Hidden Cloud Village, Raikage's office.
The Fourth Raikage, A, was sitting behind his desk, flipping through a mountain of documents.
His exaggeratedly burly physique filled the entire chair, and his bronze-colored muscles gleamed with an oily luster under the lights.
"Raikage-sama!"
The office door was slammed open, and an Anbu Ninja rushed in, his face pale.
A looked up, his brows furrowed: "What's the rush?"
"Urgent report from the border! The Three-Tails has appeared on the coast of the Land of Lightning! It is moving towards Hidden Cloud Village!"
"What?!" A stood up abruptly, knocking his chair away, and snatched the intelligence scroll from the Anbu, scanning it quickly.
"A ten-meter-tall Silver-Gold Giant Wolf, bringing the Three-Tails..." His voice grew louder, and blue Lightning Release Chakra began to crackle across his body, "Strutting into my Land of Lightning?!"
Boom!
He crushed the desk with one hand, sending splinters flying everywhere.
"This is too much!"
Darui stood to the side, watching the pile of crushed desk fragments, his mouth twitching slightly; that was the fifth desk this month.
"Raikage-sama," he said cautiously, "The opponent is with the Three-Tails, so we must not underestimate them. Furthermore, according to the report, that giant wolf can speak, and its strength is unknown—"
"Underestimate?!" A turned his head abruptly, lightning crackling all over his body, "When have I ever underestimated anyone?!"
He strode toward the door, his cape flapping behind him: "Assemble the combat troops! I'm going to meet him!"
"Wait!"
A cold, feminine voice came from outside the door. Nii Yugito pushed the door open and entered; she was already wearing her combat uniform, and her single eye burned with Battle Intent.
"Raikage-sama, the Three-Tails is a Tailed Beast of the Hidden Mist, and its appearance here is very suspicious. Let me go with you."
A glanced at her: "Follow behind me, and don't be impulsive."
Yugito nodded.
Darui sighed and resignedly followed them.
Half an hour later, outside Hidden Cloud Village, dozens of elite Ninjas had assembled.
A stood at the very front, his body wrapped in blue Lightning Release Chakra like a god of thunder. Yugito stood by his side, with blue Tailed Beast Chakra already manifesting at her fingertips.
Darui led the combat troops, lining up behind them, everyone ready for battle.
"Move out!" At A's command, everyone sped off toward the mountain path.
— —
Meanwhile, on the coast.
"What is your name?"
The Jonin gritted her teeth, veins bulging on her forehead, trying desperately to pull back her Katana, only to find that the blade seemed to be welded in place, not moving an inch.
She looked up, staring fixedly at those golden eyes: "Karui! Hidden Cloud Jonin!"
Yang Jiu smiled: "Karui, good name."
He released his claw, and Karui stumbled back a few steps, nearly falling, but held on and did not collapse.
Yang Jiu strode past her without looking back: "Your strength is not enough to stop me; do not court your own destruction."
The Three-Tails followed behind him, its massive body passing by the shivering Hidden Cloud Ninjas, yet it did not harm anyone.
Karui slumped to the ground, panting heavily, watching the golden back disappear at the end of the mountain path, muttering: "Monster..."
"But why didn't this guy kill us... Could it be that they are just passing through?"
She looked at Yang Jiu and the Three-Tails slowly walking away with a hint of confusion.
However, as a Hidden Cloud Jonin, she certainly could not sit by and do nothing.
But she couldn't let her subordinates die in vain either, so she decided to follow behind to see what they were planning to do.
On the mountain path, Yang Jiu and the Three-Tails were walking at a leisurely pace.
The mountain paths of the Land of Lightning were completely different from the dense forests of the Land of Fire—steep, rugged, with cliff faces like knife cuts on both sides, and a narrow strip of sky overhead.
Sunlight spilled through the gaps, casting mottled light and shadows on the gray rocks.
Yang Jiu walked in front, his ten-meter-tall Silver-Gold Giant Wolf body almost filling the entire mountain path.
