The Apprehension of Cloud Hidden

With a faint smile on his lips, Orochimaru walked out of the Hokage Office Building and stopped at the main entrance.

Beside him, Fugaku Uchiha stood with a solemn expression, looking as if he were walking a tightrope over a bottomless abyss, unable to relax even for a second.

He is also a man who cannot afford to lose...

Orochimaru chuckled inwardly; whether this war resulted in victory or defeat was, to him, merely a matter of the margin of gain.

But much like the Hokage position was to the old man, the Uchiha Clan was almost the entire meaning of life for Fugaku. Having truly staked everything on this war, how could he not be anxious and flustered?

One cannot go to the battlefield in such a state of mind; it is rare to find an Uchiha clan leader so easy to manipulate.

Orochimaru gripped Fugaku Uchiha's shoulder and said slowly, "Clan Leader Fugaku, do you still remember our previous agreement?"

Fugaku's face darkened, and he nodded slightly.

How could he possibly forget the decision he was forced to make that day?

To use a war to cause his clansmen to suffer heavy losses, thereby completely washing away the suspicion of an Uchiha rebellion and blocking any possibility of others splashing more dirty water on them.

In the long run, this was undoubtedly of great benefit to the Uchiha, but at the thought of using the lives of many clansmen as sacrifices, he had been unable to sleep for days, tossing and turning, doubting whether his choice was correct.

Orochimaru saw the guilt in Fugaku and said slowly, "I have said before, I have no intention of directly harming the Uchiha; such methods are too crude and obvious."

"This time, Kumogakure has dispatched the Raikage and two Jinchuriki, but I have already improved and taught you the barrier ninjutsu to restrict them."

Orochimaru patted Fugaku's shoulder. "Instead of agonizing here, you should think about how to minimize casualties and gain more merit."

Fugaku was lost in thought, while Orochimaru had already taken a step forward. He scanned the long-waiting ninja troops and gave a grim smile. "Move out!"

"Yes!"

After a series of sounds of people breaking through the air, the space in front of the Hokage Building was empty.

Within the borders of Konoha, a low, circular fortress was hidden in the forest, its outer walls covered by vines and branches.

In normal times, even if someone discovered it, they might just take it for an abandoned building, but the group of Kumogakure ninjas who had come specifically for this clearly did not think so.

The Fourth Raikage spoke in a dull voice, "Yugito Nii, destroy it."

Behind him, a woman with beige straight hair leaped out, transforming in mid-air into the Matatabi burning with blue flames.

"BOOM!"

There was no need to release ninjutsu; the fully transformed Jinchuriki Yugito Nii relied on her massive size to slam directly into the fortress.

The outer walls collapsed, earth and stone crumbled, and along with the trees and vines, the small fortress was razed to the ground in an instant without being able to offer any resistance.

"This is the thirteenth one; there is still half to go."

A flash of regret crossed the eyes of the Fourth Raikage—it was anger at the wealthy spendthrifts.

Ninja wars are different from small-team skirmishes; ninja troops of hundreds require outposts where they can safely rest, so every ninja village has built its own strongholds along the border.

The fortress before them was exactly the kind of building Konoha only activated during wartime, containing various defenses such as barrier ninjutsu and sealing techniques. Although it was destroyed easily now, if it had been successfully activated and manned by ninjas, the effort required to destroy it would have been more than ten times greater.

What made the Raikage angry was that Konoha had built far too many of these outposts.

There were as many as 26 just for guarding the Land of Lightning, and that did not include those the spies had not yet discovered.

But it would not do to not run around destroying them; Konoha's sealing and barrier techniques were passed down from the Uzumaki Clan, and the outpost fortifications were incredibly sturdy.

If the Konoha ninja army coming to resist the Kumogakure raid possessed these strongholds, they could calmly deploy formations for defense.

And this would cause their combat intentions to fall through.

"Hoo..."

After completely destroying the fortress, Yugito Nii exited her Tailed Beast state and let out a deep breath.

A look of satisfaction appeared on the Fourth Raikage's rugged face. Yugito's strength was undoubtedly inferior to his, but for large-scale destruction, a Jinchuriki who could transform into a Tailed Beast was more suitable.

Seeing that Yugito's face was a bit pale, the Fourth Raikage asked directly, "Yugito, how much longer can your body hold out?"

"I can continue." Yugito also understood the strategic significance of destroying these turtle shells and quickly stood up straight. "Lord Raikage, Matatabi and I are of one mind; there is no need to worry about my body."

The Fourth Raikage, however, looked around at the surrounding Kumogakure ninjas and said, "Rest for a moment."

Seeing that Yugito still wanted to push herself, he added, "Our goal is not just to destroy Konoha's fortresses; in the coming battles, you are still an indispensable combat force."

Hearing this, Yugito had no choice but to seize the time to recover her strength.

"Swish..."

A Kumogakure ninja suddenly flashed into view and handed over the document in his hand. "Lord Raikage, this is intelligence transmitted from Konoha."

The Fourth Raikage took the intelligence document, browsed through it roughly, and his brow furrowed.

There were only two pieces of intelligence on the document, but both were critical: the Uchiha Police Force had mobilized in full strength, and the commander of the Konoha ninja army was Orochimaru, one of the Sannin.

The latter was somewhat beyond the Fourth Raikage's expectations, as Orochimaru had not led the ninja army during the Third Shinobi World War, but had instead joined Root.

"An old thing from the old era is actually going to make a move again, hmph..."

Although he said that, the Fourth Raikage did not dare to underestimate Orochimaru. He instructed the intelligence squad ninja, "Tell Killer B to speed up the clearing of Konoha garrison troops in the Land of Hot Water. If those rats haven't been dealt with by nightfall, give it up; it is imperative to rush to the assembly point as soon as possible."

"Understood!"

Upon receiving the order, the intelligence unit immediately sprang into action, utilizing specialized summoning beasts to relay communications.

The Fourth Raikage cast his gaze into the distance and remarked with a sigh, "The foundations of Konoha are truly enviable."

During the First Shinobi World War, they held their own against four major ninja villages single-handedly. After the passing of the original generation of village founders, including the Second Hokage, they produced the Sannin: Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade.

In the Third Shinobi World War, Minato and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki were also incredibly active, proving nearly impossible to stop.

Even now, despite having suffered through the Nine-Tails Incident—damage that would take other villages years to recover from—they were still able to immediately field a force of shinobi to confront Kumogakure.

If Konoha were given sufficient time to recover, heaven only knows what kind of ninjas they would produce next.

The Fourth Raikage said in a gruff voice, "Yugito Nii, recover your state as quickly as possible. A troublesome individual has arrived, and we do not have much time."

"Understood!" Yugito Nii stood up immediately. "Lord Raikage, we can depart right now."

Even if it meant risking damage to her own body, she wanted to do her part for the village.

The Fourth Raikage weighed the level of trouble posed by the Konoha strongholds. "Very well. These fortresses must be uprooted as soon as possible."

Thanks to Bandaru for the tip.