The Gift from the Hidden Cloud

"Bad news! Bad news, Lord A!"

A Cloud Ninja wearing a white half-body iron cuirass ran over to A's side in a panic and shouted.

A stood on a tree branch, watching the battle below. Hearing the voice, he turned and shot the man a frowning glance, then asked irritably in a loud voice:

"What is it? Spit it out! Why are you dawdling and panicking?!"

The Flying Thunder God was too fast. On the battlefield, A had been restrained by Minato almost the entire time and could barely play any role in direct assaults. After it happened repeatedly, he simply stopped making frequent moves, but the anger in his heart refused to fade, making him even more short-tempered.

The Cloud Ninja ran up to A, swallowed, then panted for a while before managing to say:

"Lord... Lord Dodai... has fallen..."

As soon as the words fell, the surrounding space went silent for an instant. Then A's furious roar exploded.

"What did you say?! What the hell are you talking about?!"

A grabbed the Cloud Ninja by the collar and lifted him like a chick. His face twisted with rage as he stared viciously into the man's eyes.

"Gulp..."

The messenger swallowed again, then forced himself to continue:

"It... it's true! It was... Blood Ninja... he killed Lord Dodai, and even had someone throw... throw Lord Dodai's head onto the battlefield. Everyone... everyone had to work hard just to get it back... They're bringing it over now..."

"..."

The Cloud Ninja trembled as he looked into A's eyes. For a moment, an overwhelming scarlet killing intent flashed in A's gaze, and he thought he was about to die at his own leader's hands.

But in the next moment, A suddenly calmed down.

He set the Cloud Ninja back down. Feeling his feet return to the solid tree branch, the man let out a breath as though he had survived a disaster.

A, meanwhile, stood silently in place, seemingly lost in thought. The air fell quiet.

"Big Brother!"

At that moment, Killer B called out from beside him. He sensed that the mood and A's state of mind were poor, so he did not even use his usual goofy rap-like tone.

A raised his head and gave the order expressionlessly:

"Have the army retreat. Move the camp back and avoid fighting Hidden Leaf for now."

"Yes!"

The Cloud Ninja nodded at once and hurried away to relay the order, leaving only A and B on the tree branch.

The air fell silent again.

"Stupid Big Brother, don't stay depressed. Let's avenge Dodai, kill that Blood Ninja brat, yo!"

After a while, Killer B took the initiative to break the silence with his strange cadence.

After thinking for a moment, A shook his head with a dark expression.

"B, Minato Namikaze is watching too closely. We have no way to make a move."

As he spoke, A looked down at the retreating Cloud Ninjas below. He clenched his fists so tightly that his bones cracked, then added:

"But even so, I will avenge Dodai. Hidden Leaf must pay a painful price!"

The future Fourth Raikage—A as he was now—had an extremely violent temper and was exceptionally impatient. Yet he was not stupid. Or rather, he was a brute with some brains.

Revenge was inevitable, but he could not simply make a meaningless move like this.

It seemed Uchiha Mo's plan had indeed succeeded. A had been completely enraged by Dodai's death and had decided to avenge him. The actual operation likely would not be far off.

Another battle ended, and Hidden Leaf successfully pushed its camp into the Land of Hot Water. With this, the objective of this operation had been fully achieved.

However, the way that objective was achieved was completely different from what Shikaku had originally planned.

On Hidden Leaf's side, inside the command tent.

Nara Shikaku looked at the expressionless boy standing before him and felt a headache coming on.

Uchiha Mo had not actually left the training area Shikaku had planned for him. He had merely happened to lead his men around the outermost Cloud Ninjas, happened to encounter the arriving Dodai at the very edge, and then naturally killed Dodai and several members of the Raikage Guard Team...

Mo's actions had undoubtedly helped Hidden Leaf achieve its strategic objective. From the nature of his actions alone, killing an important enemy combatant and a core high-ranking military figure on the battlefield was absolutely worthy of lavish praise.

But... that was precisely why Nara Shikaku found it so troublesome.