He walked at a steady pace; with every step, his claws left deep marks on the rocks, and golden electric arcs occasionally jumped, blasting tiny cracks into the stone walls.
The Three-Tails followed behind him, its massive forty-nine-meter-long body appearing exceptionally cramped in this narrow mountain path.
It had to raise its three giant tails high, standing in the air like three sky-supporting pillars, the serrations on the tails gleaming coldly in the sunlight.
With every step it took, the entire mountain path trembled, and gravel from the stone walls on both sides fell down with a rustling sound.
Karui followed far behind with the remnants of her troops, maintaining a distance of about two hundred meters.
They dared not get closer, nor did they dare to leave.
They were in a sorry state—some had their clothes scorched by lightning, some had bruises on their legs from being hit by gravel, and Karui's own Katana still bore the dents left by Yang Jiu's claws.
But not a single person fell behind; they all gritted their teeth and followed, staring fixedly at the wolf and the beast in front.
"Captain..." a young Genin spoke in a low voice, his voice still trembling, "Do we really still have to follow?"
Karui did not turn her head, just staring fixedly at the golden back in front: "Follow. Even if we can't beat them, we must know where they are going and what they are doing. This is our duty."
The young Genin opened his mouth, then swallowed the rest of his words.
Rounding a mountain bend, the path ahead suddenly widened.
The stone walls on both sides receded, revealing a natural basin.
The basin was barren, with only gray gravel and an occasional weathered boulder.
This place looked like a battlefield that had been deliberately cleared—or rather, a "welcoming ground" specially reserved by Hidden Cloud Village.
Yang Jiu stopped.
In his electromagnetic perception, a large number of Chakra reactions appeared ahead.
Not one or two, but dozens, and among them, a few were ridiculously strong.
The Three-Tails also stopped. Its single eye narrowed slightly, and a low, warning growl rolled in its throat.
In the center of the basin, a figure stood alone.
It was an exaggeratedly burly man.
His bronze skin gleamed with an oily luster in the sunlight, and his explosive muscles filled out his white cape completely.
He was bare-chested, wearing a "Raikage" belt around his waist, and his short golden hair stood up in spikes, like a hedgehog.
Fourth Raikage, A.
He stood there just like that, arms crossed over his chest, his body wrapped in blue Lightning Release Chakra.
The lightning crackled and popped on his body, ionizing the surrounding air until it sizzled.
He did not speak, just watched Yang Jiu.
That gaze was like a beast eyeing its prey.
Fifty meters behind him, dozens of Hidden Cloud elite Ninjas stood in formation.
Standing at the very front was a young man with dark skin and short white hair, his eyes lazy yet sharp—Darui, the Third Raikage's guard and the future Fifth Raikage.
He had his hands in his pockets, appearing nonchalant, but black lightning was already crackling at his fingertips.
Beside Darui was a silver-haired woman with a slender figure and a cold expression; blue Tailed Beast Chakra was already manifesting on her body—Nii Yugito, the Two-Tails Jinchuriki.
Her single eye stared fixedly at the Three-Tails, and she exuded a dangerous aura from head to toe.
Further back were more than thirty Jonin, all ready for battle.
Some had their hands pressed to the ground preparing Earth Release, some held Ninja tools flashing with lightning, and some were quickly weaving signs to set up a sensory barrier.
The entire troop was like a taut bowstring, ready to loose a fatal arrow at any moment.
Yang Jiu stopped.
The Three-Tails also stopped.
The wolf and the beast were fifty meters away from the opposing Hidden Cloud army.
Mountain winds blew through the canyon, kicking up fine stone debris. The air was filled with the scorching scent of lightning and an omnipresent sense of tension.
A looked Yang Jiu up and down, his gaze sweeping from his Silver-Gold fur to the electric arcs jumping around his body, and then from his ten-meter-tall body to the massive creature behind him.
Then, he spoke.
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