Killer Bee Appears

On the border between the Land of Lightning and the Land of Fire.

Tsunade led a large force of over two thousand ninja, taking five days to reach the border and rendezvous with the support squad led by Li Yu.

"Sister Tsunade, I've finally waited for your main force to arrive."

"What's wrong? Did you run into any trouble?"

Li Yu proceeded to recount the events of their journey, embellishing the details with dramatic gestures. He described the situation as heart-stopping and perilous, only stopping once his throat was parched.

After hearing Li Yu's narrative, the Senju Clan ninja accompanying the main force looked at him with eyes full of admiration. A few of the female Senju even cast flirtatious glances his way, hoping to gain the favor of the Senju Clan head.

Tsunade, who knew Li Yu's true strength and background, clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, forcing herself to listen patiently as he finished his flowery, embellished account.

"Nawaki, are you done? If you're done, get the hell out of my sight!"

"Tch, you're really ungrateful, not even a shred of patience."

With his hands behind his head and whistling a tune, he swaggered out of the tent. Once he was out of sight, the flippant expression on Li Yu's face vanished, replaced by a grave and serious demeanor as he walked away.

In truth, Li Yu was just annoyed that Tsunade had brought so many of the clansmen he had worked so hard to cultivate out into danger without even notifying him, their clan head. She really was his own sister.

Mostly, though, he was just frustrated at being played by the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, back in the village. This Wood Release Clone was feeling very disgruntled.

I must prioritize completing the mission the main body entrusted to me. I still need to be careful with my chakra consumption.

At this moment, the main force of the Cloud Village from the Land of Lightning had also arrived at the border and set up camp.

The leader was a dark-skinned man with light yellow hair and a very sturdy build. He wore a white cloak with a green "shuriken" emblem on both shoulders, a wide belt, and heavy armor.

The future Fourth Raikage turned to a ninja beside him and said, "Killer Bee, regarding the sudden change in plans to attack the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth—Father has ordered me to lead the force to attack the Land of Fire instead. What do you think?"

Killer Bee spoke in rhythm, keeping his own beat while swaying his body. "Yo, yo! The Raikage has his reasons for making us strike the Land of Fire. I won't offer any critique, oh yeah!"

"That was actually quite rhythmic. Write that down, write it down."

He pulled out a small notebook and began scribbling in it.

A group of about fifty Cloud Ninja, many of them heavily wounded, arrived before the main force. The leader reported, "Lord A, the vanguard has suffered heavy losses."

"What happened?"

"Just as we were about to wipe out the Konoha defensive force, an elite Konoha support squad appeared. The leader used some kind of ninjutsu that killed a large number of our elite ninja. The ninjutsu used by the Konoha support team was terrifyingly powerful."

"Oh? Has Konoha deployed such powerful ninja? Which clans are they from?"

"The Uchiha Clan. The leader and many other ninja with the same crest—I don't know which clan they belong to."

"So that's how it is. Go investigate immediately and send the wounded to the Land of Hot Water."

"Yo, yo! Big Brother, you've hit a snag, I'll help you out! Konoha ninja aren't all that, watch the power of the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, oh yeah!"

Killer Bee broke into another improvised rap with his awkward, off-beat style.

Watching his sworn brother's chuunibyou display, the Raikage couldn't help but roll his eyes in exasperation, despite having seen it many times before.

"I'll have to see for myself just how strong these Konoha ninja are, to have beaten my vanguard so badly."

On the other side, Konoha also received intelligence that the main force of the Cloud Village had arrived, and a major battle could break out at any moment.

The next day.

Killer Bee followed A, leading a group of elite Cloud Ninja toward the Konoha position.

"Big Brother, why bring so few people? We should just bring everyone, finish the fight quickly, and I can go back to my concert."

"Hmph, war isn't that simple. Do you think Konoha is that easy to deal with?"

"Yo, yo! With me, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki Killer Bee here, no battle is a problem! Big Brother, just put your heart at ease and watch me easily take care of those Konoha ninja!"

Killer Bee spoke in his strange, rhythmic tone, launching into another improvised rap. The Cloud Ninja marching nearby looked on with awkward expressions; they weren't fans of his cringeworthy performance.

"Killer Bee, don't you dare embarrass me."

"Understood, Big Brother."

The Konoha patrol spotted the large number of approaching Cloud Ninja and immediately sent word to Tsunade at the main camp.

"We've only just settled in, and the main force of the Cloud Ninja is already here. They certainly are impatient."

"We don't know who is leading the Cloud Village force yet. It's a perfect time to go meet them."

Tsunade carried the aura of a true leader. She wore her standard attire: a green long coat over gray clothing, a blue sash around her waist, dark cropped pants, and black heeled ninja sandals.

She exuded a mix of sexiness and the authority of a superior, her eyes sweeping over the gathered Konoha jonin to gauge their reactions.

"Agreed."

"Agreed."

Li Yu, however, was not intimidated by Tsunade's aura. He merely swallowed hard and muttered to himself, "It's a pity she's my own sister. If only she were my wife."

Forget it, forget it. My Yuying is plenty well-endowed too. I should be content.

No one knew that Li Yu was daydreaming during such a tactical meeting, his thoughts long since drifted away from the proceedings. There was no helping it; this was the relaxed, breezy result of knowing the plot—knowing that the Land of Fire would emerge victorious, and that Konoha Village would prevail.

"Nawaki, Nawaki, are you listening?"

Coming back to his senses, Li Yu hurriedly replied, "Present."

"What are you thinking about? You're coming with me to meet the Cloud Ninja forces in a moment."

Without even catching the details of what the others were saying, Li Yu quickly agreed and followed behind Tsunade as she left the tent.

Following the pace of the squad, they headed toward the direction reported by the patrol unit. The forest was lush with shade, and the constant "rustling" sounds caused flocks of birds to take flight in a flurry of noise.

Discovering a large number of figures appearing in the forest ahead, they stopped in a clearing to wait.

In an instant, with a series of "swish" sounds, a dense crowd of Cloud Ninja appeared on the ground and in the trees opposite them. Each one carried a ninja blade on their back, and most of the Cloud Ninja had dark skin.

The two burly men leading them stood at the very front, pointing at the Konoha squad as they began to shout.

"Konoha ninjas across the way, which one of you fought our vanguard unit a few days ago? I'd like to see just how strong you really are."

"That's right, come out, Konoha ninjas! I don't know which clan you're from, but come out and spar with us."

Seeing the Cloud Ninja leaders stepping out to call them out, Tsunade did not show any weakness.

"Oh? So you want to spar? Whether it's a duel or a group brawl, I'll take you on."

Li Yu, standing to the side, recognized the Cloud Ninja leaders at a glance and spoke up to warn her.

"Sister Tsunade, those two across from us are the Third Raikage's Son and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Killer Bee."

"Let me go and face them; I'm afraid the others won't be able to handle it."

"Very well. Since you've offered, go ahead, but be careful."

"It just so happens that I'd like to see exactly what your strength is like as well."