Kumogakure - Raikage's Office
Raikage A slammed his fist heavily onto the steel desk, instantly twisting and deforming the entire desk, with electricity crackling across the metal surface.
"Those cowards from Sunagakure! Those old foxes from Iwagakure!" His roar shook the windows. "Those monstrous Konoha Ninjas in the Heavenly Screen, are they all blind?!"
Outside the window, a storm was brewing in the Land of Lightning, with blinding flashes of lightning intermittently streaking through the dark clouds. Killer B leaned against the doorframe, his sunglasses reflecting his brother's furious figure.
"Hey~ Big brother's in a helpless rage again~" He's improvising a rhythm, "Sunagakure to be stupid~ Iwagakure is watching the show~ Only we~ are jumping up and down in frustration~ Idiots and bastards~"
"Shut up!" The Raikage whirled around, his Lightning Release Chakra leaking out uncontrollably. "Do you know what this means?!"
He ripped off the Heavenly Screen board on his back, which was covered with portraits of Konoha's strongest members:
The final battle between Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha
Might Guy's Eight Gates Released Formation
Fifth Hokage Princess Tsunade and Jiraiya
"The era of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha is about to repeat itself!" The Raikage's finger almost pierced the portrait. "Back when those two monsters were alive, the other villages didn't dare to breathe!"
Killer B was unusually silent for a moment.
The Raikage paced irritably, each step leaving charred footprints on the floor. "If we don't join forces to suppress Konoha now, are we going to wait for them to produce another God of Shinobi? That old Ōnoki..."
He suddenly stopped and looked out the window at the thunderclouds. Raindrops began to patter against the glass.
"...", the Raikage's voice suddenly became calm. "Inform Yugito Nii that I will personally go to the Land of Frost tomorrow."
Killer B's sunglasses flashed. "Yo~ Big brother's up to something~ Not bringing his underlings~ That's not very nice~"
"Enough talk!" The Raikage's Lightning Release Armor erupted once more. "Since the proper methods won't work, let's make Konoha 'accidentally' lose a few scrolls!"
Just then, the office door was suddenly pushed open. A Kumogakure Jonin, pale-faced, rushed in:
"Lord Raikage! Urgent report from the border! Kakashi Hatake and Might Guy Kakashi Hatake from Konoha are leading an army closer! And... and..."
"And what?!"
"Kaito..." The Jonin's apple bobbed, "He's doing ten thousand push-ups on the other side of the border river, his whole body emitting blue steam..."
Raikage's pupils suddenly contracted. The blood-red figure piercing through the Six Paths Madara in the Heavenly Screen suddenly appeared before his eyes.
"You bastard!" He smashed the entire floor-to-ceiling window with a single punch. "This is blatant intimidation!"
The torrential rain poured down, soaking the scattered portraits of Konoha's powerful figures. Naruto Uzumaki's smiling face gradually blurred in the rain, but his azure eyes seemed to still be watching the enraged Raikage.
Raikage A slowly loosened his fist, his knuckles cracking. The torrential rain outside continued to rage, pouring in through the broken window and soaking the Konoha intelligence files at his feet.
"Kakashi and Might Guy..." He repeated the two names in a low voice, the blood-red figure that pierced through the battlefield in the Heavenly Screen flashing through his mind—Might Guy's kick, which even Six Paths Madara Gate of Death Might Guy was shocked by.
(It's not the right time yet...)
He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the anger in his chest. The Kumogakure was indeed powerful, but facing a monster capable of opening the Gate of Death, a head-on confrontation was by no means a wise move.
"..." The Raikage suddenly spoke, his voice chillingly calm, "Instruct the border patrol not to provoke them, but to keep a close watch on Konoha's every move."
Killer B, unusually, didn't rap, but simply nodded silently. He knew the resentment his older brother was suppressing beneath his silence.
Raikage turned and walked towards the safe deep inside the office, his thick fingers rapidly turning the combination lock. The safe opened, revealing a thick document inside labeled "Heavenly Screen Countermeasures."
"Since those cowards dare not join forces..." He pulled out a scroll labeled "Scientific Ninja Tools " at the top, "Let's become stronger using the methods of Kumogakure."
Half an hour later, in Valley of Clouds and Lightning
The Raikage's Lightning Release Armor streaked across the rain, leaving a blue trail as he landed steadily in front of the steel structure deep within the canyon. This research institute, hidden amidst the lightning, was one of the Kumogakure's top secrets.
"Lord Raikage!" Dodai, the research team leader, dressed in a white protective suit, strode out of the airlock, the rain still wet on his goggles.
