c30 – The Fury of the Raikage
Yamato was still a little confused and asked Naruto: "Although we have dealt with some ninjas from the Moon Country, these people are not elites. This may not be able to stop the Raikage from attacking Konoha." The other two also looked at Naruto like Yamato. Obviously, their thoughts were similar to Yamato's, especially since Kumogakure's combat units were famously fierce even during the Fourth Raikage's leadership.
Naruto said, "Let's throw all the bodies into the seabed first and clear all traces of the battle, then I will explain to you." Several people worked together and quickly cleared all traces of the battle. Obviously, the Anbu often do such work. At this time, the four members of Naruto's team were eating barbecue, resting and chatting in Yamato's wooden house built with Wood Release, much like the temporary shelters Yamato used in earlier missions.
Naruto said: "In fact, I have always wondered why the Raikage only sent some ninjas with weak strength to the Land of Water, and they were not shinobi from his own village." "But then I thought, if I were the Raikage and the Mizukage suddenly told me that we should attack Konoha together, what would I think? Yes, this is very likely a trap. After all, Mei Terumī once refused cooperation with other villages during the Fourth Great Ninja War. But the Raikage truly wants to pressure Konoha, so this may also be an opportunity. So, what is the best way at this time?"
Yamato said, "I understand. The best way is of course to send some people to the Land of Water to test it out. If it is really a trap, the loss will not be great. In order to minimize the losses, the Raikage sent ninjas from other countries and only left a few ninjas from his own country to report the situation, just like how Kumogakure once used proxy groups when dealing with the Hyūga Incident."
Naruto continued, "I wasn't sure at first, but through careful observation, I became more and more certain of my thoughts. Their movement patterns, their lack of Cloud-style coordination, and even their gear didn't match genuine Kumogakure squads."
Yamato continued, "So, the captain cannot let me use Wood Release during the battle, and we must erase all traces of our landing on the island. Plus, the captain then used an unprecedentedly powerful Water Release. If nothing unexpected happens, this mission is accomplished. Even the Raikage's sensory unit won't detect us easily."
Naruto said: "Yamato, in order to confirm whether our action is successful, you leave a Wood Release clone hidden in the trees. The Raikage will definitely send someone to check it out later, but remember, you must not expose the clone. Just observe, like when you monitored Orochimaru's hideouts with clones."
A few days later, in the Land of Lightning, the Hidden Cloud Village, in the office of the Raikage, a ninja with a tired look was reporting to the Raikage: "Lord Raikage, the Land of Water really is not sincere in cooperating with us. All the people who went with me were killed. I managed to escape with great difficulty. If I hadn't encountered a merchant ship, I might still be swimming now."
"Nani! How dare the Mizukage do this!" said the Raikage as he slapped the table in front of him into two pieces, just like when he shattered desks during meetings about the Akatsuki.
Then he shouted loudly: "Report the whole process to me in detail, especially the ninjutsu used by the enemy."
Although most people in Kumogakure have long been accustomed to the temper of the Raikage, they are still a little timid. The Kumogakure shinobi lowered his head and whispered: "The opponent uses a powerful Lightning Release, and his mastery of Lightning Release is almost another Raikage. It felt similar to the Lariat technique that you and Killer B mastered."
"What! How is it possible? Is he the guy holding Raiga among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen?" the Raikage said angrily, recalling the rogue swordsman affiliated with Kirigakure.
The Cloud ninja quickly said, "No, that's not the case. However, when they were surrounded from behind, they had no choice but to use the powerful Water Release Technique. It wasn't Kirigakure's usual Hidden Mist or Water Dragon—it felt like something on the level of Mei Terumī herself."
The Raikage said, "Hurry up and tell us the details of the whole process. Don't miss any details." So the Kumogakure shinobi described the entire sequence in detail. After listening, the Raikage thought for a while and said, "I didn't expect that Kirigakure would have such a ninja who is good at Lightning Release. Moreover, this person has never appeared in the Bingo Book before. He must be from the younger generation, someone hidden by the Mizukage like how she once concealed Hōzuki clan prodigies. He is a rare talent!" "If it weren't for the fact that you besieged him with too many people and had controlled territory, I would have suspected that a Cloud ninja had betrayed us. But under a full encirclement, he still used Water Release to break free, so it can be basically confirmed that he is a genius ninja from the Land of Water. Let's set off now and go to the island you mentioned before to take a look."
The Raikage led a large group of Kumogakure shinobi to the small island they had been to before, and they arrived very quickly. Unlike before, the Raikage went to the island himself, activating his signature Lightning Release Armour and landing first to confirm that there were no hidden ambushes before letting others move. Then they began to check the traces of the battle on the island, hoping to find any physical clues. A large group of people acting together was very efficient, especially with sensor-nin and tracking units similar to the ones used during the search for Killer B.
"Lord Raikage, no traces were found on the island," a Kumogakure ninja reported.
The Raikage was silent for a while and said, "Kirigakure is really fast at erasing evidence, just like during Mei Terumī's purge of the remnants of the Blood Mist faction. But there are no mercenary shinobi strong enough to copy Cloud jutsu at this level. Doing this is exactly like covering up the truth. These bastards, I will make them pay the price." Then he punched the ground, raising a large cloud of dust like when he shattered the stone pillars during the Five Kage Summit.
"Let's go back to the Land of Lightning first and then settle the score with them!" the Raikage roared.
Just after the Raikage left for a while, Yamato's Wood Release clone emerged from a large tree, saying, "The Raikage's voice is really loud. I can hear it clearly from such a distance." Then it disappeared with a bang, scattering into wood fragments as his clones usually did.
At this time, Naruto was resting on another island with Yamato and three other team members. They were staying in Yamato's wooden house and discussing the role of Wood Release with Yamato, much like when Yamato explained the basics of Mokuton control during the Tenchi Bridge mission. Suddenly, Yamato received a message from the Wood Release clone and passed the information to Naruto. After hearing this message, Naruto discussed with the other three members of the team: "It seems that the Raikage should believe that the Land of Water killed their people. With the Raikage's temper, Kirigakure will probably not feel good next time, and our mission is basically completed."
Xuan Guang said: "What if, by some chance, the Raikage does not have a large-scale conflict with the Land of Water? It is possible that the situation will shift in a way that is detrimental to Konoha. In that case, the mission assigned to us by Lady Tsunade cannot be considered completed. Should we continue to stay here and see what the two sides do first?" The other two people also revealed concern in their eyes.
Naruto smiled and said, "There is no need to worry about this. If we stay here any longer, all our efforts will be wasted if we are discovered by the Raikage. As for the Raikage, given his personality and how he confronted Sasuke at the Summit without hesitation, it is almost impossible for him not to have a conflict with Kirigakure now. A conflict between two great nations is definitely not a trivial matter. Even if we return to the Land of Fire, we can easily find out what is happening here. To put it another way, even if the Raikage somehow did not have a conflict with Kirigakure, as long as he did not find any trace of Konoha shinobi, he would not trust the Mizukage again. The reason why the Raikage wanted to join forces with Kirigakure is that he was actually worried that his own country alone would not be able to apply enough pressure on Konoha."
Naruto coughed, then smiled and said, "So, our next mission is to quietly return to Konoha. Captain Yamato, let's build a big ship."
Yamato said: "The captain's wisdom is indeed extraordinary." The other two felt the same way and admired Naruto very much.
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