Reprisal

Just two days.

For the Allied Shinobi Forces, those two days were a chaotic 48 hours of urgently treating the wounded, reassessing the threat posed by the "Sasuga" organization, arguing over how to allocate their forces, and trying to track down the abducted Four-Tails Jinchūriki. Tsuchikage Kurotsuchi wasn't seriously injured, but with Iwagakure leaderless, the village descended into brief chaos. Konoha devoted all its efforts to treating the unconscious Boruto, while Sasuke Uchiha also needed time to recover from his injuries and chakra depletion.

Everyone believed that after a fierce battle, the "Sasuga" organization—whose leader was reportedly injured—would lie low for a while, at the very least.

But they were all terribly wrong.

Uchiha Sakuya's reprisal came so quickly, so fiercely, and so unexpectedly!

Targets: Iwagakure's secret hospital and the Tsuchikage's office.

The "Sasuga" organization's intelligence network had already infiltrated every corner. They had pinpointed the heavily guarded secret hospital where the Five-Tails Jinchūriki, Byoen Hayate, had been transferred, as well as Kurotsuchi's exact whereabouts. Wounded, she was temporarily recovering in the Tsuchikage's office while handling urgent matters.

They chose to strike in the darkest hour before dawn.

Iwagakure's secret hospital.

A shrill alarm split the night sky! But it was already too late!

The barrier surrounding the hospital was torn apart in an instant as if it were made of paper! It wasn't brute force that destroyed it, but a more advanced technique that perfectly neutralized it, derived from the analysis of the Eighty Gods Mirror!

Countless masked "Sasuga" members poured in like ghosts! The Handguns in their hands spat flames! Specially made tranquilizer rounds, interference rounds, and explosive rounds picked off every Iwagakure guard who tried to resist. Their fire was dense and efficient, coordinated with all manner of strange ninjutsu and genjutsu. Iwagakure's defenses collapsed in an instant!

Zhuo of the "Flame" branch (though his injuries hadn't healed, he insisted on joining the operation) and Gu of the "Corpse" branch led the charge, breaking through one obstacle after another by force as they made straight for the intensive care unit!

Byoen Hayate had only just begun to recover from the previous battle. Seeing the enemy burst through the door, he glared in fury and struggled to activate his Steam Armor!

But a cold, graceful figure was faster than he was!

"Ice Style: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals!" Nadeshiko Haku appeared in the room as if by teleportation. Countless ice mirrors instantly formed around Hayate, trapping him inside! The bitter cold immediately suppressed the chakra he had just begun to gather!

At the same time, a powerful genjutsu from Shen of the "Ghost" branch refracted through the ice mirrors and invaded Hayate's mind!

"Ugh..." Hayate abruptly stiffened, his eyes growing unfocused.

Out in the corridor, Tie Xin of the "Steel" branch manipulated Iron Sand into an impenetrable defense, holding back the endless reinforcements pouring in from Iwagakure. Zhua of the "Beast" branch and Fu of the "Feather" branch used their speed and aerial advantage to deliver precise strikes and keep the enemy off balance.

The entire raid took less than three minutes! By the time Iwagakure's main forces finally reacted and organized an effective counterattack, the "Sasuga" squad had already vanished without a trace, taking the genjutsu-controlled, helpless Byoen Hayate with them through a Space-Time Teleportation Seal Array they had prepared in advance!

The Tsuchikage's office.

Almost simultaneously, an even more audacious operation was unfolding.

Obito emerged directly from the shadows in Kurotsuchi's office (having used Kamui to mark the spot in advance or infiltrate it).

Kurotsuchi, who had been reviewing documents and was still pale, jerked her head up. Seeing the tiger-striped mask, her pupils contracted. "You?!"

She immediately tried to sound the alarm and counterattack!

But Obito was faster!

"Kamui!" His right eye spun violently!

Kurotsuchi felt the space around her twist violently. Her attempt to attack and sound the alarm was instantly interrupted! Fighting through the disorientation, she immediately formed Hand Seals. "Earth Style: Rock Fist Technique!" A giant rocky fist smashed toward Obito!

Obito's body turned intangible, and the rocky fist passed right through him. He didn't hurry to attack. Instead, he kept using Kamui's intangibility and distortion to disrupt Kurotsuchi, as if waiting for something.

Kurotsuchi was both shocked and furious, unleashing one Earth Release technique after another. Most of her attacks were useless against the intangible Obito, while the few that posed a threat were easily blocked or absorbed with the Uchiha Gunbai. The office was soon left in ruins!

"Bastard! Fight me head-on if you've got the guts!" Kurotsuchi roared.

"As you wish." Obito's voice suddenly turned low.

Just as the force of one of Kurotsuchi's powerful Earth Release attacks had spent itself, before she could gather strength for another—

The office door burst open! A figure wreathed in lightning charged in at blinding speed! It was Lian, temporarily serving as the "Mirror" branch's stand-in! His Three-Tomoe Sharingan locked onto Kurotsuchi!

"Lightning Release: Lightning Tiger Massacre!" A roaring lightning tiger burst forth!

Kurotsuchi was forced to turn and defend herself. "Earth Style: Earth Wall!"

Boom! The earthen wall shattered!

And in the instant her attention was drawn to Lian—

The shadow behind her quietly rose like a living thing! It was Shadow Binding Technique, formed by a combination of long-range genjutsu from Shen of the "Ghost" branch and some kind of Yin Release secret technique!

Kurotsuchi felt something tighten around her feet, and her chakra instantly seized up! Though she broke free of the binding in an instant thanks to her Kage Level strength, that tenth of a second's delay had already decided the outcome!

Obito, who had been waiting for the right moment, moved!

He stopped merely disrupting her. Materializing at Kurotsuchi's rear flank, he swung the Uchiha Gunbai in his hand with a rushing whoosh and struck her squarely on the back of the head!

Thud! A muffled impact!

Kurotsuchi's vision went black. She stopped moving and slumped to the ground. Obito caught her unconscious body.

"Target captured. Withdraw," Obito told Lian.

Kamui activated, space warped, and the two vanished in an instant.

From Obito's appearance to his departure with Kurotsuchi, the entire operation took even less time than the raid on the hospital—not even two minutes! By the time the guards outside realized something was wrong and rushed in, all that remained was a wrecked office and a missing Tsuchikage.

Two days later, Iwagakure announced that the Five-Tails Jinchūriki, Byoen Hayate, and the Third Tsuchikage, Kurotsuchi, had been forcibly abducted from the village by the "Sasuga" organization.

The news sent shockwaves throughout the Shinobi World!

It had been too fast, too ruthless, too precise!

Through this flawless operation—a textbook example of special warfare—the "Sasuga" organization had demonstrated its terrifying strength, efficient intelligence network, advanced equipment, and cold-blooded policy of repaying every slight!

They had not only successfully stolen the Five-Tails, but also abducted the leader of a village! Right before the entire Shinobi World, they had dealt Iwagakure and the entire Allied Shinobi Forces a resounding slap in the face!

Panic spread like a plague. Every village fell into extreme unease. No one knew who the "Sasuga" organization would target next—or who could withstand its sudden, unpredictable attacks.

Meanwhile, inside the "Sasuga" organization's base.

Byoen Hayate was taken to Orochimaru's laboratory. There, he awaited the fate of having his Tailed Beast replaced...

And the unconscious Tsuchikage, Kurotsuchi, was brought before Uchiha Sakuya.

Sakuya looked down at the Tsuchikage lying unconscious on the platform, the corner of his mouth curling into a cold smile beneath his mask.

The reprisal had only just begun. The value of a Kage went far beyond the person herself.