'Meeting?'
'What kind of emergency meeting?'
Samui's heart tightened for no reason.
She and Killer B arrived at the Raikage Building, entering a sealed conference room. There weren't many people inside, mainly the village's elite jonin and the Raikage's secretary.
Click!
The meeting room door opened again, and the Fourth Raikage, A, strode in.
Because everyone present was one of his own, he wasn't wearing the Raikage cloak. His upper body was bare, revealing a burly, solid physique, sheer power radiating from his frame so intensely it could be felt just by looking.
He was always a man of thunderous decisiveness. After coming in, he nodded briefly to the others, then walked to the head seat. From his pocket, he pulled out a photo and slapped it down on the table.
"Uchiha Sasuke."
A pulled out a chair, sat down, tapped the photo, and said concisely, "This is the topic of the meeting."
No one was surprised at this agenda.
The core of everything in Kumogakure had always been becoming stronger. Not long ago, Samui had led a team to Kirigakure to approach Ryosuke in peace, hoping to persuade him and Sasuke to join.
But Ryosuke had rejected the offer.
If words don't work, then naturally fists must.
The Raikage's secretary, Mabui, held a stack of files and distributed them to the assembled shinobi. The files contained battle intelligence on Kirigakure, Ryosuke, and the others.
When Mabui handed A his copy, he waved it off, tapping his temple to show he'd already memorized everything.
Samui knew the intel very well herself.
The information about Ryosuke, Sasuke, and Haku had even been submitted by her.
After several minutes of silent reading, one by one the others put down the documents and raised their eyes toward A.
A swept his gaze across them, his eyes commanding, his deep voice reverberating in the room, "The Uchiha bloodline, Ripple breathing style, Ice Release bloodline limit, and ninjutsu nullification."
"These things can greatly increase Kumogakure's strength. Now that Ryosuke is away, I've decided to dispatch a special ops squad. Before Ryosuke returns, capture Uchiha Sasuke. If possible, also bring back the Ice Release user, Mayuri."
The moment those words fell, the room broke into heated discussion.
Samui didn't join in. All she could hear was the ringing in her ears, so loud that all voices blurred into silence, her mind going completely blank, "They want to capture Sasuke?"
"Why? No… this is too sudden. Ryosuke is actually helping us…"
"Hey… hey…"
"I don't understand. If we really move against them, what will happen to Kumogakure's relationship with Ryosuke after?"
"Hey! Samui!"
Killer B nudged her hard with his elbow. Seeing her eyes finally regain focus, the teacher in him let out a breath of relief. He leaned in and whispered, "Don't worry, this might just be big bro's wishful thinking~ Kirigakure's already been steadily recovering this past month~"
"Anyone who tries to attack will pay a huge price~ It's a bad gamble, not worth it at all… yo!"
Samui gave a small nod.
Even without Ryosuke, Kirigakure was still one of the Five Great Villages. They had countless shinobi, Terumi Mei, Zabuza, and rumor had it even shinobi from Konoha were visiting.
Trying to infiltrate and abduct someone would inevitably lead to battle.
Kumogakure had grown fast in recent years, but on another's turf, they would still have to bow their heads… 'Surely Lord Raikage and Lord Killer B wouldn't go themselves?'
That risk was too great.
The gains and the risks didn't match.
Not to mention Ryosuke himself.
If they actually wiped out Ryosuke's base… a man strong enough to defeat Yagura head-on, holding a grudge against Kumogakure, picking off Kumogakure's shinobi and ambushing missions every now and then,
Just imagining it gave her a headache.
A sat boldly in the Raikage's chair, listening as his subordinates spoke their thoughts, the room loud with voices.
He propped his chin with one hand, raised the other, and tapped his finger.
Thump! Thump!
A knocked on the table.
The room instantly fell silent.
They all knew there was no need to keep speaking. A had heard their concerns. They had done their duty as subordinates. Now it was up to the Raikage's judgment.
Swift and absolute.
Decisive in killing.
That was the Raikage. That was A.
A said, "Everything you just said boils down to two concerns."
"One is Ryosuke."
"When our capture plan unfolds, from my judgment of Ryosuke's character, he will definitely come to Kumogakure to try to save them. At that time, Killer B and I will take action together and kill him."
