"Sorry to trouble you, Dad. You had to come back from the front lines!"
At Cloud Thunder Gorge in the Land of Lightning, the ground trembled from time to time as beastly roars echoed from within. A stood expressionlessly at the mountain ravine. A young man who saw him arrive answered apologetically. A did not respond, merely narrowing his eyes as he asked, "How long has it been?"
A one-eyed youth wearing a black hat hurriedly bowed and answered, "About seven hours!"
"He's definitely dead, right?"
A's voice sounded strangely blank, frightening everyone present. The youth who had spoken earlier apologized again and dropped to his knees.
"This subordinate deserves death!"
"Then why don't you go die? All talk and no action, you worthless fool! Hmph!"
After speaking, A walked toward the ravine and vanished at the end of the path.
"My lord, are you all right?!"
After an entire day, A finally suppressed the rampaging Eight-Tails once more and carried a child's corpse out of the barrier. However, there was now a horrifying scar across his chest. No one dared ask about it, and A could not be bothered to explain. Tossing the corpse toward the black-hatted youth at the side, he gave an order.
"Go sell him. His parents were considered outstanding among the Cloud Ninja too. Give them some money as a gesture."
"Yes!"
The youth turned and left. A middle-aged Cloud Ninja stepped up beside A and said, "Our Anbu discovered a highly reliable piece of information. In Konoha, there is a girl named Uzumaki Kushina. Her body is exceptionally compatible with tailed beasts—any tailed beast—and Konoha has been hiding her. I think we should capture her and study her! After all, the name Uzumaki Kushina is exactly the same as that person's!"
A fell