As Kaien walked beside Tsunade toward the Hokage Tower, every step thummed inside his chest like the pounding of war drums. The stone paths of Konoha were calm, villagers unaware of the storm brewing within the village leadership. But to Kaien, the entire place felt like a lion's den slowly closing around him. The Hokage Monument loomed above the village, which had the craving of Hashirama, Tobirama, Hiruzen and finally Danzo.
One hour earlier – Land of Hot Water
The moment Minato vanished with Kaien in a flash of yellow light, the battlefield fell silent.
Killer Bee stood alone amid the ruined forest, Gyūki's chakra still burning across his body... the anger inside him was boiling uncontrollably. The boy, his Nephew, he had sworn to protect had been taken right before his eyes.
He had been too slow.
Without hesitation he gathered chakra into a dense sphere between his palms. The Tailed Beast Bomb grew rapidly, swelling larger than a house. Its dark surface crackled with compressed positive and negative chakra.
Bee hurled it skyward toward the Land of Fire. The sphere tore across the horizon like a falling star but even as the destructive projectile vanished into the distance, Bee knew it solved nothing.
Kaien was still gone.
He exhaled sharply and forced himself to focus. Just before Kaien disappearing, he had shouted one crucial information.
"Captain Renga is at the Valley of Hell."
If Renga was still alive, there was one possibility. He might be able to send me closer to Konoha.
Bee launched himself forward, sprinting through the forest at tremendous speed. Branches shattered as he passed and the ground cracked beneath his feet.
Ten seconds later he reached the outskirts of the Valley of Hell.
The landscape looked like it had been struck by a meteor. Entire ridges had collapsed. The Red mineral lake that once defined the valley had been blasted outward, leaving deep scars across the canyon walls. Chunks of iron-rich rock still smoldered where chakra clashes had vaporized entire sections of terrain.
Bee slowed slightly.
Several members of the Chinoike clan were struggling to push the red liquid back into the the now empty lake. They worked carefully, manipulating blood-like mineral flows with their Kekkei Genkai.
Renga was nowhere to be seen.
Bee approached quickly. "Where is Renga?" he demanded.
One of the Chinoike shinobi who was concentrating intensely, guiding streams of red liquid back toward the fractured lake bed. Bee's sudden voice shattered his focus.
"What is it?" the man snapped angrily, dropping the flow he had been guiding.
He turned around... and froze.
Standing behind him was a towering dark-skinned man with white hair, a goatee, and a muscular frame radiating oppressive chakra. A Kumo forehead protector gleamed across his brow, and an oval pair of sunglasses reflected the crimson lake behind them.
He recognized instantly. The Eight-Tails Jinchūriki of Kumo.
The man's throat tightened.
Bee spoke again, voice calmer but urgent. "Where is the Chief Advisor of Kumo? Where is your ad-hoc leader?"
The Chinoike member swallowed hard. "Th-that way," he stammered, pointing toward a cliffside passage. Before he could finish the sentence, Bee was already gone.
The man stared at the empty space where Bee had stood.
He exhaled shakily. "…I am alive," he whispered in relief.
Bee followed the direction and soon arrived at a cavern entrance carved into the canyon wall. Inside was not a simple cave. It was an underground refuge large enough to house hundreds.
Rough wooden structures lined the cavern floor, torches illuminating stone pathways and narrow corridors. Approximately two hundred Chinoike clan members had taken shelter here while their homeland was still being repaired.
Bee activated his chakra sensing technique. To him, chakra signatures appeared like glowing beacons. He quickly located the Renga's chakra signature.
It was dangerously faint.
Bee vanished down a corridor and arrived in front of a large wooden structure built deeper within the cavern. The architecture was far more grandeur than the surrounding houses.
This must be En Oyashiro's residence.
Bee pushed the door open without knocking. Two guards moved instinctively to block the intruder—but froze the moment they recognized him.
The Eight-Tails Jinchūriki was a figure of near myth among the clan already. Information about powerful shinobi was gathered from those who happened to pass through the Valley of Hell for past few decades. After extracting what they needed, the Chinoike clan placed those shinobi under genjutsu so they would forget the valley ever existed. That was one of the main reasons the clan managed to remain hidden for decades.
The guards stepped aside with respect instantly knowing full well the purpose of his arrival.
Bee walked inside. From deeper within the house he heard raised voices.
Two young children were arguing.
"Why should we do this instead of training?" Hidan complained loudly. "And where did that old man run off to?"
"Saving him is important," Chino replied sharply. "He is the one who knows where Father went. And he is important to Kumo. If anything happens to him, our clan will be exposed. So less talking and control his blood... think of it as training."
Bee entered the room.
Four people stood inside. Two elders were bent over a body lying on a mat. Two children stood nearby. Both were assisting by controlling the flow of blood around the injured body.
That body was Renga.
Bee felt something twist inside his chest.
Renga's skin was pale and his breathing shallow. Blood loss had nearly killed him.
The elders worked carefully, using blood manipulation to stabilize circulation where traditional medical ninjutsu was unavailable.
Bee folded his arms and sat down silently. He lamented not learning any medical ninjutsu not like Kumo had many. He did not interrupt.
Seconds turned into minutes, and eventually an entire hour passed before the elders informed the high-ranking shinobi of Kumo that Renga had finally stabilized. Bee stood up immediately and walked toward Renga.
Slowly, Renga opened his eyes as the light struck them, forcing him to squint while his vision adjusted. After a moment, his corneas adapted to the brightness, and he turned his head slightly, trying to understand where he was.
The first thing he saw was Killer Bee.
Tears streamed down Bee's face, though his expression remained firm.
"Little One… is captured," Bee said quietly.
Renga's eyes widened weakly. He turned his head slightly. "K… Kaien?" he rasped.
Bee nodded. "Can you send me to Konoha?" Bee asked immediately.
Renga stared at him. "I have never been to Konoha," he said slowly. "And even if I had… I am not capable of using my jutsu right now in this condition."
Bee clenched his fists. Every second mattered.
If he ran to Konoha now, the entire village would mobilize against him. They could torture Kaien, the moment he appeared near their borders as a way to get back at him.
Then Bee remembered something else Kaien told to collect Minato's blood.
He turned toward the Chinoike clan members.
Bee placed his hand over his heart respectfully. "You saved our man, you did the deed," he said. "Oyashiro made the call, yeah he stayed true, Pledged the whole clan to the Cloud... that's you! Pack your bags, don't be slow, To the Land of Lightning, here we go! No more hiding, the future is bright, Under the Raikage, you'll find your light! Bakayaro! Konoyaro! The Hidden Cloud is the place to grow! Yeah!"
The clan elders exchanged surprised looks.
Bee continued. "However… we face a severe problem."
His gaze hardened and continued without his usual rap. "Does anyone in your clan know how to curse an opponent using their blood?"
The room fell silent.
Hidan's eyes lit up immediately with excitement. "Oh, that sounds interesting," he grinned.
The elders, however, exchanged worried glances. One of them stepped forward slowly. "…Yes," the elder said carefully. "There is a way. However.."
~~
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