Hearing this, everyone nodded slightly.
A and Killer B, together they were the strongest.
"As for how to infiltrate Kirigakure and get them out, have you forgotten the village's secret teleportation jutsu?"
They immediately realized he meant Heavenly Transfer Technique.
"But…"
Darui, Raikage's bodyguard, raised his hand.
"Boss, that only works for cargo. If it's used on people, they'll be ripped to pieces before arriving. In the village, maybe only you yourself could withstand the strain. You're not going personally, are you?"
A nodded, "Of course not you lot. But we…"
"Have allies."
The conference room doors opened again.
Two women walked in, strikingly different from Kumogakure's rough shinobi, with elaborate makeup and ornate clothing.
"Ah… choo!"
Killer B sneezed again.
'Stinky.'
'Too stinky.'
That serpent stench, he looked over at the two women entering.
One had deep-blue hair, wore a crown, a long robe, and outwardly appeared like a ten-year-old girl.
The other, with long brown hair, also crowned and robed, looked a little older, perhaps just past twenty.
A introduced, "These two are the Snake Princesses of Ryūchi Cave, Ichikishimahime and Tagitsuhime."
"They come under orders of the White Snake Sage, to form an alliance with Kumogakure and assist us in capturing Uchiha Sasuke."
Ryūchi Cave. Snake sages.
Everyone in the room was a core member of Kumogakure, well-versed in world intel. They naturally understood Ryosuke's enmity with Orochimaru and Ryūchi Cave. In a flash, they realized what this was,
Borrowing a knife to kill. Using each other.
Ryūchi Cave had lost one of their snake princesses to Ryosuke, and he had reportedly stolen a valuable treasure as well. They would surely seek revenge.
But while Ryūchi Cave could handle minor villages or ordinary shinobi, against Ryosuke, who had soloed the Three-Tails?
These so-called "sages" wouldn't stand a chance.
But that was in direct combat.
If instead they supported from the sidelines, they could be invaluable.
With their long lifespans, they had mastered genjutsu, healing, senjutsu, barrier techniques, everything useful for a team.
"The two Snake Princesses will continuously heal the squad's bodies during teleportation, preventing the transfer from killing them. Once in Kirigakure, they'll immediately cast a genjutsu barrier to seal the scene. You'll have fifteen minutes of safe action time."
"After the capture, you'll use the transfer to retreat. Mission complete. That is the Sasuke capture plan."
A finished, then looked around, "Who's for it, who's against it?"
Darui raised his hand, "What about the Konoha shinobi?"
Guy, Asuma, and Ebisu were currently staying as guests in Kirigakure.
If they intervened, it could add some complications.
A waved it off. "Konoha? A bunch of cowards. Back when we tried to seize Hyuga, they didn't dare move. This is Kirigakure's matter, don't worry about them."
After a pause, seeing no further questions, his gaze crossed the long table and landed on Samui, "You just returned from Kirigakure and know them best. You lead the team. How about it?"
"I…"
Samui's usually calm and rational mind wasn't working today.
She wanted to refuse. No, more than refusing, she wanted this whole plan to never happen. But A had already arranged everything, planning, execution, follow-up cleanup, all seamless.
Samui even understood that once Kumogakure established ties with Ryūchi Cave, a few years later they might gain more snake sages, and combined with Ryosuke's ideological influence over the daimyo, this whole operation likely already had funding and sanction from the daimyo himself.
With so much at stake, what right did a small shinobi like her have to oppose?
"Forget Samui, big bro. She's not feeling well these past couple days," Killer B said.
A nodded, not pressing her, and instead turned to a straight-haired woman with chestnut-brown hair, "Yugito, you lead the squad."
Nii Yugito, Two-Tails jinchūriki, ranked just below A and Killer B as Kumogakure's third strongest.
With her leading and the two Snake Princesses assisting, a surprise raid would be more than enough.
Yugito nodded slightly, accepting the mission, and softly asked, "If during the capture there's resistance?"
"Kill them."
A answered bluntly, "Aside from Sasuke, kill everyone else."
"Understood. When do we move?"
"Tomorrow night."
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
patreon.com/XenosX
🥳Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