Boom—!!!
A furious peal of thunder exploded across the sky out of nowhere.
The sudden roar startled the Konoha shinobi who were busy with reconstruction, making many of them jump in shock. No one had expected thunder to strike again at a time like this.
"Thunder?"
Uchiha Kai turned and looked toward the direction where the lightning had appeared, his brows knitting slightly.
"If I'm not mistaken… that direction should be the Forest of Death, right?"
At this moment, for strange noises to still be coming from the Forest of Death…
It couldn't possibly be the brick kiln exploding again, could it?
Thinking of this possibility, he abruptly turned back to look at the Fourth Raikage A and Ōnoki.
A cold glint flashed in his eyes.
"A… Ōnoki."
Thump.
Hearing his voice, the tall one and the old one both jolted violently. Without even bothering to properly greet Hashirama Senju, they hurriedly turned around, bent their waists, cupped their fists, and saluted respectfully.
"Lord Kai."
The moment those words were spoken, the two men's bent backs froze completely.
They could no longer straighten up.
Drip.
Drip.
Cold sweat slowly slid down the backs of their necks.
For a moment, the ruins of the Hokage Building—where the chaos of war had only just settled—fell silent once again.
Only the constant rumbling thunder above remained.
Seeing this scene, the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, was stunned.
Orochimaru was stunned as well.
Even Temari and Kankurō looked as if they had seen a ghost, pointing in disbelief while their mouths hung open.
"T-Th-Th… those two! A… Ōnoki… If I remember those names correctly, they should be…"
Kankurō stammered, his hand still clutching the broken pieces of his puppet crow, trembling nonstop.
"That's right. The two Kage of Kumogakure and Iwagakure."
Temari nodded stiffly, her gaze sweeping across Kai's small figure.
The more she looked, the more shocked she became.
Two Kage-level powerhouses from major ninja villages… bowing respectfully to a child!
Even if that child possessed terrifying combat strength—
This still made no sense!
Because of their age and limited intelligence, the only thing they knew was that those two were Kage.
As for everything else… they knew almost nothing.
"…But then again… he even killed Father without hesitation… so maybe this isn't that strange…"
After thinking for a moment, Temari spoke softly, her expression turning complicated.
She was deeply saddened by the death of her father, Rasa.
But right now, what mattered more were the people who were still alive.
Judging from what she had seen of Konoha—
Such a terrifyingly powerful Konoha!
The shinobi of Sunagakure who had come here on this diplomatic visit might…
End up staying here.
That was something she absolutely did not want to see.
In the desolate land of Sunagakure, every jōnin was an extremely precious resource.
How could they be lost here in Konoha?
With that thought, her gaze began sweeping around the area.
She looked at the First Hokage… No, not an opponent for Kai.
She looked at the Raikage and the Tsuchikage… No, those two had practically been trained into obedient lapdogs already.
She looked at Gaara… Forget it. His Shukaku had almost been beaten into depression.
She kept looking…
After scanning the entire area, Temari's gaze slowly landed on herself.
From the looks of it, if Sunagakure wanted to leave this place safely, they would need something convincing.
Or rather—
Someone.
And without a doubt, she was the most suitable candidate.
But… how could she make Uchiha Kai agree?
After all, that brat didn't seem like the type who understood anything about relationships between men and women…
As she pondered, her eyes shifted toward the two figures not far away—Sasuke and Fugaku.
From the earlier shouting, she had already figured out the identity of that middle-parted man.
Uchiha Kai's father.
And the younger rookie beside him was his younger brother.
As the saying went—
If you want to win a man's heart, you must first win over his parents.
Thinking of this, Temari hurriedly tidied her appearance and walked toward Fugaku.
Shy and gentle.
Before long, the two of them actually began chatting.
In the distance, when Kai caught sight of this scene, he couldn't help clicking his tongue. He even forgot to question the two Kage.
"Huh? Didn't expect Father to still have that kind of charm in his old age."
"Well, there goes Shikamaru's future wife."
"And if Mother finds out… that'll probably be…"
He shook his head and stopped thinking about it.
There was no need to interfere in this kind of matter.
Especially when it involved an old bull eating tender grass.
"Lord Kai, this is the initial list for post-disaster reconstruction. Please take a look."
At that moment, Nara Shikaku approached while carrying a thick stack of documents.
"Additionally, the reconstruction will likely require a considerable amount of funds. Konoha has suffered repeated damage recently, so manpower may also be somewhat lacking."
With his familiarity with Konoha, he had estimated the village's general losses in an extremely short amount of time.
This was merely to give Kai a rough idea.
More precise calculations would require further manpower.
But the core meaning of his words was simple—
They needed money.
And people.
Kai naturally understood.
However…
"As for money and manpower… that's actually just right."
Kai glanced toward the direction of the Forest of Death outside the village and smiled meaningfully.
But when he saw the stack of documents that was even taller than himself, his smile slowly faded.
Then he casually waved his hand and pointed toward the First Hokage, who was standing not far away in a daze.
"But… as for handling government affairs…"
"Well, isn't there a ready-made Hokage right there?"
Nara Shikaku: ?
Hashirama Senju: ???
Although he was indeed the Hokage, during his tenure he had either been fighting…
Or on the way to find someone to fight.
Most village affairs had usually been handled by Tobirama.
Just as he was about to explain—
A far louder thunderstorm suddenly erupted in the distance!
This time it was clearer.
Much more distinct.
"Yo~ Yo~!"
"Check it out—!!!"
Beneath the storm clouds, an extremely abrupt yet booming rhythmic rap shout came from the direction of the Forest of Death.
Immediately afterward—
Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.
Outside Konoha Village, the heavy synchronized footsteps of thousands began to echo slowly.
Like a colossal beast approaching, each step caused the earth itself to tremble.
The ground shook.
Even the water pooled within the crater of the Hokage Building ruins rippled outward in circles.
Boom!
Boom!
"Lightning Release: Thunderstorm Tide!!!"
"Earth Release: Iron Rock Wall!!!"
Two loud shouts rang out from outside the village almost simultaneously.
At that moment, everyone inside the village finally realized what had happened.
Enemy attack!!!
A sharp and piercing cry immediately echoed throughout Konoha.
Every shinobi inside the village heard it.
No matter what they were doing, they instantly abandoned their tasks and rushed toward the eastern side of the village.
At the same time—
At the edge of the Forest of Death outside Konoha, dazzling blue lightning shot into the sky.
Three thousand elite shinobi of Kumogakure surged forward like a raging ocean of lightning that had burst through a dam.
Lightning armor covered their bodies.
Glowing electric blades were clutched in their hands.
Step by step.
Formation tight and disciplined.
They advanced relentlessly.
And at the very front—
A dark-skinned middle-aged man with short white spiky hair, sunglasses, and bandages wrapped around his shoulder hopped and danced as he approached.
A sword in his right hand.
His left hand making exaggerated gestures.
He was none other than the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki of Kumogakure—
The Raikage's brother.
Killer B.
Behind him, the elite shinobi of Kumogakure looked at him with expressions filled with disdain.
If Naruto and Gaara had been ostracized by their villages…
Then Killer B—
Had single-handedly managed to embarrass his entire village.
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