Bounty

Hidden Cloud Village.

The Third Raikage sat in his office, his expression solemn as he browsed through the reports delivered by the Anbu.

"I truly envy the Hidden Sand Village! To think they have a talent like Rasa."

"The Hidden Sand doesn't even know how to cherish him. Sending him to the battlefield is one thing, but he even ended up severely injured."

"A talent like that should be kept in the village to generate wealth. If he were one of our own in the Hidden Cloud, our village's development would surely be even more rapid!"

The Third Raikage shook his head, clearly dissatisfied with the decisions made by the Hidden Sand's high command.

Do not let the Third Raikage's rough and irritable appearance fool you; in the hearts of the villagers, he was actually a kind and gentle grandfather figure.

Furthermore, he was the most powerful figure in the village and the leader of the Hardline Faction. He had been committed to developing the Hidden Cloud into the greatest village in the shinobi world, and the village's military expansion had begun under his generation.

In his view, a talent like Rasa who knew how to generate wealth should be well-protected, using the Gold Dust he refined to develop military armaments—that was the proper path.

"I find it understandable. He is young, after all! He needs to be tempered, much like Yotsuki," remarked Dodai, who sat to the side assisting the Raikage with administrative affairs.

Unlike the Fourth Raikage, a model leader who excelled in all aspects, the Third Raikage had one flaw: he disliked using his brain. Fortunately, he possessed one virtue: he knew how to listen to the opinions of others.

At times like this, Dodai, serving as his courtier and strategist, proved his worth.

"Is that the same thing? That brat Yotsuki will become the leader of this village one day and inherit my name, A. Of course he needs to be tempered on the battlefield!"

The Third Raikage pondered for a moment and hit upon a brilliant idea: "Do you think we should send someone to kidnap Rasa?"

"I'm afraid it's too late for that now! It might have worked a few years ago," Dodai replied, entirely unsurprised by the Third Raikage's suggestion.

This was not the first time the Third Raikage had said such things.

After all, ninjas with Kekkei Genkai were a strategic resource, and the best way to acquire such resources was naturally to snatch them and have them bear children with one's own ninjas.

However, Rasa had already grown into an elite Jonin, and the Land of Lightning and the Land of Wind were separated by several nations, with the most powerful Land of Fire sitting between them. One could hardly expect the Third Raikage to cross the Land of Fire just to kidnap someone from the Hidden Sand.

If he tried, he would likely end up losing his own head instead of bringing the target back.

The Third Raikage sighed in frustration: "You're right, we should have acted sooner!"

"Instead of worrying about a Rasa who is destined to remain out of reach, you should take a look at this!" Dodai said, handing a document to the Third Raikage.

The Third Raikage opened the file, which contained a bounty notice and some background information.

[Bounty!]

[The White Yasha of the Leaf!]

[Name: Senju Genma]

[ID: 220_01131120_OO]

[Bounty: 350,000,000]

The file also included detailed information on Senju Genma.

[Senju Genma, Jonin of the Hidden Leaf Village, Head of the Senju Clan, only thirteen years old. Proficient in five elemental ninjutsu as well as Wood Release and the Flying Thunder God Technique. He has achieved illustrious military exploits; during the war in the Land of Rain, he defeated the legendary ninja Hanzo, and during the war with the Land of Wind, he fought the One-Tail Shukaku alone, defeating and capturing it!]

Dodai spoke up: "This is a bounty notice we obtained from the Black Market Exchange. Based on my deduction, it was likely issued by the Hidden Sand Village."

Looking at the young portrait of Senju Genma on the bounty notice, the Third Raikage felt a wave of emotion.

Why were there so many geniuses in the Hidden Leaf?

In the past, there was the God of Shinobi Senju Hashirama and the Asura of the Shinobi World Madara Uchiha; the two of them alone were enough to suppress the four great shinobi villages, leaving every nation unable to hold its head high.

After the two had a falling out and perished in the battle at the Valley of the End, the various villages launched the First Shinobi World War to vie for the resources of the Land of Fire, and the Hidden Leaf emerged victorious despite facing multiple enemies.

Now, less than twenty years after the end of the First Shinobi World War, another genius had appeared in the Hidden Leaf, reaching the ranks of the legends of the shinobi world.

This caused the Third Raikage, who was single-mindedly devoted to strengthening his village, to feel a severe sense of psychological imbalance.

He had worked hard for half his life, only to be outdone by someone else's good fortune, with geniuses appearing one after another.

"Three hundred and fifty million ryo—the Hidden Sand is truly wealthy. They are worthy of being called the second-greatest village in the shinobi world." The Third Raikage shook his head with a smile. Senju Genma was indeed formidable, but they had no time to deal with him now; they hadn't even settled things with the Hidden Stone Village! "It is impossible to get our hands on this child, either."

"How is the village's repair work coming along? How is the situation now?"

"I have already deployed personnel to begin repairs. Blue B was injured too severely and is still recovering." Dodai shook his head. "You were far too heavy-handed; he is your nephew, after all."

The Third Raikage scratched his head and said helplessly: "You can't blame me for that; he was threatening the village at the time!"

"If I hadn't stepped in, the village would have been destroyed by him!"

Dodai sighed; he knew there was no other way.

In order to utilize Tailed Beasts for military purposes, their Hidden Cloud Village had been conducting continuous Tailed Beast experiments.

However, due to the lack of powerful Sealing Techniques, even with the assistance of the Waterfall of Truth, they were unable to perfectly suppress the Tailed Beast's chakra.

Therefore, although Blue B had a good relationship with Gyuki, there were many rumors and whispers in the village. Once his inner resolve weakened, it became easy for the Tailed Beast's chakra to go berserk, causing massive destruction to the village. Every time they had to stop the Eight-Tails, it resulted in numerous casualties.

Dodai spoke up: "Regarding the Eight-Tails, I have thought of a solution."

"What solution?" The Third Raikage asked, puzzled. Since when had Dodai learned to be so cryptic?

Dodai said slowly: "Intelligence indicates that the Hidden Leaf possesses a Jinchuriki with special chakra capable of sealing the power of Tailed Beasts!"

"Really? Then what are we waiting for? Send someone to snatch him back!" The Third Raikage exclaimed, slamming his fist onto the table.

A massive surge of lightning-natured chakra flowed across his body, instantly reducing his desk and the documents upon it to fine powder.

"There is no need for you to be impatient, My Lord. I have already sent men to infiltrate Konoha to gather intelligence." Dodai, long accustomed to such scenes, immediately spoke to soothe him. "After all, that is Konoha; we must wait for a suitable opportunity."

The Third Raikage calmed down as well and sat back in his chair.

"You are right. I shall leave this matter to you."

He looked down at the desk in front of him, only to realize it had mysteriously vanished, and could only say awkwardly, "This..."

Dodai, as if he had anticipated all of this, said calmly, "Rest assured, I have already prepared backup files for you. I will go retrieve them at once."

Regarding the Raikage, Ay, and Yotsuki.

Ay is a title for the Raikage, passed down through generations. The original work does not mention the Fourth Raikage's given name, but since the Fourth Raikage was already called Ay while the Third was still in power, the young Fourth Raikage in this book is referred to as Yotsuki Ay.