Cloud Thunder Valley, Sunny Day, Mangekyō Sharingan

Cloud Thunder Valley lay within the Land of Lightning, with steep, rugged cliffs rising along both sides of the sea.

At the heart of the gorge ran a strategic passage connecting north and south.

Kumogakure had only been founded for twelve years. Following the death of the First Raikage, it formed its own tradition during this period: after a Raikage died, his body was to be buried within mountain caves in the gorge.

The meaning was that even if the flesh perished, the Raikage's soul would remain here forever, eternally guarding this vital passage of Kumogakure and protecting the village's safety.

In the vast Shinobi World, Konoha was not the only village that had given birth to the Will of Fire. The other Four Great Ninja Villages had all developed their own village wills through the accumulation of regional culture, bloodline inheritance, and philosophies of survival.

And the Raikage guarding the nation's gates was the most direct and profound manifestation of the Will of Lightning.

The ninjas of Kumogakure held the First Raikage in great reverence.

After all, he had sacrificed himself to suppress the Eight-Tails' rampage.

The First Raikage's cenotaph was erected within Kumogakure for later ninjas to pay their respects and mourn him.

But his true body was classified as the highest secret and secretly buried deep within Peak Twenty-Seven of Cloud Thunder Valley. Only a handful of Kumogakure's higher-ups knew the truth.

Even A's squad, which had been ordered to stand vigil and keep watch in Cloud Thunder Valley, knew nothing of the precise burial location.

A was twenty years old. He wore a headscarf, with flamboyant blond hair and a beard of the same color, as well as pale blue eyes. His body was exceptionally broad and muscular, its exaggerated lines making him radiate an oppressive,