Kumo Ninja

Chapter 7: Kumogakure [Seeking Recommendation Tickets]

Kumogakure, surrounded by mountains.

The tallest mountain peak in the entire village was almost hidden by the clouds.

This was the center of the Land of Lightning, the Kumo Ninja Village!

And the building constructed on that tallest mountain peak was the office of the strongest in Kumogakure, the Raikage!

Kumogakure was a ninja village that revered strength. The strongest individuals of each generation, the Raikage, would inherit the title "A" and carry on the will of Kumogakure.

In Kumogakure, one could see many ninjas with dark skin, a major characteristic of Kumo Ninja.

"If I'm dark enough, you won't be able to see me jutsu!"

Cough...

Most Kumogakure ninja were skilled in swordsmanship and Lightning Style Ninjutsu, and Nintaijutsu was popular. It was a hidden village that valued individual combat power.

At this moment, Kumogakure was under the rule of the Third Raikage A, who was in his prime.

Inside his office, several ninjas wearing white fox masks were kneeling on one knee.

They were the Anbu of Kumogakure!

BANG!!

The Third Raikage A slammed his fist onto his desk.

As his fist landed, the desk, which hadn't been used for long, shattered into two. This was already an unknown number of desks he had broken.

But no one paid any attention to it.

"What did you say?! The Two-Tails is gone?!"

A's voice roared from his mouth, his eyes bulging like a bull's.

The few Anbu kneeling before him were not afraid of the Third Raikage's outburst.

They were Anbu. When wearing masks, they were emotionless tools. Fear was not something that should appear on them.

Even if they were truly afraid, they couldn't show it. This was basic ninja training!

Of course, they would never admit that it was because the Raikage was glaring at them right now.

"Yes!"

The Anbu squad leader responded.

"When we arrived, we found the body of the former Two-Tails Jinchuriki had been burned to a crisp by flames.

After confirmation by the medical team, the fatal wound was a penetrating injury to the chest. It is estimated with seventy percent certainty that it originated from the Third Tsuchikage's Kekkei Tōta!"

The Anbu squad leader clearly stated the information he had at hand.

Upon hearing this, A's expression became even uglier.

He had originally thought that the Land of Earth was fighting the Land of Fire and had no time to deal with their Land of Lightning. By launching an attack during this period, they should have gained considerable advantage.

He had to admit, they did gain an advantage.

They had occupied part of the Land of Earth's territory!

Claiming it as their own was the reward for initiating this war.

But because of this, they had lost the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, and now even the Two-Tails was nowhere to be found.

Tailed Beasts were secret weapons akin to nuclear bombs for any ninja village. Having a Tailed Beast meant having sufficient deterrent power against other ninja villages.

After the First Hokage distributed the nine Tailed Beasts, Kumogakure, which had a good relationship with Konoha, received the Eight-Tails, second only to the Nine-Tails, and the Two-Tails, which was also quite powerful.

It could be said that the considerable deterrence these two Tailed Beasts provided to other ninja villages had also brought many benefits to the Land of Lightning.

The Eight-Tails was powerful and arrogant, difficult to tame, and often caused Jinchuriki rampages, requiring the Raikage to suppress it from time to time.

But the Two-Tails was different. Among all Tailed Beasts, the Two-Tails had a relatively good temperament.

Their Two-Tails Jinchuriki could not completely control the Two-Tails, but they could maintain the Tailed Beast Cloak without losing their sanity.

It was a very, very important high-end combat force for Kumogakure.

For the success of this surprise attack.

For the sake of the so-called "fast, accurate, and ruthless!"

The Raikage had dispatched the Two-Tails Jinchuriki to participate in this campaign as a final safeguard.

It was supposed to be a foolproof plan. Who knew that the Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, relying on his ability to fly, would appear on the battlefield at the end of the battle.

Although he couldn't sweep the battlefield, he still caused the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, who had stepped forward to stop him, to be severely injured and die. She ultimately lost her life on the way back to Kumogakure.

"And the Two-Tails? Did it disappear with the Jinchuriki?!" the Raikage asked in a deep voice.

Although they had captured some territory from the Land of Earth this time, they had lost a Tailed Beast and a Two-Tails Jinchuriki who could fight stably...

He didn't know if it was a profit or a loss.

"Although the Jinchuriki's body was in the ruins at the time, and all traces were almost burned, according to the situation at the time and the surrounding investigation, there should have been a child under ten years old in that house!" the Anbu squad leader replied truthfully.

"So, the Two-Tails is very likely with this child, and you returned empty-handed, which means you didn't find the child!" The Raikage instantly understood the situation.

He continued, "Could the other party be a ninja? Or a spy from some ninja village?"

"Your subordinate has already dispatched Anbu members skilled in tracking to continue the pursuit. I believe they will be able to find the other party."

The Anbu squad leader hesitated slightly before speaking again, "As for whether the other party is a ninja or a spy, your subordinate cannot be certain and is currently investigating.

However, judging from the traces left by the child, the other party should not be a ninja. And following their tracks, we found Konoha's... stronghold in the town..."

BANG--

The Raikage slammed his fist onto the already broken office desk again.

However, this punch caused the office desk, which could have been repaired and used, to shatter into powder!

This time, the Raikage was truly enraged!

"Konoha!!!"

Toneri had been traveling with the merchant caravan for five days.

Due to the large amount of supplies, they couldn't take many shortcuts and had to avoid bandits and robbers, so their progress was relatively slow.

But even at this pace, in less than two more days, they would pass through the Land of Hot Water and enter the Land of Fire. After that, it would be relatively less dangerous.

For the past few days, Toneri had spent most of his time in the carriage.

Except for occasional times when he needed to take care of bodily functions.

His three meals a day were delivered by the old man. Although there wasn't much rich food, it was still much better than Toneri's past experiences of not having enough to eat or wear.

During these days, Toneri hadn't been idle; he had been exercising in the carriage.

This was a world with extremely high danger. No matter what, being able to strengthen himself a little meant having a bit more security.

Toneri didn't know many things, like how to refine chakra or how to throw projectiles like kunai, let alone more difficult ninjutsu.

But he knew the most basic physical exercises, such as push-ups, sit-ups, and difficult gymnastics.

These were things he had mastered in his previous life, and he was just picking them up again in this body.

Five days was neither long nor short.

During this time, Toneri at least no longer looked gaunt and sallow. His complexion had become a bit fairer, and there were even a few traces of a healthy blush.

Handsome from all 360 degrees!

Although the carriage was crowded, Toneri was just a child, so he managed to clear out enough space for exercise with a little tidying.

After finishing his workout and pushing his body to its limit, Toneri's consciousness entered the sealed space where the Two-Tails resided.

To chat with it.

He didn't know if it was because the sealing jutsu wasn't very strong, or if the seal wasn't very firm, but Toneri could appear before the Two-Tails whenever he wished.

Although after a few days, the Two-Tails was getting a bit annoyed by Toneri, he still enjoyed it.

With any remaining time, Toneri would quietly curl up in a corner of the carriage, holding the fragrant sachet in his hand.

As the saying goes, you can tell a woman's appearance by her scent...

A woman who owned such a delicately scented sachet must be beautiful.

And this was Toneri's only form of entertainment during this period!

Thank you to all the book friends for their rewards. Jin Mu's little notebook continues to expand!

Thank you to all book friends for your precious recommendation tickets! Jin Mu is giving you a shy "嘤嘤嘤"... manual emoji!