Kumogakure.
The group entering the Raikage's office came to a halt.
"Good. Next, we hold the consultation with the Daimyo," the Raikage instructed Mabui.
"He is already waiting for you." As the Raikage's secretary, Mabui's efficiency was peerless.
"Is that so? Then let's not waste time, everyone. Especially you, B!" The Raikage glared at Killer B.
"Huh? What's up, big bro?" Killer B, who had been trying to sneak away, turned around quickly.
"No, you understand the situation, don't you?"
"Yo! I know the flow, the young ones are in a state of woe, yeah!"
After B finished his rap, A and the others entered the Daimyo's conference room in exasperated silence.
Outside, the rank-and-file shinobi were whispering.
"Huh? I heard a Shinobi World War is about to start."
"Yeah, real war."
"Since it's total war, even fresh recruits like us with little combat experience will be sent to the front lines."
"Surrounded by the mysterious Akatsuki... pushed to the brink."
"But even so, we've got to fight with everything we've got. Even if I fight my hardest, the enemy's counterattack will be fierce, and I'll just end up crying..."
"And Karui, if you die..."
Immediately, Karui grabbed Omoi's collar in irritation. "I'm the one who's gonna die?! You bastard!"
As the two began to bicker, Killer B walked up to console them.
"No need to worry, young ones. I'll melt your troubled hearts like warm honey, babies. With my passionate rap..."
…
In the residence of the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning, the Daimyo sat with four high-ranking officials. The Daimyo rested his face on one hand, looking at the Raikage and his group with total boredom.
Opposite them stood the Raikage, Darui, and Mabui.
"I'll get straight to the point!" the Raikage addressed the group. "Kumogakure, Konoha, Iwagakure, Kirigakure, and Sunagakure, the five great shinobi nations, plus the samurai of the Land of Iron. We are forming a Shinobi Allied Force! We seek your approval."
The Daimyo of the Land of Lightning looked at the Raikage with a deadpan expression.
"Getting straight to the point is fine, Raikage, but keep it within limits. You shinobi were enemies just recently, and now you want to unite? Tell me why."
"Because of the Tailed Beasts," Mabui said.
"Tailed Beasts?" the Daimyo asked, confused.
Darui began to elaborate. "A group called Akatsuki has already obtained seven of the nine Tailed Beasts. They have declared war on us, the Fourth Shinobi World War..."
The Daimyo's expression turned slightly grave. "Go on."
"The only Tailed Beasts left are our Eight-Tails and Konoha's Nine-Tails," Darui continued. "Under these circumstances, cooperation is our only choice."
The Daimyo looked at the Raikage with a questioning tone. "A coup? This isn't a 'Union' meant to rise up against us, is it, Raikage?"
"For us, whether this battle can even protect you lords is an unknown factor," A replied bluntly.
"I approve the formation of the Shinobi Allied Force," the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning finally answered after a long silence.
"Then please begin the preparations for the meeting of the Daimyos."
As the words left his mouth, a voice drifted down from high above, laced with mockery.
"With just you lot... you won't be able to protect anything."
The Raikage's eyes widened in shock as a terrifying Chidori Sharp Spear suddenly pierced through the ceiling and impaled the Daimyo's skull. The razor-sharp spear of lightning was like a streak of light; the moment it transfixed him, the Daimyo was dead.
In that same instant, three Rasenshuriken descended into the conference room along with Kanon.
BOOM!
The massive density of Senjutsu Chakra exploded instantly. The Raikage and his men were completely blindsided by this sudden, horrific terrorist attack.
"Quick! Save the Daimyo!" the Raikage roared.
But as the three Sage Art: Rasenshuriken detonated within the room, Darui grabbed the Raikage and Mabui, throwing them clear of the blast zone. The terrifying chakra explosion instantly disintegrated the four high-ranking officials surrounding the Daimyo. Kanon, clutching the Daimyo's severed head, spiraled into a spatial vortex and reappeared outside.
The Raikage, emerging from the debris, let out a howl of pure rage.
"It's her... KANON UCHIHA!!!"
Across from them, a rose-colored vortex manifested. A girl with long black hair, a fox mask perched on the side of her forehead, and pink eyeshadow around her eyes stepped out. The blue Uchiha trench coat she wore confirmed her identity.
A mocking smile played on Kanon's exquisite face as she tossed the cold corpse of the Daimyo at their feet.
"Kanon Uchiha!" the Raikage roared, but Kanon raised an index finger to her soft, red lips.
"Shh, Raikage. Instead of worrying about this, you should worry about your village."
"What?!" The Raikage frowned. High in the sky above Kumogakure, Deidara was already flying into the distance on a giant clay bird.
With a cold chuckle, Deidara released four C3 bombs from the sky, targeting the four quadrants of Kumogakure.
Kanon's silence-signaling finger made the hair on the necks of the Raikage, Darui, and Mabui stand up in pure horror.
"Kumogakure, this is the price for making an enemy of the Uchiha."
"The sounds of the night should be exceptionally... quiet after this."
The moment Kanon finished speaking, the four central hubs of shinobi activity in Kumogakure exploded. The sheer destructive power of C3 was legendary, and Deidara had dropped four at once. Four mushroom clouds rose into the sky as screams of agony and the sound of rending flesh echoed through the village.
While the Raikage and his subordinates stood paralyzed by the scale of the destruction, Kanon broke into a manic laugh.
The Raikage's Lightning Release Armor surged to its peak intensity. Simultaneously, Killer B, shrouded in a Tailed Beast Cloak, appeared behind Kanon. The brothers swung their right arms in a synchronized, furious strike aimed at Kanon's throat, the A-B brothers' most terrifying combo!
"Lightning Release: Lariat!"
As the strike closed in, Kanon's eyes shifted. They were now the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. Even as a shadow clone, having transplanted the Eternal Mangekyō allowed her to manifest its power!
CRASH!
An explosion akin to a missile strike rang out, mingling with the ongoing C3 detonations. The A-B brothers were stunned; B was the most shocked, as Kanon's Susanoo had already manifested into its second form. They couldn't even dent its defense.
Standing within the rose-red Susanoo, Kanon's smile was dismissive. A crimson blade of Susanoo light lunged forward, skewering Killer B through the abdomen.
"B!" the Raikage roared, but in the next heartbeat, a massive skeletal hand swatted him away.
However, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki was no pushover. The wound in his abdomen was instantly swathed in Tailed Beast Chakra; a Jinchuriki's recovery speed was on a different level from ordinary shinobi. Seeing that B was still functional, the Susanoo's skeletal fist slammed him across the village.
Kanon had achieved her goal. A major part of her plan was to assassinate the five Daimyos of the Five Great Nations. With the Land of Lightning's lord dead, the others were next. Only through this would the Five Nations truly take this war seriously.
"It seems you've finally come to know a little pain."
She walked slowly to the Daimyo's corpse and used a rose-colored vortex to pull him into the Flower Realm. Then, the Susanoo's skeletal frame acted as a springboard, launching Kanon high into the sky before the shadow clone vanished into a puff of white smoke.
The sudden attack left Kumogakure in shambles. After Kanon vanished, all that remained were smoke, fire, the corpses of countless shinobi, and the haunting sounds of weeping and wailing.
This strike proved that Akatsuki wasn't just making threats. They were coming for everything.