A Visit from Kumogakure

[The image on the Canopy Screen shifted, and three large words appeared—three days later.]

[Before Iwagakure's colossal entrance gate, which embodied Deidara's personal artistic style and looked as though it had condensed from an exploding nebula, the atmosphere was solemn and tense.]

[The Iwagakure welcoming delegation, led by Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi, had long since lined up to wait.]

[Yet when Kumogakure's delegation finally appeared on the horizon, even these seasoned shinobi could not help but narrow their pupils and draw sharp breaths.]

[The first things to come into view were not people, but a row of three giant humanoid puppets, each five meters tall, with cold, angular contours and dark blue, lightning-patterned armor covering their entire bodies.]

[They advanced with heavy, precise strides, their metal joints humming low. The massive chakra reactors embedded in their chests glowed an eerie blue, while devices on their arms, clearly some sort of composite ninja tool launchers, made for an intimidating sight.]

[On each machine's shoulder stood an expressionless Kumogakure shinobi in a fitted combat suit.]

[Following close behind were more than a dozen Lightning Release Hovercars, hovering roughly half a meter above the ground.]

[They had no wheels, instead moving on steady jets of lightning emitted from their undersides, silent yet exceptionally fast.]

[Their streamlined bodies carried rotating detection radar and energy-weapon mounts, with conspicuous Kumogakure emblems printed on their sides.]

[At the center of the procession was a particularly lavish, enclosed Hovering Sedan Chair that seemed wreathed in thunderclouds.]

[Nearly a hundred elite Kumogakure shinobi flanked the delegation.]

[Uniformly equipped, they wore lightweight composite armor with astonishing defensive strength. On their backs, instead of traditional ninja swords, they carried oddly shaped Lightning Release Rifles that combined chakra-conducting metal with precision machinery.]

[Multifunctional tactical ninja tool pouches hung at their waists. They moved