Capturing the Three-Tails! Raikage Roars

"Furthermore..."

With a flick of his mind, he saw his finger alone become coated in Armament Haki.

Then, it flowed rapidly to his palm.

Next, his elbow, his arm.

His heart followed his will, allowing him to control the precise amount of Haki used.

He could coat whichever area he desired!

There was no need to settle for coating the entire "surface" of a limb just because he couldn't isolate a single point, which would only result in a waste of energy.

"Truly as dense as ink, as hard as iron, and responsive to every whim!"

A satisfied smile curled his lips: "With this, combined with my Devil Fruit abilities, my combat power will see another significant boost."

Armament Haki could inherently make one's power more refined.

Therefore, both his close-quarters and long-range combat capabilities would improve as a result.

"And with Life Return, I can control my body with even greater precision, unlocking its hidden potential, widening my meridians, and increasing the quality and quantity of my chakra."

The higher the quality of his chakra!

The stronger his Armament Haki and his Devil Fruit abilities would naturally become.

It was a logical, positive cycle!

Meanwhile, in an underground space!

"Are you saying that Uchiha Ye's Sharingan has already evolved?"

Uchiha Obito's eyes, visible beneath his spiral-patterned mask, narrowed slightly as he looked at Zetsu, who had delivered this intelligence: "Are you certain?"

Hearing this, the white-faced Zetsu replied with certainty: "There is no mistake! That feeling of seeing through everything, coupled with a hint of autonomous hypnosis, cannot deceive me!"

The black-faced Zetsu added: "This fellow Uchiha Ye has indeed hidden himself well. But unfortunately, he cannot hide from us!"

"The aura on that guy is exactly the same as the three-tomoe Uchiha Itachi from back then; I don't believe there is any error."

Hearing the affirmative responses from both halves of Zetsu, Uchiha Obito's gaze immediately hardened: "Very well, I understand!"

His tone was icy, yet his eyes remained exceptionally calm: "I didn't expect his growth rate to be even faster than I imagined. The decision to have you monitor him in secret was indeed the right one."

"Then, once he completes this mission in Kirigakure, we shall move against him!"

"That guy's abilities are truly bizarre; I need to prepare some means to counter his ability to ignore sharp-weapon attacks."

Back when Uchiha Ye was just a fledgling, he had already managed to make him suffer a setback.

Uchiha Obito naturally dared not underestimate him and had to treat him with caution.

"By the way, Obito..."

The white-faced Zetsu asked with a hint of curiosity: "Why do you hold such great hostility toward Uchiha Ye? Compared to him, Uchiha Itachi is far more meticulous and poses a greater threat to us."

"Furthermore, if you want to seize a Sharingan for future use, Uchiha Itachi's Mangekyo would seem to be the better choice!"

Hearing Zetsu's words, Uchiha Obito replied: "Indeed, by comparison, Uchiha Itachi, who slaughtered his entire clan and infiltrated the Akatsuki, is clearly more meticulous and poses a greater threat to us!"

"But..."

He shifted his tone: "That is merely a superficial phenomenon!"

"No matter how meticulous Uchiha Itachi is, I know his background, and I know who his weakness is. Even if I let Uchiha Itachi grow, I know where his limits lie!"

"But this fellow Uchiha Ye is different..."

As he said this, Uchiha Obito, the boss manipulating the Ninja World, revealed a look of intense wariness in his eyes: "His mind may not be as meticulous as Uchiha Itachi's, but his origins are truly too mysterious. I know absolutely nothing about him."

"The unknown breeds threats; it means he is uncontrollable."

He clenched his fists: "And since I have a prior grudge against him, I must ensure I can keep him under control at all times. Once he becomes uncontrollable—like now, where he has grown to the point of nearly exceeding our grasp—he must be eliminated immediately to avoid being bitten back by him."

"As for needing his eyes as a backup, that is merely a secondary factor."

To him, the unknown was the most terrifying thing of all.

"I see!"

Hearing this, the white-faced Zetsu nodded in agreement: "That is indeed true; this guy is far too mysterious!"

Because they were about to face one of the Five Great Ninja Villages.

Therefore!

Even someone as arrogant and prideful as Sasori of the Red Sand or Biwa Juzo was actively preparing contingencies and perfecting their methods.

Uchiha Ye, meanwhile, was constantly refining the two abilities he had just acquired, coordinating them with his Devil Fruit powers.

The only one who was truly impatient to set off was likely Deidara.

And while they were each making their preparations!

Far away in the Cloud Village of the Land of Lightning, the angry roar of the Raikage echoed throughout the entire village.

"What did you say? Yugito and the three-man team led by Kamui have been completely wiped out?"

"Are you joking?! Who has the audacity to lay a hand on our Cloud Ninja!!!"

The entire Raikage's office was smashed to pieces by the furious Raikage.

He was like an enraged humanoid dragon, needing only the slightest bit more provocation to completely explode.

"It is suspected to be a mysterious organization called Akatsuki!"

As the Raikage's secretary, Mabui calmly explained, "Regarding our mission to the Land of Cedar to seize the secret technique, I heard that the Land of Cedar hired this organization to resist our invasion and protect their secret technique from harm!"

Upon hearing this, the Raikage gritted his teeth until they rattled, "Akatsuki? What kind of bastard organization is that!"

Mabui shook her head, "We only know for now that they are a group of mercenaries who specialize in taking on missions between small nations. Their prices are low yet their efficiency is extremely high; they are on the verge of monopolizing mercenary work for small nations."

"Rumor has it that their base is located within that neutral Land of Rain, and they may have close ties with Amegakure!"

"But without concrete evidence, even we cannot casually hold them accountable, let alone threaten or intimidate them."

She adjusted her glasses, "Furthermore, Amegakure enforces a strict isolationist policy. I fear that sending someone to infiltrate and investigate would be a very difficult task."

Hearing this, the Raikage impatiently punched the wall and barked, "Damn it! Are we just supposed to sit here and watch?"

"We lost three Jonin, and a Jinchuriki! This isn't just some minor scuffle!"

Since when had his Cloud Ninja village ever suffered such an insult?

"For the time being, we can only hold them accountable after obtaining key evidence, or if we confirm that Yugito was either held hostage or killed by them, then we can take action against them."

"But as I said before, it is very difficult for us to infiltrate and investigate, let alone obtain key evidence."

Mabui answered calmly.

And this answer undoubtedly made the Raikage feel even worse!

He knew full well that the other party was up to no good, yet their Cloud Ninja village could not make a move.

It was too stifling!

But he also knew...

Under the current situation in the Ninja World, he had to abide by the corresponding rules.

Otherwise!

They would inevitably face a joint condemnation from all the small nations.

That kind of public pressure was something their Cloud Ninja village could not bear.