The six ninjas guarding the research institute behind him simultaneously knelt on one knee, the splashing water hissing amidst the residual energy of the Lightning Release.
"As per your approved 'Thunder' plan, the First prototype of the Chakra Cannon has completed three rounds of testing." Dodai handed over a crystal plate shimmering with data streams. "In the latest test, the peak energy output reached 123% of the theoretical value."
Raikage's rough fingers swept across the crystal plate, and the splashed holographic projections showed the blinding orb of light gathering at the cannon muzzle.
His calloused knuckles paused on a certain data point—the number was steadily breaking the red alert line. "Interesting." A sharp smile tugged at the corner of the Raikage's lips, and his Lightning Release Chakra inadvertently leaked out, scorching the edge of the crystal slab.
Passing through three blast-proof doors engraved with Sealing Jutsu, one enters the reinforced glass rooms on both sides of the corridor, where a deep blue stream of Chakra flows through specially designed pipes.
Inside the laboratory on the left, a half-finished Chakra Armor is suspended in an anti-gravity field; inside on the right, three humanoid Puppets are undergoing continuous lightning strike tests.
"How's the Heavenly Screen intelligence analysis going?" The Raikage suddenly stopped in front of the central control room. A screen the size of an entire wall was slowly replaying the scene of Naruto in his Tailed Beast Transformation form launching Tailed Beast Bomb.
"A major discovery has been made." The female researcher, wearing goggles, retrieved the data. "Based on the Chakra fluctuations leaked from the Heavenly Screen and with the Yugito Nii, we have successfully reverse-engineered part of the Six Paths Senjutsu principles."
She pointed to the Puppet in the isolation chamber. "This is the prototype of 'Thunder God,' equipped with a core that simulates the chakra of Tailed Beast Chakra. Although it can't compare to a real Jinchūriki, but..."
A glint of light flashed in Raikage's eyes. He approached the observation window, looking at the black patterns appearing on the Puppet's arm—clearly simplified Six Paths Senjutsu Mode runes. "How long will mass production take?"
"It will take at least a year to guarantee the quality and make production possible," Dodai replied cautiously. "But the energy issue..."
"Funding is not a problem." The Raikage interrupted him, "From today onwards, this project is given the highest priority." He glanced one last time at Naruto on the screen, his cloak fluttering as he turned. "Konoha has their monsters, we'll create our own."
Ai stepped out of the research institute's heavy metal doors, the residual electricity from his Lightning Release Armor crackling around him. The six elite Kumogakure soldiers immediately straightened up, the captain pounding his chest with his right fist:
"Lord Raikage! I swear on my life, I will never allow any spy to get close!"
Ai nodded slightly, her gaze sweeping over the hidden sentry posts on both sides of the canyon—where the newly deployed Chakra sensing barrier was hidden, capable of recording even the passing of a bird.
(Not enough...)
He recalled the Chakra Cannon test he had just witnessed. A regular Jonin's Chakra input was enough to level half the Training Ground; if it were Bee's Eight-Tails Chakra...
"One shot could flatten the Valley of the End without a problem," the Raikage muttered to himself, his knuckles unconsciously clenching until they turned white. But then he shook his head—the current barrel material simply couldn't withstand the energy impact of Tailed Beast.
On the way back to Kumogakure
The Raikage's Lightning Release Armor darted through the clouds, the winding mountains of the Land of Lightning stretching beneath his feet. He suddenly recalled the earth-shattering scene of Naruto and Sasuke in the Heavenly Screen, the sheer destructive power of that moment...
"The direction of developing Scientific Ninja Tools is correct." His eyes sharpened even more under the lightning's reflection. "Since mortal bodies can't catch those monsters, let's crush them with the wisdom of Kumogakure!"
Raikage's Office - Evening
"Notify me," the Raikage said, removing his Raikage cloak and addressing the waiting Anbu, "Tomorrow, come with me to the border."
A flicker of surprise crossed the eyes beneath the Anbu mask. "Lord Raikage is going to personally...?"
"It's not about starting a war." A interrupted him, slamming his fist heavily on the Shinobi World map on the wall. "I need to see it with my own eyes—" A dent was punched into the location of Konoha on the map, "... whether that Might Guy is really as shown on the Heavenly Screen."
After the Anbu) withdrew, the Raikage stood alone by the window. The setting sun cast a long shadow of him, perfectly covering the confidential document on the table entitled "Regarding the Recent Movements of the Akatsuki."
(The Tsunade dared to send Kai to demonstrate proves that the Gate of Death is indeed real...)
He gripped the curtains tightly. If the crisis in the Heavenly Screen was truly imminent, then the most important thing right now wasn't to confront Konoha head-on, but...