The Fourth Raikage's jaw tightened as he pushed forward, his mind racing with thoughts of what he might find, the Fourth Raikage panicked and desperately increased his speed!
Yugito was the second Jinchūriki of Kumogakure, a strategic powerhouse. If anything happened to her, the village would suffer a catastrophic loss! Ten seconds later, the Fourth Raikage finally arrived at the battlefield—only to be greeted by Yugito's cold, lifeless body.
"How could this happen?!" His furious roar echoed across the ruined battlefield.
From the shadows, Kaito watched, his expression indifferent. "So, that's the Fourth Raikage?" he murmured. "I suppose I'll pay the rest of the Kumo forces a visit."
With that, he vanished into the night using God's Presence.
More than ten minutes later, Darui and the others finally arrived at the scene.
But what awaited them was the enraged Raikage and the unmoving corpse of Yugito.
"Lord Raikage… Yugito, she..." Darui muttered, his voice heavy with grief.
The Fourth Raikage clenched his fists, his body trembling with suppressed fury. "I will avenge Yugito!" he declared bitterly.
His sharp gaze swept over the devastated battlefield, analyzing the traces of the battle.
"To create this level of destruction within two hours... at least a thousand shinobi would be needed to surround and wear her down!"
"And the only force capable of mobilizing that many troops here without us noticing… is Konoha!"
He turned to his men, his voice resolute.
"Take Yugito's body back to the village immediately. At dawn, we attack Konoha!"
"We will reclaim the Two-Tails and avenge Yugito!"
***
Meanwhile, Kaito, who had already distanced himself from the battlefield, smirked to himself.
Konoha will suffer for this, even if they had nothing to do with it. That just makes it all the more satisfying.
Kaito walked towards the hotel with a depressed look on his face. Just now, he went to the garrison of the large army in the Hidden Cloud Village.
But he didn't find Killer Bee's figure there! It stands to reason that in such a war between the two great ninja villages, the Hidden Cloud Village can't let Killer Bee, who can control the peak combat power of the Eight-Tails, be absent!
He is so confident that he doesn't even need to take action against Konoha! Kaito secretly murmured in his heart that the operation of the Fourth Raikage completely disrupted his plan!
Originally, he had already planned: he would capture the Two-Tails first, then let them go. The two Hidden Cloud ninjas would move in to help. Then the Fourth Raikage would send a large force to rescue!
If the Fourth Raikage personally led the team, Kaito would go to the Hidden Cloud Village station and use his kaleidoscope to instantly capture the Eight-Tails! But if Killer Bee led the team, Kaito would directly destroy the reinforcements and take the Eight-Tails!
It's a pity that the plan was perfect, but the reality was cruel, and the Eight-Tails didn't move!
It wasn't until Kaito used an illusion to hypnotize a small high-ranking official that he understood the reason: Originally, Killer Bee was supposed to follow the large troop, but on the eve of departure, he had to hold a concert!
This angered the Fourth Raikage, who directly banned Killer Bee! To prevent Killer Bee from escaping, the Fourth Raikage also imprisoned him in an extremely hidden location in the Land of Thunder, making it nearly impossible for outsiders to find him! There was nothing Kaito could do but admit that he was unlucky.
But soon, Kaito put this depression behind him. Originally, this time he was just here to relax, the capture of the Two-Tails was just a surprise, and he wasn't greedy to catch all the Tailed Beasts now!
"Just right! After a fight, it's time to go to a hot spring to relax." Kaito hummed a little tune and walked leisurely into the most famous hot spring shop in the Land of Soup
. ...
Meanwhile, in the Hidden Cloud Village…
In contrast to Kaito's leisure, after the Fourth Raikage returned to the station, he immediately began mobilizing the army!
This time, to deal with Konoha, the Fourth Raikage directly brought 5,000 elites! Nearly half of the Hidden Cloud Village's fighting power!
In this way, a group of people stepped into the Land of Soup, marching towards the Konoha border without even saying hello. At this time, the entire Land of Soup was on edge, but they dared not speak up!
They were completely ignored! Otherwise, if Hidden Cloud Ninja accidentally angered the Hidden Cloud Village and turned their attention to the Land of Soup, the country would have no way to defend itself!
Meanwhile, they're still hoping: Pray for Hidden Cloud to be stronger and Konoha weaker, so that the battle lines won't be drawn into their territory. In the face of this kind of war, weak countries have no right to speak!
On the Konoha side, when they mobilized their troops in Hidden Cloud Village to gather at the border, they guessed that Hidden Cloud Village was preparing to attack!
After intense discussions, it was finally decided that Tsunade would lead the team and take 3,000 troops to intercept.
But they never expected Hidden Cloud Village to break the rules: Normally, even if Hidden Cloud Village wanted to fight, they would first assess the Konoha border defence and formulate plans.
However, the Fourth Raikage launched an attack without any hesitation, and his troops would reach the Konoha border soon!
