Isn't Training at Home Better?

The Fourth Raikage was actually quite helpless.

Other than placing high hopes on Darui, he had no one else to place them on.

Kumogakure might be powerful, but not every ninja village was like Konoha, brimming with talent.

Thus, like Iwagakure, Kirigakure, and Sunagakure, it was severely short on talent.

So far, only Darui among the younger generation had decent potential and was worth cultivating.

"Understood, Lord Raikage!"

At that, Darui immediately showed a pleased expression.

Though he looked calm, he had long been unable to hold himself back.

Challenging powerful opponents was what he enjoyed most.

Darui had yet to obtain Storm Release, but he already possessed the Black Lightning secret technique from the original story.

Though young, his strength was already not far below that of a jonin.

He was greatly looking forward to seeing what kind of surprise Ye Liangnai could bring him.

"Let's go take a look too. I want to witness that brat's strength for myself," the Fourth Raikage said as he rose to his feet, speaking to Tenshin.

Tenshin readily agreed. As his subordinate, Ye Liangnai's success reflected well on him.

Even if Ye Liangnai had not yet gained Kumogakure's true recognition.

Ye Liangnai's home!

"Huh? Fight you? Why?"

When Darui knocked on Ye Liangnai's door and explained why he had come, Ye Liangnai refused without even thinking.

Darui was utterly dumbfounded!

Why was Ye Liangnai not following the script at all?

Being challenged by him meant having a chance to enter Lord Raikage's sight.

It was an opportunity countless Cloud Ninja would give anything to obtain!

Yet Ye Liangnai had refused outright? Could anything be more absurd than that?

No!

"Do you know who I am? My name is—"

Darui was about to introduce himself when Ye Liangnai cut him off.

He said, "Darui, the man praised by the Fourth Raikage as his right-hand man, acknowledged by the Third Raikage and permitted to engrave the character 'lightning' on his arm. Kumogakure's genius!"

Hearing Ye Liangnai say that, Darui was even more confused.

Since Ye Liangnai knew who he was, why was he still refusing him?

Could it be that he was not even worthy of challenging him?

That was utterly ridiculous!

"Challenging you won't bring me any tangible benefits, like money or something!"

"Don't tell me I'll catch Lord Raikage's attention and become famous. I really don't care about that stuff."

"After all, can that feed me? Can it make my life much better?"

"And as for catching Lord Raikage's attention, do you really think someone with my identity could go unnoticed by him?"

"So stop spouting all that empty nonsense."

"Why should I waste my time when there's no real benefit? Wouldn't it be better to train at home?"

Looking at the speechless Darui, whose eyes were wide from Ye Liangnai's retort, Ye Liangnai said, "Anything else? If not, I won't be keeping you for dinner. Please leave!"

With that, he moved to shut the door—

But at that moment, a thick arm stopped him. "Wait!!"

"Fight him, and I'll give you two hundred thousand ryo, plus a better place to live. How about it?"

Ye Liangnai's brows twitched at that, and he opened the door again.

He did not need to see the man's face to know who it was!

With such a thick arm and such a violent aura, who else could it be besides the Fourth Raikage?

"Five hundred thousand!"

Ye Liangnai countered without even raising his head.

Even the Raikage would not change anything. If the money was not enough, there was nothing to discuss.

He was a practical man. He needed to live.

He did not accept empty promises!

Raikage Ay said, "Four hundred thousand. Not a ryo more!"

Only then did Ye Liangnai look up at the Raikage. "Four hundred and fifty thousand. Deal?"

Ay said, "Fine, deal!"

Then he grinned. "You're the first person who's dared haggle with me!"

"Aren't you afraid I'll make things difficult for you when you're out on missions?"

Ye Liangnai's expression did not change at all. "Missions are missions. That's official business! This is personal business. It's different!"

"Besides, if Lord Raikage had such little tolerance, then you wouldn't be fit to be Raikage!"

The Fourth Raikage burst into laughter at that. "I'm finding you more and more interesting!"

"Come on. To the training grounds!"

The Fourth Raikage swept his gaze over Ye Liangnai and Darui as he spoke.

Behind the Fourth Raikage, Tenshin gave Ye Liangnai a thumbs-up.

"I heard Darui is going to fight Kira, the one who recently joined the village. It might be worth watching. Want to go?"

"What? Something like that is happening? Come on, let's go! How could we miss something this wonderful?"

"Darui is actually taking the initiative to challenge someone? Heh, interesting. Let's go see what this Kira is made of!"

Word spread from one person to ten, then from ten to a hundred.

In barely a dozen minutes—

Almost every ninja in the village knew that Darui would be fighting Kira, Ye Liangnai's disguised identity.

Thus, by the time the two arrived at the site of the match, it was already packed with Cloud Ninja who had come to watch.

"Ah, ah, I knew this would happen."

"That's why I hate public battles the most. It's like being watched like a monkey. So uncomfortable!"

Ye Liangnai scratched his head as he entered the arena. After taking a deep breath, he looked at Darui and said, "Then, let's begin!"

In an instant, Ye Liangnai's state shifted from lazy to serious.

That rapid change made the watching Cloud Ninja inwardly gasp.

"What quick reactions. No wonder Darui challenged him himself. He really has something to him!"

"What a terrifying aura. It's as sharp as an unparalleled divine weapon, impossible to look at directly!"

"So this is Kira, Kirigakure's B-rank rogue ninja? Did Kirigakure make a mistake? A B-rank rogue ninja has an aura like this? You've got to be kidding me!"

The surrounding Cloud Ninja all had different thoughts, but in that instant, they all gained a new understanding of Ye Liangnai.

The moment Ye Liangnai said to begin, Darui drew his blade and charged.

At the same time, three figures appeared, coming from three different directions, making it impossible to tell which was the real body.

"It's here, Cloud Style Crescent Moon Slash!" the surrounding Cloud Ninja cried excitedly.

They looked toward Ye Liangnai with eager expressions. "So how will he deal with this move?"

"If he can't handle this, then he's definitely lost. This battle might end just like that!"

Faced with the expectant looks of the Cloud Ninja, Ye Liangnai merely said softly, "Flash!"

The next instant, Darui felt a bone-chilling, piercing pain.

His entire body tensed involuntarily, and without thinking, he hurriedly raised his blade in front of himself to block.

Splurt!

Clang!

The two sounds rang out at once.

One of the Daruis was forcibly driven back, the blade in his hand still humming, while the other two vanished with two pops.