Mission Accomplished

After resting for a while, Karot and the others set out again. This time, their goal was to destroy the Cloud Ninja's transport route: Thunder Moon Bridge.

Karot and the others were now lying low on the cliff above Thunder Moon Bridge, waiting for the right moment to destroy it in one fell swoop.

"There are six Cloud Ninja squads below, stationed at both ends of the bridge. Security is tight. One of them is a Jonin with an immense, aggressive supply of Chakra. Just looking at him puts a lot of pressure on me."

Using his Byakugan, Hyuga Koji laid out the intelligence on Thunder Moon Bridge. He paid special attention to the Jonin, which piqued Karot's interest.

"So it's him."

Karot hadn't expected to run into the future Fourth Raikage here.

"Hmm?"

A suddenly furrowed his brow and looked in Karot's direction. The movement caught the Cloud Ninja's attention, and one of them cautiously asked, "Lord A, is something wrong?"

"We're being watched."

"Could it be them? A few days ago, the front line received word that a Konoha squad had crossed through our defenses and was harassing our rear. Their target must be Thunder Moon Bridge."

Any Jonin worth their salt was no ordinary person. With only the information available, A had already deduced Karot and the others' objective.

"Hmph. If they dare come, I'll make sure they don't leave."

A spoke with utter confidence. He had every right to be arrogant: despite his young age, he had earned the name "A" and was all but certain to inherit the position of Fourth Raikage.

"Pass the word. Have everyone stay alert. I'm going to capture this Konoha squad."

"Yes, Lord A."

On the cliff, Hyuga's face paled with fear. "His senses are incredibly sharp. We were almost discovered. He's no weaker than Lord Orochimaru. This mission is dangerous."

"What?"

The Ino-Shika-Cho trio were shocked. They hadn't expected the Cloud Ninja to value this location so highly that they would station someone so powerful here. They all turned to Karot.

"You're wrong, Koji. He already knows we're here."

Karot spoke calmly. He could sense that the Cloud Ninja's defenses had shifted: they were keeping their guard tight within the camp while appearing lax from the outside, setting a trap to eliminate Karot and the others.

"What do we do now?"

Hyuga Koji asked, stunned. He hadn't noticed that, but Karot had. Just how powerful were his senses? Koji couldn't help feeling a little dejected. He'd thought sensing was the one area where he could surpass Karot, only to discover that Karot's ability far outstripped his own.

"Since we're already here, we can't leave empty-handed. Wait until nightfall, then plant plenty of Explosive Tags on the cliff. Draw their attention and look for a chance to blow up the bridge. I'll deal with that guy."

Karot knew A had already reached Kage Level. But this was only about buying time, not fighting to the death. It wouldn't be a problem.

"But this opponent is no ordinary one. Think carefully, Karot!"

The others spoke with concern. They didn't know how strong Karot was, so they wanted to persuade him not to take such a risk.

"Don't worry! You still don't know me? I'd never do something unless I was sure I could handle it."

Seeing how confident Karot sounded, the others finally relaxed. Though they'd only been together for a few days, they'd already gotten a sense of how he operated. He was cautious and never fought a battle he wasn't prepared to win.

Soon, dusk settled, and they began preparing to move.

In the pitch-black night, Nara Juubei used his clan's secret technique to plant all the Explosive Tags.

A member of the Yamanaka Clan used a jutsu to control a Cloud Ninja, while Hyuga Koji helped plant the Explosive Tags.

Akimichi Tezuka was responsible for guarding their escape route.

After about an hour of work, all the Explosive Tags were in place. Once detonated, the rocks tumbling down the cliff would block the Cloud Ninja's pursuit, while the tags set by Hyuga would explode midway and break the bridge.

A suddenly felt a pang of unease. This was the time of night when people were most likely to let their guard down. Though he'd ordered the Cloud Ninja to keep watch, the inexplicable malice in the air made his expression darken. A ninja's sixth sense was honed through countless brushes with death; it didn't send warnings without reason.

"Lord A, what's wrong?"

One of his subordinates noticed A's dark expression and asked.

"I feel like something's about to happen. I'm uneasy."

A put a hand over his heart and voiced his misgivings.

"No. Have every ninja step up patrols around the bridge at once. The enemy may have already made their move. There's no point waiting for them to come to us."

"Yes, Lord A. I'll pass on your orders right away."

Before the Cloud Ninja could leave the tent, a series of explosions rang out, and the entire bridge began to shake. A rushed out of the tent and saw the camp in chaos, flames soaring into the sky. Countless boulders rained down from above, crushing any ninja who couldn't get out of the way. Just as a boulder was about to hit A, lightning crackled over his body. This was the Lightning Release only the Raikage could master: Raiton no Kai. With a single punch, he shattered the boulder overhead. The other ninja saw A and, as if they'd found someone to rally around, gradually gathered at his side.

"Everyone, get off the bridge at once!"

A knew the bridge was beyond saving. All he could do now was evacuate his people.

At last, the bridge couldn't withstand the force of the explosions. Under the strain, it collapsed with a deafening crash.

Watching the bridge's destruction with his own eyes, A's hatred for Konoha's ninjas reached its peak. He wouldn't rest until he'd killed them and avenged this.

A sprinted along the cliff, searching for the Konoha ninja. He'd meant to draw them out, but instead he'd been struck head-on.

When he finally reached the top of the cliff, he spotted the Konoha ninja fleeing in a hurry.

"Konoha ninja! You're not getting away!"

A shouted as lightning surged over his body. Moving as fast as a bolt, he raced after Karot and the others.

"Damn it, we've been spotted!"

Hearing A's shout, they knew their position was exposed and could only run faster. The pressure A put on them was immense; they didn't dare look back, only kept sprinting for their lives.

A drew closer and closer, and the pressure on them mounted.

"As expected, I underestimated the heroes of this world. You're not going to get away so easily."

Karot spoke. He'd blown up the cliff to slow A's pursuit, but it hadn't worked. A had still caught up.

"Use Plan B. You go on ahead."

With that, Karot stopped. The moment he turned around, A was right in front of him. He came in at top speed, a lightning-wreathed arm swinging hard toward Karot's chest. Karot brought his hands together. A tremendous BOOM sent him flying, carving a long furrow through the ground. A massive crater formed in the ground, spanning ten meters around Karot.