Click
The door to the Hokage's office swung open without a knock. Kuro stepped inside, and the faint rustle of papers was the only sound that broke the heavy silence.
Hiruzen didn't look up right away.
"You're here," he said with a tired voice.
Kuro moved forward at an unhurried pace, stopping before the wide glass window that overlooked the village.
"So," he said without looking at Hiruzen, "what did you call me in for?"
Hiruzen paused, collecting his thoughts. A quiet sigh escaped him before he spoke.
"Is there any chance you could confront the Hidden Cloud?"
Kuro's shadow rippled as a small shadow bird flew out and perched on his shoulder.
"Chirp! Oh! You mean the village with the octopus!?"
The little shadow bird stared at Kuro, eyes shimmering.
"Pleaaase, can we go get the octopus?"
Kuro sighed, rubbing his temples, then nodded.
"Alright. I did promise you. Besides, I want to see how strong the Raikage really is."
"Yahhhh!"
The shadow bird chirped, flapping and jumping from shoulder to shoulder in giddy celebration.
Kuro then turned around and made his way toward the door.
Just before leaving, he turned to Hiruzen. "Consider the Hidden Cloud dealt with."
With a click, the door closes.
Hiruzen looked at the door and sighed again.
…
Kuro cracked his neck and stepped forward, making his way toward the Root base.
The two Root members stationed at the entrance straightened immediately, bowing respectfully before sliding the doors open.
Inside, the base buzzed with controlled chaos. Danzo stood at the center, issuing terse orders as shadow soldiers darted through the corridors, merging with darkness and vanishing into shadows.
"Welcome, my lord!" Danzo sprang to his feet the moment he saw Kuro. "What brings you here on this… auspicious day?"
"The Hidden Cloud has been unusually active," Danzo stated. "They've shifted several of their patrols near the northern border. Recon reports indicate increased troop movements, and there's a shinobi with exceptional speed and power leading them."
"The Third Raikage?" Kuro crossed his arms and started to think. "So, it is this serious that the Third Raikage is involved from the beginning."
Kuro smiled as he processed the information. With a nod to Danzo, he sank into the shadows. A moment later, he arrived in the Forest of Death.
Just as he arrived, shadows started to rise.
Niji, Sanji, Yonshi, Tank, Barbarian, Gluttony, and Clair all appear one after another, followed by all the other Shadow Soldiers.
The Forest of Death fell unnaturally silent.
Niji knelt first, one knee touching the earth, head bowed.
"Orders, my lord."
One by one, the others followed.
Kuro swept his gaze across them.
"The Hidden Cloud is mobilizing," he said calmly. "Their Raikage is personally involved. I believe all the other Kages are also involved."
A rippleof excitement passed through the soldier.
Barbarian cracked his knuckles.
"Heh. Strong foes. Me like."
Chatter rang out as others also started to get restless from the inactivity since coming out of the Tower.
Kuro raised a hand, and silence returned instantly. He turned slightly, shadows curling around his feet like living smoke.
"Niji. Yonshi. Take units and help out along the northern border."
"Hai!" They vanished as soon as they received their order.
"Tank. Barbarian. You'll move toward the southwest to confront the Hidden Sand."
Both grinned and dissolved into darkness.
"Gluttony," Kuro said, glancing sideways.
"Yes~?" Gluttony replied eagerly.
"Eat to your fullest."
A delighted shudder ran through Gluttony before he separated into hundreds of small slimes and disappeared.
Kuro finally looked to Clair and Sanji.
"You two protect my parents."
Sanji gave a sharp bow.
"Got it. I will off anyone who even looks at them wrong."
"..." Kuro scratched his head at that response. "Well, at least try to see if they are innocent before you send them to meet the Sage in the afterlife."
Sanji froze mid-bow.
"…Ah." He straightened slowly, coughed once, then placed a hand over his chest with exaggerated dignity.
"Of course. Verification first. Then execution."
Clair tilted her head. "I will prioritize restraint," she said softly. "Lethal force only if necessary."
Kuro nodded, satisfied enough.
Zapticuno fluttered down, perching on Sanji's shoulder and peering up at him suspiciously.
"You hear that? No killing the nice people."
Sanji sighed.
"I heard him."
With that, Sanji and Clair dissolved into the shadows.
Crack
Crack
Kuro cracked his neck and knuckles as Zapticuno perched on his shoulder.
"You ready?" he asked the bird.
"Yah! I want some takoyaki!"
Kuro shook his head as the little bird took flight, lightning crackling as it transformed into a massive thunderbird. With a leap, he landed on Zapticuno's broad back. In a flash, they shot into the sky, racing toward the Hidden Cloud at lightning speed.
Wind screamed past them as the world blurred into streaks of green and stone.
Below, the terrain grew harsher. Before long, a Hidden Cloud encampment came into view below.
The Hidden Cloud camp sprawled across a mountain shelf, ringed with lightning rods and chakra barriers that crackled faintly in the thin air. Dozens of shinobi moved below, white cloaks and dark armor flashing as they rushed between tents and watchtowers.
One of the sentries finally looked up.
"…What is that?"
The sky answered first.
Thunder detonated overhead as Zapticuno banked sharply, casting a massive shadow over the encampment. Panic rippled through the camp as alarms began to howl, chakra signatures flaring to life all at once.
Kuro stepped forward on the thunderbird's back and raised one hand.
"Zapticuno," he said calmly, "announce us."
The thunderbird shrieked.
Lightning speared downward like divine judgment, slamming into the ground at the center of the camp. The chakra barriers shattered instantly, their energy swallowed by the storm.
When the light faded, a vast circle of scorched earth remained.
Zapticuno hovered above it, wings spread wide, lightning cascading down his feathers like rain.
Kuro leapt from his back.
He landed at the center of the circle without a sound.
Cloud shinobi froze, weapons half-drawn, instincts screaming at them to run.
Kuro straightened and looked around with boredom.
"Send your commander," he said, voice carrying effortlessly through the camp.
"Or your Raikage."
The Cloud shinobi exchanged uneasy looks before one of the more cowardly among them bolted.
"I…I'll go! I'll get the Raikage! You guys hold him off!"
The moment the words left his mouth, every other Cloud shinobi turned to stare at him.
"Hold him off?" someone whispered hoarsely.
"Are you insane?!"
The cowardly shinobi was already running, chakra flaring wildly as he fled toward the main mountain path.
Kuro didn't move.
"…Interesting choice," he murmured.
One of the braver Cloud jonin stepped forward, lightning crackling around his arms as he forced his fear down.
"You heard him!" the jonin barked. "Form up! Defensive perimeter! Don't let him advance!"
Shinobi spread out, weapons drawn, hands flashing through seals. Lightning techniques hummed to life, chakra threads weaving into formation barriers.
Kuro watched them like a man observing children play at war.
Zapticuno circled overhead, massive wings stirring violent winds.
"Chirp? Are we fighting now?"
"Not yet," Kuro replied softly.
The first attack came anyway.
A barrage of lightning-enhanced kunai screamed toward him from three directions.
Kuro lifted a finger.
The shadows beneath his feet surged outward like liquid night.
The kunai struck and vanished, swallowed whole without a sound.
The Cloud shinobi froze.
Kuro's gaze lifted.
"I gave you a choice," he said evenly. "Wait."