Chapter 145
2-in-1-chapter
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The Land of Hot Water had a mild and pleasant climate. Though it was already the turn of late autumn into early winter, the scenery here remained lush and green. Nii Yugito walked the foreign streets with lively curiosity, looking around at everything with interest, appreciating the scenery so different from that of the Land of Lightning.
This was not her first time coming to the Land of Hot Water. During the Third Shinobi World War she had been brought once before, though at that time she had still been very young, her bond with Matatabi not nearly as close as it was now. Moreover, with the "Yellow Flash" infamous at the frontlines, she had only been taken along by the adults to experience the atmosphere of battle before being quickly sent back to the village.
Fortunately, that "Yellow Flash," who could kill in an instant without warning, was already dead. Even the "Professor" had recently come to the end of his life's journey.
Konohagakure had fallen into unprecedented weakness. To fight off the opportunistic Kirigakure forces, they had even resorted to sending a child, the Nine-Tail's Jinchūriki, onto the battlefield. That fact alone spoke volumes about the Leaf's plight. Although they had barely managed to repel the Mist-nin thanks to their underlying strength, Konoha had nevertheless grown weaker still as a result.
Yugito arrived at the town center and entered the tallest and largest building there.
It was an inn—the most luxurious inn in the town. Ordinarily at this time of year, it should have been filled with travelers from across the nations who had come to escape the cold and bathe in the hot springs. But the war had ruined all of that. Now the guests filling the rooms were not tourists, but shinobi from Kumogakure.
"Yugito, you're back."
From the stairs, a middle-aged man wearing a black shinobi cap, his left eye sealed beneath a charm, descended and raised a hand in greeting when he saw her enter the lobby.
"Senior Dodai."
Recognizing who it was, Nii Yugito bowed respectfully.
Even she—proud and unapproachable in the eyes of countless young Cloud shinobi, like a flower high on a mountaintop—set aside all airs before this unremarkable-looking middle-aged man. Before Dodai, with his kindly smile, there was no pride she could maintain. For Dodai was the great adviser of Kumogakure.
The Third Raikage had relied heavily on his wisdom, and now the Fourth Raikage did the same, placing deep trust in him.
"Any gains?" Dodai asked.
Yugito had been acting under orders from the Raikage, leading a team deep into Konoha's defensive lines to investigate the enemy's movements.
"Nothing significant. The Leaf shinobi all scatter the moment they see me—my identity has been completely exposed. In the end I only captured a few prisoners, but they've already been handed over to the interrogation unit. I don't expect much to come from them; they're just civilian-born shinobi. I haven't seen any from Konoha's great clans. We can't tell what exactly the Leaf is planning. There hasn't been any proper resistance at all."
"Your exposure was inevitable; don't concern yourself with it too much. Just remember to keep your trump cards hidden," Dodai replied, before turning his attention back to the report. "No real resistance at all, then? It seems Konoha's weakness is genuine."
This campaign had been progressing with remarkable ease. From the moment they defeated Konoha's border defense forces at the frontier between the Land of Frost and the Land of Hot Water, their advance southward had been a series of unbroken victories. The Leaf forces could do nothing but retreat, retreat again, and keep retreating still. By now, fully two-thirds of the Land of Hot Water had already fallen under the control of Kumogakure's forces.
And why had Konoha's border troops been stationed at the frontier of the Land of Hot Water in the first place?
The answer was simple. The Land of Hot Water was a vassal state of the Land of Fire, serving as a buffer against Cloud incursions. Its greatest role was to prevent the flames of war from burning directly upon the Fire Country's soil.
In truth, that was the role of all the small nations caught between the great powers.
"By the way, Yugito, you came to see the Raikage, didn't you? He's in his office right now. You can go up by yourself… no, I'll go with you." Dodai reconsidered and decided to accompany her upstairs, retracing his steps back toward the Raikage's temporary office.
He came to a redwood door and knocked twice with his knuckles. Tok tok—the sound echoed down the corridor.
After about four or five seconds, a deep, powerful voice spoke from within.
"Enter."
"Excuse us, Lord Raikage," Dodai said respectfully, then pushed the door open with care.
Following him inside, Yugito immediately noticed how the room's decor stood apart from the other rooms in the same building. The lavish furnishings had all been stripped away, replaced instead with a simplicity so stark it was almost hard to believe.
The pure white walls were bare of any decoration, with only a few hanging scrolls of calligraphy and paintings that were clearly not the work of any master. On the left side of the room stood a large desk and a set of sofas with a tea table for receiving guests, while on the right side was a full array of training equipment.
Barbells, dumbbells, grip strength trainers, rowing machines—many pieces so specialized that even Samui, who had accompanied him before, would not have been able to name them.
