What made it even more unbearable was this—
even with Konoha openly humiliating Kumogakure to its face, the village didn't dare make a sound. Like a turtle hiding in its shell, it could only stay locked inside Kumogakure, not even daring to breathe too loudly, afraid that the Fifth Hokage, Uchiha Ren, might descend upon the village at any moment.
And so, under those circumstances—
frustration and misery became the dominant emotions in the hearts of most Kumo shinobi.
As a result, the Fourth Raikage, A's, Lightning Release chakra began losing control from time to time, affecting the entire village's daily life.
At the same time—
while all of Kumogakure was sinking into a pessimistic atmosphere—
inside the Raikage's office, the desk, cups, floor, and even the walls were covered in visible cracks.
The entire place was a mess.
"Why… why did it turn out like this?"
"Konoha has gone too far."
"That Fifth Hokage, Uchiha Ren, has no shame at all."
"The Eight-Tails jinchūriki and the Two-Tails jinchūriki were both taken by him. Konoha's overall strength is going to rise yet again."
"And Kumogakure is only getting weaker…"
"This is unbearable."
Standing in the middle of the office, the Fourth Raikage's face was twisted with rage. His fists were clenched tight, veins bulged along both arms, and even his large body was trembling slightly.
He was furious.
Truly furious.
The truth was, he had been determined to take Takigakure's Hero Water and the Seven-Tails jinchūriki.
But he had never expected the Fifth Hokage of Konoha to interfere halfway through and ruin everything.
And whenever he thought of Yugito being captured and Mabui being killed, the Fourth Raikage could not help but feel like he had tried to steal a chicken only to lose the rice.
Of course, rage was one thing—
but A had not lost his mind to the point of stupidly charging Konoha head-on.
To put it simply—
in the face of the newly risen God of the shinobi world, Uchiha Ren—
no matter how much Kumogakure was mocked or looked down on, all it could do was endure.
Keep enduring.
Act like a turtle in its shell and survive.
After all—
the two sides had not completely torn relations apart yet.
There was still room to ease tensions.
But if the Fourth Raikage dared to declare war first, that would likely be exactly what Uchiha Ren wanted, letting him turn the situation back around and crush Kumogakure in one blow.
And if that happened—
Kumogakure would truly be finished.
"So what am I supposed to do…?"
After a long time, the lightning chakra around the Fourth Raikage finally began to settle.
Looking utterly drained, he collapsed into the only intact chair left in the office.
As Raikage, he had seen all kinds of major crises.
But faced with the current situation, he genuinely didn't know what choice to make.
It was obvious—
Konoha had already begun gathering tailed beasts.
And once all nine were collected, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Meanwhile, as Konoha continued to grow stronger, Kumogakure would be dragged into a slow death spiral, being devoured bit by bit.
In short—
Kumogakure had already fallen into a dead end.
No matter which road they chose, ruin seemed inevitable.
"Sigh…"
In the end, the Fourth Raikage slumped back and let out a defeated sigh.
"Looks like… all I can do is take it one step at a time."
But—
the moment he thought of Yugito, Killer B, and Mabui—
for some reason, he felt an overwhelming urge to cry.
Weakness was the original sin.
In the end, he alone had been left to bear everything.
Now many of Kumogakure's upper ranks had already been killed off by the Fifth Hokage, Uchiha Ren.
Just thinking about it made his heart ache.
"Heh…"
Whoosh—
At that moment, accompanied by a spiraling distortion in space—
a masked man, Uchiha Obito, and Uchiha Madara appeared in the Raikage's office like ghosts.
"Who's there?!"
Seeing two mysterious figures suddenly appear in front of him, the Fourth Raikage was startled badly. He shot to his feet from the chair, lightning chakra surging across his body at once.
There was no need to say it aloud—
he had already entered combat mode.
"Too weak…"
After entering the office, before the masked man could even speak, Uchiha Madara coldly said,
"Compared to the First Raikage, your strength really is nothing worth looking at."
"What did you just say?"
Hearing that, A's heart shook, though his expression remained hard as he said coldly,
"You dare break into Kumogakure? Are you looking to die?"
"You?"
The masked man, Uchiha Obito, pointed at Madara and said flatly,
"This is Uchiha Madara, the legendary man once placed on the same level as the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju."
Buzz!!
The words hit like thunder.
For a moment, the Fourth Raikage froze.
Then he stared carefully at the man dressed in a black combat suit with layered red armor strapped over it.
At first, A didn't believe it.
But once he noticed the flame-patterned war fan behind Madara—and those Rinnegan—
something clicked in his mind.
His eyes widened, and his face turned as pale as if he had seen a ghost.
"Uchiha… Madara?"
"It's really Uchiha Madara?"
He clearly remembered that Madara had died back in the Warring States era.
So how could he still be alive?
How could he be standing here, in front of him, in the flesh?
The more A thought about it, the colder he felt.
In that instant, terror spread through him completely.
This was Uchiha Madara.
As the Fourth Raikage, he naturally knew exactly how monstrous and terrifying the man called Madara—who had once stood shoulder to shoulder with Hashirama—had been during the Warring States era.
Bang!
Perhaps because the shock and fear were too overwhelming, the Fourth Raikage stumbled backward several steps, his body trembling as he stared fixedly at Madara's youthful face.
His expression shifted wildly.
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 60 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/StrawHatStudios