Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Attack on Kumogakure!

Land of Lightning, central mountain range.

Under a sky heavy with clouds, the silhouette of the Fourth Raikage, A, moved through the office in a white cloak and Raikage hat, holding a dumbbell in one hand while listening to a report from his subordinate.

“According to the updated information from the exchange bureau, the mysterious ninja who killed Kainu has already taken his body in for a bounty payout,” Mabui reported calmly, holding a document.

Bang!

The moment she finished speaking, the Fourth Raikage slammed his hand down, splitting the heavy ironwood desk in two.

“This is intolerable! That damn bastard!”

His eyes burned with rage, yet his expression remained controlled. The Raikage growled, “What are the chances this is actually Konoha’s doing?”

He had sent a specially trained jōnin as an envoy under the guise of negotiations, while in reality the mission was to infiltrate the Hyūga clan estate and abduct a Hyūga heiress in order to obtain the Byakugan for Kumogakure.

If discovered by the Hyūga, or ideally by the main branch, the envoy would die on the spot as a disposable pawn, giving Kumogakure justification to pressure Konoha into handing over the culprit.

It was meant to be a perfect plan.

But instead, a masked unknown ninja appeared, killed the envoy, and dumped the body in the Hyūga district, framing them and escalating tensions between the villages.

Kumogakure knew exactly what it had done. That was why A did not believe Konoha’s explanation.

“There is a possibility,” Mabui said, frowning slightly. “A ninja capable of infiltrating Konoha and doing this would not be an unknown nobody.”

As the Raikage’s secretary, Mabui was intelligent and analytical, handling most of Kumogakure’s intelligence.

“But…” she continued, her eyes sharpening, “Konoha is insisting this was done by a mysterious ninja, and they are clearly protecting the Hyūga clan. Even if we continue to pressure them, they likely will not hand over a culprit.”

“Then we keep fighting!” the Fourth Raikage roared. “Until Konoha submits!”

He clenched his fist, restraining his fury with difficulty.

Mabui sighed. “Raikage-sama, Kumogakure is no longer in a position to continue war.”

She calmly analyzed the situation. The war with Konoha had dragged on too long. Both sides’ forces were exhausted in the border regions of the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Moon.

“It’s time to end this war.”

“Also, this is the third desk you’ve destroyed this month.”

“Fine!” A snapped back.

He glanced out the window at the gathering dark clouds over the mountains, a faint unease rising in him.

‘What is Bee doing?’

Boom—!

An explosion erupted from the lower floors of the Raikage building.

The entire structure shook violently.

“Who is it?!” A roared, instantly jumping out through the shattered window.

Mabui followed immediately.

They landed on a platform below and saw half of the lower structure of the Raikage building destroyed.

The building had narrowly avoided collapse only because of its mountain support structure.

A scanned the surroundings furiously.

Step.

A footstep echoed through the smoke.

“Who dares act so recklessly in Kumogakure!” A’s voice thundered.

From the smoke, a figure slowly emerged.

A white fox mask with three eyes gradually became visible.

“Stop hiding!” A activated his Lightning Chakra Mode, purple lightning surging over his body.

“Die!”

“Lightning Release: Heavy Liger Bomb!”

He shot forward like a bolt of lightning, driving his elbow toward the masked figure.

Clang!

A sharp metallic sound rang out as a black scythe emerged from the smoke, clashing with A’s arm guard. Sparks exploded.

At the same time, A felt a portion of his chakra suddenly vanish.

“What is this?!” He retreated immediately.

“Raikage-sama!” Darui and Cee arrived with the guard squad, forming a defensive line.

Smoke cleared further.

Two additional masked figures floated in the air.

One appeared feminine, with flowing ribbons. The other wore a black cloak, holding a black scythe.

All three hovered unnaturally above the ground.

“That one!” Mabui’s eyes widened. “The same mysterious ninja reported by Konoha—the one who killed Kainu!”

“What?!” Darui and Cee reacted sharply.

“So there really is more than one…” Darui muttered, analyzing the situation.

Before anyone could react further—

A voice echoed from above.

“Yo~ Big brother~”

Killer Bee arrived on the battlefield, landing in a dramatic pose.

“Yo~ I’m fine, yo~”

He turned toward the masked figures.

“Yo~ Why attack Kumogakure~?”

Meanwhile, inside the masked figure’s perception, the killing intent detection expanded fully.

More and more chakra signatures surrounded them, converging rapidly.

The entire village was mobilizing.

Soon, Kumogakure shinobi filled the surroundings, encircling them completely.

“Do you think Kumogakure ever needed a reason to attack others?” the fox-masked figure said coldly.

“Today, I’m simply returning the favor.”

“Destroy them.”

Behind him, the summoned beings moved.

The ribbon-wielding celestial figure surged forward, while the scythe-wielding death figure advanced in silence.

They attacked.