Kumogakure, Heavy Training Room.
With a thick cast secured around his neck, the Raikage strained to lift a heavy barbell!
"Bee!! My little brother, I swear I'll make them pay for your blood!!"
Ever since waking up three days earlier and learning of the brutal deaths of Killer B, Mabui, and the others, he had been consumed by rage, sobbing uncontrollably!
But he soon pulled himself together, turning grief into strength. He put himself through hellish training day and night, trying to surpass his limits once more and avenge Killer B and the others!
"Akatsuki!! Naruto Uzumaki!! I'll never let you get away with this!!!!"
"Lord Raikage!!"
As the Raikage threw himself into pumping iron, a Kumogakure Anbu rushed inside.
"What is it!? Can't you see I'm training!! If it's food, just leave it there!!!"
The Raikage instinctively tried to turn his head, only for unbearable pain to shoot through his neck! Helpless, he had to turn his whole body along with it. Alternating hands as he lifted the barbell, he glared viciously at the Kumogakure ninja.
The ninja said, "Our patrol received a Message Scroll. As for its contents... please see for yourself!"
Clang!!
The heavy barbell hit the floor, shaking the entire room.
The Raikage strode forward, took the scroll, and read it.
"Hm!?" One look was enough to make his eyes bloodshot!
"That little bastard! I was just worrying he wouldn't come!!!!"
Crack!!
He crushed the scroll in his massive hand, burst through the wall, and headed to his temporary office!
Dodai, an elite Kumogakure Jōnin who served as both head of the Intelligence Department and an adviser, had already been waiting for quite some time.
Dodai said, "Lord Raikage, judging by his letter, he only wants the secret technique scroll. He isn't necessarily intent on using force. My recommendation is to hand the scroll over to him!!"
The Raikage's eyes bulged as he snapped, "What did you say!!!"
Dodai looked worried. "These are exceptional times. We've lost Lord Bee, and you're still injured. If we fight him to the bitter end at a moment like this, even a victory would cost us terrible casualties. We could end up giving the other ninja villages an opening, especially Iwagakure and Konoha!"
The Raikage roared, "So we're supposed to bow and scrape!? I am the Raikage! I will not disgrace the Yotsuki Clan or the honor of our forefathers! That Naruto Uzumaki is the one responsible for Bee's death!!!"
Dodai lowered his gaze. "Forgive my bluntness, Lord Raikage... but Naruto Uzumaki, who calls his group Bright Akatsuki, may not be on the same side as the Akatsuki who killed Lord Bee! Otherwise, he wouldn't need to emphasize the distinction between Bright Akatsuki and Akatsuki so strongly!"
"Grk, grk, grk...!" The Raikage ground his teeth.
Before the Raikage could explode, Dodai hurried to make his case. "Besides... when he invaded with his group last time, not a single one of our ninja died. That was clearly deliberate, showing that they don't want to sever all ties! They may have dealt us a serious blow, but Bright Akatsuki is a formidable fighting force. With enemies threatening us from both sides, we shouldn't turn them into sworn enemies!! In fact... we should try to win them over!!"
Crash!!!
"Argh, you're so damn noisy!! Shut up!!"
Unable to endure another word, the Raikage smashed the desktop with his fist. "I'm going to fight him! I don't want to hear any more opinions!!!"
"Ah, so we're fighting..." Dodai wiped the sweat from his face and changed tack. "If we're going to fight, we need to target his abilities!"
The Raikage's gaze turned fierce. "I've more or less figured out that brat's abilities! That repulsive force that knocks away close-range attacks-as long as I master the One-Finger Nukite, I can break through it!"
Dodai said, "The One-Finger Nukite was the previous Raikage's finishing move. It isn't something you can master overnight... Breaking through by force isn't our only option. From what I've observed, there's an interval between his uses of that technique, roughly five seconds!"
The Raikage's eyes flickered. "I noticed that when I fought him in the Land of Iron! But his eyes have other abilities he can use in between!"
"Hmph, still, I can handle that by using Nintaijutsu several times in succession! The biggest problem is what he did before..."
The Raikage stopped there. He could never forget the helplessness and suffocation he had felt while trapped in that darkness!
Dodai said, "You mean the sealing technique that uses gravity to create an enormous celestial body?"
"Yes..." The Raikage clenched his fist and turned to Dodai. "Dodai, do you have a solution?"
Dodai lowered his gaze. "I've spent these past few days thinking back over the casting process I witnessed..."
For once, the Raikage listened attentively.
Dodai explained carefully, "When he cast the technique, he threw a core resembling a Gravity Sphere into the sky. Only then did the earth break apart and gather around that core. Therefore, I believe that Gravity Core is the key to the technique!"
The Raikage said, "Yes, go on!"
"If... we can destroy that core before we're drawn in, we should theoretically be able to break the technique."
At that point, Dodai shifted his tone. "However, since that Gravity Core can support an immense mass of boulders, it must be exceptionally sturdy. Only a long-range ninjutsu with tremendous destructive power could possibly destroy it!"
Hearing that, the Raikage said bitterly, "When it comes to long-range attacks, Bee's Tailed Beast Bomb would obviously be our first choice!! But Bee is gone...!! Dodai, how many ninja do we have who can use long-range ninjutsu?"
Dodai considered it carefully. "Roughly... over a thousand, including two hundred Jōnin!"
The Raikage asked, "Then how many do you estimate we'd need to destroy that Gravity Sphere?"
Dodai said, "At least... three hundred Jōnin!"
The Raikage frowned. "We don't have enough Jōnin... What if we substituted Chunin?"
Dodai said, "To make up for a hundred missing Jōnin, we'd need at least three hundred Chunin! But conditions change in an instant during battle. Chunin fall far short of Jōnin in both mental resilience and their ability to protect themselves. I'm afraid that would introduce quite a few more uncertainties!"
"Still, we do have an advantage. That technique's gravitational pull is indiscriminate. We can turn it to our benefit without needing to aim beforehand. As soon as the enemy casts the technique, we can unleash all our long-range ninjutsu at once, and the gravity will draw our attacks toward it..."
"All of these conclusions are based on analysis of the information we currently have. We can't rule out the possibility that the enemy still has hidden powers, so I would still advise against using force..."
The Raikage cut Dodai off. "Dodai, you will select five hundred ninja skilled in long-range ninjutsu and accompany me into battle tonight! The others will stand by and protect the noncombatants. If a suitable opportunity arises, they can join the fight as well! I'll make sure Naruto Uzumaki never returns alive!!"
Sigh...
Dodai sighed inwardly and obeyed. "Understood, Lord Raikage!"
In the darkness of night, Naruto and Konan waited quietly at the foot of Heavenly Thunder Mountain.
Naruto looked at the clock in his palm.
Konan took note of it. That Mechanical Clock is the Asura Path's Entry Mechanism...
Click!
At midnight, the clock vanished from his palm.
Naruto rose, his Fire Cloud Robe snapping in the wind. Beneath his mask, his Rinnegan shimmered with a soul-piercing light.
"It's time. We should get going..."
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