While the Land of Night and the three great nations of Fire, Earth, and Wind were waging Amegakure-Kusagakure War, in the Kumogakure of Land of Lightning, located in another corner of the Ninja World, an internal strife quietly ended.
While it's called an internal strife, it's essentially just the death throes of the Kinkaku Ginkaku factions after losing their two leaders.
Because Kinkaku and Ginkaku assassinated two of the Five Kage, one of whom was the Raikage of their own village, nearly drawing Hidden Cloud Village into a new war, the armed forces that followed the two brothers immediately faced cold violence and bullying from the other Ginkaku in Kumogakure Kinkaku their disappearance.
In just a few months, the martial arts faction led by the Kinkaku Ginkaku was torn apart by the newly appointed Third Raikage.
These people either submit to the Raikage's martial arts faction, which currently holds the dominant leadership position in Kumogakure, or join the neutral faction, or embrace the Conservative Faction.
As for the ninjas who still stubbornly resist, their only fate is to be ostracized and suppressed by the other factions in Hidden Cloud Village.
Therefore, this group of extremely loyal Kinkaku and Ginkaku ninjas planned a surprise attack to cause large-scale chaos in the village, and ultimately use the chaos to leave the village.
However, before they could even launch their operation, they were betrayed by an insider and ambushed by the Anbu dispatched by the Third Raikage on the eve of their planned rebellion.
The Third Raikage's swift and decisive methods in resolving the Hidden Cloud Village completely changed the Hidden Cloud Village ' perception of this new Raikage, who had once been a prisoner of the Land of Night, from their initial wait-and-see attitude.
Judging from his methods at least, this newly appointed Raikage is not a Conservative Faction who hesitates and looks back.
Furthermore, afterward, the Third Raikage did not take this opportunity to further persecute others or turn his back on them. Instead, he took the lead in appeasing the Kinkaku and Ginkaku faction ninjas who had voluntarily surrendered, and gave them positions of real power commensurate with their respective abilities.
Some were even placed in important Anbu organizations by him, given high trust and recognition, and he did not care at all about the factions these ninjas had belonged to in the past.
Thus, after the defection of Kinkaku and Ginkaku, the greatest hidden threat left to Hidden Cloud Village was eliminated without a trace, thanks to the Third Raikage's casual arrangement.
With the heart of a tiger and the gentle touch of a rose, tough yet soft, this is undoubtedly the most accurate description of the Third Raikage.
However, the new Lord Raikage, who is both strong and gentle, is currently feeling irritable because of something.
Of course, his frustration had nothing to do with the distant battlefield between the Land of Lightning and the Land of Rain and Grass, but rather stemmed from the disappearance of a certain treasure, which caused his gloomy mood.
Ordinary treasures are easily lost, but Third Raikage doesn't seem to feel any remorse for it.
But this time it's different. The lost treasure is one of the most important Six Paths Ninja Tools — the Red Gourd.
While cleaning up the battlefield where Kinkaku, Ginkaku, and the Second Hokage fought, the Hidden Cloud Village only found three Six Paths Ninja Tools: the scattered Golden Rope, the Seven Stars Sword, and the Banana Fan.
Among these, only the Banana Fan, one of the Six Paths Ninja Tools, can be used independently. It only requires a large amount of Chakra to instantly release the Release Technique of the five elements, with astonishing power.
As for the Golden Rope and the Seven Stars Sword, they are the Six Paths Ninja Tools used in conjunction with the Red Gourd, and are also very important sealing ninja tools; all three are indispensable.
The order in which these three Six Paths Ninja Tools are used is as follows: the Golden Rope Curse is used to extract the target's Word of Power, the Seven Stars Sword cuts through the Word of Power, and the Red Gourd completes the final seal.
Then came the awkward part: the cursed Golden Rope was there, and the Seven Stars Sword to sever the power of words was there, but the Red Gourd to seal the target was nowhere to be found.
The Third Raikage thought that the thief who took the Red Gourd from Kumogakure was extremely rude.
Compared to the Banana Fan, an offensive Six Paths Ninja Tools, the Red Gourd, which could be used in conjunction with the Golden Rope and the Seven Stars Sword, was undoubtedly several levels higher in status and importance in his eyes.
Just like Sealing Jutsu, it is naturally superior to any other type of Ninjutsu, making it a noble among Ninjutsu.
Inside the Raikage Building, built halfway up the mountain, in his office, the Third Raikage, faced the Anbu captain who was investigating the return of the Red Gourd. Before the captain could speak, A preemptively asked:
"Is there still no news at all about the whereabouts of the Red Gourd?"
Hearing the Third Raikage's urgent question, the Anbu Captain's expression behind his mask was one of utter helplessness.
"I'm sorry, Lord Raikage, we've searched everywhere but haven't found any trace of the Red Gourd... It might have been taken away by that traitor, Kinkaku."
Konoha might also have suspicions, but that possibility is unlikely.
If Konoha really finds them, they might use this opportunity to extort a large sum of Hidden Cloud Village.
Unless Konoha deliberately hides it, they would rather keep it than return it to Hidden Cloud Village.
Upon hearing this answer, Third Raikage sighed in disappointment, waved his hand, and did not blame the Anbu leader for his incompetence, but told him to go and rest.
He knew that if he didn't find the Red Gourd immediately, he would most likely never find it again in a subsequent search.
