Land of Lightning, Kumogakure, Raikage's Office.
Suppressed.
A suffocating, oppressive atmosphere, like the calm before a storm, enveloped the entire office area.
All the Anbu and clerical staff didn't dare to even breathe loudly.
This was because the Fourth Raikage A, standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, was emanating Chakra waves that had reached an extreme level of frenzy!
What time is it?
Ai suddenly turned around, slamming his thick arm onto the solid wood desk, making the teacups on it rattle loudly.
"Reporting to Lord Raikage... Four full hours have passed since Lord Raiga's scheduled evacuation time..."
A perception-type Anbu knelt on one knee, his forehead covered in cold sweat.
"Furthermore... the 300-strong support force at the border also completely lost Chakra signal an hour ago."
"No signal response? Three hundred people vanished into thin air?!"
Ai's face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot.
Those ferocious eyes were bloodshot.
He grabbed the member of the Anbu by the collar, his roar almost lifting the ceiling!
"Are you trying to tell me that my fifteen S-class elites and three hundred elite troops were surrounded and wiped out without any intelligence coming back?!"
"Useless! All of you are useless!"
Ai slammed the Anbu to the ground, his heavy breathing sounding like a bellows being pulled at full capacity.
Killer B sighed and abandoned his usual singing, dancing, and rapping style.
"Brother, calm down. What's done is done."
"I told you long ago, that man named Uchiha Gen'yō is not a monster that can be judged by ordinary standards."
" Raiga and the others are probably in grave danger."
"Fart!"
Ai turned around abruptly and stared intently at Killer B.
" Raiga was trained by me! Even if he can't win a fight, his ability to escape is among the top five in the entire Shinobi World!"
"With the warning from the Byakugan, how could he possibly not be able to send out a distress signal?!"
Just as the Raikage was descending into madness and self-deception.
Whoosh!
A gray communication Ninja Hawk bearing the Iwagakure) insignia flew in through the window at incredible speed and landed steadily on the desk.
A red, top-secret, urgent scroll was strapped to Ninja Hawk's leg.
"The messenger hawk of Iwagakure?"
Killer B paused for a moment, then stepped forward and untied the scroll.
"Why would that old Ōnoki send letters at this time?"
"Open it and take a look!"
A sense of extreme foreboding inexplicably rose in Raikage A's heart.
Killer B broke the seal on the scroll and slowly unfurled it.
As soon as the scroll was opened, the first thing that fell out was a photograph printed using the Chakra Imprinting Technique.
When Raikage A saw the contents of the photo.
His pupils instantly shrank to the size of pinpoints!
In the photo, his proud deputy commander of the Anbu, Raiga, fourteen S-rank elites, and the border troops commander Dodai... a total of nearly a hundred Kumogakure, all stripped naked and strung together like fat pigs waiting to be slaughtered by a thick Chakra chain!
Everyone was covered with glaring "sealing marks" and slumped like dogs on the edge of a huge mine pit!
In the corner of the photo, a victory sign, the iconic symbol of Iwagakure), is prominently displayed.
"Boom--!"
A surge of blue Lightning Release Chakra erupted from Raikage A's body like a volcanic eruption!
The desk was instantly pulverized by this violent surge of Chakra!
"Big! Wild! Wood!"
The Raikage's roar was filled with blood-curdling rage and endless humiliation!
Killer B quickly looked down to read the text on the scroll.
The handwriting was flamboyant and unrestrained, full of the arrogance of a nouveau riche and the mockery of a petty person who had achieved success.
It was a handwritten letter from Ōnoki of Both Scales!
"Dear Fourth Raikage, my esteemed brother:"
"How have you been lately? I'm eating well and in a wonderful mood!"
"Look, I just woke up this morning when my dear grandson-in-law, Uchiha Lord Gen'yō, delivered an incredibly generous gift to me!"