Meanwhile, Tsunade's team was still half a day away from the defence line! By the time they arrived, the border defence would be over. They had no choice but to retreat three kilometres from the line of defence.
But Hidden Cloud Village's madness was far from over! Since Konoha's large army was on the way, the Fourth Raikage would lead the attack!
A deadly style of play! Additionally, there was a humanoid beast named Raikage who led the way. Thus, Konoha began to retreat!
After three days of exploration, Tsunade and her companions learned the reason: the second Jinchuriki from Hidden Cloud Village were killed, and the Second Tails were gone! And the Fourth Raikage had attributed it all to Konoha!
Tsunade and the others were in disbelief, as they had just arrived and had no part in the ambush of the Tailed Beasts!
But the explanation didn't matter; the pace of the invasion didn't slow down! After all, explanations were useless when force was involved!
Not to mention, at this point in the battle, it didn't matter who captured the Second Tails!
Konoha was losing ground, Hidden Cloud Ninja had a great victory, and the Fourth Raikage was ready to press on without hesitation! This situation soon spread throughout the entire ninja world!
Sand Ninja Village and Stone Ninja Village saw this and immediately started preparing their forces for the border, eyeing the opportunity!
As long as Konoha was defeated, they would quickly move in to divide up the rich resources of the Land of Fire!
These developments were, of course, noticed by Sarutobi Hiruzen and others! But what could they do? After the detonation incident, Konoha lost significant combat power, and nearly 2,000 ninjas were killed by Uchiha Kaito and the explosion!
Only another 2,000 troops could be dispatched. As for Sand Ninja Village and Stone Ninja Village, each side had to send 1,000 troops to be cautious!
In this way, Konoha's remaining force was barely 1,000! Even if you added Danzo's roots, it wasn't enough.
The number was less than 2,000! Once Sand Ninja Village and Stone Ninja Village sent troops, or Hidden Cloud Village was defeated in battle, Konoha would have no more troops left to send!
Not to mention the still-unresponsive Hidden Mist Village... It could be said that Konoha was truly facing life or death this time! "Have you contacted Tsunade and Jiraiya?" At the end of their options, Sarutobi Hiruzen had no choice but to recall his two beloved disciples.
After all, Konoha now only had two Hokage-level fighters, Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo! In terms of high-level combat power, there was no one else! "Lord Jiraiya has already gone to the battlefield of Hidden Cloud Village, but Tsunade... We still can't find her."
Hearing this, before Sarutobi Hiruzen could respond, Danzo snorted coldly, slamming his cane against the ground.
"Humph! This Tsunade is lawless!"
"It's the time for Konoha's survival, and she still hasn't returned!"
"Does she want to betray us?"
"Danzo! Be careful!!!" Sarutobi Hiruzen glared at Danzo through gritted teeth. Could Tsunade ever do something like that?
Tsunade not only had the title of princess in the Land of Fire but was also the granddaughter of the First Hokage!
If Danzo's words spread, the entire village would turn against him in an instant Danzo realized his mistake and lowered his head, silencing himself.
The patriarchs of the major families appeared to have heard nothing at this point. Seeing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed deeply. Why didn't he understand why Tsunade was unreachable?
Everyone thought Tsunade had simply grown tired of fighting and had wandered off somewhere! But Sarutobi Hiruzen understood—Tsunade had completely given up on Konoha and him.
She had realized that the Konoha high-level leadership was targeting the Senju clan, and she knew this was all allowed by her most respected teacher! That was why Tsunade left the village, never to be heard from again. They agreed half a year ago that once the Uchiha counterattacked Konoha, they would maintain a wait-and-see attitude.
But now, with other ninja villages launching attacks, that was no longer an option. After all, the Uchiha were still connected to Konoha—they were one of its founding clans.
Their major clans held no deep-seated hatred toward the Uchiha. However, they were not willing to go all out. As long as Konoha survived, whatever losses it suffered were none of their concern.
***
Kaito had originally planned to spend a few days relaxing in the Land of Hot Water before leaving. He had little interest in the conflict between Konoha and Kumogakure.
However, the moment he received news that Jiraiya had joined the battlefield, he immediately dismissed the idea.
With Jiraiya present, the Fourth Raikage would lose his overwhelming advantage. The battle would likely reach a stalemate, dragging on for at least a year or two before a decisive outcome could be reached.
If Kumogakure wanted to end the battle quickly, there was only one option left—sending Killer Bee into the fray. And this was exactly what Kaito had been waiting for. Patiently, he observed the battlefield. As expected, Kumogakure's offensive struggled against Jiraiya's presence.
Once Jiraiya entered Sage Mode—even though he wasn't entirely proficient in it—he still managed to overpower the Fourth Raikage. The only issue was that Jiraiya needed ten minutes to prepare for Sage Mode.
Ten minutes was nowhere near enough to determine the outcome of a large-scale war. Gradually, both sides abandoned large-scale confrontations and shifted toward smaller, strategic skirmishes.
