The morning sun over Land of Lightning was calm, unbeknownst to it the war raged on multiple fronts, drawing away a massive portion of the shinobi forces, the village core Kumo remained a flurry of chaos. Shinobi rushed through... some carrying armloads of battle reports fresh from the frontlines, others hauling crates of medical supplies and re-supply seals toward the rear battlegrounds.
Amidst this bustle, Kaien had just arrived at the heartland of Kumo as his muscles burned from hours of high-speed travel, but he didn't pause to catch his breath as he continued towards the Raikage's tower. As he drew closer, the structural damage from a month ago from the battle were still glaringly apparent.
The side wall of the Raikage's office bore deep gouges... the unmistakable wrath of his attack at Dan, when he had breached the strategy meeting. As Kaien activated his Byakugan to search for Dan and it did not take long to find him hovering in the open sky, roughly two kilometers to the northwest. The ghostly form drifted, a constant spying nuisance. Kaien resolved himself as he tore his senses away. "Not yet," he told himself.
He lacked the ability to deal with him swiftly he had only first chance... engaging him now would only waste precious energy and tip their hand.
Pushing past the iron gateways of the tower, Kaien strode up the grand staircases and made his way to the Raikage's office. The doors of the office were already wide open, a reminder to the endless stream of messengers, and advisors needing the leader's immediate attention.
Kaien stepped inside the room as he saw seated casually on the plush leather couch near the corner was Uncle Bee, nodding his head to a rhythm, though his arms were crossed over his chest. His Byakugan noticed the chakra signature of Bee seated on the couch which lacked the usual intensity by a very little margin, only few who are very close to him would notice that.
"So, it's an octopus clone," Kaien thought. "Uncle Bee must be holding the line down at the Land of Rice Fields frontline."
Before Kaien could deliver his report from the coastline, a Kumo chunin burst through the room, breathless and desperate. Without waiting for permission the chunin dropped heavily to one knee his hands pressed flat against the floorboards.
"Lord Raikage!" the chunin gasped his voice trembling slightly at the news he bought. "We've just intercepted intelligence from frontlines. Tsuchikage Onoki is making his way toward our main forces alongside Kakuzu... the rogue shinobi who has been racking up heavy casualties on our lines recently!"
On the couch, Killer Bee's rhythmic head-bobbing froze instantly. It wasn't fear of Onoki that caused the change in his demeanor; rather, hearing Kakuzu's name bought out painful memories. Bee recalled Darui using Kakashi's reincarnation and he watched Kakuzu for the first time, then the connection to Kakashi was cut. Later, a specialized search squad had been dispatched to sweep the area for Darui's remains, they had found nothing but the pulverized earth and scorched craters.
Bee remembered the fury of the Raikage storming out this very office, ready to march out alone to hunt down the remnants. But Dan had been lurking fully prepared to leak our movements to Konoha, Kiri, and Iwa simultaneously...which would have drastically spiked Kumo's casualties.
Bee shook his head... pulling himself back to the present moment.
Renga stepped forward as he assessed the situation. "This is a massive problem," he said. "Right now, we already have Lady Benihime, Lord Ay, Oyashiro, Fugaku, and Mikoto stretched thin trying to hold the line against Jiraiya, Tsunade, Minato, Hiruzen, Mito, Kitsuchi, Han. Adding Onoki and Kakuzu into that mix... the battlefield dynamics change entirely. We are looking at catastrophic casualties if we don't adapt immediately."
Renga turned his gaze toward his left. "Lord Raikage, if you give the order, I will use my technique. Please, think it over carefully. We have suffered enough... If my identity has to be blown for us to win this, then so be it. Let the chips fall where they may."
Kaien listened in as he glanced over at his grandfather. The Raikage sat behind his desk, his face etched with exhaustion as deep dark circles formed under his eyes... a reminder to sleepless nights. He looked up, his fierce gaze locking onto his grandson.
"What do you say, Little one?" the Raikage rasped. "You were the one who suggested—"
Before the Raikage could finish his sentence Kaien's hand shot up pressing his index finger firmly against his lips in a gesture to stay silent. "Keep your mouth shut, Grandpa," the gesture said.
Kaien's Byakugan caught the Dan's spirit was slowly but cautiously descending from the clouds, drawing closer to the tower to eavesdrop on their private council.
The obscure mental trick he had painstakingly taught himself back when he was mute... relying entirely on Fuinjutsu seals to speak his mind... was finally proving to be a lifesaver.
The Raikage didn't need a detailed explanation and caught his grandson's intent as he read through the message he displayed and understood what he had to do. He channeled his genuine fury fueled by the very grief of losing Darui and Dodai, and the intolerable pressure of Dan's constant espionage... the Raikage didn't need to fake his rage.
"What did you say?!" the Raikage bellowed. He roared loud enough ensuring the sound carried straight up where Dan was hovering. "That stubborn old bastard Onoki is actually making his move?! I'll crush him into dust myself!"
Taking his cue instantly, Kaien's fingers snapped through a sequence of hand seals at a blistering pace.
"Yin Release: False Distortion!"
Up above, Dan having heard the Raikage's outburst and desperate to gather intelligence on the reaction to mobilization of Iwa's forces... abandoned his cautious hovering and descended much faster, diving downward to get a clearer angle and understand what new crisis had just upended Kumo's war room.
Down below, the Raikage didn't hesitate. He burst through the side wall of his office with a deafening crash of splintering wood, rocketing outward.
From his vantage point roughly fifteen hundred meters in the air, Dan stopped his descent dead in his tracks. Through the swirling dust below, he had a remarkably clear view of the Raikage launching himself outward. He was wrapped in a long cloak and and his back had a hunch.
Dan narrowed his eyes as he received a persistent mental order from Danzo back in the shadows: "Focus only on the Raikage."
"Wait... that has to be the Benihisago... the Crimson Gourd," Dan analyzed mentally, as his eyes locked onto the bulky curved shape contours from the Raikage's cloak.
He immediately halted his downward trajectory, his paranoia spiking as he re-evaluated the scene unfolding beneath him.
"So that's it," Dan thought as he suspected a trap. The Raikage staged this loud outburst just to drop my guard and lure me into striking distance. He's attempting to draw me out into the open so he can seal my spirit once and for all. "The plan is painfully obvious. They aren't catching me that easily."
~~
A/N: What did Kaien show to the Raikage for him to fake anger? Looks like Dan has figured out their plan.
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