Lightning Strike on Kumogakure

A tremendous roar echoed throughout the meeting room of Kumogakure.

Amidst the sound of wood chips flying everywhere, the table that had just been moved in front of the Fourth Raikage was smashed to pieces by his punch.

Dodai sighed and waved for his men to come forward and replace Ai's table with a new one.

"That damned Fourth Hokage!"

Still not satisfied after smashing a table, Ai sat back down in her chair, continuing to vent her anger verbally.

"What exactly happened, Lord Raikage?"

A senior executive mustered up the courage to ask Ai.

"Darem failed; he was killed on the spot by Konoha Ninjas, and the delegation was detained and imprisoned. They demand an immediate explanation and apology..."

Ai did not state all of Sakumo's demands in the diplomatic letter. He could not accept the apology alone, let alone the subsequent compensation.

"Is the wording really that harsh?"

The Kumogakure Village's high-ranking officials, who had spent their entire lives battling the leadership team headed by Hiruzen Sarutobi, were seeing Konoha's attitude so assertive for the first time.

Everyone began to whisper among themselves, thinking about how to deal with the Fourth Generation's regime in Konoha.

"What will they do if we don't accept Konoha's terms?"

After some discussion, a senior executive asked this crucial question.

"The Fourth Hokage said that a large-scale war between the two hidden villages will be restarted."

Ai, his face grim, delivered Sakumo's threat.

"Third Shinobi World War, even with the combined forces of several hidden villages, we were unable to invade Konoha's mainland or wage war independently..."

Upon hearing Konoha's request, the higher-ups visibly hesitated.

A confident smile appeared on Ai's face, "Don't worry, Konoha only dares to make such meaningless threats."

"You are all people who have dealt with Konoha countless times. Those guys occupy the best land in the Shinobi World, yet they call themselves peace fighters, and they fight amongst themselves every day on their own turf."

"Since the founding of Konoha, have you ever seen Konoha take the initiative to attack?"

A's words gave the higher-ups confidence. After some thought, they realized that the facts were indeed as their Raikage had said: the Konoha ninjas had strength, but no fighting spirit, and were always on the defensive in every war.

"Tell Konoha that the claim of stealing the Byakugan is utter nonsense. Kumogakure came to Konoha with the intention of peace, but they framed us and murdered the ninjas in our delegation. They must hand over the murderers and unconditionally release the detained delegation members!"

Before the Kumogakure could even send out its diplomatic letter, the surprise attack force dispatched by Sakumo had already crossed the borders of the Land of Hot Springs and the Land of Lightning and arrived at the border of the Land of Lightning.

After receiving the strongly worded diplomatic letter from Kumogakure, Sakumo didn't waste any words. He immediately ordered the surprise attack force to launch an attack, and at the same time ordered the main force led by Hiruzen Sarutobi to immediately head north and attack the Land of Lightning.

"The battle orders have been issued. The higher-ups have ordered us to eliminate the Cloud Ninja strongholds on the border of the Land of Lightning to create conditions for the main force's offensive."

The commander of the surprise attack force was a middle-aged male Jonin named Senju Soujirou.

Gathered around him were the five four-person squad leaders personally appointed by Sakumo.

They are Shimura Kazashiro, Minato Namikaze, Uchiha Obito, Aburame Shibi, and Aburame Ryoma.

"Kazashiro, your spell range is large enough, so you'll be in charge of attacking Outpost A, which stores border supplies."

Senju Soujirou pulled out a map, which clearly marked the locations of various strongholds on the border of Kumogakure, as well as the approximate number of people in each stronghold.

This was intelligence that Danzo had gathered before the Root was reorganized. He thought that with Hiruzen's weak diplomatic policy, he would never need to use it in his lifetime. Unexpectedly, Sakumo decisively launched a surprise attack on Kumogakure.

Danzo, who hadn't felt this good in a long time, wasn't afraid of the other party being curious about his information sources, and handed over all the results of Root's years of cultivation to Sakumo.

Sakumo was shocked to receive the intelligence; he hadn't expected Danzo to be able to gather so much information from the Kumogakure, which was known for its unity.

This gave him a clearer understanding of Danzo's abilities.

This intelligence gathering efficiency far surpasses that of Konoha's Anbu Intelligence Division.

Looking at the location of Outpost A on the map, Kazashiro didn't say much and nodded to accept the mission.

"Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!"

The sharp wind blades tore through the Cloud Ninja guarding the stronghold and left deep marks on the brick walls.

Outside the stronghold, the Cloud Ninja's sentries were pierced by ice shards, and blood flowed continuously from the wounds.

Two Cloud Ninja spotted Kazashiro and were about to make a move when they found themselves tightly bound by a large tree that had appeared out of nowhere.

"Damn it, why can't I move my body!"

The next second, their throats were slit by Kunai.

Instead of looking at the two collapsed bodies, Kurenai Yuhi chose her next target.

"Take this!"

In another direction, Iruka Umino unfolded the Summoning Scroll in his hand, summoning a dense array of shuriken, which he then threw at the Cloud Ninja in front of him.

Those who were lucky enough to escape being hit by the shuriken were then finished off by Kakashi from the shadows.

The final touch, of course, is the Five Elements: Great Bullet Technique.

As Base A was sent flying into the sky by the explosion, Kazashiro and his elite four-man Jonin squad immediately fled the scene, their figures gradually swallowed by the night.

Just two days later, the vanguard outposts of Kumogakure on the border were wiped out one by one by the surprise attack force. When the news reached Kumogakure, Ai unsurprisingly smashed another table.

"Were those guys in Konoha already prepared for war when they sent the letter?!"

He never expected that Konoha, which he had always regarded as a weak village, would launch a surprise attack before he even began to mobilize.

Now even the higher-ups started to panic.

The elimination of their border outposts means that their surrounding territories will no longer be safe, and the flames of war will spread into the Land of Land of Lightning. This is a very shameful thing for a major power.

Even more frightening is that they have learned through various channels that the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, has personally led a large force from Konoha across the border of the Land of Fire.

The battles he achieved at Mount Kikyo are still talked about in the Shinobi World. If he were to enter the mainland, the consequences would be unimaginable, given his expertise in wide-range Ninjutsu.

"We can't hesitate any longer, Lord Raikage! We must restart negotiations with Konoha!"

Realizing the situation was dire, Dodai, who had remained silent until now, finally voiced his opinion on the matter.

"Negotiations are possible, but only after all the rats that have entered our territory have been crushed!"

Ai walked slowly to the French windows with a gloomy face.