This played in Konoha's favour, but it posed a crisis for Kumogakure. Having already pushed deep into the Land of Fire, they hadn't made sufficient preparations for a prolonged engagement, and their supply lines were now overextended.
Under normal circumstances, war supplies could still be managed. But now that the battle had reached a deadlock, maintaining them became a significant issue.
To make matters worse, Jiraiya had deployed forces to sabotage Kumogakure's supply lines. If things continued this way, Kumogakure would be forced to withdraw within a few months.
The Fourth Raikage, however, was unwilling to let his hard-earned invasion amount to nothing.
After consulting his advisors, he made the final decision—Killer Bee would enter the battlefield.
Exactly what Kaito wanted.
"I'm in a good mood today... Time to drop some sick rhymes...!"
A young man, dressed in eccentric clothing, was hopping and twisting his way through the jungle, rapping offbeat lyrics as he went. This was none other than Killer Bee, the Jinchūriki of the Eight-Tails, heading toward the battlefield after receiving his orders.
"Oi, dumbass! Stop that awful rapping!"
The Eight-Tails inside Bee's mind let out an exasperated roar.
"Ugh..."
Bee winced, a bead of cold sweat running down his forehead. Just as he was about to retort, his expression suddenly turned serious.
A figure had appeared before him, completely blocking his path.
"Yo, Hachibi... when the hell did this guy show up?!"
Bee immediately reached out to his tailed beast.
"I don't know," the Eight-Tails responded gravely.
"But be careful. This one's powerful. He's been suppressing his presence to an insane degree—he's no ordinary opponent."
Kaito stood in front of Bee, a faint smile forming on his lips.
"You're the Jinchūriki of the Eight-Tails." His eyes glinted with satisfaction. It wasn't that he had any personal interest in Killer Bee.
He was simply pleased that another opportunity to extract tailed beast energy had presented itself.
"Perfect. Now, be a good prey and surrender."
Although Bee was cautious, he still maintained his usual carefree demeanour. Grinning, he began to rap mockingly.
"What's this guy talkin' about? Thinkin' he can take me out—Bee's got the clout—ain't no doubt—Baka yarō—muccharō!"
Kaito shook his head, his voice turning cold.
"Your mouth is truly annoying."
Without further delay, his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan flared to life. He had no intention of playing around this time—dragging this out would only invite unnecessary complications.
"Baka—" Bee tried to retort, but the moment his eyes met Kaito's, his mind went blank. He had fallen instantly into a powerful genjutsu.
The Eight-Tails, observing the situation from within were immediately alarmed. "That's—Mangekyō Sharingan!" Panicked, it attempted to shake Bee out of the illusion, but before it could do anything, a crushing force invaded its mind.
Its consciousness was drowned in chaos, rendering it unable to react. Kaito calmly approached the now motionless Killer Bee.
Placing a hand on Bee's stomach, he began extracting the Eight-Tails' chakra essence. With three-tailed beast essences already absorbed, this process had become increasingly efficient.
After extracting just the right amount, Kaito stopped. Then, he proceeded to erase all of Bee and the Eight-Tails' memories of him, tampering with their recollections. He had no intention of fully extracting the Eight-Tails.
After all, Killer Bee was about to attack Konoha, and Kaito wasn't about to do Konoha any favours. He wanted to see how Konoha would handle this crisis on their own. Bee woke up groggily, finding himself leaning against a large tree.
"Ugh... Why do I feel even more exhausted after sleeping...?"
Rubbing his eyes, he yawned. He had been so drowsy earlier that he must have accidentally dozed off here. Looking up at the sky, he realized the sun was already setting.
"Damn! I gotta hurry! Bro's gonna chew me out if I'm late!"
He then turned to the Eight-Tails.
"Oi, Hachibi, why didn't you wake me up?!"
"Bastard," the Eight-Tails grumbled. "I was sleepy too. How was I supposed to wake you up?"
Kaito had carefully altered the Eight-Tails' memories as well, making it believe that its current chakra levels were normal.
However, the extracted essence would leave it sluggish for a while. Inadvertently, Konoha owed Kaito a debt of gratitude.
"No time to talk—I gotta move!"
Shaking off his drowsiness, Bee bolted toward the battlefield at full speed. After Bee entered the war, Kumogakure's forces surged in momentum.
****
Even in Sage Mode, Jiraiya found himself struggling to hold the line. He was forced to contend with both Killer Bee and the Fourth Raikage—an impossible task given that the two were fighting on opposite ends of the battlefield.
Though he could create shadow clones, they were unable to maintain Sage Mode. There was no feasible way for him to take on both at once.
Meanwhile, Konoha's elite shinobi were held back by Kumogakure's top fighters. The Eight-Tails became an unstoppable force on the battlefield. Within a single engagement, Konoha lost hundreds of shinobi to its rampage.
If this continued, it wouldn't be long before Jiraiya's efforts were completely undone, and Konoha lost its footing. Desperate, Hiruzen Sarutobi proposed a risky countermeasure—sending Naruto Uzumaki, the Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails, into battle...