Attack on Kumogakure!

Raikage Building.

The Fourth Raikage, Ay, wore a white robe and a Raikage Hat. He held a dumbbell in his right hand, stretching his muscles as he listened to the information being reported by his subordinate.

"According to the updated information from the Bounty Station, the mysterious ninja who killed Kainu has already taken his corpse to collect the bounty." Mabui held a document, her tone calm.

Bang!

As soon as Mabui finished speaking, the Fourth Raikage, Ay, slammed his palm down, splitting the entire Hard Iron Wood table in half!

"They've gone too far! That damned bastard!" The Fourth Raikage's eyes were wide with fury, yet he remained calm despite his rage.

The Raikage asked in a low voice, "How likely is it that Konoha did this themselves?"

He had sent a Special Jonin skilled in infiltration as an envoy. On the surface, the man had gone to negotiate peace, but in truth, he was to use the opportunity to infiltrate the Hyuga Compound and abduct the Hyuga Princess, allowing Cloud Village to obtain the Byakugan Kekkei Genkai.

If he was discovered by the Hyuga Clan—preferably by the Hyuga Main House—the envoy would become a sacrificial pawn and charge headlong into death. Then Cloud Village would have an excuse to pressure Konoha into handing over the culprit.

It had originally been a move guaranteed to profit without loss.

Yet some mysterious masked ninja had suddenly appeared, killed Cloud Village's envoy, thrown the corpse into the Hyuga Compound, and framed the Hyuga Clan.

As the Raikage, Ay naturally knew best what Cloud Village itself had done.

He did not believe Konoha's explanation at all. He believed they were merely determined to protect the Hyuga Clan.

"It's still possible. After all, a ninja capable of doing something like this within heavily guarded Konoha would not be some unknown nobody." Mabui frowned slightly.

As the Raikage's secretary, Mabui was exceptionally intelligent, skilled at judgment and analysis, and possessed a great deal of intelligence on Kumogakure.

Therefore, Mabui also felt that it was unlikely such a person truly existed.

"However..." Mabui set down the document in her hands. A sharp glint flashed through her pale blue eyes as she added, "Konoha is insisting that a mysterious ninja did it. They are clearly determined to protect the Hyuga Clan. Even if we continue pressuring them, Konoha probably won't hand over the Hyuga Clan's culprit."

"Hmph! Then we keep fighting! We fight until Konoha begs for mercy!" The Fourth Raikage's face twisted savagely, and his left fist cracked as he clenched it.

He wished he could immediately lead a ninja force straight to Konoha.

"Lord Raikage, Kumogakure no longer has the strength to continue fighting." Mabui sighed and explained the current situation of Kumogakure and the Land of Lightning to the hot-tempered Raikage.

Forget invading Konoha—they had not even managed to enter the Land of Fire. The ninja forces of the two countries had confronted each other within the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Moon for months, and they were already exhausted.

This war should have ended long ago.

"Also, this is already the third table you've smashed this month!" Mabui glanced at the fragments on the floor. It had been a table made from premium Hard Iron Wood.

Mabui said helplessly, "The repair costs will be deducted from your allowance."

"Do whatever you want!" The Fourth Raikage, Ay, did not care in the slightest.

Holding the dumbbell in his right hand, he looked at a thick mass of dark clouds drifting closer outside the window. For some reason, he had a bad feeling.

"What is B up to this time?" The Fourth Raikage, Ay, immediately thought of his sworn younger brother, Killer B—the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki who loved rapping and whom he had forbidden from leaving the village for years.

Boom—!

Suddenly, a deafening explosion erupted from the bottom floor of the Raikage Building!

The entire building shook violently. The room creaked as though it might collapse at any moment.

"Who is it?!" The Fourth Raikage, Ay, roared. He flung away the dumbbell, shattered the office window, and jumped straight down.

"Lord Raikage!" Mabui hurriedly followed him.

