Fourth Raikage A, the newly appointed leader, wore a look of utter defeat on his once-stalwart face. He clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles creaked under the strain, but he didn't explode in anger or roar as he had before.
An unfathomable emotion called despair, like a frigid abyss, swallowed him whole.
He had faced Uchiha Ling's power and knew how terrifying it was.
But he had thought that was the limit. He'd believed his father had at least taken a substantial chunk of the man's life in exchange. But now... reality was telling him that Uchiha Ling had been nowhere near his limit!
After killing his father, who had been hailed as the "Strongest Spear," Ling had still had enough strength to crush the elite forces of another great nation almost single-handedly, with even more overwhelming ease!
What kind of utterly despairing gap in power was this?!
His earlier resolve to "build up their strength and take revenge someday" now seemed so laughable, so utterly futile. What could Kumogakure possibly accomplish by developing for another ten or twenty years against a monster who seemed to possess endless energy, an embodiment of natural disaster? They probably couldn't even break through his defenses!
"What... what kind of being have we provoked..." A's voice was dry and hoarse, with a faint tremor he himself didn't notice. It wasn't fear, but the bewilderment and helplessness that came when everything he knew had been turned upside down.
After a long silence, Mabui was still the first to break the suffocating atmosphere. Her face was just as pale, but her eyes were remarkably calm, even carrying the resolve of someone who had seen the cruel truth clearly.
"Lord Raikage, everyone." Her voice rang clearly through the deathly silent conference room. "I don't think