According to his original plan, the chances of Hidden Leaf pushing its front line forward had not been low. Mo's actions had certainly struck the enemy efficiently and advanced their own strategic goal. But at the same time, they had completely enraged Kumogakure. The enemy's morale might even rise sharply because of their hatred...

Dodai was no unfamiliar figure to Hidden Leaf's upper ranks, and Shikaku naturally knew something about him.

Rubbing his brow, Shikaku pondered for a moment. Considering that Mo might not have known Dodai's specific intelligence and had merely judged him important based on his combat strength, Shikaku raised his head and smiled at the boy.

"Mo, you did very well. We owe this battle to you. You spared us the loss of many comrades. I will record this merit truthfully in the battle report. It's just that... if you encounter this kind of... relatively powerful enemy next time, it would be better to capture them alive..."

Mo nodded expressionlessly, then said indifferently:

"If there's nothing else, I'm going to train."

He did not care about so-called merits. At present, other than the experience-farming fodder it provided, Hidden Leaf had nothing he absolutely needed.

The position of Hokage, ninjutsu, forbidden techniques... all of it was the same.

Nara Shikaku nodded. Mo turned to leave, but Shikaku seemed to remember something and suddenly called out to stop him.

"Wait!"

Mo turned around, his calm gaze landing on Shikaku.

"Mo, I misjudged your strength before. With your ability, it's truly a waste for you to remain cowering at the rear of the battlefield. But leading the team is the Hokage's order, so it would not be appropriate for me to change that. So... in the coming battles, support the battlefield with your men however you see fit. But make sure to protect those little ones. I trust you know what to do."

"..."

Mo nodded, then vanished from the command tent in a Body Flicker.

Nara Shikaku looked at the empty tent and let out a long sigh.

"What a pain. Now I need to think about how to deal with Kumogakure's retaliation. Those brutes definitely won't let this go. We need to prepare for the worst... It might even trigger an all-out war..."

Elsewhere, Mo had barely returned to the front of his tent when a pitch-black crow flapped down from the sky and landed on his shoulder.

"Caw—!"

The crow cried out and lifted its right foot, signaling for Mo to look at the bamboo tube tied around its ankle.

Mo shifted his gaze and pulled a roll of white paper from the bamboo tube.

"A letter from Shisui?"

[These are my last ripples left behind. (Crying)]

Kumogakure's Gift

"Wants to come to the front lines?"

After reading the letter, Uchiha Mo used Fire Release to burn it and muttered to himself.

There was not much news in Shisui's letter. Besides expressing his longing and describing the clan's current situation, it mostly conveyed his strong desire to come to the front lines and fight alongside Mo.

Considering the current changes in the battle situation, Mo estimated that after the next brutal battle, regardless of the outcome, the Kumogakure front should settle down somewhat. Letting Shisui come gain some experience would not be a bad idea.

But...

The figure of Black Zetsu suddenly flashed through Uchiha Mo's mind.

He frowned slightly. After pondering for a while, he took out pen and paper from his Ninja Tool Pouch and immediately wrote a reply. He stuffed the letter into the bamboo tube, then took out a small scroll from the pouch.

Mo stared at the small scroll for a while before finally placing it in the crow's beak and having it clamp down on it.

"Take it to Shisui."

The crow nodded with surprising intelligence, then flapped its wings and flew into the sky, quickly disappearing from sight.

Only after Mo watched the crow completely vanish from his field of vision did he lower his head and enter the tent.

Being targeted by Black Zetsu was both an opportunity and a danger for Mo. But for Shisui, Mo's closest relative, it was undoubtedly nothing but immense danger.

Returning to the chair made with Earth Release beside the stone table, Mo temporarily set Black Zetsu aside and turned his attention to the illusory panel.

