Chapter 58: Volume 2 – Chapter 7: Effortless Victory

With the Third Raikage A joining the fray, the poor little cat didn't even get a chance to cry out before being tied up like a pretzel.

Reiji watched it all unfold, let out a slow breath, and collapsed to the ground.

It was over!

A full month of preparation and planning had finally come to an end.

With that thought, Reiji gritted his teeth and silently snapped his own left arm.

Gathering intel, picking the target, scouting the area, creating shadow clones, mastering the Flying Thunder God Technique, calculating every move, provoking the Tailed Beast—every step was critical. One misstep, and the entire plan would fall apart.

And now that Kumogakure would be on high alert, an internal sweep of their ninja ranks was inevitable.

When that happened, Reiji would have no choice but to move to Plan B.

Plan B meant harnessing the power of two Tailed Beasts to launch a full-scale assault.

But such a direct attack would surely cause heavy civilian casualties—something that, despite everything, still tugged at the tiny scrap of conscience left in him.

A ninja's fate is to kill or be killed. That's a fact that can't be changed.

So when Reiji went after Kumogakure's ninja, he felt no guilt and showed no mercy.

Still, deep down, he couldn't stand resorting to brute-force solutions.

Put simply: elegance! It had to be done with elegance!

Even if you're heading to the village gate with a sack of cement, you've still got to get your hair right first!

Soon enough, the "wounded hero" Reiji was discovered by grateful Kumogakure shinobi.

Looking at his pale face, the twisted, broken arm, the blood-soaked chest, and his eyes—gazing skyward, full of silent suffering—the rough, burly men around him couldn't hold back their tears.

"This kid... even after getting hurt like that, he still tried to protect us?"

"Damn it! I've got something in my eye!"

"Quick! Get our comrade back to the village! No matter wha—"

Before he could finish, a red-eyed comrade shoved him to the ground.

"Idiot! Don't say such stupid things! He's going to be fine!"

They quickly rigged a makeshift stretcher. A few of them gently lifted Reiji and ran toward the village, fast but steady.

As Reiji glanced around at the worried faces, a quiet sigh escaped him.

I really am just a despicable, selfish, helpless man...

Before long, Reiji was taken to the hospital in Kumogakure.

Surprisingly, the hospital was in a prime location—right on top of a mountain.

Under the watchful eyes of Kumogakure's shinobi, Reiji was stripped bare, revealing his dark skin and buttocks.

Then, still under their gaze, he was wrapped up like a rice dumpling by the lovely nurses of the ninja hospital.

The fair-skinned nurses, their faces slightly flushed and eyes shyly averted, snapped Reiji wide awake.

Despicable? Helpless? Forget all that—I just like pretty nurses.

Just imagining one of them gently holding a spoon and feeding him with a soft "Ah~"...

Reiji's expression turned solemn. "Breaking this arm? Totally worth it!"

Kumogakure is the best!

As for Konoha? What the hell is Konoha? Can you eat it? Does it have curvy, hot nurses?

What? No? Just thick-waisted, chubby middle-aged women?! Screw that, I'm out!

While Reiji was basking in the nurse's care with a look of bliss on his face...

In the Raikage's office, Raikage A had just returned from the Temple of Wind and Thunder. He flopped down on his brand-new couch, arms spread wide, exuding big boss energy.

"Amai, how's that kid—Raimei—doing?"

Thinking about his subordinate's report, and that brat who tried to leave the village even while a Tailed Beast Ball was aimed right at him, the usually hard-as-nails Raikage A felt a twinge of softness.

Oddly enough, though he was the toughest and most hot-tempered of the Third Raikage line, he'd always had a soft spot for the village's younger generation.

Raimei stood demurely before him, hugging her sketchpad, which flattened her chest like a squished bunny.

"Uncle, Raimei's already been taken to the ninja hospital for treatment. He's probably bandaged up and asleep by now.

According to the doctor's observations, his body's incredibly resilient—likely from years of Taijutsu training.

Also, the combat reports from his teammates have been submitted."

Hearing that, Raikage let out a slow breath and asked in a deep voice.

"Go on."

"Uh..." Amai hesitated for a moment, his expression turning serious.

