The Fourth Raikage's words left the Cloud ninja reeling in shock. One of them couldn't help but object, "Raikage-sama! The shrine is a legacy passed down since Kumogakure was founded, and it seals the Sage of Six Paths' ninja—"
"No 'buts'!" the Fourth Raikage snapped, cutting him off with a furious wave of his hand. "If we don't kill Kai Mitarashi, Kumogakure could be wiped out by him tomorrow. What use is a shrine then? As for the Sage's ninja tools—even if we lose them, it won't make much difference to our village."
"Yes, Raikage-sama." The Cloud ninja, cowed by his rage, quickly fell silent.
"Hmph! I don't need you. I'll go myself!" With that, the Fourth Raikage strode out of the office, his voice echoing through the halls: "I will personally—personally—eliminate Kai Mitarashi!"
…
In the mountainous outskirts beyond Kumogakure.
With the Fourth Raikage's speed, it took him less than fifteen minutes to reach the site. He gazed up at the towering chakra cannon and barked, "How much charge do we have?"
"Twenty percent—ready to fire at any time!" Yagetsu Saki responded crisply.
"Only twenty percent?" The Raikage frowned, hesitated a moment, then suddenly barked, "Not enough. Double it. I want at least forty percent!"
"Forty percent?!" Yagetsu Saki blanched. "Raikage-sama, at forty percent, even Kumogakure will be caught in the blast!"
The Raikage glared, voice like thunder. "I said forty percent. Just do it! As long as we kill Kai Mitarashi, a few casualties are a price I'm willing to pay!"
"Yes, Raikage!" Yagetsu Saki shouted, then turned to the others. "Yugito, Killer B—keep charging it!"
Even though the chakra cannon was a monstrous energy hog, with two jinchūriki giving it their all, the charge soon hit forty percent.
"Raikage-sama, we're ready to fire!" Yagetsu Saki called out.
"Good." The Fourth Raikage leaped onto the firing platform, his voice cold as steel. "I'll kill Kai Mitarashi myself!"
…
Inside the shrine, Kai's face was lit with satisfaction as he muttered, "Didn't expect Kumogakure to actually collect all five of the Six Paths ninja tools. Saves me the trouble of hunting them down."
Of the five Six Paths ninja tools, aside from the Amber Purifying Pot and the Bashōsen, the remaining three were designed to work together: the Kōkinjō could force someone to spit out their word spirit; the Shichiseiken would then sever and curse-mark the word; and finally, the Benihisago would absorb anyone marked by the Shichiseiken. Miss one, and the other two were useless.
Just as Kai was about to seal the last Bashōsen into a scroll, a chilling sense of impending doom exploded in his mind.
Every hair on his body stood on end—a suffocating aura of death wrapped around his heart.
"Damn it… Don't tell me—?!"
Eyes wide, a terrible realization struck him: "I can't believe that bastard Fourth Raikage would actually dare use the chakra cannon inside Kumogakure! Damn! Kimimaro and the others are scattered—there's no time!"
He barely had a split second to think.
Sure, if he used Divine Descent, Kai could dodge instantly—but there was no way to save Kimimaro and the others in time.
"No choice. This is all I can do!"
His expression hardened. A wave of searing heat erupted from his body.
BOOM!!!
Three beams of blue light slammed into the shrine in a heartbeat!
Afraid Kai Mitarashi might survive, the Fourth Raikage had gone utterly mad—firing both the dispersal and space-time chakra cannons at once!
Under this twin onslaught, everything within a dozen kilometers of the shrine was obliterated—reduced to nothingness. A colossal, bottomless crater gaped beside Kumogakure.
Compared to the whole village, it was nearly a third the size.
The Fourth Raikage watched, face twisted in savage delight, laughing wildly: "Hahahaha! Kai Mitarashi! Not even a monster stronger than a Kage could survive that, could you?!"
"Is that so? Looks like… I'm still alive, actually…" A teasing voice drifted from midair behind the Raikage.
At the very instant the shrine was struck, Kai had used Amenominaka: Lava to shift Kimimaro and the others into the lava dimension, dodging the attack entirely.
The Raikage's body went rigid. He turned slowly, only to see Kai Mitarashi floating in the air—like a ghost returned from the dead. "Impossible! How are you still alive?!"
The smirk on Kai's face deepened. "Didn't you know I could use space-time ninjutsu?"
"Space-time ninjutsu?!" Realization flickered in the Raikage's eyes, but disbelief still lingered. "No way! You were inside the shrine—how could you have known what we were doing?"
"Unlucky for you, I'm pretty sensitive to malice," Kai replied with a cold smile.
Just like Naruto could sense Kisame at the Waterfall of Truth, Kai could too. The perfect Sage Body granted him an instinctive sense for danger and ill intent.
"Damn you!" The Raikage's anger flared, but there was a hint of desperation in his eyes. "Kai Mitarashi! What do you want?!"
"What do I want? I just came to borrow your Six Paths ninja tools. Who knew Kumogakure would welcome me so warmly? In that case, I'll have to repay your hospitality." Kai's tone grew colder by the second.
"What are you planning?! Kai Mitarashi, I'm warning you—this is Kumogakure! If you dare cause trouble, we'll fight you to the bitter end!" The Raikage roared, but his bravado sounded hollow.
"Fight to the bitter end?" Kai sneered. "Does Kumogakure… really qualify?"
Amenominaka: Lava Great Waterfall!
Suddenly, the sky above Kumogakure split open—a rift several kilometers long, bottomless and black.
Then, like a dam bursting, a torrent of molten lava poured from the heavens, cascading straight down onto Kumogakure below!
A true great waterfall of lava, suspended in midair!
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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