At that same moment.
The Land of Lightning.
The peaks here pierced the heavens, echoing with deafening roars of thunder. Surrounding the village were winding rivers born from the central mountain range, creating a natural labyrinth. Hidden among these jagged cliffs was a militant shinobi village that forged bonds through brotherhood and prided itself on the ultimate mastery of swordsmanship and physical prowess.
Kumogakure, the Village Hidden in the Clouds, sat perched upon these heights.
Inside the Raikage Building.
The crimson glow of the setting sun filtered into a simple, grid-patterned meditation room.
A towering man sat cross-legged atop a massive, brownish-yellow jar. He was a mountain of knotted muscle, with white hair and a beard that framed a fierce, dark-skinned face. He wore a cap-style Kumogakure forehead protector, and a lightning-bolt-shaped scar dominated his chest. One hand supported his chin as he rested—or perhaps, as he waited for news.
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning connected the sky to the mountain peak outside the room, striking with the speed of light. Moments later, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed alongside the rolling thunder.
In that instant, the man in the meditation room snapped his eyes open, revealing a gaze filled with predatory intent.
Bang!
The door was thrown open. A dark-skinned man in a grey coat rushed in, clutching a stack of documents and a specially reinforced scroll.
"Lord Third Raikage!"
"A message has arrived from my daughter—"
The man sitting atop the jar was none other than the Third Raikage, A!
He was a ferocious warrior capable of battling the Eight-Tails bare-handed and facing ten thousand shinobi alone. He possessed the "Strongest Shield"—the Lightning Style Chakra Mode—and the "Strongest Spear"—the Hell Stab: One-Finger Nukite. His very existence was the definition of "power."
A spoke calmly. "Open it."
Upon seeing A, the man in the grey coat—Dodai—felt his frantic heart strangely steady itself. "Yes!" He unrolled the scroll that had been sent back by Mabui via the Heavenly Transfer Technique.
On the scroll were four massive characters: PLAN DEFEATED!
Seeing this, A's brow furrowed. His gaze sharpened, and his muscles bulged as his breathing grew heavy. Dodai swallowed hard. The surprise attack on the Valley of Hell had been rehearsed for a month. With the intel and internal coordination provided by the Raikage's son, the young A, the mission should have been a simple matter of overwhelming force.
Every step, including the full Tailed Beast transformation of the Jinchūriki, had been tested repeatedly. And yet...
"Lord Raikage, it is my failure. I... I..." Dodai dropped to one knee, bowing his head deeply as he prepared to accept punishment.
"Dodai, I have no intention of blaming anyone." A looked at him, his voice steady. "The only oversight in this mission was underestimating the Uchiha. Specifically, an Uchiha who can wield the power of a Tailed Beast."
Surprisingly, despite his savage appearance, the Third Raikage was a kind and gentle elder at heart.
"The youngsters are executing a mission of this magnitude for the first time; slight errors are understandable. The youth lack experience, and the reason we old men exist is to shoulder the cost of those mistakes, solve the problems, and guide them. Only then can the next generation surpass the last."
With those words, A stood up and hopped off the massive jar. He effortlessly hoisted the heavy vessel onto his back and looked at Dodai.
"Dodai, use the Heavenly Transfer to send me to the Valley of Hell."
Dodai snapped his head up, staring in shock. "That is... the Sage of Six Paths' treasure, the Amber Purifying Pot! Wait, what did you say!?"
A's face remained calm. "Send me to the Valley of Hell. Now."
"That's impossible!" Dodai cried out in horror. "The Heavenly Transfer is meant for objects! There has never been a successful case of a human surviving it! The body would be torn apart by the extreme speeds! Even you, Lord Third..."
Dodai had assumed the Raikage wanted to send the Amber Purifying Pot, a powerful tool used to seal the Eight-Tails, as a countermeasure against the Jinchūriki. He never imagined the Raikage intended to be sent along with it.
Before Dodai could finish his protest, A cut him off with absolute certainty.
"Trust me. I will succeed. If I fail... let the younger A succeed me as the Fourth Raikage. Dodai, you understand what it means for Kumo to lose two Tailed Beasts at the Valley of Hell, don't you?"
Dodai went silent. He knew exactly what it meant. It meant Kumo would lose its ultimate deterrents, and its strength would plummet. Iwa, Kiri, and even the besieged Konoha would turn on them like vultures. The "Four Nations vs. Fire" status of the Third Great Ninja War would be rewritten in an instant.
The Third Raikage understood this perfectly. For the future of the village, he was willing to gamble his life. If two Jinchūriki couldn't take the valley, sending just the pot would be too little, too late.
But if he arrived in person... the outcome would be entirely different.
"I understand!" Dodai's eyes grew misty with respect and grief. He took a deep breath and stood up, his hands trembling as he wove the signs.
As the jutsu activated, a brilliant white light enveloped the white-haired elder. Dodai's voice was hoarse as a tear fell down his cheek, offering a final blessing to his brother-in-arms:
"Lord Third! I wish you... glory in battle!"
In the next moment, the Heavenly Transfer Technique was unleashed!
A bolt of lightning pierced the Raikage Building, a flash of light carrying a mountain of resolve across thousands of miles. A lightning bolt aimed straight for hell!
The Third Raikage was about to make his grand entrance.
Inside Kumogakure, countless people looked up as the streak of lightning vanished into the sky. They didn't know the resolve it represented or the price paid for it. They merely glanced at it before returning to their daily lives.
Ironically, a stranger from a rival village knew everything.
In the deep shadows of the village's jagged peaks, a figure in a black hood watched the disappearing light with great interest.
"Heh heh heh... things are getting interesting."
The figure laughed raspily. He reached up, pulled back his hood, and peeled away the Vanishing Facial Technique mask, revealing his true face.
It was the Sannin of Konoha, the Cold Scholar—Orochimaru.
With his long black hair, golden vertical pupils, and pale skin, he licked his lips and chuckled.
"Now then... with the most troublesome fellow finally gone... let's see what I can find. Turtle Island, the Lightning Armor, the secrets of the Perfect Jinchūriki, the defensive maps of the Third Great War..."
"Everything... everything will be mine!"
Note: Support me and get early access to chapters on Pat reon.com/XareonMTL