Ōnoki stood silently before the grave of his father and master, his expression dark and brooding. Despite his small stature, he radiated a terrifying pressure. His son, Kurotsuchi, no longer wore his usual honest, calm expression; he now looked more like a general ready for war. His sharp eyes scanned the surroundings, searching for any trace of the grave robber.
No one would be in a good mood after finding their family's grave desecrated.
"The soil's freshly turned. No more than an hour ago," Ōnoki muttered grimly.
For a master of Earth Release, determining how recently the dirt had been disturbed was child's play.
"Send the word: Lock down the entire village. If anyone suspicious is spotted — kill on sight."
"This is a direct insult to Iwagakure… no — to me, Ōnoki!"
"I don't care who it is, or what they want. I'll make sure they pay for this!"
---
Meanwhile, the culprit had already left the Land of Earth — and was now flying full-speed toward the Land of Lightning, cloaked in chakra.
"Hmm… the barrier over Kumogakure is a lot simpler than Iwa's," Naruto said to himself, hovering in the sky above the village and eyeing the semi-transparent chakra barrier below.
All the great villages had chakra barrier systems — useful for both detection and defense. Konoha's was the most complex; Sunagakure's the weakest.
Under normal circumstances, entering a hidden village required proper registration at the front gates.
Kumogakure, the Hidden Cloud, was currently the strongest of the Five Great Nations. At one point, only Kirigakure — when its Seven Swordsmen of the Mist were united — could match it. But those days were long gone; the Mist was now a shadow of its former self, comparable to the weakened Sand.
The Cloud valued both scholarship and martial prowess, but was predominantly known for its warrior culture. Every Raikage in history had been a close-combat powerhouse.
And unlike the other hidden villages, Kumogakure was unusually unified — full of discipline and loyalty, with little political backstabbing. Rarely did it produce missing-nin.
Unlike a certain Leaf Village, where S-rank defectors were as common as weeds.
Kumogakure was located high atop towering peaks, surrounded by dense clouds and rolling thunder. Two massive lightning towers stood guard on the outskirts — built to absorb and convert lightning strikes into power for the village.
As Naruto entered Cloud territory, he quickly descended to the ground. Not out of fear of being detected — but because staying airborne here risked getting struck by natural lightning.
Just like Iwagakure, which was protected by rocky cliffs, Kumogakure's surrounding lightning fields acted as a natural barrier.
It was no wonder that during the past three Shinobi World Wars, few armies ever tried to attack Iwa or Kumo directly.
Their terrain made them easy to defend — and extremely hard to invade.
The downside? Unlike Konoha's fertile lands or Kirigakure's abundant water resources, Iwa and Kumo had fewer natural resources. Still, they were better off than Sunagakure, which was practically in a desert wasteland.
---
Kumogakure Memorial Cemetery
The overcast sky looked ready to pour ink, and a soft drizzle fell as the world blurred into mist.
Yugito Nii, her long braided hair hanging behind her, walked toward a memorial stone, laying down a bouquet of flowers.
She stared silently at the name engraved in the stone.
After a long moment, she turned to leave — only to hear, faintly, a distant voice singing from deeper within the cemetery.
The sound was eerie and ethereal, but thanks to Yugito's heightened sense of hearing, she was able to catch the direction.
It was getting dark. And hearing ghostly singing among the graves? Definitely not normal — especially when these grounds held the bones of many dead.
"Who's pretending to be a ghost in a place like this?!"
But Yugito wasn't easily frightened.
After all, she was the Two-Tails' Jinchūriki, with the demonic cat Matatabi sealed within her — the so-called Gatekeeper of the Underworld. And this was her village.
She marched boldly toward the sound.
As she moved deeper into the graveyard, a gray mist began to rise, and the air turned freezing cold. Her breath came out in white puffs.
It was the peak of summer. This shouldn't be happening.
Soon, Yugito realized — the entire cemetery was empty. She was completely alone.
The forest of tombstones loomed like a monstrous beast waiting to devour its prey.
She hesitated. Should she keep going?
But the singing grew clearer now. Words began to emerge:
"Sunlight… heavens, mountains, winding rivers… spicy-hot, oh whoa, hey—"
The strange lyrics echoed among the graves, chilling her spine.
Quickening her pace, Yugito soon reached the source.
"That's… the Third Raikage's grave!"
By the dim light, she saw a man in a black cloak, digging furiously with a shovel, his back turned to her.
Grave robber.
That was the only thought that crossed Yugito's mind.
Someone dared to sneak into Kumogakure and rob a grave?!
"You're not leaving here."
Claw Form: Human Cat's Talons
Yugito's fingers extended into razor-sharp claws as she moved with feline stealth toward the cloaked figure.
"Without chili oil and peppers, it just doesn't taste right—oh oh~!"
Just as she closed to within ten meters, the man suddenly stopped singing.
He turned.
A flash of lightning split the sky — illuminating the cemetery in stark white.
A spiral-patterned mask.
"Oh my… look what I found — a big kitty cat."
The man's raspy voice echoed out.
"Run! Get away from him!"
A voice screamed in Yugito's mind — it was Matatabi, the Two-Tails.
And it wasn't calm. The gentle blue flames around the bijū blazed wildly.
It was freaking out.
No way… not even the Eight-Tails' berserk state ever scared Matatabi like this!
"RUN! NOW!"
Matatabi screamed again, louder this time.
Yugito had never heard it sound so afraid.
But before she could react…
"Well, since you're already here—"
The voice was now behind her.
What?!
A massive blue tail erupted from Yugito's lower back — flames ready to ignite.
But she was too slow.
A single knife-hand strike landed on her neck.
Everything went black.
The blue flames of the Two-Tails vanished instantly.
"Take a seat," the masked man muttered casually, finishing his sentence.
"Long time no see, Matatabi."
---
Inside Yugito's mind — in the sealed space where Matatabi resided — a new voice echoed.
Matatabi, ready to seize control of Yugito's body, froze for a second.
"…Kurama?"
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