"I heard they were dozens of stray cats who stayed up all night and went to the Uchiha Sacred Land to steal chickens and dogs. Lord Gen'yō disliked that they made a mess of the yard, so he packed them up and sold them to me as scrap."
"Upon closer inspection, I exclaimed, 'Oh my! Aren't these your Anbu's deputy commander of the Kumogakure and your Elite Jonin?'"
"I am truly touched! Knowing that our Iwagakure is currently undertaking a major construction project for a new city and is in dire need of mining labor, you, my brother, have generously offered such excellent 'laborers' to us!"
"I am very satisfied with this batch of 'piglet'! Their Lightning Release physique makes them incredibly adept at digging rocks!"
" Lord Gen'yō said these people are destined to be coal miners here. But if you, my friend, feel sorry for your brothers and want to redeem them..."
The letter deliberately leaves a large blank space here.
At the very bottom, there was a sentence that could give the Raikage a stroke:
"Give me half of your Kumogakure's fortune in exchange! Plus a 30 million tael fee!"
"I'll give you three days to prepare the ransom. If it's not in three days, I'll strip that brat Raiga of all his Lightning Release techniques and hang him on the border of the Land of Earth as a scarecrow!"
"Oh, by the way, my grandson-in-law asked me to pass on a message: next time you come to steal something, remember to bring cash."
Bang!
The scroll in Killer B's hand was snatched away by Raikage A and torn to shreds in an instant!
Sizzle!
A terrifying Lightning Release Armor covered Raikage A's entire body, and violent electricity raged in the office, blasting countless charred holes in the walls and ceiling!
shame!
This is an unprecedented and humiliating disgrace since the founding of Kumogakure Village, a disgrace that has trampled on our dignity!
His elite troops were not only completely annihilated but also captured alive.
He was even treated as a commodity by Uchiha Gen'yō and sold to Kumogakure Ōnoki generation!
He became a slave to Ōnoki mining!
This is a severe slap in the face to the Fourth Raikage! A slap in the face to the entire Kumogakure!
"Assemble the troops..."
Raikage A's voice became extremely hoarse due to extreme anger, like that of an ancient ferocious beast about to devour its prey.
"Big brother, calm down! This is clearly a provocation from the Uchiha and Ōnoki!"
Killer B grabbed the berserk Raikage, "They just want to provoke you, to make you start a war while you're losing your mind!"
"Let me go!"
Raikage A abruptly shook off Killer B's hand, staring at his younger brother with bloodshot eyes.
" Raiga is still mining coal under their control! They've treated the dignity of Kumogakure like a rag for shining shoes!"
How can you expect me to calm down?!
"Transmit my Raikage's orders!"
Raikage A kicked open the dilapidated office door, his roar echoing throughout the entire Raikage Building!
"Sound the alarm for the highest level of combat readiness!"
"All Jonin, Anbu, and frontline troops in the village, assemble at the border of the Land of Earth!"
"I'll personally lead my army to raze that wretched Uchiha city to the ground! I'll smash that old bone of Ōnoki's!"
"Since they want to escalate things, then I'll give them a Fourth Shinobi World War!"
The war machine of Kumogakure roared to life amidst the Raikage's fury.
Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in the Land of Earth...
The border between the Uchiha Sacred Land and Iwagakure.
A human trafficking operation, considered absurd and unbelievable even in the history of the Shinobi World, is in full swing.
Ōnoki looked at the long line of high-ranking members of Kumogakure wearing sealing talismans.
He touched his bald chin, his old face beaming like a blooming chrysanthemum.
" Lord Gen'yō's deal... truly hit the nail on the head!"
"Quickly! Bring out all the mining deeds I've been hoarding! We must make Lord Gen'yō feel the sincerity of Iwagakure!"
Ōnoki shouted excitedly.
He was unaware that not only Kumogakure, but also some enormous beings who had been hiding in the shadows had their eyes fixed on this place.
The moment the Uchiha began trafficking elites from other countries, the balance of the Shinobi World... was finally and completely shattered.