Strike First

Before dawn the next morning, before even the roosters had crowed, a large group had already gathered in the Hokage's office. The hazy moon had yet to dip below the hills.

The cramped office was packed with people, with every shinobi clan sending a representative.

The Interrogation Department had failed to get even a scrap of information from the Cloud ninja. Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't reprimand them for their failure, either.

"The Cloud ninja's target is clear: Uzumaki Kushina. They crossed straight into Konoha from the Land of Lightning's border because they wanted Kushina for her special constitution."

Everyone knew about the Uzumaki Clan's constitution.

In the Shinobi World, clans with Kekkei Genkai had a natural advantage over ordinary people. Each clan had its own strengths.

The Senju Clan's Chatonra and the Uchiha's Sharingan were the clearest examples.

The Uzumaki Clan were distant relatives of the Senju Clan. Their chakra reserves were either enormous or simply monstrous, and their unique Sealing Jutsu, a Kekkei Genkai, was peerless in the Shinobi World.

There were pitifully few shinobi with Kekkei Genkai in the Land of Lightning. To ensure their own country's fighting strength, the Cloud ninja had long been acting like bandits. Whenever they spotted a Kekkei Genkai in another village, they would barge in and steal it by force. This had become a defining feature of their village.

"Just a mere Cloud Chunin dares to invade our village?"

"This is a provocation—the greatest provocation our Konoha has ever faced!"

His voice rang out, his eyes wide with fury. Sarutobi Hiruzen ground his teeth, and even his mustache quivered as he spoke.

The clan representatives who knew Sarutobi Hiruzen well were especially surprised by his extreme anger.

Since taking office, Sarutobi Hiruzen had always pursued a defensive strategy. Even when he attacked, he sent only small teams of elite shinobi to assassinate their targets. Judging by his tone, was he planning to launch a full-scale annihilation campaign this time?

"Lord Hokage, I have another piece of information." Uchiha Yuji suddenly raised his hand.

Almost no one knew Uchiha Yuji well. The other clans were also puzzled to see an Uchiha in the Hokage Building.

Everyone knew how strained the relationship was between the Uchiha, a clan known for staging coups, and the Hokage's faction.

Outside of battle meetings, it was rare to see an Uchiha at a conference.

Uchiha Madara had rebelled during the First's time, and Uchiha Setsuna during the Second's. Were they planning to make peace during the Third's time?

"Go ahead, Clan Head Yuji."

Sarutobi Hiruzen had gone out of his way to mention his position, prompting the clan representatives to take another look at Uchiha Yuji.

"Last night, while rescuing Uzumaki Kushina, I carelessly let a Cloud ninja escape. Given his speed, he's probably already reached the Land of Lightning by now."

"The genjutsu I used has an interrogation effect built in. Given the current Raikage's temperament, he may charge into battle alone when he sees what happened to his subordinate. Rather than wait for the Cloud ninja to attack us, we should strike first and catch them off guard."

His reasoning sounded solid. But why had an ordinary Chunin managed to escape from you?

We weren't blind. We'd seen the power you showed when you took out Shimura Danzō in an instant that night. A mere Chunin should have been yours to toy with.

But nobody voiced their doubts.

The shrewd Nara Clan had already realized that the Third and Uchiha Yuji were playing along with each other. Their representative had lazily leaned back against the wall, waiting for the final orders.

"Right now, the village can muster at most five hundred shinobi. With so few, it would be hard to strike a blow against the Cloud ninja's border defenses, wouldn't it?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked with feigned concern.

"That's all right. I'm enough on my own."

Sarutobi Hiruzen: ???

I was hoping you'd take some Uchiha elites with you, not go and get yourself killed alone.

If he took a group of Uchiha elites, they could weaken the Uchiha's reserves and put pressure on the other villages at the same time. It was best to make good use of such a blade by striking several times before it broke.

But why were you so eager to throw your life away?

Curling smoke veiled Sarutobi Hiruzen's complicated expression. "The Cloud Village has no shortage of capable shinobi. Even with the Mangekyō Sharingan, there are times when two fists can't fend off four hands."

"They're nothing but a pack of weaklings." Uchiha Yuji crossed his arms. "The only one in the Cloud Village worth fearing right now is the Third Raikage."

Susanoo was powerful, but it wasn't invincible. The Third Raikage, who bore the title of Strongest Spear, was absolutely capable of piercing its defenses.

With his body hardened by countless trials and the speed granted by his Lightning Release Armor, the Third Raikage was unquestionably one of the best among those at the Kage level.

But that was exactly what made him worth hunting—and promised a much richer reward.

The Third Raikage was a man whom everyone in Kumogakure admired.

Fighting someone like him and winning would be enough to make the Cloud Village's hatred for him reach its peak. It would also earn him a following among the Iwa ninja.

After all, the Stone and Lightning villages had been sworn enemies for generations.

"If I head to the Land of Lightning's border, I might run into the Third Raikage if I'm lucky. It'll be a good chance to test his mettle," Uchiha Yuji said casually.

Did you really need to test the mettle of a man who was already the leader of a village?

The clan representatives looked at Uchiha Yuji in silence.

After hearing him speak, they understood that this man was a textbook Uchiha: so arrogant that he looked down on everyone.

"Then I'll leave it to you, Yuji."

Having tried to dissuade him once, Sarutobi Hiruzen naturally didn't intend to do so again.

"Leave it to me."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Uchiha Yuji had vanished from the Hokage's office.

Meanwhile, in the Land of Lightning, the Third Raikage was quietly listening as the escaped Chunin described what he knew about Uchiha Yuji, including his appearance and the message he had passed along.

"I understand. Hmm?"

The subordinate who had just reported the intelligence suddenly had Sharingan eyes. Before the Third Raikage could act, flames from Ming Tang burst out of the Chunin's eye sockets, setting his entire body ablaze.

The instant the flames appeared, the air around them caught fire. The blaze raged so fiercely that even space seemed to warp and freeze. The heat was so intense that the Chunin died before he could even cry out.

"Sasahara!"

The Third Raikage shouted the Chunin's name, but the dead couldn't answer.

Veins writhed like earthworms beneath the Third Raikage's brown skin, while tiny arcs of lightning danced wildly across his massive frame.

"Transcription Seal! Damn Uchiha! I'll make you pay for their deaths!"

The ground suddenly split apart. The rumble of the earth mingled with the roar of thunder, and before Dodai could even warn him, a bolt of lightning had already shot out through the door.