In the end, Raikage A clenched his fist but still accepted the thirty million ryō payment from his own village.
Not long after,
Shimoku and others were escorted out of the Raikage Tower and returned to the guesthouse by Raikage's secretary Mabui.
Of course, the reason Raikage A didn't personally see them off was,
Firstly: because he was still injured and shouldn't move around too much.
Secondly: he feared he wouldn't be able to contain his anger again, might attack once more, and end up getting killed directly by Shimoku...
So in conclusion, even though they suffered a major loss,
Considering their relative strength, Kumogakure still had no choice but to swallow their pride.
Moreover, when all is said and done,
Except for this initial transaction that caused them losses,
The future trade relationship between Kumo and Homuragakure (Hidden Ember Village) would still prove profitable.
Once trading volume increases in the future, they'll eventually make those losses back.
"Lord Shimoku, we will prepare all goods involved in this transaction within five days.
Please stay at the guesthouse and rest well for a few days.
If you have any needs during your stay, please don't hesitate to inform me. We'll do everything we can to accommodate."
After returning them to the guesthouse, Mabui politely informed them.
After all, that order totaled thirty million ryō worth of goods, requiring hundreds of cattle slaughtered, processed, and properly packaged...
This wasn't a small operation, naturally requiring several days preparation time.
"Alright, I'll wait for good news."
Having achieved his objective, Shimoku had no intention of provoking them further.
This trip to Kumo had already brought huge gains.
One-third of the Eight-Tails' chakra; three thousand coins; hundreds of tons of beef products; plus establishing a stable commercial agreement with Kumogakure.
Going forward,
He just needed to visit the Cemetery in Kumogakure and mark the graves of Kinkaku and Ginkaku. That would complete his mission.
Actually, the people of Kumogakure were quite united, giving Shimoku no opportunity to create divisions.
Thus he became too lazy to stir up trouble anymore.
Anyway, his side had already profited handsomely.
...
The following days went by very leisurely and happily.
All Shimoku and his companions needed to do each day was: eat delicious food, play poker, soak in hot springs...
Ahem...
Teasing the Kumo female ninja part was absolutely nonsense.
If anyone did that, it had nothing—nothing at all—to do with Young Master Shimoku. It was definitely Uchiha Gin's fault.
Of course, he didn't completely waste the remaining time either.
Instead, he proposed another match between teams.
This immediately startled the Kumo ninjas again.
They thought maybe this devil Shimoku wasn't satisfied yet and wanted to use Kumo as practice again!
But when they heard it was merely a proposal for Riyō and several other personal guards to spar against the Raikage's personal guards for training purposes,
The Kumo side finally calmed down,
And agreed to the match.
Representing [Kumogakure], of course were Darui and Xi from the Raikage's personal guard team.
Both were elite Jonin of Kumo, serving as the trusted lieutenants of Raikage A, the Fourth.
Among them, Tarui possessed Black Lightning, Storm Release, Ninja Body Technique, and an enormous chakra reserve—he was practically at the Kage-level threshold and nearly being groomed as the Fifth Raikage.
As for Xi, he was also a well-rounded ninja who mastered three rare abilities: genjutsu, medical ninjutsu, and sensory techniques. With rich experience, his strength was formidable.
In the entire ninja world, both of them ranked among the top-tier ninjas, second only to the Five Kages.
In fact, they were even slightly stronger than Zabuza, the Demon of the Hidden Mist.
Therefore, compared with them,
On Shimoku's Personal Guards' side, Riyō, Gin, Yueji, Tō, and others clearly fell far behind.
Even with a 4-on-2 advantage, victory wasn't guaranteed.
Of course, once they returned later,
Once tailed beast chakra was sealed and Hashirama's cells were transplanted,
The strength of Riyō and others would surge dramatically!
That's exactly why
Shimoku hoped they could use this opportunity to engage in actual combat training against Kumo's elite jonin.
To be defeated a few times, understand their own shortcomings,
And thus better cultivate a grounded mindset, laying a solid foundation for their future power boost.
Thus,
Within just five short days,
Riyō and the other four were utterly crushed dozens of times by Tarui and his partner.
Their bodies covered in wounds and bruises, exhausted to the bone...
Eventually, Shimoku even dragged in Killer Bee—the awakened Eight-Tails jinchuriki—as a sparring partner.
Under Shimoku's threats, Killer Bee obediently served as their coach,
And gave Riyō and the rest another brutal beating several more times.
Naturally, during these few days,
Riyō and others also gained significant benefits.
Besides their injuries, all of them saw noticeable improvements in actual combat abilities, with much better coordination and team synergy.
They had even activated their Sharingan eyes, learning several effective Kumogakure techniques from Tarui and the others.
Among them, Yueji—who was the most gifted in taijutsu—
Through continuous practice, personal comprehension, and Shimoku's guidance,
Was practically on the verge of mastering Kumo's signature technique: [Lightning Release Chakra Mode], reaping tremendous gains.
If Kumo found out, they'd probably blow their tops.
...
Additionally,
During these nights, while Kumo lay quietly still,
Shimoku sneaked out of the guesthouse multiple times,
Slipping into the Kumo Cemetery,
Carefully searching around the graves of Kinkaku and Ginkaku.
Long ago, after assassinating the Second Raikage, Kinkaku and Ginkaku defected but were hunted down and killed by the Third Raikage.
Yet, as veteran ninjas of Kumogakure, having contributed greatly to the village before,
Despite their grave crimes,
They should still have been buried within the cemetery after death.
Sure enough,
By the fourth night, after thoroughly exploring most of the Kumo Cemetery, Shimoku finally located the graves of Kinkaku and Ginkaku.
He then buried a kunai bearing a Flying Thunder God Mark beneath the soil nearby.
Afterward, he quietly left.
After all, Shimoku wasn't foolish enough to dig up the graves at this point.
Otherwise, if he did so and got exposed the next day,
Kumo would easily deduce that the outsiders had something to do with it.
But once their group left Kumogakure,
So if he sneaked back later using the Flying Thunder God and dug up the grave, that wouldn't be on him, right?
...
And so, the next five days passed… in a *happy* sort of way.
Kumo had finally finished preparing the goods.
Over 300 tons of beef had been expertly processed and neatly packed.
In addition, each box contained a Ninjutsu Scroll infused with ice-sealing techniques—enough to keep the beef fresh for quite some time.
Shimoku was thoroughly pleased.
Thus, under the glare of Kumo shinobi who bit their teeth in bitter "farewells,"
Shimoku and his group finally departed from Kumogakure, loaded with cargo, heading back home.
Hmm—
Actually, he simply slipped away to an empty corner and teleported straight home using the Flying Thunder God.
Otherwise, Shimoku had no intention of wasting hours stuck in dusty travel.
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