The two leaped out of the Raikage Building and landed on the platform below, where they saw that nearly half of the building's lower levels had been destroyed by the explosion!

Had the Raikage Building not been built atop a mountain and supported by braces connecting it to other peaks, it might already have collapsed.

Raikage Ay searched all around for the enemy.

Tap—

Footsteps came from within the smoke.

"Who dares run wild in Kumogakure?!" The Fourth Raikage, Ay, was already beside himself with rage. Since Kumogakure had been founded decades ago, no one had ever broken into the village like this.

A figure slowly emerged from the billowing smoke. As the smoke gradually dispersed, a White Three-Eyed Fox Mask flickered into view.

"Trying to act mysterious!" Purple lightning-attribute chakra erupted from the Fourth Raikage, Ay's body as he activated Lightning Release Chakra Mode.

He glared at the figure in the smoke and shouted sharply, "Come out!"

The Fourth Raikage, Ay, flashed forward, charging at extreme speed toward the mysterious person in the smoke.

"Die!"

Lightning Style: Lariat!

Countless streams of lightning chakra gathered around Raikage Ay's elbow, crackling as they surged toward the mysterious figure with a piercing howl.

Just as Raikage Ay's elbow was about to strike the mysterious person's mask—

Clang—!

A clear ring tore through the air.

A black scythe swung out from the billowing smoke, cutting through it.

It collided violently with the metal bracer on Raikage Ay's wrist, producing a crisp clang as sparks flew!

At the same time, more than half of the lightning chakra concentrated around Raikage Ay's elbow mysteriously vanished.

"Who?!" His attack had failed, and Lightning Style: Lariat had been interrupted. Raikage Ay decisively withdrew.

"Lord Raikage!" At that moment, Mabui and two members of the Raikage's guard, Darui and Shi, also arrived at the battlefield. They stood on either side of Raikage Ay and assumed combat stances.

"Who are the enemies?" Darui gripped his long sword and stared fixedly at the three masked figures emerging from the smoke.

As the smoke dispersed, two masked people in robes could still be seen floating in the air.

The one on the right had ribbons fluttering behind her, making her look like a woman.

The masked person on the left wore a black robe and held a black scythe.

The two floated in midair like ghosts.

Raikage Ay focused on the masked person holding the scythe. Earlier, he had felt a great deal of his chakra being sucked away.

"That is..." Mabui also saw the mysterious figures opposite them, and her pupils suddenly contracted. "The mysterious ninja Konoha reported as Kainu's killer!"

"What?!" Darui and Shi were both stunned.

As the Raikage's guards and part of Cloud Village's upper ranks, the two naturally knew about the message Konoha had sent several days earlier.

"I thought it was Konoha's clumsy excuse. I didn't expect it to be true." Darui looked grimly at the two masked figures floating in midair. "And it seems the enemy isn't alone."

Konoha's report had mentioned one mysterious ninja, but there were now three masked people attacking Kumogakure!

"Ah-da!" A shout came from overhead.

Killer B, with seven swords strapped to his back, had also arrived at the battlefield.

"Yo~ Big bro, you okay~"

Killer B first greeted his big brother, Raikage Ay, then looked toward the three mysterious masked figures as the smoke cleared.

"Yo~ little bro from before~ why attack Cloud Village~" Killer B struck a pose with both hands and demanded an answer.

Uzumaki Menma had Malice Sense fully activated and could already sense the ninjas of the entire Kumogakure rushing over.

Before long, figures landed one after another around the Raikage Building. Ninja after ninja wearing Cloud Village forehead protectors surrounded Uzumaki Menma.

"When Cloud Village attacked others, did you ever look for a reason?" A deep voice came from beneath Menma's White Three-Eyed Fox Mask.

"Today, I'm merely returning your own tricks to you." After saying that, Menma ordered the two Nine Masked Beasts behind him, "Take care of these small fry!"

Celestial Maiden of Jade swung her ribbons, while Grim Reaper of Three raised his scythe.

They charged out, one to the left and one to the right.