The letter said that Hatake Xuanzhe had broken into Kumogakure alone and nearly torn the entire village apart.
Dodai had written it clearly in the letter: the man had demanded that Kumogakure immediately withdraw all troops stationed on the Land of Fire's border. Otherwise, he would slaughter everyone in the village.
After reading the letter, the Third Raikage was half scared out of his wits.
Hatake Xuanzhe? Why had that ** picked this particular moment to attack Kumogakure?
But he had no time to dwell on it. He hurriedly recalled Killer B, Yugito Nii, and all the troops already positioned for the ambush, then rushed back through the night.
Yesterday, they had heard another piece of news: Uchiha Itachi had killed nearly two hundred members of his own clan-including his own father, Uchiha Fugaku.
The news made their scalps crawl.
The Raikage and his party could not help wondering whether Uchiha Itachi and Hatake Xuanzhe had been working together all along.
"Lord Raikage," Yugito Nii said quietly, "during the Third Shinobi World War, that Hatake Xuanzhe extorted ten billion ryo from Kumogakure. Who knows what outrageous terms he'll demand when we get back this time? What if this is someone's trap?"
Yugito Nii was not much older than Rin Nohara and Kurenai Yuhi, but she was already a fully realized Jinchūriki.
The Third Raikage frowned and asked, "Then what do you suggest?"
Of course he knew that bastard Hatake Xuanzhe would never settle for just ten billion this time.
He might demand a hundred billion outright.
But right now, he really could not think of any other way.
"...I hear that man is very **," Yugito Nii said softly after a moment's silence. "If we could capture his woman and use her as leverage..."
Yugito Nii could barely keep a