Chapter 131 – Good News
Fugaku gave his orders with calm authority.
"Leave a squad behind to clean up the battlefield. All enemy corpses are to be incinerated to prevent plague. The bodies of our comrades must be carefully gathered and returned to the village for a proper burial.
Also, station a small team here, including members of the Hyūga. Some of the Cloud shinobi managed to escape. If they try to launch a sneak attack, we will be ready."
"I understand, Hokage-sama. Allow me to assign the personnel," Hyūga Hiashi said, stepping forward eagerly.
A few minutes later, Hiashi finalized the group: five men in total—an Uchiha jōnin, a Hyūga jōnin, and three other seasoned jōnin. It was more than enough to deal with the handful of Cloud shinobi who had slipped away.
"Good. The rest of you, with me. Our destination is Kumogakure itself—the Hidden Cloud Village of the Land of Lightning!" Fugaku declared, leading the vanguard.
The Konoha shinobi followed, their hearts pounding with excitement.
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Konoha Village, Hokage Building.
It was nearly midnight in the assistant's office. Nara Shikaku leaned back, pressing his fingers against the bridge of his nose. The day's endless work had left his mind heavy, but there was still more to be done.
Calling to the shadows, he asked, "Report. What are Jiraiya and Orochimaru doing now?"
An Anbu emerged and knelt. "Assistant, both Jiraiya-sama and Orochimaru-sama remain inside Ryūchi Cave. Neither has made a move."
Relief flickered across Shikaku's tired features. If either had gone to stir up conflict with the Uchiha compound, the situation could have turned disastrous. Fortunately, Jiraiya's loyalty to Konoha still outweighed his grief. Despite losing his teacher to the Fifth Hokage, he had remained calm, unwilling to risk tearing the village apart.
Shikaku resumed his work. He even sent for bedding from his home, informing his family he would not return that night. Too much rested on his shoulders to leave the Hokage Building unattended.
A knock at the door interrupted him. "Come in," he said without looking up. His office was never locked.
"Assistant, good news!"
The voice was bright with excitement. Shikaku looked up to see Yamanaka Jōichirō from the Intelligence Division, practically glowing with anticipation.
"What news?" Shikaku asked, though he already had a guess.
Jōichirō held out a sealed report. "See for yourself!"
Shikaku arched a brow but quickly tore open the envelope. His eyes fell on the first line—then widened in shock.
The Fourth Raikage was slain by Hokage-sama.
For a moment he rubbed his eyes, certain fatigue had made him misread. But the words remained. The report was clear: the Raikage had been killed on the battlefield, the Cloud forces routed, with only a handful escaping.
Shikaku's breath caught. Another Kage dead—after the Third Raikage had fallen, now the Fourth as well.
The report gave only a brief account of the battle:
The Fifth Hokage summoned a Heavenly Warrior, hundreds of meters tall. With one strike he grievously wounded the Raikage, then trampled him to death.
Shikaku remembered Fugaku's confident words before marching out of the village. Now, seeing them fulfilled, a chill ran down his spine. The Fourth Raikage, renowned for his speed and power, had been obliterated as though he were nothing.
His excitement warred with unease. The report went on: the Fifth Hokage intended not just to repel the enemy, but to lead a direct counterattack on Kumogakure itself.
Shikaku frowned. The Hidden Cloud was not weak. They had emerged from the Third Shinobi World War as the greatest victors, their only true loss being the Third Raikage. Konoha, meanwhile, had been weakened by fighting multiple fronts. The Cloud had even extorted reparations from Konoha after the conflict, swelling their coffers.
Though they had lost the Raikage and a hundred men, Kumogakure still had its full might—including the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails jinchūriki. Could sixty of Konoha's jōnin truly topple such a fortress?
But then Shikaku remembered the Sharingan. Madara Uchiha had once bent the Nine-Tails to his will. The fox's red eyes during the Kyūbi attack had borne the same cursed tomoe. If Fugaku possessed such control, then the Cloud's Tailed Beasts might not pose a threat at all.
His doubt faltered. The report also requested he prepare storage scrolls—large quantities of them. Fugaku was not planning a raid. He was planning conquest.
Shikaku's lips thinned, but he made his choice. Fugaku had never failed in his word.
"Summon Elder Sihō to my office," he ordered sharply.
Before Jōichirō could move, an Anbu flickered from the shadows to carry out the command.
Jōichirō hesitated, then asked, "Assistant, should I withdraw?"
"No," Shikaku said, waving a hand. "You'll stay. I'll need you to draft a reply to Hokage-sama."
Moments later, Uchiha Sihō entered the room, his expression taut. "Assistant, what has happened?"
"Good news," Shikaku said with a rare smile, handing him the report.
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