Red Child Fusion Rate: 28.21% (Unlock Everlasting Life at 30%)

Orange Child Fusion Rate: 39.45% (Unlocked abilities: Clairvoyance, Wind Ear. Unlock Heavenly Insight, the next-stage ability, at 50%)

Yellow Child Fusion Rate: 28.21% + 28.32% (Unlock Indestructible Vajra when both reach 30%)

Green Child Fusion Rate: 40.62% + 51.39% (Unlocked abilities: Blazing Fire, Thunderstorm. Unlock the next ability, Heavenly Fire, when both reach 50% and Yellow and Orange Child's second-stage abilities are unlocked)

Cyan Child Fusion Rate: 10.85% (Unlock Water Control at 20%)

Blue Baby Fusion Rate: 39.45% + 25.87% (Unlocked ability: Invisibility. Unlock No Trace when both reach 30%)

Purple Child Fusion Rate: 0.21% (Unlock Universe in the Sleeve at 50%)

In two months, Mo's values had soared again. Although no new abilities had been unlocked, Big Brother and Third Brother were nearing their second stages. At the same time, with the Cloud Ninjas' help, his Lightning Release proficiency had broken past the fifty-percent mark.

Besides that, Fire Release had also improved tremendously through Mo's own training and the boost from Dodai's Lava Release bloodline limit. Yin Release, meanwhile, was purely the result of Mo's own training.

"War really is the fastest way for me to grow stronger."

Mo's lips curved slightly, and he was in an exceptionally good mood.

The coming war would only be more brutal than before! Kumogakure would definitely commit more troops and stronger fighters! And all of it would become fuel for Mo's blazing fire.

Seven days passed, and Kumogakure made no move.

Yet this calm did not reassure anyone. Instead, it felt more like the suffocating stillness before a storm.

"Those brutes from Kumogakure have been quiet for so long. They definitely aren't holding in anything good. We can't let our guard down!"

A large, round man wearing armor sat in the seat beside Shikaku. While eating snacks from his hand, he said this with a firm expression.

The blond young man with a ponytail covered his cheek with his right hand, shook his head, and replied helplessly:

"Wonderful, Choza. You really discovered something everyone already knew."

Akimichi Choza turned his head in dissatisfaction. "Inoichi, what do you mean by that? Do you think I'm stupid?"

Seeing this, Nara Shikaku quickly spoke up to interrupt them.

"Alright, alright. We have serious business to discuss. Stop arguing."

After he spoke, Akimichi Choza snorted, turned away, and continued working through the food in his hand.

Only then did Nara Shikaku turn to the Jonin seated around the long table and say in a deep voice:

"Everyone understands that Kumogakure must be planning something during these quiet days. Although we know nothing about it, one thing is certain: we cannot keep waiting passively! Rather than waiting for Kumogakure to be fully prepared before making their move in the next battle, it would be better for us to strike first and disrupt their plans! I have already sent Minato and the others out in advance..."

As he spoke, Shikaku handed out mission plans one after another—preparations he had made long ago. However, before he could finish, a somewhat panicked Chunin suddenly rushed into the command tent.

"Lord Shikaku, the Reconnaissance Squad reports that Kumogakure has begun moving! Apart from the Second Division remaining behind to guard the camp and front line, the First, Third, and Fourth Divisions have all mobilized!"

Shikaku's expression darkened, but he did not panic. He nodded, then rose to his feet.

"Since that is the case, I will not waste any more words. Please act according to the arrangements in your mission orders. As for the army's formation... keep it unchanged. As for the camp... I'll leave it to you, Choza."

Akimichi Choza set down his snacks and nodded solemnly.

"Don't worry, Shikaku. As long as I'm in the rear, there won't be any problems."

It was worth mentioning that Akimichi Choza was also the teacher leading Team 1, the team composed of Might Guy, Ebisu, and Genma Shiranui. However, due to the special nature of Ino-Shika-Cho, Team 1 had not had many opportunities to train on the battlefield either.

Shikaku nodded, his gaze grave. "Then... Inoichi, send out the message. Have the army assemble. The great battle is about to begin!"

After leaving the command tent, Mo glanced at the mission order in his hand. Its contents were indeed the adjusted arrangement Shikaku had made last time.

He casually burned it, then headed toward where his team members were gathered.

"Let's go. This battle will be dangerous. I'll only say this once—if you don't want to die on the battlefield, stay close to me."