Burūi, the newly appointed Seventh Raikage, had been so busy that he had lost all sense of time.
This sudden natural disaster-or man-made catastrophe-had done far more damage to Kumogakure than the outside world imagined.
Ever since Kumogakure's founding, successive Raikage had valued strength and resilience, and its villagers had grown accustomed to shouldering their own burdens.
On the night the meteorite fell, not a single person in Kumogakure's worst-hit areas had suggested seeking outside help. Instead, they had organized themselves, doing everything they could to clear the rubble and rescue the injured.
Early the next morning, Ninja from the various clans had voluntarily taken on assignments and begun helping with disaster relief.
On the surface, this was unity.
It was also a good thing.
But Burūi knew full well that this stubborn refusal to seek outside help was making the village pay an even heavier price.
The injured in the village were one example!
The shortage of Medical Ninja had delayed treatment for many of them.
When Burūi visited the injured, they had been the first to comfort him. "Don't worry, Lord Raikage. We children of Kumogakure are all tough. Everyone will get better."
At that moment, Burūi had been unable to say a word.
He had wanted to say that if they had mobilized medical support sooner, if they had borrowed a few medical teams from Konoha or other villages, these people might not have had to suffer like this.
But he also knew that saying so would be seen as proof of Kumogakure's weakness.
The village elders, especially those who had lived through the eras of the Third Raikage and Fourth Raikage, would never agree to bow to outsiders.
Kumogakure had grown accustomed to maintaining a tough attitude and stance toward the outside world.
As for bowing