Chapter 242: Waves Rise Again in the Ninja World
"Raikage-sama! Dana-sama! Emergency report! The team sent to the capital was attacked by unknown assailants!"
The Third Raikage remained as steady as a mountain. "Don't panic. Was it some blind mercenary ninja making a move? Those people have been getting bold lately."
The Raikage's secretary shook his head. "The identity and intent of the enemy are unknown. Although we suffered no fatalities, two of our ninja are critically injured!"
Dana's expression remained unchanged as he looked down at the documents in his hand.
"Two critically injured? I recall the team sent was seven people. The enemy's strength is quite good."
"The assailant used the legendary Wood Release."
Dana: "PFFT!!! NANI?!"
"Furthermore, the assailant was a Taijutsu-type ninja who called themselves... Yotsuki Teru (Kaguya)."
The Third Raikage: "PFFT!!!! NANI?!"
The two exchanged glances and said in unison, "Yotsuki... Teru? Does the Yotsuki Clan have such a person?"
Dana snatched the report and read every word himself.
Uses Wood Release?! Wears a mask?! Has some unknown white substance on their body for disguise?!
Isn't this definitive proof? Can this be fake? It must be the work of Madara Uchiha.
But Obito is just a kid. The Third Great Ninja War hasn't even started yet...
"Was the mask orange with a spiral pattern?" Dana asked.
The secretary shook his head. "No." He handed Dana a sketch drawn by the survivors based on their memory.
Looking at the unfamiliar mask in the drawing, Dana was stumped.
What is this? A Shinigami (Death God) mask?
Is this Madara's new pawn? Who the hell is this?
Dana could guess the source of the Wood Release—it had to be a transplant. But calling themselves a Yotsuki baffled him completely. Shouldn't they inherit Madara's name?
Could it be that somewhere they didn't know, a real Yotsuki clan member had completed the achievement chain of: Disappointed with the world
→\rightarrow→
Loved one dies
→\rightarrow→
Crippled and saved
→\rightarrow→
Awakens Wood Release... and became the new pawn of Madara and Black Zetsu?
"Has any Yotsuki clan member died recently? Or been critically injured? Missing?"
The secretary shook his head. "Only one kunoichi was injured recently, and she is currently lying in the Cloud Hospital."
If it wasn't a Yotsuki, then announcing that name... was it to frame the clan?
No... that makes no sense. The ninja world isn't that naive. If shouting a name was enough to frame someone, people would just go around committing crimes while shouting their enemies' names. Madara's plan can't be that stupid.
At this point in time, there was someone who could potentially become a pawn for Madara and Black Zetsu...
The first person Dana thought of was...
Minato Namikaze losing Kushina and turning to the dark side.
If that's the case, it would be really troublesome...
If trash like Obito could reach such heights after turning dark...
If Minato turned dark...
Just as Dana was wavering with uncertainty, the Third Raikage slammed his fist onto the desk. "Regardless of who it is, figuring out what they want to do is enough. The appearance of this person clearly shows that the series of events in the Daimyo's Court is indeed being manipulated by outsiders."
Dana realized he was right. Obsessing over the masked person's identity now was just drilling into a dead end.
He had been here for over a decade and done so many things; the direction of the ninja world was already vastly different from his memories. Let alone changing pawns, even if old Madara himself crawled out of his grave to cause trouble, it wasn't impossible.
The changes in the Daimyo's Court were already concerning enough for the Cloud. Now, with Madara's hand stirring the pot, it was the worst possible scenario.
If the Land of Lightning fell into turmoil and poverty, the Cloud could not remain unaffected.
This had to be taken seriously.
Dana said to the Third Raikage, "I'll take the Special Strategy Division and go personally. The matter of the Daimyo concerns the grand plan of Kumogakure."
The Third Raikage nodded. Currently, Dana and his division were the most suitable for this task.
Dana thought to himself: Prepare for the worst. Assume the enemy has already made moves the Cloud doesn't know about.
He worried the conspiracy went far deeper than what they had discovered so far.
Land of Wind, Sunagakure.
Rasa, Pakura, and Sasori had returned to the village and were reporting to the Third Kazekage.
"Any gains?"
Rasa said excitedly, "Kazekage-sama, there are many. Please look..."
