Chapter 407:
"I..."
Darui had barely spoken a single word when a sudden explosion rang out from his screen, followed by the sound of a door being flung open—and then the chaotic cries of a village under attack.
"Raikage! What's happening over there?"
Gaara furrowed his brow, his expression grave as he asked.
"We're under attack..."
Before Darui could finish his sentence, his screen abruptly went black.
A heavy atmosphere once again settled over the hearts of the Kage. Judging from the sounds that had just come through the screen, the enemies attacking the Hidden Cloud Village were bound to be quite troublesome.
"Let's pause the video conference here. From this point on, each of us will send reinforcements to the Hidden Cloud Village,"
Gaara said, speaking as the most senior among the assembled Kage.
"Understood."
At that moment, in the Hidden Cloud Village—
The sky was filled with scientific ninja tool puppets swarming in like a plague of locusts.
Though it was broad daylight, the Hidden Cloud Village was cast in shadow as if it were night.
"Darui, you finally made it."
"Lord Fourth."
Though retired, the Fourth Raikage A still maintained his intense personal training—especially now, with the ninja world growing increasingly dangerous.
"I already sent that fool Killer Bee to help evacuate the villagers. Do you know what the hell is going on here?"
A turned to Darui and asked.
"Yeah. Based on the intel just shared by the Hidden Leaf, these things are scientific ninja tool puppets from S.H.I.E.L.D."
"S.H.I.E.L.D.? Those damn bastards!"
A burst of powerful chakra erupted from A, cracking the earth beneath his feet.
"Fourth Raikage, Fifth Raikage—greetings. I am Skynet..."
Skynet descended from the sky, landing before A and Darui.
"Looks like you're the leader of this heap of scrap metal. How dare you invade my village! I don't care what the hell you are—I'll smash you to pieces!"
Clenching his fists, A entered his Lightning Release Chakra Mode at full power.
While A had a brash personality, he never underestimated his enemies.
Every opponent was one he treated with full seriousness.
"Now die!"
With a thunder-infused punch, A shot forward at incredible speed, straight toward Skynet.
Anyone who thought A's hulking frame made him slow would be dead wrong. By using Lightning Release to activate his body's cells, he performed a high-speed Shunshin no Jutsu—making him fast enough to rival even Minato Namikaze.
That's why A was also known as the Blue Lightning.
"What a reckless brute..."
Skynet calmly extended its steel hand and caught A's punch.
"Impossible!"
A, who had always been confident in his speed, looked stunned.
"No matter how fast you are, you can never escape these eyes of mine."
Skynet's eyes—also scientific ninja tools—could observe enemies with precision and analyze their movements in real time.
"Let go of Lord Fourth!"
From behind A, Darui leapt into the air, forming hand seals.
"Lightning Release: Wave of Inspiration!"
First came Water Release: Water Formation Wall, then Lightning Release to electrify the water and shock the target.
Skynet remained still, tightly gripping A's fist with no intention of dodging.
Darui's attack landed perfectly—but had absolutely no effect on Skynet.
"That can't be!"
Landing back on the ground, Darui stared at Skynet.
"Don't tell me... it's immune to ninjutsu?"
"It's not that I'm immune to ninjutsu," Skynet replied. "It's just that your attack is far too weak. As the Fifth Raikage, you're not nearly strong enough."
Skynet cast a glance at Darui behind A.
"Don't listen to him, Darui. I believe in your strength!"
As A spoke, he swung his other fist—but it, too, was caught by Skynet's other hand. Skynet then smashed its forehead into A's.
The brutal headbutt left A dizzy, while Skynet remained completely unharmed.
"Lord Fourth!"
"Damn it!"
A struggled to stay conscious, lightning chakra gathering in his hands. Grabbing Skynet's arms, he used the leverage to perform a powerful German suplex.
"Now, Darui!"
"Right!"
Darui quickly and precisely formed hand seals.
"Storm Release: Laser Circus!"
A Bloodline Limit technique—Darui joined his hands to unleash multiple high-powered laser beams formed from vapor.
The suplexed Skynet was hit directly in the chest, the lasers piercing through its torso, leaving it motionless.
"Nicely done, Darui,"
A praised.
"But don't let your guard down. We've still got a lot of enemies out there."
"Understood, Lord Fourth."
Above the Hidden Cloud Village, countless scientific ninja tool puppets loomed, their numbers enough to instill despair.
On the road to the Hidden Cloud Village—
Shuyu and Sarada inevitably encountered a Skynet interception.
"Stay alert, Sarada."
Though there was only one enemy, Shuyu still warned Sarada to remain cautious.
"Got it."
Sarada nodded.
Although she could have used her Rinnegan's space-time portal to head straight to the village, doing so would likely land her in the middle of combat. To conserve ocular power for the battle itself, she chose not to use her Rinnegan.
"You're being lured in with a baited defense—Cloud Village is just the decoy. The real objective is to ambush the reinforcements."
Skynet looked at the two before it and spoke.
"What?!"
Sarada was slightly taken aback.
"In other words, the reinforcements from Iwagakure and Sunagakure have already been completely wiped out. The only ones left... are you, from the Hidden Leaf."
Skynet said.
"Who the hell are you?!"
Sarada's body tensed, ready to fight.
"You may call me Skynet,"
Skynet replied.
"Skynet..."
Uchiha Itachi was mildly surprised—but quickly reined in his emotions.
If he remembered correctly, Skynet was supposed to be S.H.I.E.L.D.'s artificial intelligence. Why was it appearing here?
"You seem to recognize me?"
Itachi's subtle expression change did not go unnoticed by Skynet's scientific ninja tool eyes.
"Sarada—let's go!"
With that shout, Itachi formed hand seals and unleashed a fireball.
"Hmph. That kind of ninjutsu doesn't work on me."
Skynet casually dispersed the fireball.
"Wood Release: Wooden Rhino!"
Just as the fireball was dispelled, Sarada—having just finished her own hand seals—appeared before Skynet.
A giant rhino made from entwined vines burst from the ground, ramming its horn straight into Skynet's scientific body and pushing it back step by step.
Skynet quickly stabilized itself. Jets of compressed gas fired from its back, and it grabbed the wooden rhino with both hands—then hurled it away.
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