Worried Cloud Ninja

The most luxurious hotel in Baiyue Town.

Katsuki sat on the sofa by the window, squinting as he gazed at Mount Baiyue outside.

The snow-capped mountains stood firm and unmoved, but the blizzard raged on and on. Thanks to this sudden blizzard, Kushina had to temporarily suppress her desire to go out and play. After all, even if she could brave the blizzard to go shopping, merchants wouldn't open their shops to do business in such weather. Helpless, she could only stay in the inn to rest.

The wind howled and tugged at the glass, and snowflakes the size of a baby's palm crashed against the windowpane, melting instantly and leaving blurry streaks of water.

"It's snowing at this time of year... and it's not even winter yet! But... the scenery is beautiful..."

However, Katsuki's leisurely mood was short-lived. Kushina banged on the door and stormed into Katsuki's room like a Tyrannosaurus Rex, almost kidnapping him to play cards with her, and forbidding him from using Shadow Clone to cover for him.

"...Cough cough, sis, sis, you...you relax a bit, you're choking me so much I can't breathe..."

"Ah! Sorry, sorry, I accidentally used too much force, hehe."

"······"

The card game has begun.

Meanwhile, further north Land of Lightning.

Kumogakure, nestled among the mountains, features buildings with rather peculiar shapes. They resemble Cloud Ninja (a type of Cloud Ninja's architectural skills have become.

The largest dorayaki... no, it's the Raikage Building.

The wide circular corridor was crowded with people, 70% of whom were dressed as ninjas. Black and white skin were mixed together, as conspicuous as a game of Go. One couldn't help but marvel at the strange racial distribution in the ninja world, and it was unclear whether this phenomenon was caused by natural reasons or historical issues.

"I heard things aren't going very well at the front..."

"Sigh! Those groundhogs in the Land of Earth are the best at digging burrows; fighting them is too troublesome..."

The cacophony of sounds filled the air, creating a somewhat somber atmosphere. This was the Raikage Building, the highest political center of Kumogakure, where the latest intelligence was always circulated.

Two young men carrying heavy documents walked and talked. They had only recently started working in the building and had not yet developed the good habit of keeping quiet. They exchanged their views in hushed tones.

"By the way, have you heard about that one?" The dark-skinned youth looked around, led his companion to the wall, and lowered his voice, "That natural disaster!!"

"You mean that natural disaster that destroyed half of Sunagakure Konoha?" The young man with skin as white as milk was taken aback, but thankfully managed to restrain himself from shouting. He looked at his companion, puzzled, "Why are you suddenly bringing that up?"

"Go and put your things away first!"

The dark-skinned, coal-like youth had a serious expression, a barely perceptible hint of smugness flashing in his eyes. After the two arrived at their destination and properly handed over the forwarded documents, they didn't immediately return to work. Instead, they found a secluded spot in Gallo, away from most people's sight, and cleared their throats twice before saying, "Let's get this straight! Don't spread this around, or we'll both be in big trouble."

"Don't worry, I won't utter a single word. You tell me, I'll listen, and I'll never tell a third person," his companion swore.

"I was helping Kuroe move some things just now, and it turned out that Lord Raikage's office wasn't properly closed. I heard them saying..." The dark-skinned youth's voice was extremely low, and he kept it very secretive. Seeing his companion's expectant look, he finally nodded in satisfaction. "They said the Konoha Calamity appeared in the Land of Hot Springs and is heading north; it's already reached the northernmost part of the Land of Hot Springs."

"The northernmost part of the Land of Hot Springs? That's Mount Baiyue Hakutake! Beyond that mountain lies the Land of Frost!!!" The blond, fair-skinned youth stared in disbelief. "Could it be... could it be that Konoha is going to start a war with us?"

The last sentence was suddenly raised in pitch, startling the dark-skinned youth who quickly covered his companion's mouth. They looked left and right and only breathed a sigh of relief when they realized no one was paying attention. Only then did they notice the cold sweat pouring down their foreheads.

"You want to kill us both, don't you? Shouting like that suddenly could kill someone..."

"I... I... I didn't mean to... but is that natural disaster really going to strike?"

"I hope not. I hope that natural disaster was just a tourist vacation at Mount Baiyue."

"Sigh! You're right..."

The Third Raikage was unaware of the worries of those below him; at that moment, the burly, towering man sat in his chair, deep in thought and troubled.

"... Top-level intelligence... The Konoha Calamity and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki have traveled north from the Land of Hot Springs and have arrived at Mount Baiyue... It is judged that they may launch a surprise attack on the Land of Frost... Kuroe, what do you think of this intelligence?"

The Third Raikage, at the peak of his prime, read the secret report in his hand with a headache and sought the opinion of the dark-skinned, white-haired man standing in front of the table.

"It's hard to say... There's too little information to make a judgment." The man shook his head slightly, his expression grave. "However, one thing is true: we must strengthen our defenses. The Calamity and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki... An underdeveloped Nine-Tails Jinchuriki isn't a big deal, the main problem is that Calamity boy... He's very troublesome!!"

This sounds arrogant, completely disregarding the Jinchuriki, but... it's actually quite true.

Because of the presence of the Third Raikage, a terrifyingly powerful figure capable of engaging in direct hand-to-hand combat with Tailed Beast and emerging victorious, the threat of Jinchuriki was not considered a threat by them. Moreover, they had gathered a considerable amount of information regarding the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki of Konoha, and it was clear that the young girl was not yet a threat.

There is only one person to worry about: Mizuki Uzumaki, the only disciple of Konoha's White Fang, known as the Uzumaki Katsuki of Nature.

"According to information leaked from the Sand Village, the Calamity Boy possesses terrifying, wide-range, destructive attack techniques, and his agility far surpasses that of Jinchuriki. In addition, the Uzumaki Clan... that damned bloodline, makes him really difficult to deal with." The white-haired man's face twitched as if he had a toothache; just thinking about this troublesome boy gave him a headache.

"If he really intends to attack us... then we must stop that brat before he even crosses the border."

"... Perverted brat..."

The Third Raikage opened a drawer, and on the top of a pile of documents was clearly marked with the name Uzumaki Katsuki.

He opened the file bag, took out the documents he had already read more than ten times, and began to read them carefully once again.