Scheming Duo

Although there was no longer any sunlight, the gold dust still looked rather dazzling.

Or perhaps, enticing.

Good lord, the Fourth Kazekage ought to be arrested and made a full-time gold panner.

With that one jutsu of his, how much money could he make?

"Uchiha Mingyou, are you a cowardly turtle? All you do is hide. Do you even have the guts to come out and face me?"

The Fourth Raikage's furious voice rang out once more.

Though his kick just now had been immensely imposing, it had still struck empty air. He had not even touched the corner of Mingyou's clothes.

"I'm a cowardly turtle? Then you're the biggest scheming bitch in the world."

The next moment, space twisted violently, and Mingyou emerged from the void. With one step, he crossed onto the ground and stood beside Mei Terumi.

"Sister Mei Terumi, look at why the Fourth Raikage is so irritable. He's panicking. He's afraid I'll expose all his dirty tricks."

"Oh? What exactly happened?" Mei Terumi's beautiful eyes narrowed slightly, her curiosity piqued.

Judging by the Fourth Raikage's behavior just now, even an idiot could tell that he had a guilty conscience and wanted to silence Mingyou.

"Shut your mouth!"

The Fourth Raikage roared and rushed forward again, intending to attack Mingyou.

"Hmph! You really don't know when to stop?"

Mingyou's expression turned cold.

Since the Raikage did not want outsiders to know about the trap he had set for the Uchiha Clan, Mingyou was determined to let everyone know.

Susanoo!

This time, Mingyou did not use Kamui to evade. Instead, he gathered Chakra in his eyes and activated the Uchiha Clan's Kekkei Genkai, Susanoo.

Blue light flared across Mingyou's body. On closer inspection, it resembled Chakra floating just beyond his skin.

Swish—

Soon, a skeletal-armored giant over ten meters tall emerged. Pale blue energy surged continuously across its body as the incomplete Susanoo took form.

"What—"

The Fourth Raikage's face changed dramatically. Aside from tailed beasts, this was the first time he had seen such a colossal creature.

Even amid his shock, the Fourth Raikage did not retreat.

"Break!" he bellowed. Lightning blazed in his right palm as he slashed fiercely at Susanoo with a hand blade.

"Tch, overestimating yourself."

Mingyou snorted and controlled Susanoo to raise its right hand, swinging a heavy punch at the Fourth Raikage.

Crack—

The bone armor covering Susanoo's fist let out a series of cracking sounds under the Raikage's hand blade, splitting with web-like fractures.

But Susanoo's power was equally formidable, blasting the Fourth Raikage more than ten meters away with one punch.

His feet scraped two long trails across the ground before he barely managed to stop and steady himself.

"What— Is this the Uchiha Clan's Kekkei Genkai?"

Mei Terumi's beautiful eyes widened slightly. Even the well-traveled Fifth Mizukage was witnessing the power of the Uchiha's ocular techniques for the first time.

"What incredible power."

The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, finally lost his composure. As he looked at Mingyou within Susanoo, an imperceptible trace of greed appeared in his eyes.

The Uchiha were now a clan of Konoha traitors, a fact already known throughout the shinobi world.

If Sunagakure could successfully bring the Uchiha under its command, then before long, its standing among the five great nations would surely rise. It would no longer remain at the bottom.

"Everyone, today I'll tell you all about the Fourth Raikage's filthy intentions."

Standing atop Susanoo's forehead, Mingyou stared mockingly at the Fourth Raikage.

Ignoring the other man's fiery glare, he declared loudly, "He tricked the Uchiha into coming here not because he wanted me to help him control the Nine-Tails."

"In truth, he wanted to—"

"Shut up!! Uchiha Mingyou!" The Fourth Raikage flew into a rage and charged at Mingyou again.

But with Susanoo protecting him, Mingyou did not need to devote all his attention to fighting the Raikage.

Even while fighting, his mouth did not stop moving.

"Sister Mei Terumi, Brother Rasa, don't be fooled by that tough exterior of his. He's actually a terrifyingly calculating man."

"He tricked me here because he wanted to control me and make me bear children for the Land of Lightning, so Kumogakure could obtain the Uchiha Sharingan bloodline."

Mingyou swung Susanoo's left hand, sending its ten-meter-long blade crashing down at the Fourth Raikage and forcing him back.

"What? Lord Fourth Raikage, did you really do such a thing?"

Mei Terumi's face filled with shock as she stared at the Fourth Raikage in disbelief.

If the Raikage had truly come up with such a method, then she had no choice but to admire him.

She herself had intended to recruit Uchiha Mingyou, but she had only shown goodwill openly.

But the Fourth Raikage was different. To prevent any unexpected developments, he had resorted to both open and covert methods.

At the same time, Darui leaped over and landed beside the Fourth Raikage.

He bowed respectfully. "Lord Raikage, everything has been prepared."

"I understand." The Fourth Raikage's grim expression finally eased somewhat. At last, he had heard some good news.

"Uchiha Mingyou, even if you sprout wings today, you won't be able to escape this place."

"Hm?" Mingyou frowned, sensing that something was wrong.

The Raikage had been at a disadvantage the entire time. Where did this confidence come from?

Besides, his Kamui was ready to activate at any moment. He could leave whenever he wished.

"Damn it, I fell for it."

When Mingyou lifted his gaze toward the sky, his eyes filled with shock.

At some point, a layer of Chakra barrier had appeared high above.

The barrier formed a semicircle, covering the entire Lord's Manor.

It seemed that after Mingyou had used Kamui repeatedly, they had come up with a countermeasure.

The Raikage and Darui were both intelligent men. Naturally, they knew that Kamui was a type of space-time ninjutsu.

As long as they sealed off this space with a barrier, Mingyou would have no way to escape.

"You two really are sinister."

Mingyou's eyes burned with anger. He felt deep contempt for the Raikage and Darui's actions.

Darui had slipped away earlier to order the Land of Lightning's shinobi to set up the barrier.

And though the Fourth Raikage appeared to have been relentlessly pursuing Mingyou, he had not actually used his full strength. He had been stalling for time.

It had to be said, these two had taught Mingyou another lesson. They had tricked him again.

Damn it, when it came to scheming, Mingyou was simply not on the same level as these two.

"Fourth Raikage, what is the meaning of this?"

The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, frowned deeply and turned his gaze toward the Raikage.

He had naturally noticed the barrier in the sky as well, and he faintly sensed danger.