Unraikyo, B's special training location, can no longer be called a 'valley' now. (T/N: Unraikyo means Valley of Clouds and Lightning.)
The combined explosions of a Tailed Beast Bomb and the Great Spiralling Ring wasn't as simple as 1 + 1 = 2.
The surrounding mountains within several kilometers of Unraikyo had been flattened, leaving behind a massive crater over a kilometer in diameter and hundreds of meters deep at its center. The severed river now rushed into the pit, carrying debris along with it.
Inside the crater, the exposed rock layers had been scorched into a glass-like crystalline state by the intense heat.
From the ruins, the mangled body of Gyuki slowly rose, causing the crystallized earth around it to crack and crumble.
"Cough... Brother~ Are you okay~" Despite spitting out a mouthful of blood, B still managed to keep his signature rap tone.
In his Complete Tailed Beast Form, he had shielded the Fourth Raikage, but his own back had been torn apart by the explosion, the wounds deep enough to expose bone.
"B!" Ay quickly caught B as he reverted from his Tailed Beast Mode.
If B hadn't protected him just now, the one who would have been seriously injured and lying on the ground would probably have been the Fourth Raikage!
Raikage hoisted Killer B onto his back and sprinted toward Kumogakure without hesitation, the memory of that explosion still burning in his mind.
'The village…'
When Raikage arrived at the outskirts of Kumogakure, standing atop a mountain peak, he saw that the center of the village looked as if it had been erased by an eraser, with the Raikage Building completely vanished.
Several mountains, including the one housing the Raikage Building, had been severed at their midsections.
The Kumogakure's Ninjas had suffered heavy casualties, and the entire village was shrouded in thick, billowing smoke. Medical-Nin darted through the haze, desperately tending to the wounded.
The agonized cries of the injured pierced through the smoke, filling the air and deepening the Fourth Raikage's guilt.
"Raikage-sama!" Two figures landed beside him.
Raikage turned his gaze and saw Yugito and Dodai.
"Killer B!" Yugito's pupils contracted in shock at the sight of B's grievous injuries.
As another Jinchuriki, Yugito was well aware of B's strength.
In an era where the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki remained inactive, B was considered the strongest Jinchuriki alive, and yet… he had been reduced to this state by the enemy!
"B protected me..." Raikage clenched his fists.
After his father, the Third Raikage, had died in battle, A had forbidden B from leaving the village, fearing his brother would suffer a similar fate.
But today, when the mysterious enemies had attacked the village, it was his brother who had shielded him from that devastating explosion!
"What caused the explosion in the village? Where are the two enemies now?" After handing the seriously injured B over to the Medical-Nin who arrived, Raikage asked Dodai.
This Elite Jonin, who had been deeply trusted by the Third Raikage, said with a heavy tone: "By the time I arrived, the battle was already over."
"What about Darui and the others?!" Raikage shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Darui, C, and Samui sustained only minor injuries, but Mabui was too close to the blast's epicenter and couldn't evacuate in time, so she's still in critical condition..." Dodai's lone eye reflected the ruins at the village's heart.
"Among the Ninjas who participated in the battle, two Jonin have been confirmed dead, two Jonin and three Special Jonin are severely wounded, seven Chunin have been confirmed dead, and sixteen Chunin had their Chakra drained… their fates remain unknown."
"Additionally, the explosion destroyed the center of Kumogakure. The estimated civilian casualties are no fewer than two hundred."
Unlike Konoha, which was built on flatlands, Kumogakure was constructed atop mountain ranges. As a result, the force of the explosion and its shockwaves had been partially absorbed by the surrounding peaks. Moreover, as a military stronghold for Ninja, the majority of the village's inhabitants were trained Ninja, all included in the casualty count.
Even so, the losses were devastating… seven Jonin and special Jonin, over twenty Chunin, and more than two hundred Genin and villagers dead or injured. The toll was comparable to a crushing defeat in a major war!
Had Kumogakure's main forces not been deployed in the Land of the Moon and the Land of Hot Water, clashing with Konoha's troops, the casualties could have been far worse.
Moreover, B, the Eight-Tails' Jinchuriki and Kumogakure's 'strategic nuclear weapon', was also seriously injured!
Bang!
The Fourth Raikage's fist slammed into the mountainside, leaving a crater two meters deep!
"Have you caught those two enemies?" Raikage snarled, his teeth grinding with barely restrained fury.
But Dodai shook his head grimly.
Then, he offered a chilling theory: "According to Darui and C's accounts, the two floating enemies vanished the moment the explosion occurred. They... might not have been human. They were likely summoned creatures!"
"What?!" When Raikage heard that the two mysterious enemies who had tied down dozens of Kumogakure's elite Ninjas were actually summoned beasts, he became so angry that his eyes widened.
"How did they even get into the village?" Raikage's knuckles turned white and he became angrier the more he thought about it.
Dodai replied, "I interrogated the guards stationed at the village entrance today, as well as the Ninja who encountered the mysterious intruder alongside B-sama. I also questioned the merchant caravan that entered the village earlier."
"Preliminary findings suggest the enemy used Genjutsu to manipulate the caravan leader, entering the village under the name 'Danzo'. Here's a sketch of the suspect." Dodai handed over the gathered intel along with a drawn portrait to the Raikage.
Dodai had done remarkably well to gather and organize the preliminary intelligence in such a short time.
But when he looked at the sunny and cheerful boy in the portrait, Raikage became even more furious.
"Mobilize all of Kumogakure's intelligence networks immediately! We must find this bastard!" Raikage crumpled the sketch into a ball and said through gritted teeth: "Issue a reward to the bounty exchange! 70 million Ryo! And if anyone can provide intelligence clues, Kumogakure will also give them a reward of 10 million Ryo after confirmation!"
A bounty of 70 million Ryo is already higher than the bounties of many Jinchuriki.
For comparison, the Six-Tails' Jinchuriki, Utakata, was only worth 50 million Ryo.
Of course, Raikage did not expect to kill this mysterious enemy by just offering a bounty. The real purpose of the bounty was to spread the information far and wide… to make other villages aware of this threat and cause trouble for this mysterious person.
Kumogakure had spies in every Great Ninja Villages. If this mysterious figure clashed with any of them, Raikage would get his lead.
"Understood!" Dodai immediately dispatched a trusted subordinate to handle the matter.
"And one more thing..." Raikage's gaze lingered on the gaping void in the village's center, his voice thick with reluctance: "Let's make a truce with Konoha."
Boom!
The storm clouds, which were momentarily dispersed by the explosion, now gathered once more over Kumogakure. The rain that fell carried the acrid scent of gunpowder, washing over the village's wounds.
The pain of war had engulfed the entire Kumogakure.
…
In the 54th year of Konoha Calendar, the news that Kumogakure was attacked by a mysterious Ninja spread like wildfire.
Each Great Ninja Village dispatched spies to assess the extent of the damage.
Before long, Kumogakure accepted Konoha's ceasefire terms… finally bringing the last remnants of the Third Great Ninja War to an end. With this, the Ninja World would now enter a brief era of peace.
At the same time, a mysterious Ninja named 'Danzo', codenamed [Shura], appeared in the bounty exchange with a staggering 70 million Ryo bounty on his head!
Even just providing useful intel could earn someone 10 million Ryo!
…
Meanwhile, deep within Konoha's Root's base…
Looking at the bounty for 'Danzo' on the bounty poster brought by his subordinates, Danzo flew into a rage, tearing the freshly printed bounty poster to shreds.