"When they arrived on the scene as ordered, both the Sensory Team members and the monks from the Temple of Wind and Thunder were already dead.

At the scene, they were ambushed by a large number of black-clad attackers. Based on their analysis, they were all shadow clones of the same person."

"Shadow clones!" The Third Raikage A's brow furrowed sharply.

"Konoha?"

Amai shook his head slightly. "We can't say for certain. Plenty of people can use shadow clones. Konoha is just a strong suspect."

"Hmph!"

At that, A let out a cold snort, his brows furrowed tight with anger.

"Continue!"

"At the time, there were a huge number of shadow clones at the Temple of Wind and Thunder, which confirms the attacker had an extraordinary amount of chakra.

More importantly, the attacker used some kind of unknown space-time ninjutsu!

The support team engaged him in combat.

Eventually, the attacker's clones launched a sudden suicide assault.

Immediately after, the Two-Tails—Matatabi—broke free from its seal, and the support team was thrown into a desperate fight.

Oh, there was one survivor: the abbot of the Temple of Wind and Thunder, Master Chōkū. But he claims to know nothing."

"Interrogation Room! Get them to question him!"

"No can do," Amai shook his head.

"The Daimyō would never allow us to lay hands on such a respected monk—especially since Master Chōkū is one of his retainers."

Amai fell silent, stepping aside, while the Third Raikage stood motionless, his brow deeply furrowed as he gazed into the distance.

He wasn't stupid. On the contrary, no fool could ever rise to lead a village.

This attacker—never once revealing their true identity—was clearly hiding something too dangerous to expose.

Yesterday, it was chaos at the Temple of Wind and Thunder. Today, two Tailed Beasts went wild.

A mysterious space-time technique. A sudden, unprovoked assault. A hidden, terrifying hand pulling strings behind the scenes...

All of it made A feel like he'd been caught in a vast, invisible web—strong, unyielding.

No matter how powerful he was, he couldn't break free.

And this sense of helplessness—since taking over from the Second Raikage and becoming the Third—he had never experienced it before.

He even felt like, somewhere in the shadows, a pair of cold eyes were watching his back—sending a chill through his spine.

Damn it!

With a thunderous crash, the newly bought steel-framed sofa shattered into pieces again.

Powerless.

Completely powerless.

He couldn't even guess what the attacker wanted!

"What's the Intelligence Division's take on the attacker's objective?" The Raikage's rough voice echoed through the room.

"We've got a few theories," Amai nodded quietly, then answered calmly.

"The most likely target was the Two-Tails, Matatabi. From start to finish, the attack was focused on the Temple of Wind and Thunder.

Second possibility: war—to spark another conflict between us and Konoha.

Third possibility: a diversion, to infiltrate the village."

After listening to the analysis, the Raikage looked out at the village through the tall windows, his face calm but resolute.

"Bring the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki back to the village. He'll stay in the Raikage Building.

For the next three months, scale back all outside missions. Switch everything to perimeter patrols.

Request funds from the Daimyō—say we need to rebuild the Temple of Wind and Thunder and the shortfall is massive!

Conduct a full investigation of all outsiders, starting with the civilians. Have the ANBU monitor every single one!

As for the Two-Tails, keep it sealed at the Temple of Wind and Thunder for now. Start selecting candidates. Prepare a new Jinchūriki!"

Hearing this, Amai spoke up urgently.

"Uncle! The Iron Armor Seal isn't effective against the Two-Tails!"

"Doesn't matter! We need both the Two-Tails and the Eight-Tails inside the village. Otherwise, they'll just be picked off one by one!"

Amai fell silent.

This wasn't a real solution anymore. But his uncle, who stood on equal footing with the Eight-Tails, had more than enough strength to suppress the slightly weaker Two-Tails.

Especially with the help of the Wind and Thunder Chains, sealing the Two-Tails wouldn't be difficult for someone with his speed.

But the village's civilians... there would be casualties again.

...

After a long pause, the Third Raikage suddenly remembered something.

"Right, Raimei's recovered. Bring him to me."

He let out a weary sigh and muttered to himself,

"The village needs more fresh blood."

At those words, Amai nodded silently.