Inazuma said in a grim tone, "No! We can't wait for the Fourth to return! We have to make a move!"
A look of surprise appeared on the council members around him. No one expected him to keep insisting on his original idea. Mabui said, "We don't have any rank S ninjas inside the village to take him on. If we try, a lot of our ninjas will lose their lives pointlessly. Not to mention, we could even irk him and change his mind about waiting for four hours."
Inazuma shook his head and replied, "Death is better than living without any dignity. The morale of our ninjas will drop to rock bottom if we don't even show the will to fight against someone who has taken over our headquarters. Our enemies will be emboldened as well. Once the next Great War breaks out, we'll suffer heavily due to this."
Even though he said so, others weren't convinced. One of the council members said, "We've already lost a lot of ninjas. Don't forget that Darui's army suffered heavily against him. If we lose any more ninjas, this might become another incident like the one in the Land of Hot Water. We can't take responsibility for such losses."
Mabui became even more depressed after hearing her words. The remaining council members were still unaware that everyone in six bases was missing or that Darui's army had already suffered much damage due to the trap. Only she knew that this incident was already several times worse!
Inazuma sighed and said, "As I said, there's no other choice. What do you think everyone will think if none of the over ten thousand ninjas in the village dared to make a move against someone who challenged and insulted our entire village?
I will take responsibility for this. Once Akuro is dealt with, I'll accept the blame for any deaths until the Fourth returns and resign from the council."
Everyone's expression became solemn. Inazuma had been the oldest and longest-serving member on the Kumogakure council. He also held the most influence after Ay and was usually the one to tone down Ay's aggression. None of them expected him to make such a sacrifice.
Inazuma turned his gaze towards the window where Fujin was standing earlier and said, "Besides, don't take everything at face value. Darui said that Akuro's chakra reserves might have dropped low. Perhaps these 4 hours are just for him to recover his chakra.
I'm not sure where the Fourth is, but if he's too far away and has to use the Lightning Chakra Mode to return quickly to the village, then he'll be very exhausted by the time he returns. He might be at a disadvantage against a fully rested Akuro. If he falls or is seriously injured like Jin, then our village will be in grave danger!
In addition, all our official documents are in the building as well. He may say that he's from an ancient era, but if that is a lie and he is from one of the other villages, then he will take this opportunity to get all our secrets. I don't need to tell you guys what the consequences would be if those secrets leaked."
Everyone followed Inazuma's gaze with an ugly expression. In truth, they knew this in their hearts as well. However, none of them wanted to accept it as the cost would be too heavy. Since Inazuma took initiative and responsibility, no one could oppose him. Under Inazuma's orders, the Kumo ninjas immediately got into action while Mabui informed Darui about Ay's orders.
Inside the building, Fujin was inside the Raikage's office when a couple of clones teleported next to him. They handed him a couple of scrolls and dispelled themselves to transfer the memories to him.
A smile appeared on Fujin's face as he looked at the scrolls and thought, 'Good. Everything in that scroll is copied in this one. And this scroll has all the elemental crystals. What a good loot… I can finally use Lightning crystals to improve my Lightning affinity a bit.
The rest aren't particularly useful for me. However, it can be very useful for the Phantom Haven. That said, I can't give this as easily as money. After all, I can't steal these as easily as money…'
Fujin thought for a couple of minutes before deciding, 'Even though these seem plenty, they'll run out in no time if everyone in Phantom Haven begins using them liberally. It wouldn't have much effect either. The best way of using them is to keep them with me and secretly give them to the ones who show exceptional talent.
As of right now, only Karin and Ranmaru have displayed such talent. If I consider just the two of them, then these crystals will be more than enough, especially considering that neither needs to focus much on nature manipulation. Alright, I'll do this. If I eventually run low on them, I'll try to see if any other village is feeling generous.'
Fujin stored the scrolls and created two new Shadow Clones to join the rest. Fujin had a lot of plans regarding his Akuro identity. The reason why he created an aura of an ancient expert around Akuro was due to those plans. It would allow Fujin to break loose without worrying about the consequences of his actions. So, even though he wanted the jutsus from Kumogakure, he didn't want to give up the aura he had created around Akuro.
Hence, instead of just stealing the scrolls, his clones copied down all the important details into his scrolls and handed them to Fujin once they were done. All the original scrolls were placed back into their original spots, ensuring that Kumogakure wouldn't suspect that their techniques had been copied.
This was also the reason why Fujin gave the impression that Akuro could use the Lightning Chakra Mode. Darui and Ay wouldn't suspect him of having stolen this technique since they'd believe that he already knew that technique.
Half an hour passed as Fujin's clones continued working diligently while Fujin sat in the Raikage's office and recovered his chakra. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open and he glanced outside the window. A smile appeared on his face as he thought, 'Would you look at that? I guess they have some courage after all. It would have been disappointing otherwise. To lose the most important and iconic building in your village should have boiled the blood of several hotheaded fellows.'
A massive barrier had appeared outside the Raikage Building and completely encased it. The strength of the barrier was the same as the one surrounding the village. Outside the barrier, Inazuma, Mabui, Nanako and the council members stood with serious expressions.
Nanako said, "The seals are quite remarkable. The first remarkable thing is that someone was able to keep these seals hidden on the building. Even if I assume that a high-level Sealmaster or a Grandmaster was a traitor, this is still very impressive.
What is even more impressive is that the seals form an intricate network, complimenting each other perfectly. It's almost like the battlefields the Uchiha and Uzumaki clans could construct, but this is far more sophisticated. Are you sure you still want to proceed? I have a bad feeling about this."
Inazuma nodded and said, "I am. However, it depends on whether you can find any vulnerabilities in the seal network or not. So, did you?"
Nanako answered, "I'm not sure if it is a vulnerability, but I found eight pathways into the building. Unlike the battlefields, which were completely closed off, this seems more like a lair to lure prey inside. I believe that he has traps inside to deal with the intruders."
Inazuma frowned and asked, "What if we don't take the pathways and create a new opening?"
Nanako answered, "As I said earlier, the seals are interconnected. Any attack will be distributed along the entire network. We could destroy it with enough attacks, but that would cause the building to collapse as well. In addition, there are several explosive seals in the seal network. They'll be triggered and everything inside the building will be destroyed, except Akuro of course. I doubt he'd be foolish enough to leave himself vulnerable."
Inazuma immediately rejected that option. Ever since Kumogakure was established, there had never been an instance where the Raikage Building had fallen. He didn't intend to be the one to do it. Not to mention, the loss of all the important documents would create a lot of work and he knew that Ay would give that task to him since he'd take the responsibility.
Inazuma sighed and said, "This is even more dangerous than I imagined… Summon the ninjas who can use Elemental Clones. Send eight clones through each pathway! Nanako, you send a couple as well. Keep a close eye on the seals inside the building and improve your understanding of this seal network. Mabui, instruct the sensors to begin their task"
Nanako and Mabui nodded. Within a few minutes, a few gaps opened up in the barrier as 64 clones entered inside. At the same time, several sensors activated their chakra field, covering the entire village!
Fujin realized Kumogakure's intentions but didn't even pay any attention to it. Instead, a wide smile appeared behind his mask as he thought, 'Good. Let me see how good my third battlefield technique is. Welcome to the Devil's Playground.'
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