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Chapter 99: The Fourth Raikage
Inside the Raikage's office in the Village Hidden in the Clouds.
Bang!
With another furious punch, the hot-tempered Fourth Raikage smashed his desk to pieces.
"D*mn it! Someone actually dared kill Watanabe's squad. Do they think they can just ignore the Village Hidden in the Clouds?!"
"I'll tear the b*stard who did it to shreds and show the world our village's might. We will not be provoked!"
Mabui stood to the side in her gray, tight-fitting dress.
She lowered the file she'd been using to shield her face from flying splinters and said in a steady voice,
"Lord Raikage, based on the intel Samui sent back, the culprit is very likely a Kage-level shinobi. If her team continues to pursue the case, they'll be in serious danger."
"Whether they keep tracking the enemy or switch to a different mission depends on your decision."
The Raikage reined in his temper and fell into thought.
He might look like a big, muscle-headed brute, but his mind was sharp, and he was more than capable of scheming when necessary.
Staring out the window, he finally ordered,
"Have Samui drop the pursuit for now and head to Hōzuki Castle to check the situation there."
"Even if the prisoners are criminals from our village, I won't accept them disappearing without a trace."
"As for the Sky fortress and the one who killed Watanabe's team, send a separate scouting Anbu unit to take over. Their top priority is intel. The moment they find anything, they are to report to me—I'll lead the team personally."
Whether it was the strategic weapon that was the Sky fortress, or the murderer of his men, the Raikage had no intention of letting either go.
Only by taking the field himself could he guarantee the mission's success.
Mabui jotted everything down and immediately moved to relay the orders.
"Lord Raikage, our reliable contacts have also confirmed that one of the parties involved in the battle in the Land of Birds was Uchiha Sasuke."
"Uchiha Sasuke?" A murderous light flashed across the Raikage's dark features. "Any further intel on him? That brat dared attack Killer B and target the Eight-Tails. I'll drag him back here and see him punished!"
Mabui shook her head. "Our inside source hasn't sent more details yet—only that a giant purple figure appeared on the battlefield, most likely Uchiha Sasuke's Mangekyō ability."
"Susanoo," the Raikage said, his tone certain. "The ultimate ocular jutsu of the Uchiha. I didn't think he'd master it this quickly."
He'd gotten a full report of the battle between Killer B and Sasuke.
Back then, Sasuke hadn't used Susanoo at all.
"Lord Raikage, the Mangekyō Sharingan is the symbol of Uchiha Madara's power. We can't afford to underestimate it."
"Uchiha Madara?" The Raikage snorted. "Madara was a demon of the shinobi world, a rival to the 'God of Shinobi' himself. Uchiha Sasuke is nowhere near that level. Even with the same Mangekyō, the power they can bring out is worlds apart."
He remembered clearly—Sasuke hadn't even been able to truly defeat his little brother, Killer B. B had almost killed him with one punch, rupturing his internal organs and leaving him half-dead, and in the end Sasuke had been fooled by nothing more than a severed Eight-Tails tentacle.
Uchiha Madara would never have been that weak—or that foolish.
"It's like my Lightning Release Armor," the Raikage continued. "Other people in the village know how to use it, but can any of them do it at my level?"
When Mabui thought about it, she had to agree.
"Killer B said Uchiha Sasuke's Mangekyō can track his movements, but Sasuke's body isn't fast enough to react. If he were facing your strongest Lightning Release Armor instead… with your speed, Lord Raikage, even the Mangekyō probably wouldn't be able to follow your movements."
With Minato Namikaze dead, there was no question in Mabui's mind.
The Raikage was now the fastest man in the shinobi world.
In overall power, she believed he was also the strongest among the Five Kage.
His perfected Lightning Release Armor combined offense and defense into one.
His attacks were devastating; his defenses were overwhelming.
The only real threat to him might be the Third Tsuchikage's Dust Release.
But landing a hit on the Raikage, whose body moved like lightning, would be easier said than done.
Over short distances, his speed was nearly on par with a space-time jutsu like the Flying Thunder God.
Even the Mangekyō's terrifying insight might not be enough to keep up.
Once she'd finished cleaning up the debris from the shattered desk, Mabui glanced up at the sky.
"Lord Raikage, it's noon. Are you heading to Cloud Thunder Gorge to train today?"
"Of course I am!" the Raikage replied without hesitation.
"With so many powers and enemies in the world itching to make a move, I have to use the thunder's power to keep my body at its peak at all times."
"I've dealt with most of the village's paperwork for now. I'm heading to Cloud Thunder Gorge."
"Killer B can hold a concert in the village. As long as he's here, I won't worry."
"Yes, sir." Mabui followed behind the Raikage as they leapt toward Cloud Thunder Gorge at high speed.
The Village Hidden in the Clouds was perched atop mountains that pierced the sky, the air around it filled with rolling thunder.
High above.
The Sky fortress floated even higher, hidden in the sea of clouds.
From the deck, Konan and the others could just barely make out the outline of the mountain below.
Honoka Uzumaki nervously glanced at the blue lightning flickering through the surrounding clouds.
"Uncle Kameda, isn't it dangerous for us to stop here? There are so many lightning bolts in this cloud layer. If one hits the fortress, wouldn't we be done for?"
Kameda stood behind Konan, not moving his head an inch.
"Don't worry, Honoka. If the fortress can fly at this altitude, it naturally has specialized lightning protection. We'll be fine."
"O-okay… if you say so…"
Konan suddenly spoke. "What time is it now?"
"Lady Konan, it's just past noon—1:30 in the afternoon," Kameda replied after checking his pocket watch.
Samui, standing at Konan's side, stared down at the world below, her expression distant.
She had already divulged the Raikage's daily schedule—how he went to Cloud Thunder Gorge nearly every day at noon to train his Lightning Release Armor.
Right now, he should be in the gorge and unable to return to the village quickly.
In the end, she had betrayed her village and her Raikage…
Refusing to infiltrate the village herself and steal the bloodline samples, refusing to fight her former comrades with her own hands—that was the last line she could draw.
She no longer had the face to return to the Cloud.
Honoka bit her lip. "Lady Konan, are you sure you don't need our help? At least my Adamantine Sealing Chains might be of use."
"No," Konan said with a wave of her hand.
Most of the Cloud ninja were experts in Lightning Release—fast, powerful, and deadly.
Honoka was only on the level of a jōnin. If she tagged along, she wouldn't be much help. She'd only get in the way.
A single high-speed charge from Killer B could be the end of her.
"You just need to wait for my signal," Konan continued. "Once you feel it, pour the last bit of chakra into the Box of Ultimate Bliss and throw it down."
Not far away, the purple-black Box of Ultimate Bliss towered at the edge of the deck.
The huge sculpted face on its side looked almost alive, eerie and unsettling.
After days of being pumped full of chakra by the Zero-Tails, the Box was on the verge of activation.
If things went wrong, they would release Satori directly, sending it down as cannon fodder to draw the Cloud's fire.
Konan turned to Kameda for one last instruction.
"When the Box activates, push it off the fortress immediately. Don't hesitate."
"Understood, Lady Konan. I will complete the task without fail. You can count on me!"
Kameda knew exactly how serious the situation was and had been fully prepared.
"Good. Wait here for me."
With that, Konan stepped off the edge of the deck.
Her paper wings unfurled, and she vanished into the clouds below in an instant.