Five figures erupted from the smoke and dust.
A flare shot skyward, exploding into brilliant fireworks.
Tsunade's frown deepened. Reinforcement signal.
She didn't hesitate. Her body vanished.
"Everyone, stay sharp!" the Cloud jonin shouted.
Hanekawa and Kurenai formed seals in perfect synchronization. Two water dragons roared to life, one ahead, one behind, surging forward with primal fury.
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"
The Cloud jonin's hands flew through the sequence. A wall of earth erupted from the ground—solid, imposing, desperate.
It lasted two seconds.
Tsunade punched through it like paper, her fist meeting the water dragons' momentum without breaking stride. The Cloud ninjas scattered, but not fast enough.
"Lightning Style: Thunder Axe!"
The jonin leaped, lightning coalescing in both palms. Twin bolts lashed out indiscriminately, searing the air.
The water dragons detonated in steam. Lightning arced toward Tsunade.
She was already gone.
Mid-air, she shattered the electrical cage with a casual swipe and descended on the jonin like judgment. His body folded. Blood painted the sky on his way down.
Hanekawa didn't pause.
After the water dragon jutsu, he'd already drawn the Thunder Fire Sword. The Body Flicker Technique carried him into the remaining four Cloud ninjas before they could react.
"Konoha Style: Leaf Whirlwind!"
The nearest ninja's hands were still forming seals when his body locked up. Genjutsu—Kurenai's work, subtle and perfect.
The Thunder Fire Sword found his throat.
Two shadow clones materialized from the dissipating smoke. Three Hanekawas, three swords, three blurs of motion.
The remaining Cloud ninjas died before they understood what was happening.
Only a middle-aged man remained, kunai raised in desperate defense.
Clang.
The Thunder Fire Sword met steel. The impact sent him sliding backward, feet carving furrows in the earth.
His moment of distraction was fatal.
The shadow clones struck from both sides—kidney shots, precise and devastating. Hanekawa's real body finished it with a clean strike to the temple.
The man crumpled.
"Well done," Tsunade said, nodding slightly.
At Hanekawa's current level, ordinary genin and chunin fell like wheat before a scythe. Only jonin posed real threats, and jonin were rare outside of wartime.
"Lady Tsunade!"
Six surviving outpost ninjas rushed forward, relief flooding their faces.
"Inside. Now," Tsunade commanded, waving them toward the fortification. "The Cloud jonin fired that flare. Expect another attack soon."
"Yes!"
They scrambled inside—all except Nohara Rin, who lingered just long enough to catch Hanekawa's eye. He nodded. She disappeared.
Tsunade glanced at Hanekawa and Kurenai, about to speak.
Her expression shifted. Her head snapped upward.
The sound of tearing wind.
Five figures descended.
Leading them was a muscular young man with sharp features and sharper eyes—the future Fourth Raikage, A. Behind him: Killer Bee, Samui, and two Cloud jonin.
Hanekawa's gaze found Samui immediately.
The blonde kunoichi's expression remained perfectly cold. Then she winked.
What the—
"Kurenai, send a flare to Minato," Tsunade said, her voice calm as stone.
"Yes!" Kurenai's flare shot upward, bursting into urgent light.
The AB combination. The Hidden Cloud's ultimate trump card. In the entire Konoha camp, only Minato and Tsunade could face them and walk away. Everyone else had one fate: death.
Even if death was certain, it had to mean something. Every ninja carried a flare for exactly this reason.
"What's the meaning of this?" Tsunade asked, her tone conversational. Dangerous.
"That's my question," A snapped, his face darkening. "How do you explain Konoha's attack on Cloud forces in the Land of Rain?"
Ah. Hanekawa understood immediately. The Hidden Sand operation. Cloud had been moving against them, and Konoha's interference had disrupted everything. The Hidden Sand had gone on alert. The decapitation strike had failed. The Third Raikage was wounded. A thousand elite Cloud ninjas—dead.
Massive losses. Unacceptable losses.
"There's nothing to explain," Tsunade said, raising an eyebrow.