At that moment, a towering man, his frame as massive and powerful as a black bear from the mountains, was shirtless, his muscles straining like iron as he repeatedly lifted and lowered a barbell so heavily laden with plates that it would have crushed an ordinary man flat, the weight enough to make the floor tremble with each rise and fall.
This man, with his light blond hair, dark skin, green shuriken-like tattoos on his shoulders and arms, a wide belt at his waist, and heavy armor on his forearms, exuded raw power from every part of his body. He was none other than the Fourth Raikage, A.
In this war, the Fourth Raikage would once again take the field himself. In fact, in every great war, the Raikage personally led the charge. From the very first Raikage onward, it had been the tradition of Kumogakure that the Raikage did not remain behind to command from the safety of the village, but stood at the front of the army.
"Dodai? Why have you come back again?"
Still pressing the enormous barbell upward, the Raikage looked toward the man entering the room with a puzzled expression. "Is there urgent news? Has something happened at the front… Yugito?"
Halfway through speaking, he noticed the woman entering behind Dodai, and his expression shifted with understanding. "Ah, it's you, Yugito."
"Lord Raikage."
Nii Yugito stood at Dodai's side and bowed respectfully.
"So, if you've returned, that must mean your mission is complete?"
The Raikage continued his training while speaking, his breath steady even under the crushing weight. "You infiltrated deep into Konoha's lines this time. What did you find?"
"According to my investigation, the fighting spirit of Konoha's shinobi is low. I encountered no organized resistance during my operation. Perhaps this was due to news of my being a jinchūriki spreading. From what I observed, however, it seems Konoha has no intention of holding the Kusatsu Mountains to make a defensive stand against us."
"You mean they intend to keep retreating?"
With the barbell raised high over his head, the Raikage turned his gaze on Yugito as he asked.
"Yes. My judgment is that Konoha's shinobi will continue to fall back. They do not appear to have any intention of engaging us in direct battle right now," Yugito replied firmly, her voice steady and unshaken under his scrutiny.
The Raikage gave no answer, his expression unreadable, but his eyes shifted toward Dodai.
"Dodai, once we break through the Kusatsu Mountains, there will be no terrain to slow our advance, correct? South of Kusatsu is all flat land, isn't it?"
"Crossing the Kusatsu Mountains brings us directly onto the Tang River Plain, and beyond that is the Land of Fire itself. Between here and there, there is no difficult terrain left."
"Yugito, listen well. The Kusatsu Mountains are Konoha's final natural line of defense. If they abandon it, then they will be forced to meet us on the open plains. I will ask you again: do you truly believe Konoha would abandon such a natural stronghold and continue retreating?"
"Yes, Lord Raikage. I am certain Konoha's shinobi will keep withdrawing."
Her voice was unwavering.
"And you, Dodai?"
The Raikage's question turned to his advisor.
Dodai did not answer immediately. He lowered his eyes and remained silent for half a minute before finally speaking. "Lord Raikage, I support Yugito's assessment. At present, Konoha's forces are not prepared for a head-on battle with us. They are waiting for reinforcements."
"Reinforcements? Haven't the Hyūga already appeared on the battlefield? Could it be that Akimichi Torifu, that old warhorse, intends to take the field himself?"
The Hyūga clan, under Hyūga Hiashi, had already joined the battle in the Land of Hot Water, linking up with the northeastern border forces. Their arrival had prevented Kumogakure from completely crushing Konoha's defenses, and their efforts had managed to delay the Cloud army's advance. Hiashi himself had even fought Raikage A directly, only to be defeated. He escaped with his life, but six Hyūga Branch House Jōnin had perished to cover his retreat. The Cloud shinobi claimed their corpses, but the cursed seal of the Caged Bird had destroyed every Byakugan.
"Not the Hyūga," Dodai said gravely. "I believe they are waiting for the Konoha shinobi who defeated the Mist to return."
"You mean that Uchiha, the one who captured the Fourth Mizukage? Uchiha… what was his name again?"
"Uchiha Ren."
"Yes, that Uchiha Ren. Supposedly he captured the Fourth Mizukage single-handedly and routed the Mist. That kind of rumor is impossible to believe."
Having finished his training, A dropped the barbell to the ground with a heavy thud, then took the flask of water Dodai offered him and drained it in one gulp.
"And you don't actually believe such a rumor, do you, Dodai?"
"Every rumor has its origin. Even falsehoods come from somewhere. And if even half of what is said is true, then this Uchiha Ren is an opponent we cannot underestimate," Dodai answered solemnly.
"In that case, I want to see this Uchiha Ren for myself."
The Raikage clenched his fist, and battle spirit surged from him like a storm.
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