The office was quiet for only a moment. No one asked the scout to repeat himself. From the moment the alarm rang, everyone here had already known who was most likely coming.
A let out a low laugh and stood from behind his desk.
"Ōnoki made his choice," he said, Lightning Release chakra beginning to crackle around his body. "We will make ours."
He took off the Raikage hat, placed it on the desk, and walked toward the wide window behind him. Outside, the alarm was still echoing between the mountains, and dark clouds pressed low over the village.
A raised his fist and punched forward.
Boom!
The window shattered. Cold wind rushed into the office, scattering papers across the floor and making everyone's robes snap behind them.
A stepped onto the broken frame, his body wrapped in blue-white lightning.
"We stop him before he reaches the village."
With that, he leaped out.
The others followed without needing an order.
One figure after another leaped out through the shattered window, moving after A through the mountain wind. The Raikage Building emptied quickly, leaving only scattered papers and broken glass behind.
Killer B followed last, throwing out a quick rhyme before leaping into the wind. Even he looked more serious than usual.
Yugito followed in silence. A faint red cloak of Tailed Beast chakra rose around her body as she disappeared after them.
Kumogakure did not choose to wait behind its walls. Since Shinichi was coming, they would meet him outside the village.
Outside Kumogakure, the Scale Wood Dragon slowed above a rocky valley.
Dozens of Cloud ninja had already gathered below, blocking the path toward the village. Their formation was neat, but no one attacked first. The dragon's wings beat overhead, pressing the grass and loose stones flat with each gust.
The leading jonin stepped forward and forced himself to look up.
"Tejima Shinichi!" he shouted. "Ahead is Kumogakure's territory. Leave now, or..."
His voice stopped before he could finish.
Shinichi stood on the dragon's head and looked down at the valley beneath him.
"This place will do."
The Cloud ninja did not understand what he meant until he stepped off the dragon and dropped toward the ground.
He landed lightly on the stone.
The ninja around him instinctively took a step back.
Shinichi's gaze passed over them and moved toward the faint outline of Kumogakure in the distance.
"Tell your Raikage to come here," he said calmly. "I'll wait in this valley. Don't make me go to the village myself."
The leading jonin's face tightened, but he did not answer.
In any other situation, those words would have been enough to make the Cloud ninja draw their blades. But the person standing before them had already crushed Iwagakure and taken the Five-Tails, and none of them wanted to be the first to test him.
Then a roar came from the direction of Kumogakure.
"Don't underestimate the Hidden Cloud!"
Before the roar faded, a streak of blue-white lightning cut across the valley.
The ground exploded with a heavy crash, sending broken stone flying in every direction. When the dust rolled back, A stood at the center of the impact, Lightning Release chakra crackling over his body.
"Lord Raikage!"
The Cloud ninja's voices rose from behind him, but A did not look back. His eyes stayed fixed on Shinichi, sharp and cold under the flash of lightning.
A few moments later, the rest of Kumogakure's strongest fighters arrived behind him. They spread out quickly, taking position around the valley without needing instructions.
Darui stepped forward with his sword resting across one shoulder. Not far away, C adjusted his glasses and scanned the battlefield, while several elite Cloud shinobi moved into formation around them.
Killer B and Yugito took their places among the others, one unusually quiet and the other wrapped in a faint red cloak.
In the sky behind Shinichi, the Scale Wood Dragon hovered silently.
Shinichi looked at the lineup in front of him and smiled faintly.
"Not bad. At least you didn't send ordinary troops to die."
A's face hardened. "Kumogakure doesn't kneel."
Lightning burst around him, and in the next instant, he was already in front of Shinichi. His arm swept down with a sharp crackle, carrying the full weight of his speed and strength.
"Lightning Release: Lariat!"
Shinichi did not dodge. He raised his right hand and caught A's arm head-on.
Thud!
A shockwave burst across the valley, throwing dust and debris outward. When it cleared, Shinichi was still standing in the same place, his fingers locked around A's wrist.
Blue-white lightning crackled against his palm, but it could not break through.
A's Lariat had been stopped bare-handed.
For a moment, the Cloud ninja around the valley stood frozen.
Even a Tailed Beast would not take that attack lightly, yet Shinichi had stopped it with one hand and had not moved at all.
Behind his sunglasses, Killer B narrowed his eyes.
Inside him, Gyuki's voice turned serious. "B, that wasn't Wood Release. He stopped A with his body alone."
"Yeah," B thought, staring at Shinichi. "And that's not even the scary part."
A stared at the hand holding his wrist.
'Damn it...'
He had expected Wood Release. He had expected strange jutsu. But he had never expected Shinichi's body to be this strong.
Shinichi looked at him calmly.
"That was enough."
His fingers tightened a little.
"Now we can begin."
Up to 30 chapters ahead on patreon :-
patreon.com/Viki2