"Indeed." A's chakra exploded outward, transforming into crackling lightning that enveloped his entire body. The pressure was immense—the air itself seemed to vibrate.
Tsunade's expression tightened fractionally.
Lightning Chakra Mode. Only successive Raikages could master it. In this state, every cell activated, every stat amplified beyond normal limits.
Fortunately, this was A, not his father.
A took a single step.
He vanished.
"Spread out!" Tsunade commanded, already moving.
She raised her fist, chakra flooding through it, and swung upward.
A's elbow—wreathed in brilliant lightning—descended like a meteor.
The collision was apocalyptic.
Sound shattered. Air exploded outward in concentric rings of force. The ground beneath them cratered, fissures spreading like spiderwebs.
A's body skidded backward. His feet carved deep grooves before he stopped.
His face flickered with surprise.
"Brother lost the strength contest?" Killer Bee's voice carried genuine shock.
In his experience, A with Lightning Chakra Mode activated was unstoppable. Strength, speed—everything was overwhelming.
"As expected of Lady Tsunade!" A laughed, but his eyes were sharp. "Again!"
Heavy Thunder Axe Kick!
Lightning concentrated in his thighs. He became a bolt of electricity, charging forward with speed that blurred.
Tsunade's reaction was instantaneous.
Their legs collided.
The shockwave carved a crater around them, dirt and stone suspended in the air like a frozen explosion.
Chakra Scalpel.
Green chakra materialized in Tsunade's palm, sharpening into a blade. She slashed downward without hesitation, aiming for A's neck.
"Big brother!" Killer Bee's shout was instinctive.
A's pupils contracted. Danger—real danger.
Lightning concentrated in his right hand, transforming it into a blade of pure electricity.
Thunderswords!
He raised his hand to block.
The chakra scalpel met the lightning blade.
A hissed, stepping back immediately. Even with lightning protection, a thin line of blood marked his right hand.
"Big brother's injured?" Killer Bee's eyes widened.
Samui and the other Cloud ninjas exchanged shocked glances.
Hanekawa raised an eyebrow. So A hasn't reached his peak yet. Of course, the real issue was that Tsunade was simply that strong.
"Leave Tsunade to me," A said, his expression hardening. "You handle the rest."
A gentle voice cut through the tension.
Minato Namikaze appeared beside Tsunade, his presence like a calming hand on a wild flame.
"You came quickly. Alone?" A's tone was almost conversational.
"Killer Bee," A commanded.
"Yes, sir!"
Killer Bee's body convulsed. Red chakra erupted around him like a second skin—the Tailed Beast Coat, the simplest application of a jinchuriki's power. All stats amplified. All senses heightened.
A four-way melee erupted.
Hanekawa moved to assist, but a kunai wreathed in lightning cut through the space where he'd been standing.
Body Flicker Technique!
He dodged, spinning to face his attacker.
Samui. Cold expression. Lightning dancing across her blade.
What is she doing?
"Cloud Flow: Rising Dragon!"
She lunged, her elbow driving forward with lethal precision.
Hanekawa caught her wrist. The force was considerable, but he held firm. Their bodies nearly touched, the distance suddenly intimate.
A light fragrance—something floral, something uniquely her—filled the space between them.
"What's happening here?" he asked quietly.
Samui struggled to break free, but the gap in their strength was undeniable. She couldn't move. Her eyes widened slightly—shock at how much stronger he'd become.
"Come back to the Hidden Cloud with me," she said, raising her leg in a kick.
"Why?"
Hanekawa clamped his legs together, locking her thigh. The position was... ambiguous. Compromising.
"Let me go!" Samui's face flushed.
"Oh." Hanekawa stepped back, releasing her.
She stumbled forward, catching her balance. Her cheeks were definitely red now.
"Lord Raikage has been poisoned," she said, her voice steady despite her flushed appearance. The dagger in her hand flashed with renewed lightning.
Poisoned. Hanekawa's mind raced. That explained everything. The Third Raikage—incapacitated. Hidden Cloud in crisis. And if they couldn't cure him...
Chiyo. It had to be. The Hidden Sand's master poisoner. The same woman who'd nearly killed Kankuro in the original timeline. The same woman who'd required Sakura's intervention to save him.
