After three days of travel, Naruto and his companions reached the Land of Lightning. They crossed several towering mountains and finally arrived at Heavenly Thunder Mountain on the third night.
Heavenly Thunder Mountain soared into the clouds, shrouded in mist and echoing with deafening thunder.
Its summit dipped into an enormous basin, where Kumogakure stood.
Naruto and his companions stood on a high ridge, looking down at the magnificent village amid the clouds.
"So this is Kumogakure, one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, ranked among the best in both military and economic strength. It certainly lives up to its reputation..."
Murmuring to himself, Naruto activated his Rinnegan's observation mode. He could see a layer of pale blue light shaped like an overturned bowl, covering the entire basin.
"Oh? This barrier really is something."
Although Konan could not see the barrier, she knew its workings. "That should be the Heavenly Retribution Formation Kumogakure uses to protect the village. Anyone who enters the barrier is immediately identified and struck by lightning until they're completely destroyed. It's practically flawless barrier ninjutsu..."
Naruto asked over his shoulder, "Orochimaru, you once infiltrated Kumogakure and attacked the former Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Blue B. How did you get through this barrier back then?"
By now, Orochimaru no longer bothered questioning how Naruto knew such things. He said, "That happened many years ago. Back then, Kumogakure's protective barrier wasn't the Heavenly Retribution Formation. It was a sensory Ritual Formula like Konoha's, configured to recognize passwords. As long as you had the right password, you could evade detection. I scouted ahead, stole the password, and then slipped inside..."
"After that incident, Kumogakure replaced its protective barrier with the Heavenly Retribution Formation. They stopped using passwords for identification, too. Instead, they place a unique Authentication Mark on their own shinobi, preventing the lightning from targeting them..."
Naruto sighed. "That really is a troublesome setup."
Orochimaru said, "Indeed. I certainly couldn't infiltrate it again. But this Heavenly Retribution Formation was the First Raikage's work, and it was never completed. Powerful as it is, it has a little-known flaw: there's a very small chance it will trigger by mistake, even on someone with an Authentication Mark. If that happens, they can only curse their luck."
"Every year, Kumogakure has a few cases of people mistakenly killed by Heavenly Retribution. Naturally, they cover up their own scandals..."
At this point, Orochimaru added meaningfully, "Of course, the Raikage needn't fear it triggering by mistake. With his body protected by Lightning Armor, he can withstand the lightning strikes from Heavenly Retribution..."
Naruto nodded. "I see. I really didn't know those details..."
Orochimaru asked, "Then what shall we do, Naruto-kun?"
"It sounds difficult, but it's not that hard to handle..."
Naruto raised his hands and formed hand seals.
Poof!
A shadow clone appeared beside him.
The shadow clone clenched a Flying Thunder God kunai between his teeth.
Naruto turned his gaze. "Kisame, use your monstrous strength and Samehada to give my shadow clone a hand!"
"I see. Understood." Kisame smiled and took Samehada in hand.
Clang! Naruto's shadow clone jumped up and planted his feet on the broad spine of Samehada!
"Haa...!" Kisame roared, swinging the blade with monstrous strength!
Whoosh!
Propelled by the swing, Naruto's shadow clone shot through the clouds and plunged into the barrier!
Crack!
A thundercloud gathered overhead and unleashed a savage bolt of lightning. Naruto's shadow clone instantly vanished in smoke, and even the ground below was blasted into a crater.
Naruto smiled. "That was fast. It destroyed him before I could even dispel the shadow clone. Sneaking in unnoticed is almost impossible."
Whoosh!
He vanished from his spot, using the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport beside the falling kunai.
Swish!
He caught the kunai in midair and put it away, landing steadily in the crater with his robes billowing. Light swirled in the Rinnegan in his left eye.
"Now, next..."
He formed hand seals and pressed his hands to the ground.
Summoning Technique!
Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof!
Five plumes of white smoke rose at once as Konan, Orochimaru, Kisame, Suigetsu, and Jugo were summoned to Naruto's side!
Suigetsu exclaimed in surprise, "You can do that too?!"
Naruto stood. "Follow the plan. Spread out and cause chaos to draw their fire. Remember, don't kill anyone!"
"Understood!" they answered.
