Two months had passed since the operation to capture Hiruko. The mission barely caused a ripple; most villagers in Konoha never even learned that such a rogue ninja had been captured and killed.
After all, Hiruko wasn't particularly famous to begin with, and their operation had been conducted in secret. Upon learning what had happened, the Third Hokage simply sighed regretfully, "What a shame," and that was the end of that incident.
...
Eastern Front Camp.
Two figures clashed midair before separating, kunais clashing against each other.
One side stopped abruptly, his palm erupting with lightning chakra. "Careful, I'm using Chidori!"
Kakashi surged forward like thunder, charging his opponent with Lightning Release chakra.
"Bring it on! I won't lose to you, fake Uchiha!"
The three tomoe spinning rapidly within the other's Sharingan eye seemed to slow down time itself. At the very last moment of the lightning strike, he dodged.
Kakashi halted, shaking his wrist. "Phew, I'm done. My chakra's almost out."
Shuunen couldn't help but sigh. "That's way too unfair—I was just about to counterattack!"
Even so, he obediently closed his Sharingan eye.
Seeing the fight come to an end, the onlookers gathered around.
"Kakashi, you really can't keep going for long!" Guy patted Kakashi's shoulder enthusiastically. "Starting tomorrow, train with me—handstands every single day!"
"I do need to get stronger... But..." Kakashi gave him a bored side-eye. "Training with you would be embarrassing."
"Embarrassing?!" Guy staggered back, shocked and upset. "No way! It's beautiful scenery! When I train outside, even enemies say I'm one-of-a-kind!"
Kakashi's forehead twitched. *Are you sure they were being serious?*
Asuma stared in amazement. "Is the improvement from the Three-Tomoe Sharingan really that big? He actually dodged your [Chidori]!"
Shuunen gently touched his eye, a sorrowful look on his face. "If I could choose, I'd rather not have this kind of growth at all."
Kakashi also looked melancholic. "Yeah… If I could choose, I'd rather this technique—[Chidori]—had never been completed."
Asuma's mouth twitched slightly. He hadn't even mentioned Obito yet—why did it suddenly feel like walking on eggshells?
When Rin gave him a disapproving glare, Asuma quickly steered the conversation elsewhere. "Jonin Seiki, can the Three-Tomoe Sharingan see Seiki's movements clearly?"
"I can barely track Seiki's movements... but..." Shuunen shook his head slightly. "It doesn't matter if my body can't keep up anyway. If Guy used the Sharingan, maybe it'd work better."
Guy, who had been annoying Kakashi nonstop, jumped in shock. "Senior Shuunen, don't curse yourself like that!"
Shuunen's expression darkened. He only said it offhandedly—why are you still thinking about it?
Just as he was about to confront Guy using genjutsu, a Chunin rushed over. "Jonin Seiki, Lord Orochimaru has summoned you to the meeting room—it's urgent!"
"Urgent situation? What kind of emergency could there possibly be now?" Guy frowned in confusion. "Don't tell me other villages have allied again?"
Seiki was somewhat puzzled too, but he didn't make them wait. "Trouble you, I'll come right away."
Inside the meeting room.
Of the Eastern Front's "Big Four," Seiki arrived last.
"Hurry it up! Something huge just went down!" Jiraiya waved energetically with an excited expression.
"Sorry for being late," Seiki slid into his seat and asked, "What exactly happened?"
Orochimaru pressed his palms together lightly. "Put simply, the Raikage has fallen in battle!"
Minato, who also hadn't heard the news yet, exclaimed in shock, "How could that be? With the Raikage's strength, even all of us working together would struggle to kill him!"
"If the Raikage wanted to escape, naturally no one could kill him!" Orochimaru shook his head. "But what if he insisted on fighting to the death instead of retreating?"
"Fighting to the death—dead serious?" Seiki tasted the meaning behind the words as he tentatively asked, "Could it be that Iwagakure finally made its move?"
Orochimaru nodded. "Onoki truly becomes more formidable with age. He wouldn't act unless he was certain, but once he did strike, it went straight for Hidden Cloud's vital point."
Minato looked confused. "Hidden Cloud's vital point?"
Jiraiya explained with a loud laugh, "Of course, it's their loot! Those bandits from Hidden Cloud always hoard their plunder like rats hoarding grain for winter, secretly accumulating who-knows-how-much wealth! This time, Iwagakure nearly took it all away!"
"Rats hoarding grain for winter?" Seiki smirked at the metaphor—it was surprisingly vivid.
"You're telling me the Raikage fought to the death over some spoils of war?" Minato still found it hard to believe—the Raikage, renowned for possessing the strongest defense, had supposedly died for such a reason!
Jiraiya rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Not entirely about the spoils either; besides protecting the loot, he also had to cover the retreat for other Hidden Cloud ninja. After all, their enemy was an army numbering ten thousand!"
Seiki said in astonishment, "An army of ten thousand?"
Orochimaru nodded, "One must admit that old man was truly impressive—fighting against ten thousand adversaries, he personally wore down over a thousand Iwagakure ninja before finally collapsing from exhaustion!"
Jiraiya sighed, "This is where Onoki made a miscalculation. Had the Hokage been there, the Raikage wouldn't have dared to challenge both Dust Release and an army of ten thousand!"
"In that sense, the Raikage should thank Seiki," Orochimaru chuckled. "Losing one leg made Onoki much more cautious."
"Better call it cautious than cowardly," Seiki remarked. "After all, Iwagakure's younger generation isn't ready yet, and Kitsuchi already had one arm broken—he has to hold out until someone can step up to shoulder Iwagakure's future!"
"That's true enough," Jiraiya said with considerable feeling. "Come to think of it, the Third Kazekage disappeared even before the war started, the Third Tsuchikage was left permanently disabled by Seiki, and now the Third Raikage has fallen in battle. Among the Kages of each village, only Old Man Hiruzen and the Third Mizukage remain relatively strong."
At this point, everyone's expressions became awkward.
Compared with the other Kages, how much stronger was Hokage-sama? He wasn't merely just robust—he was practically living it up!
Realizing he might have said something off, Jiraiya gave an awkward chuckle and got back on track. "The main reason I called you here today is to remind you all to stay alert. Although Raikage's death has nothing to do with us, those lunatics from Cloud Village are capable of anything. Who knows? They might go crazy and drag us down with them!"
Orochimaru added seriously, "Indeed, we must be cautious. Cloud Village is a fierce and vicious wolf. The closer we get to the finish line, the more carefully we must watch for their desperate counterattack in their dying moments."
Minato naturally voiced full support for his teacher, "I understand. I'll immediately strengthen the patrols!"
Seiki nodded firmly, "I will ensure everyone remains vigilant!"
"Don't need to take it that seriously," Jiraiya said with a smile. "Cloud Village is already at war with Mist, and now they're being ambushed by Iwagakure too. As long as The Fourth still has his wits about him, they wouldn't dare cause us trouble!"
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