Hidden Cloud had no medical ninja of Chiyo's caliber. No one who could match her toxins.
Except...
"No wonder," Hanekawa said, drawing the Thunder Fire Sword and blocking her next strike. "Chiyo's work?"
"Yes." Samui pressed the attack, her movements sharp and precise. "We need you."
"I won't go with you."
"Why? Did you betray the Hidden Cloud?"
Hanekawa sidestepped her kick, the blade of lightning passing close enough to singe his hair. "If I leave now, everything I've built here collapses. My cover, my position, my access—all gone."
Samui's movements didn't slow. "What do you propose?"
Hanekawa gathered chakra into the Thunder Fire Sword. Lightning erupted along the blade, brilliant and fierce. He swung upward, cleaving her lightning blade in half.
Samui's eyes narrowed. Just how strong has he become?
The brief exchange left her breathing harder than she expected.
"Shadow clone," Hanekawa said. "My real body stays. A shadow clone goes to Hidden Cloud."
"Shadow clone?" Samui stepped forward, her expression skeptical. "You're certain?"
"Don't worry." Hanekawa smiled—that same confident smile she remembered from years ago. "I'm quite confident in poison."
Three years of training had made Sakura capable of detoxifying sasori's venom. He'd studied far longer, under far more dangerous circumstances. If he couldn't cure Chiyo's poison, he deserved to run headfirst into Tsunade's fist.
Samui exchanged another series of strikes with him, each one pushing her back slightly. The gap in their strength was becoming undeniable.
She glanced at A and Killer Bee, locked in their desperate struggle with Tsunade and Minato. Forcing Hanekawa away by combat wasn't feasible.
"Well," she said, hesitating for only a moment. "If you save Lord Raikage, what conditions would you ask?"
Hanekawa's eyes narrowed. Interesting. "The Lightning Style Chakra Mode training method."
Samui's expression flickered—surprise, then calculation. "That's... a significant request."
"I'm providing a significant service," Hanekawa countered. "A life for a technique. Fair trade."
"Lord Raikage values results," Samui said carefully. "If you cure him, he'll honor any reasonable request."
"When do we leave?"
"When Konoha's reinforcements arrive." Samui's gaze locked onto his. "Where will your shadow clone find us?"
"Too obvious now," Hanekawa said. "Wait until nightfall. I'll create an opportunity."
"Understood." Samui paused, then asked quietly, "You won't break your word?"
"No," Hanekawa said, and meant it. "I won't."
Samui studied him for a long moment, something unreadable crossing her features.
The sound of tearing wind interrupted them.
Samui stepped back immediately. "That's all for today. We'll settle this another time!"
A glanced at her, then at Killer Bee. "Killer Bee!"
"Yes, sir!"
Killer Bee's body convulsed. The red chakra around him intensified, solidified. Eight massive tails erupted from his form, each one thick as a tree trunk, each one radiating destructive power.
They lashed out toward Tsunade and the others.
"Move!" Minato shouted.
Tsunade raised her fist. "Strange Power!"
She punched upward, meeting the incoming tail head-on. The impact sent shockwaves rippling across the battlefield.
"Water Style: Water Formation Wall!" Hanekawa clapped his hands together. A wall of water materialized, absorbing the force of another tail strike.
The wall shattered, but it bought precious seconds.
Body Flicker Technique!
Hanekawa retreated, his blade raised defensively.
The tails didn't pursue. They retracted, coiling around Killer Bee's form like a protective cocoon.
The Hidden Cloud ninjas used the moment to withdraw, moving with practiced efficiency.
"There's a jinchuriki," Tsunade said, not bothering to chase. "No point pursuing. We'd only risk triggering a rampage."
Minato appeared beside her, his expression thoughtful. "I checked the perimeter. No reinforcements. No hidden forces."
Tsunade's frown deepened. "Strange. What was the point of this attack?"
Hanekawa watched the Cloud ninjas disappear into the distance, Samui's blonde hair the last thing visible before the trees swallowed them.
The point, he thought, was me.
But he kept that to himself.
---