Kumogakure's Move

"That's normal. I'd bet quite a few of them were forced by their families to write those letters."

Eiji imagined himself as a girl whose family thought a child with such a bright future was worth currying favor with, so they forced her to write a love letter to get close to him. He could already feel how mortifying that would be.

If they barely knew each other, how could a sudden love letter possibly be accepted? It would only make things awkward.

"Hmph. You're enjoying it, aren't you, Eiji? So many girls are writing you love letters."

At some point, Kushina had fallen into step beside him. She folded her arms and shot him a sidelong glance.

He'd be lying if he said it didn't make him happy, but getting them every day was troubling too.

"I just don't want to throw the letters away. Confessing takes a lot of courage. Throwing them out would be rude."

"Oh?" Kushina darted in front of Eiji and asked mockingly, "Then why did you throw away the letters boys wrote to you?"

Eiji was at a loss for words himself. He couldn't understand why boys were sending him letters. How could a world where simply getting by was a struggle have room for such a variety of preferences?

Letters from boys didn't make him happy at all.

Seeing that Eiji had no answer, Kushina kindly let the subject drop.

"Let me try making dinner tonight?"

"All right."

"Honestly! You're supposed to say, 'I can't wait!' That's how you make a girl happy!"

"I can't wait."

"That's so halfhearted!"

The next day.

A large group of cloaked Ninja wearing Kumogakure Forehead Protectors sped across the Land of Fire.

At their head was a heavily muscled man with wild white hair and a tattoo of the word "Lightning" on his bare right arm: the Third Raikage.

More than two hundred Kumogakure Ninja followed him. Their faces were grim, and not one of them spoke.

The Raikage had handpicked these elite Ninja from the village. They included over thirty Jonin, more than a hundred Chunin, and over seventy Genin.

Such a force would have been formidable even on a battlefield. But with a great war looming, the Third Raikage had chosen to risk it on a crucial mission to Konoha.

Ryuuzaki Eiji was improving too quickly. If they didn't stop him, what good would winning the Shinobi World War do Kumogakure? Once that boy grew up, the village could face serious trouble.

The Third Raikage, who had never feared anything, had a vague sense that if he failed to eliminate Ryuuzaki Eiji, the boy would become someone terrifying.

As he raced onward, the Third Raikage looked at the muscular man running half a step behind him. "B, this mission will put you through a harsh trial. You may not come back."

"The responsibility is mine. I'm making you shoulder a burden you shouldn't have to bear, even though you gave up being a Ninja and went home to your family."

The man running beside him had a build much like the Third Raikage's, with thickly muscled arms.

He had dark skin, a deep scar on his right cheek, and a Kumogakure Forehead Protector. One look was enough to tell he was a powerful Ninja.

"Please don't say that. You're not just the Raikage, you're my brother. Whatever the reason, I have to do my part!"

The muscular man spoke in a deep voice, without a trace of resentment.

"B..."

Third Raikage A looked at his partner with a complicated expression.

Every Raikage throughout history had been called "A," and at his side stood a partner as close as a brother, known as "B." Kumogakure had maintained that tradition since its founding.

The man beside him was Warui, the powerful Ninja who had once made his name alongside him throughout the Shinobi World.

In Kumogakure, Warui was second only to him. Together, the two of them had been unbeatable. Warui was his closest friend and brother.

But when Warui reached middle age and started a family, he no longer wanted his loved ones worrying about his safety. He had given up being a Ninja and settled down to raise his children in the village.

Now the Third Raikage had no better option. Sending anyone else to infiltrate Konoha would be sending them to their death. He could only swallow his pride and ask his brother to serve Kumogakure one more time.

According to the intelligence Shimura Danzō had passed along, Konoha had been sending more and more personnel to Amegakure in recent years.

Konoha's defenses were showing signs of being stretched thin, but infiltrating the village and seizing Ryuuzaki Eiji and Kushina Uzumaki would still be far from easy.

First, they had to draw away Konoha's security force: the troublesome Uchiha Clan.

Then there was Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other powerful Ninja to deal with.

Fortunately, Shimura Danzō had said that Konoha was preparing for the Shinobi World War and had already sent much of its fighting strength to the Land of Rain. The village was exceptionally vulnerable right now. Otherwise, this mission would be nothing but a death sentence.

The Third Raikage would take responsibility for drawing Konoha's strongest Ninja away. Once he began wreaking havoc at the village gates, Hiruzen Sarutobi would surely come to stop him. That would be when Konoha was most exposed!

His partner B and the two hundred Kumogakure elites could then break into Konoha and cause chaos, taking the chance to seize the village's precious Kekkei Genkai!

He supposed he should thank Shimura Danzō for helping them from the inside. If that traitor had been born in Kumogakure, the Raikage would have ground his bones to dust.

Shimura Danzō, don't disappoint me!

Konoha Forest

Eiji and Kushina had eaten breakfast early that morning, then gone to Konoha Forest together for practical combat training.

Lately, Tsunade had been running to the Hokage Office Building whenever she had a spare moment. She came home full of complaints and pestered Eiji to cook more food as a reward for her hard work.

For one thing, Amegakure had been restless lately, and Tsunade needed to take part in the military operation against it.

For another, Hiruzen Sarutobi planned to bring Shimura Danzō back, arguing that they couldn't fight a war without him as an adviser. Tsunade was deeply unhappy about it.

Eiji thought it was only natural. The Third Hokage couldn't keep Danzo locked up forever. Besides, Danzo was genuinely good at underhanded tactics. Making him an adviser was at least a way to put that talent to use.

According to the story as Eiji knew it, Kumogakure's attempt to abduct Kushina took place during the Second Shinobi World War.

They coveted Konoha's ability to control the Nine-Tails perfectly, so they secretly infiltrated the village to kidnap her.

By then, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru had already gone to the battlefield. With only Hiruzen Sarutobi left in the village, he naturally couldn't keep watch over everything.

Eiji intended to use this time to train Kushina. Even if she couldn't defeat her attackers, he wanted her to have some ability to protect herself.