned with fury, but despite his rage, he remained composed.
Then, he asked solemnly, "What are the chances that Konoha orchestrated this themselves?"
He had sent a Special Jonin, who was good at covert operation as a special envoy, ostensibly for peace talks but actually to infiltrate the Hyuga Clan's compound and kidnap the Hyuga Clan's princess, thereby securing the Byakugan bloodline for Kumogakure.
If discovered by the Hyuga Clan, preferably by the Hyuga Clan's main family, the special envoy would beco a death soldier and deliberately died on the spot to give Kumogakure an excuse to pressure Konoha into handing over the 'murderer'.
It was supposed to be a foolproof plan.
But then, out of nowhere, a mysterious masked Ninja appeared, killed the Kumogakure's envoy, and dumped the body in the Hyuga Clan's compound, framing the Hyuga Clan.
As the Raikage, A certainly knew exactly what Kumo had done, and he refused to believe Konoha's claims, convinced they were just protecting the Hyuga Clan at all costs.
"There's still a possibility. After all, a Ninja capable of pulling this off within a heavily guarded village like Konoha wouldn't be so unknown rogue." Mabui frowned slightly.
As the Raikage's secretary, Mabui was highly intelligent, skilled in judgnt and analysis, and privy to much of Kumogakure's intelligence.
Therefore, she also found it unlikely that such a person existed.
"However…" Mabui set down the docunts, her light-blue eyes flashing sharply as she added: "Konoha is insisting that it was done by the mysterious Ninja. It is obvious that they are trying to protect the Hyuga Clan. If we continue to force it, Konoha probably won't hand over the murderer from the Hyuga Clan."
"Hmph! Then we'll keep fighting! We'll beat them until they beg for rcy!" The Fourth Raikage snarled, his left fist clenched so tightly his knuckles cracked.
He wanted nothing more than to lead his Ninjas straight to Konoha's doorstep.
"Raikage-sama, our Kumogakure no longer has the strength to continue fighting." Mabui sighed, explaining the current state of Kumogakure and the Land of Lightning to the hot-tempered Raikage.
Forget invading Konoha… they hadn't even breached the Land of Fire. The Ninja forces of both nations had been locked in a stalemate for months in the Land of Hot Water and the Land of the Moon, utterly exhausted.
This war needed to end.
"Also, this is the third desk you've destroyed this month!" Mabui glanced at the shattered remains… This had been a high-quality ironwood desk.
Mabui said helplessly: "The repair costs will be deducted from your stipend."
"Whatever!" The Fourth Raikage waved it off dismissively.
Holding the dumbbell in his right hand, he gazed out the window at the dark, looming clouds, an inexplicable sense of unease creeping over him.
'What's B up to now?' Raikage's first thought was of his adopted brother, the Eight-Tails' Jinchuriki, Killer B, who loved rap and had been confined to the village for years under his orders.
Boom-!
Suddenly, a deafening explosion rocked the foundation of the Raikage Building!
The entire structure trembled violently, the room creaking as if it might collapse at any mont.
"Who is it?!" The Fourth Raikage roared, tossing aside the dumbbell and shattering the office window as he leaped out.
"Raikage-sama!" Mabui quickly followed.
The two landed on a platform below, where they saw that nearly half of the Raikage Building's lower floors had been destroyed!
If not for the fact that the Raikage Building was built atop a mountain peak, with support beams linking it to other peaks, the entire structure might have already collapsed.
Raikage scanned the area for the enemy.
Tap-
Footsteps echoed from within the smoke.
"Who are you?! How dare you co to Kumogakure and act so arrogantly?!" The Fourth Raikage's fury was at its peak. In the decades since Kumogakure's founding, no one had ever dared invade like this.
Amid the billowing smoke, a shadowy figure slowly erged. As the smoke gradually dissipated, a white, three-eyed fox mask beca faintly visible.
"Playing tricks?!" The Fourth Raikage's body erupted with Lightning Attribute Chakra as he activated his Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
He glared at the figure in the smoke and bellowed, "Show yourself!"
With a burst of speed, the Fourth Raikage charged straight toward the mysterious figure in the smoke.
"Die!"
"Lightning Release: Lariat!"
Dense Lightning Attribute Chakra gathered around the Raikage's elbow, crackling violently as he launched a devastating strike toward the masked figure.
Just as his elbow was about to connect-
Clang-!
A sharp tallic screech pierced the air.
A black scythe swept out from the thick smoke, slicing through the haze.
It collided violently with the tal bracer on the Raikage's wrist, sending a clear clang reverberating through the air as sparks flew!
At the sa ti, the Lightning Attribute Chakra concentrated on the Raikage's elbow inexplicably dissipated by half.
"Who are you?!" Seeing that the attack had failed, and his Lightning Release: Lariat had been interrupted, Raikage imdiately retreated.
"Raikage-sama!" By now, Mabui and the Raikage's two guards, Darui and C, had arrived on the battlefield, taking positions at his sides, ready for combat.
"Who are the enemies?" Darui gripped his longsword, eyes locked on the three masked figures erging from the smoke.
As the smoke cleared, two more masked figures in long robes could be seen floating in the air.
The one on the right had ribbons fluttering behind her, appearing to be a woman.
The one on the left wore a mask and a black robe, gripping a black scythe in his hand.
Both hovered in the air like ghosts.
Raikage focused on the scythe-wielding figure. He had clearly felt his Chakra being drained just now.
"That's-!" Mabui also saw the mysterious masked man opposite, and her pupils contracted sharply: "The mysterious Ninja Konoha reported as the one who killed Kainu!"
"What?!" Darui and C exchanged stunned glances.
As the Raikage's guards and high-ranking people of Kumogakure, they were well aware of the report Konoha had sent days earlier.
"I thought it was just Konoha's la excuse, but it turns out it's real." Darui's expression darkened as he observed the two floating figures: "And it seems that the other party is not alone."
Konoha had reported a single mysterious Ninja, but now, three masked figures had attacked Kumogakure!
"Ya-hoo!" A loud shout ca from above.
B, with his seven swords strapped to his back, landed on the scene.
"Yo~ Brother, you good~?"
After greeting his adoptive brother, B turned his attention to the three masked figures.
"Yo~ masked dudes~ Why did you attack Kumogakure~?" B struck a pose as he questioned them.
nma's Negative Emotions Sensing was fully activated, and he could already sense Kumogakure's Ninja rapidly converging on their location.
Soon, figures began landing around the Raikage Building, one after another, as Ninja with Kumogakure's forehead protectors surrounded them.
"Did Kumogakure ever find an excuse when they attacked others?" nma's voice, muffled by his white three-eyed fox mask, was low and cold.
"Today, I'm just returning the favor." With that, he gave the order to the two Nine Masked Beast behind him: "Eliminate the small fries!"
Tennyo waved her ribbons, while Shinigami raised his scythe.
The two charged forward… one left, one right.
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