However, he really didn't want to give up such a precious sealing ninja tool, because with the Red Gourd and the matching Golden Rope and Seven Stars Sword, he, as the Raikage, would have more confidence in facing the other powerful forces in the Ninja World.
After all, it's common knowledge that Hidden Cloud Village now severely injured and in dire straits, almost falling to the bottom of the Five Great Shinobi Nations.
As the newly appointed Raikage, he needs more power to bolster the strength of Hidden Cloud Village.
"That's enough, Lord Raikage. Now, have all the Anbu outside withdraw. Continuing to search like this is just like looking for a needle in a haystack. Besides, even finding Kinkaku is difficult with the Anbu's strength alone..."
At this moment, a man with dark skin and silver-gray hair standing next to the Third Raikage calmly spoke up, telling the Third Raikage to stop.
Rather than doubting Konoha, he believed it was more likely that the Red Gourd had been taken away by Kinkaku.
"I know, Robui, but losing the Red Gourd is such a pity..."
The Third Raikage still sounded resentful.
"..."
Robui sensed the sigh in the Third Raikage's voice and was momentarily speechless. ( The Hidden Cloud Village Jonin had previously used the Heavenly Transfer Technique on the Third Raikage )
He believed that the Third Raikage was searching for the Red Gourd for the sake of the entire Hidden Cloud Village, to strengthen Hidden Cloud Village foundation, but there was probably also a lot of personal motive involved.
Aside from training, the newly appointed Raikage's greatest hobby is collecting all sorts of treasures and keeping them for himself.
Moreover, this desire to collect treasures is so strong that it has even exceeded the scope of mere hobby.
"The team searching for the Red Gourd can return, but the second and fourth squads of the second division need to continue searching outside. That should be alright, Robui?"
After a moment's thought, the Third Raikage made a decision.
As the newly appointed Raikage, he needs a Jonin Commander who can give him advice at crucial moments or assist him in handling complex matters.
Robui was chosen by High-Level Meeting, after careful selection, to assist the Raikage.
Often, he needed to consult with Robui before making a decision.
Robui paused for a moment, then remembered the missions of the second and fourth squads of the second detachment of the Anbu.
The mission of these two Anbu squads differed from the other Anbu teams' mission to search for the Red Gourd. Their mission was to search for the whereabouts of a certain Ninjutsu —a special Ninjutsu that enhances the body's internal structure.
This order was an important task personally issued by the Third Raikage after he took office.
Robui knew perfectly well why the Third Raikage had given the Anbu such a strange mission; it was all to deal with the Gentle Fist of the Hyuga Clan.
The Gentle Fist of the Hyuga Clan left him with an incredibly deep memory after the battlefield against the Land of Night.
In particular, the eldest legitimate son of the General of the Land of Night, who was only a teenager, was able to fight him to a draw using his Gentle Fist.
Frankly speaking, with such formidable strength and talent, not only the Raikage himself, but even the higher-ups of Hidden Cloud Village felt immense pressure and harbored deep concerns.
With the next general of the Land of Night so ferocious, will the Hidden Cloud Village ever have a chance to avenge themselves?
Some high-ranking officials even proposed extremely radical assassination plans during the meeting.
However, due to too many loopholes, it was rejected outright.
"Two squads are enough for this matter; any more would be a waste of the Anbu's resources. Right now, the most important task for Hidden Cloud Village is the stability and development of the village."
Robui nodded, offering no objection, but instructed the Third Raikage to maintain the current level of search intensity, and to stop any further.
"That's settled then, we won't look for the Red Gourd anymore."
The Third Raikage took a deep breath and decided to abandon the quest to find the Red Gourd.
So much time has passed, there's no point in continuing the search.
The traitorous Kinkaku is not an easy monster to deal with.
What puzzled him was that despite the joint search by Hidden Cloud Village and Konoha for so long, Kinkaku hadn't left a single clue; it was as if he had vanished from the Ninja World.
This made the Third Raikage CEO Ai feel that something was not quite right.
He couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong, but assumed that Kinkaku was just being cautious and had hidden in a perfectly safe place.
Afterwards, the Third Raikage and Robui discussed the war situation between the two countries of Amakusa.
As a member of a major power, the Hidden Cloud Village also devoted some of its energy to paying attention to the situation on the other battlefield.
However, due to the great distance and the fact that Hidden Cloud Village is not currently suited to wage a proxy war, they simply observe the situation silently and have no intention of intervening.
As for Hidden Rain Village, the legendary hero ninja of Hanzo, the Third Raikage, had heard of his renown.
" Hanzo... I never imagined that Hidden Rain Village would still have the power to turn the tide under these circumstances. It's just a pity for such a ninja; it was truly unfortunate that he was born in such a country..."
Moved by what he saw, the Third Raikage silently handed Hanzo a death sentence in his mind.
He saw it very clearly: the Land of Rain was in such an awkward position that it had virtually no chance of developing.
If this were during the Warring States Era, before the ninja clans had gathered to form ninja villages, the Land of Rain might have had a chance to grow and prosper if a powerful figure had appeared out of nowhere.
However, the golden age of the Warring States Era and the era of One Country, One Village has passed. If this Hidden Rain Village hero does not bow his head, what awaits him is inevitably a miserable end of being crushed by the absolute power of a great power.
Not every small country is the Land of Night, and not every ninja is the God of Shinobi.