Uchiha Nagi handed over the Three-Tails' cells and the cloning technology to Shinno for research. After all, a free subordinate was a resource not to be wasted.
At the same time, he gave the control formula for the Edo Tensei to Kimimaro and Uzumaki Honoka, instructing them to be vigilant and prevent Shinno from escaping. With Honoka's Uzumaki clan sealing jutsu, however, restraining Shinno wasn't much of a challenge.
Shinno already possessed cloning expertise, making him the perfect candidate to lead the projects to clone the Three-Tails and a new body for himself. Nagi was sure the man was eager to inhabit the body of a living person again as soon as possible. Besides, Shinno didn't know the Edo Tensei himself and was nowhere near Kage-level in strength; Nagi had no fear of him breaking the jutsu's restraints.
As for how long it would take to clone a complete Three-Tails, that would require patience. Orochimaru had spent years on his own cloning research and had only managed to grow one of the Eight-Tails' horns by a few meters—a trivial achievement compared to the immense size of a full Tailed Beast.
Fortunately, Nagi had the original Three-Tails in his possession. Once the clone was ready, he could extract chakra from the original to accelerate the clone's growth. A Tailed Beast's chakra would replenish itself within a few days anyway.
"Time to go. To the Land of Lightning..."
For the second time, Nagi set out for another village alone. This mission required stealth.
The Land of Lightning was home to two perfect jinchuriki, either of whom could destroy his Sky Fortress with a single Tailed Beast Bomb. Flying over in his fortress and announcing his presence was not a good idea. The Sky Fortress had decent defenses, enough to block A-rank ninjutsu, but a Tailed Beast Bomb... it might withstand a small one, but a large one was out of the question.
The fortress was difficult to build but easy to destroy. If it were blown up, he might never be able to create another. So, Nagi had no intention of deploying it for this mission.
"And then there are the two jinchuriki, a Raikage, and tens of thousands of ninja..." Nagi murmured to himself, calculating the odds. The Raikage alone was a match for him, and what about the two jinchuriki?
He had gotten the drop on the Fourth Raikage A last time, and though the man had been injured, it didn't mean Nagi was guaranteed a win. The Fourth Raikage was a beast of a man, strong enough to go head-to-head with the Eight-Tails and sever its horn. After being tricked once, he wouldn't fall for the same move again.
Shaking his head, Nagi chose to ride his giant eagle into the Land of Lightning. The fierce winds at an altitude of ten thousand meters whipped his hair into a frenzy but did nothing to slow the eagle's flight. The advantage of having a flying summon was immense.
Of all the great villages, the Land of Lightning had preserved its strength the best during the last Great Ninja War. They had only lost the Third Raikage, while their shinobi forces remained largely intact. Furthermore, compared to the other hidden villages, the Land of Lightning was more unified; they hadn't produced a single rogue ninja in years. Who knew how many masters were hidden within their ranks? Were there truly only the three Kage-level shinobi they showed the world?
As night fell, the eagle dropped Nagi off several dozen kilometers from the Hidden Cloud Village. With his speed, he could cover the remaining distance in less than an hour.
"You've worked hard. I'll treat you to some beef when we get back. I hear the plateau yaks in the Land of Lightning are delicious~" Nagi said with a smile, forming a hand seal to release the summoning.
SKRAWW!
The giant eagle let out a cry of dissatisfaction, but Nagi just patted it.
"Don't think I don't know it was you who caused all that trouble with the Raikage in the Land of Iron. I told you to release those two ninja, and what did you do? You ate them..."
The eagle shifted its body indignantly, showing off a section of its feathers that had been scorched, as if to say it was the victim.
"Get lost, you glutton..." Nagi sighed, releasing the summoning jutsu and sending it back.
"And now, for the infiltration..."
It was a dark and windy night, perfect for murder and arson.
The Hidden Cloud Village was perched atop towering mountain peaks. Not only were the mountains tall, but the altitude itself was extremely high, similar to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. This was why the Fourth Raikage A and Killer B had such dark skin—the ultraviolet radiation was incredibly intense. The low oxygen levels at such heights also meant that the ninja from this land had exceptionally strong physiques. This geographical advantage was also why the Land of Lightning, despite bordering the sea, had always been at peace with the Land of Water. The Land of Water would be at a severe disadvantage if they ever tried to attack.
Nagi arrived outside the Hidden Cloud Village, his Sharingan already spotting a thin barrier. The barrier itself wasn't strong—in fact, it offered almost no defensive power—but its sensory capabilities were top-notch.
It made sense. The Hidden Cloud was the heart of the entire Land of Lightning; though called a village, it was effectively a city. To maintain a defensive barrier over such a large area would require the two Tailed Beasts to supply chakra in shifts.
So, the entire barrier was a warning system. The ninja on duty could sense objects and animals passing through it, but it had little to no defensive strength.
This, however, posed no challenge to Nagi. He had hundreds of ways to bypass a barrier and chose the simplest one.
He caught a rabbit, placed it under a genjutsu, and then applied a Flying Thunder God mark to its belly.
The rabbit hopped into the barrier. The ninja on duty, of course, sensed it the moment it passed through, but with so many birds, rabbits, and other small animals around, they couldn't possibly stop them all. The sensory ninja confirmed the rabbit wasn't a summon or a transformed shinobi and showed no signs of chakra, so they ignored it.
After the rabbit had run some distance, a figure appeared beside it.
Flying Thunder God.
"Heh, easy infiltration," Nagi said with a smirk. Compared to others like Nagato, Itachi, or Orochimaru, his infiltration was truly silent and traceless. Just like with Obito, space-time ninjutsu was just that convenient.
Before arriving, Nagi had purchased a map of the Hidden Cloud Village from the black market. The map clearly detailed the village's layout, with a few darkened areas indicating restricted zones where no outsiders were allowed.
The village's cemetery and mausoleum, however, were not deliberately hidden. Outsiders were barred from entry, as it was a place for villagers to pay their respects. And as it happened, that was exactly where Nagi needed to go.
Before Orochimaru's attack on Konoha, no one had really considered that the Edo Tensei could be used on the battlefield. As a result, the cemetery was only symbolically guarded by a few chunin and genin. The security was lax.
After all, since Hashirama Senju had designated the Edo Tensei a forbidden jutsu, Tobirama Senju had never again used it in the ninja world. He went to his grave without ever casting the forbidden technique.
But today, the cemetery was about to welcome a scumbag grave-robber, armed with a shovel.