Naruto swept his arm out. "Scatter!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Everyone except Konan scattered, the four of them shooting off to the east, south, west, and north.
Konan cautioned him, "Kumogakure has plenty of skilled shinobi. Be careful..."
Naruto nodded. "Yeah. You too."
With a rustling sound, Konan spread her arms. Her body and robes dissolved into thousands of exquisite paper butterflies.
If it were me, I'd keep scrolls containing important secret techniques in the safest place...
Naruto bent down to pick up a kunai, looking toward the blue-roofed fortress at the edge of his vision... the Raikage's residence.
At Kumogakure's Barrier Team headquarters.
A shinobi wearing a hood said, "The barrier was triggered just now. Judging by the ripples, the intruder entered at high speed with a very clear objective..."
Another Barrier Team member looked out the window at the clear sky. "Once the Heavenly Retribution Formation identifies an intruder, it keeps striking until they're destroyed. There were no further lightning strikes, so the intruder must have been eliminated..."
The Barrier Team leader said, "Conduct an on-site inspection before drawing conclusions. Also, to be safe, dispatch a full company to Lord Raikage's residence!"
"Yes, captain!"
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Just then, explosions rang out from every direction.
"Hm? What's going on?!"
A Kumogakure shinobi flashed into view. "The village is under attack! Attacks are taking place in several locations at once!"
"Hm? There's more than one intruder, and they've somehow evaded the Heavenly Retribution Formation's detection? These intruders are clearly highly capable. Send reinforcements to the attack sites immediately. Also, use the Thunderclap Voice Transmission Technique to notify Lord Raikage and have him return to the village at once!"
"Understood!"
"No matter what, attacking an organized shinobi village backed by a great nation with the aim of wiping it out is foolish. What exactly are these intruders after...?"
Watching smoke rise across the village through the window, the leader sank into thought. Could it be...?
Large numbers of Kumogakure shinobi rushed to the sites of the attacks.
Meanwhile, Naruto used the Transformation Technique to disguise himself as a Kumogakure shinobi and approached the Raikage's residence...
This is going far more smoothly than I expected...
"Your scheme is clever, but this is as far as you go, intruder..."
Just then, a Kumogakure shinobi with a black eyepatch and a resolute, composed expression appeared before Naruto, accompanied by a large contingent of Anbu.
Rubber wall guy?
Recognizing Dodai, Naruto could not help inwardly calling him by the nickname he had given him back then...
During the Fourth Shinobi World War in his previous life, Dodai had repeatedly protected Naruto's shadow clones with his Lava Release Gumo Wall. He had also demonstrated exceptional combat skill and intelligence on the battlefield, making him one of the few shinobi from other villages who had left a deep impression on Naruto.
Dodai said coldly, "Your intentions have been exposed. You stirred up trouble in every direction, but your real target is this residence..."
Naruto's expression did not change. "Mr. Dodai, what are you talking about? I just returned to the village and was about to report my mission to Lord Raikage..."
Dodai looked him up and down and said gravely, "Stop playing dumb. Your Transformation Technique makes you look exactly like Samui, but she left on a mission just six hours ago. It was an A-rank mission. How could she have finished so quickly? Besides, Samui always calls me by my name. She never uses honorifics! Show your true face!"
Naruto lowered his head to look at his ample chest and said helplessly, "Is that so? I was pretty confident about this disguise, but I suppose there's nothing I can do after walking right into your sights..."
Poof!
The Transformation Technique ended, revealing Naruto to the Kumogakure shinobi in his Fire Cloud Robe and mask!
Dodai's gaze sharpened. "That cloak... you're Akatsuki!"
Naruto said firmly, "Bright Akatsuki. Remember that name. One day, it will be known throughout the shinobi world!"
Dodai said coldly, "Big words. Neither you nor your accomplices will leave Kumogakure alive... attack!"
Crackle!
Lightning danced as the Kumogakure Anbu used a Lightning Release Body Flicker Technique, surrounding him in the blink of an eye!
Shing! Shing!
They drew their ninja blades, drove them into the ground, and formed one-handed seals in a single fluid motion!
They shouted in unison, "Lightning Release: Earth Flow!"
Naruto's left eye widened.
Shinra Tensei!
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