During their diplomatic mission to the Cloud, the three had also been tasked with uncovering the secrets behind the Cloud's strength. Rasa, in particular, had recorded a massive amount of information he believed to be the secret, compiled into a small book.
As they were reporting, someone came in with a letter from the Thunder Daimyo.
"The Thunder Daimyo?"
The Third Kazekage stared blankly for a moment, thinking he misheard.
The Thunder Daimyo is sending a letter to the Kazekage?
To discuss desertification control?
Since they were discussing the Cloud anyway, the Kazekage had the letter brought in. He opened it, froze, read it three times, and still couldn't believe his eyes.
"Inviting Sunagakure to station ninja in the Land of Lightning long-term? Wait... this payment amount... is he serious?"
Although the Land of Lightning and Suna were separated by almost the entire ninja world...
But... this price...
He had to admit, this absurd proposal was somewhat tempting for Suna, which was constantly being choked by budget cuts.
Land of Earth, Iwagakure.
Onoki also opened the letter from the Thunder Daimyo in his office.
Scanning it quickly, Onoki confirmed with his subordinate, "Are you sure this is a handwritten letter from the Thunder Daimyo? We haven't been duped by some prankster?"
The subordinate replied firmly, "Because of the signature, I thought it was strange when I first got it, so I verified it repeatedly. It was delivered through the official channels of the Thunder Daimyo's Court. Faking it would be impossible unless there is a problem within the Land of Lightning itself. We verified everything we could on our end; there are no issues."
Onoki read it carefully again. He recognized every word, but strung together, they felt like a dream.
"Permitting Iwa ninja to operate in all cities of the Land of Lightning and accept missions? Is this... is this possible? What is the Thunder Daimyo thinking? Will the Cloud agree?"
The subordinate added, "Actually, about six months ago, the Cloud Village already had a conflict with the Thunder Daimyo. Since then, the Cloud and the Daimyo's Court seem to have become somewhat disjointed."
The relationship between a ninja village and the Daimyo was complex. It was normal to have honeymoon periods and ice ages—like Suna and the Wind Daimyo's lukewarm relationship in recent years. But no one had ever thrown their country's doors open like the Thunder Daimyo was doing.
"Is this new Daimyo a fool whose ambition exceeds his ability, leading him to make such a move?"
"Lord Tsuchikage, how should we respond?"
Onoki hesitated for a moment, then said gravely, "We do whatever is beneficial to Iwagakure. It's that simple. The chaos isn't happening in the Land of Earth, so what's the rush..."
"Yes! This subordinate understands!"
Land of Fire, Konoha.
Homura Mitokado frowned. "Is the Thunder Daimyo really this stupid?"
Koharu Utatane replied, "Not necessarily stupid. The Cloud Village has developed too aggressively over the years. It's normal for there to be friction and mutual restraint with the Daimyo's Court. Besides, if the Thunder Daimyo is a fool, is that bad for us?"
As the former strongest village now stepped on by the Cloud, Konoha thought every day about how to surpass them. They just didn't expect the opportunity to come like this, from such an unexpected place.
"Because it's inconvenient to enter the Land of Lightning, our intel isn't timely. But it is said that riots have already started there. This newly appointed Daimyo has single-handedly thrown the entire Land of Lightning and the Cloud Village into chaos."
Homura said, "The Cloud might not be chaotic yet, but problems in the Land of Lightning are a fatal wound for them. Mission volume, commercial prosperity, influence—all will suffer severe blows. The Thunder Daimyo is destroying his own foundation, and this destruction will inevitably affect the Cloud across the board."
Sakumo Hatake said solemnly, "I fear the Cloud will not sit idly by."
The two advisors nodded. Given the Cloud's personality, they obviously wouldn't stay silent. But how would they handle this chaos trickling down from the Daimyo himself?
The previous Thunder Daimyo had already died under mysterious circumstances, causing rumors to fly across the ninja world. Even if the Cloud countered the Daimyo's Court—or took drastic measures and made the new Daimyo die mysteriously too—the Land of Lightning's prestige would be shattered. If two Daimyos in a row had "accidents" in a short time, the country would inevitably fall into turmoil.
When that happened, would it be an opportunity for the other villages...?