Konoha had been attacked, but it wasn't because of a lapse in its defenses.
It was simply that...
The Guardian Ninja on the outskirts had been overwhelmed.
The leader of Kumogakure's attacking force this time was the Second Raikage.
Kumogakure had an unwritten rule: whoever became Raikage became "A."
No one knew whether the title had some special meaning or not.
And the man hadn't come alone to attack them. He had brought a weapon of war with him—the Eight-Tails.
The moment the first Konoha Ninja on the battlefield spotted the attackers and fired a signal flare,
the entire temporary camp erupted into chaos.
Then came a world-shaking roar.
A gigantic monster with the head of a bull, eight legs, and an octopus's tentacles began rampaging across the battlefield.
Yuya jolted awake from his sleep. He hurriedly got dressed, rushed out of his tent, and saw Senju Tobirama already standing outside.
"They're here?" Senju Tobirama asked softly without turning around.
He didn't blame Yuya for being so careless as to take off his clothes and sleep at the front lines.
In fact, he was filled with regret.
If Yuya really fell here...
Senju Tobirama took a deep breath, then turned to Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō beside him.
"Monkey, Danzō, take Kagami and Torifu with you and protect Yuya. Remember, he absolutely cannot be allowed to come to harm. Protect him, even if it costs you your lives."
Then Senju Tobirama looked at Yuya and said gravely, "He is Konoha's future."
With that, he turned and headed straight for the rampaging Eight-Tails.
At that moment, the Second Raikage hadn't appeared on the front lines, and Tobirama didn't know he was leading the attack.
The Eight-Tails was not to be underestimated, so Tobirama naturally assumed the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki was leading the force.
Back at the camp, Torifu Akimichi turned his chubby face toward Yuya.
In fact, it wasn't just him. Sarutobi Hiruzen, Shimura Danzō, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu were all looking at Yuya too.
Yuya smiled awkwardly and tried to laugh it off. "What terrible luck. We've been caught in a night raid."
Kagami Uchiha looked at Yuya with a serious expression. "I won't let anything happen to you."
Yuya blinked. He couldn't help feeling there was something else in Kagami Uchiha's gaze.
Could it be...
Was this guy's sexual orientation...
No, that couldn't be. He was married!
Just as Yuya wondered why Kagami Uchiha was looking at him that way, a figure appeared on a thick branch of a large tree beside the temporary camp.
"Oh? So it's just you little brats left?" The newcomer had a sturdy build and tanned skin, the result of prolonged exposure to the sun.
He wasn't wearing Kumogakure's Headband, because he was the one in charge of Kumogakure—the Second Raikage.
"Fall back!" Sarutobi Hiruzen shouted immediately.
Yuya came to his senses and was the first to run.
Kagami Uchiha followed right behind him.
Sarutobi Hiruzen stayed at the rear, alert and ready to cover them while holding off the Second Raikage.
"Hmph. Cowards." The Second Raikage snorted. Lightning was already crackling around his body.
The Lightning Release Chakra Mode had made its name under the Fourth Raikage, but it was clear that Kumogakure had been developing related techniques for a long time.
The Second Raikage, A, moved at explosive speed and immediately targeted Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was guarding the rear. He brought a fist crashing down, its force brimming with chakra.
But when his fist landed, Sarutobi Hiruzen's body turned into a log.
"Hmph. A cheap trick." A didn't even turn around. He simply sent a bolt of lightning-charged chakra flying.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had just reappeared after using the Substitution Technique, couldn't dodge. The Lightning Release chakra struck him, making his body convulse before he collapsed unconscious.
The Second Raikage, A, paid no attention to Sarutobi Hiruzen. Instead, he quickly caught up with the people who had just fled.
The Second Raikage hadn't attacked the camp on a whim.
He had reliable intel that the young man who had transformed Konoha was here.
If he didn't kill that young man here, Konoha would only grow stronger.
So he abandoned the chance to finish off Sarutobi Hiruzen and went after the youngest boy, who was already running away.
Wrapped in lightning, the Second Raikage was incredibly fast. In just a few blinks, he caught up with Yuya, Kagami Uchiha, and the others, who hadn't gotten far.
Shimura Danzō gritted his teeth and unleashed Wind Release, but the Second Raikage, A, walked straight into the storm without even trying to dodge.
"Too weak," A said calmly, then stepped toward Yuya.
Kagami Uchiha gritted his teeth and stepped forward, his Sharingan bloodshot.
The Second Raikage stamped his foot on the ground. The world around them abruptly changed, becoming a sea of blood.
"Interesting. But not very," the Second Raikage said evenly.
An illusion could be broken by using external force to disrupt the chakra binding, but one could also break out from within.
Lightning flared brightly around the Second Raikage. Kagami Uchiha cried out in agony as two streams of bloody tears ran down his face.
Yuya gritted his teeth as he stared at the Second Raikage. He already knew what was going on.
Over the past two years, he had mostly used Senju Tobirama's name to get people to carry out tasks. But anyone who paid even a little attention could learn of his existence.
And among the merchants in Konoha...
Some of them also worked as spies for enemy nations.
The reason they hadn't reported him before was one thing: he was in Konoha. Another was that their interests hadn't conflicted. But now...
Yuya gritted his teeth. When he got back, he'd have every last one of these merchants executed.
Even now, Yuya only wanted to execute this particular group of merchants.
He knew Konoha couldn't eliminate all its merchants. If it did, its economy would be finished. Without merchants coming to Konoha, the economy would inevitably collapse.
So merchants were essential.
But merchants chased profit, and Kumogakure could offer them benefits just as Konoha could.
Of course, from another angle, these merchants would also pass information about Kumogakure to Konoha.
Their guiding principle was simply to side with whoever fed them.
Just as Yuya had expected, the Second Raikage, A, abandoned Kagami Uchiha, who had been badly injured by the backlash from the illusion, and charged straight at Yuya.
Kagami Uchiha's eyes were half-closed. He knew the Second Raikage had only one target, and despite his serious injuries, he still resolutely stepped in front of Yuya.
On the other side, although Senju Tobirama had ordered everyone to protect Yuya before leaving, the Second Raikage's presence was overwhelming. Sarutobi Hiruzen and Kagami Uchiha had been gravely injured in an instant. If the Second Raikage hadn't been so intent on killing someone, they'd already be dead.
So, to put it simply... the others, including Shimura Danzō, were scared stiff...
Yuya gritted his teeth and tore open a scroll tucked against his chest...
A gigantic golden boulder suddenly fell from the sky, crashing down toward the Second Raikage...
My updates have stopped getting promoted. As expected, you have to post a bunch of extra chapters to boost your numbers. Still, maybe it's for the best that the promotion stopped; now I won't feel so pressured to post two chapters a day. [P.S. Damn, there was a dog thief downstairs at my place around one in the morning. After shoving the dog into his car, he drove straight into the back of a car parked by the roadside. The dog started barking like crazy, and the car alarm went off—so loud! It woke me right up. I went downstairs to watch the commotion and stayed until four in the morning. The dog's owner had smashed the thief's car so badly that it was dented all over, hahaha. I never expected that the girl at the fruit shop across from the place I rent would be so fierce. Damn, she picked up a brick and started smashing the car. That was wild.] I still have to work during the day, but it's fine. I'm off tomorrow, so I can sleep in a little. [I hope I hit my work target this month... I don't want to get called into the office for another heart-to-heart, and I don't want to go work on an assembly line in a factory.]
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