Is Fear Useful?

"What... what?"

Watching the dark figure suddenly fly out from Amegakure Tower and crash heavily into the ground, the Amegakure Villagers on the street wore utterly baffled expressions.

As the thick smoke gradually dispersed, revealing the burly body covered in blood, the villagers were even more dumbfounded.

As an envoy sent by Konoha, Sarutobi Yunosuke was still wearing the distinctive uniform of a Konoha ninja.

Yet now, he lay on the ground in a miserable state, seemingly on the verge of death.

Although most of the people of Amegakure harbored intense hatred toward Konoha, beating up the envoy Konoha had sent...

Wasn't that a little too radical?

This was a development the Amegakure Villagers had never even dared to imagine!

Not just them—Natsume, who was currently in the Conference Room, was equally blank-minded.

His first reaction was—How is this possible?!

After all, Sarutobi Yunosuke was a Taijutsu Ninja, blessed with exceptional physical attributes.

Among Konoha's younger generation of ninjas, he was also among the strongest.

And yet, he had actually been blasted away with a single punch from this Amegakure Leader?

Natsume had seen such violent strength in only one person—

Lady Tsunade, one of the Konoha Sannin.

That lady's Super Strength was renowned throughout the shinobi world. A single punch could split mountains and shatter boulders.

He had never expected this Amegakure Leader to possess such terrifying power as well...

But those questions no longer mattered.

Their only goal now was:

To survive!

At that thought, Natsume's gaze immediately turned sharp.

He drew the short blade from his back, its keen edge glinting coldly beneath the dim light.

But someone was faster than him!

The Hidden Leaf Female Ninja who had come with him flashed forward. Like a ghost, she suddenly appeared behind Jingū Kiraku.

Then she turned her blade, and a snow-white streak of steel instantly slashed toward his neck.

Yet Jingū Kiraku seemed to have long seen through her intentions and promptly turned aside.

His movements were smooth and natural, as though he had anticipated it all along.

At the instant he turned, a White Centipede as tall as a person crawled out of his palm.

The moment it appeared, the centipede gave off an eerie aura.

The next second, its body rapidly swelled as countless flames erupted from within!

"Boom!!!"

An explosion rocked Amegakure Tower, and billowing smoke surged into the sky through the shattered walls.

Tongues of flame could vaguely be seen dancing within the black smoke.

The blast shockwave pulverized the surrounding walls, sending chunks of stone flying everywhere.

"What exactly happened?"

A large number of Amegakure Ninja who had rushed over stared at the scene in confusion.

Weren't they holding talks?

Why had they suddenly started fighting?

Under their watchful eyes, a figure darted out of the smoke.

It was Natsume, Konoha's envoy.

He was carrying a severely burned body and swiftly rushed to Sarutobi Yunosuke's side.

Seeing the Amegakure Ninja rapidly gathering around them, Natsume knew—

They had no chance of winning.

"Jingū Kiraku, are you really going to reignite the war with Konoha?"

"Aren't you afraid Konoha's iron hoof will brutally crush the Land of Rain flat?"

In such a hopeless situation, the best thing Natsume could think of was a threat.

After all, Konoha stood behind them—the largest and strongest force in the entire shinobi world.

When facing Konoha, ordinary people would be wary to some extent.

Unfortunately, Jingū Kiraku was no ordinary person.

As the smoke slowly cleared, he stood at the breach created by the explosion, looking at them with cold eyes.

"Afraid?"

"Is fear useful?"

"If fear were useful, go ask the women and children who died miserably at your hands. Ask them whether they were afraid."

Jingū Kiraku's words instantly resonated with every Amegakure citizen around them.

Whether ordinary villagers or Amegakure Ninja, they all recalled the hatred of having been oppressed by Konoha.

Their eyes turned bloodshot, their fists clenched tight, and they wished they could pounce on these Konoha ninjas at once and tear them to pieces!

Feeling countless terrifying gazes upon him, Natsume finally understood what fear was.

His eyes trembled. Just as he was about to say something, he saw Jingū Kiraku descend from the sky and brutally stomp one foot onto Sarutobi Yunosuke's head.

Sarutobi Yunosuke let out a muffled groan of pain, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

"Go back and tell Hiruzen Sarutobi that our Hidden Rain Village has use for its own money. We won't be paying reparations."

Jingū Kiraku's voice echoed through the streets.

"Not only that, I will reclaim every inch of the Land of Rain that Konoha has occupied."

"If he doesn't like it, tell Konoha's troops to come speak to me."

With that, Jingū Kiraku removed his foot from Sarutobi Yunosuke's head and kicked him over to Natsume.

Natsume stared at the overwhelmingly domineering Jingū Kiraku, frozen where he stood.

Only when Sarutobi Yunosuke crashed down before him did he snap out of it as though waking from a dream.

He glared fixedly at Jingū Kiraku, as if he wanted to carve that figure and the humiliation he had suffered today deep into his heart.

Only then did he pick up his two companions and flee in panic like a beaten dog!

Their wretched appearance stood in stark contrast to the arrogant swagger they had displayed when they first entered Amegakure.

Behind them came the cheers and roars of countless people from the Land of Rain.

"Get lost, Konoha scum!"

"Long live Lord Jingū!!"

"Offer your hearts for the Land of Rain!"

"Victory to the Land of Rain!!!"

Amid the clamor, every sort of cry could be heard.

But without exception, all of them were the Land of Rain's people venting their emotions.

As a small nation that had suffered constant bullying, they had suppressed themselves for far too long.

So when that fire finally erupted, it was exceptionally fierce. In the end, every voice converged into two cries—

"Long live Lord Jingū!"

"Victory to the Land of Rain!!"

Before long, the news spread throughout the entire shinobi world.

Inside the Hokage Building, Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at the intelligence report urgently delivered to his desk, his face filled with shock.

After the shock came terrifying fury!!

"Damned Hidden Rain Village!"

The Hokage, known for being a kindly old man, rarely erupted with such astonishing rage.

Even the ninja who had come to report the matter became somewhat fearful.

No one believed that the Hokage known as the Hero of Shinobi was truly as gentle as he appeared.

Especially when someone touched Konoha's interests.

At the same time, Danzo Shimura, the leader of Root, hurried over as well.

Leaning on his cane, he spoke in an incomparably hoarse voice:

"We must recall Jiraiya and Orochimaru. We need to teach the Land of Rain a harsh lesson!"

"They must learn that Konoha's dignity absolutely cannot be provoked!!"