Near the Rain Village front, in the Yamanaka tent, their team gathered quietly.
Raiden and the others were surprised. It wasn't usual for Yamanaka Koro to call everyone together without warning.
Koro didn't let them wait. His expression was solemn.
"We got a new mission," he said. "It's dangerous. We'll scout the Iwa camp and gather information."
The atmosphere immediately grew heavy.
Our objective is to determine their current arrangement — numbers, formations, and whether any top figures have arrived. Especially… a jinchuriki. The Four-Tails, possibly. The Five-Tails is still on the Cloud front."
No one spoke.
If they were surrounded while scouting, it would be a disaster. Only Raiden had some confidence in escaping, but even he couldn't guarantee everyone's safety. Still, intelligence was the backbone of a ninja war. They had no choice.
After packing up, they quickly run towards Their destination,
Raiden's team began moving toward the Iwa branch front. As they traveled, Koro explained further about the mission,
The team advanced cautiously. Raiden stayed in the middle, extending his chakra sensing to the limit.
They were already twenty-two kilometers from the Konoha camp. Along the way, they spotted scattered Iwa and Rain ninjas, but avoided them thanks to Raiden's detection.
After a few more minutes—
"Halt."
Everyone froze instantly, forming a protective circle around Raiden.
He focused.
Two hundred meters ahead… dense chakra signatures.
He counted quickly — roughly one hundred sixty genin, fifty to sixty chunin, and five to ten jonin. A forward camp.
Then his pupils contracted.
At the center… an overwhelming mass of chakra.
Raiden immediately activated his time stop. In that frozen 0.2 seconds, he sharpened his sensing and identified the source. The chakra was chaotic, violent, and vastly larger than anything he had ever felt.
He released the ability and withdrew his sensing.
"Retreat," he said quietly.
No one questioned him. They turned and withdrew at once.
After running ten kilometers back, Raiden finally slowed. He scanned the surroundings — no pursuit.
He let out a quiet breath.
If he wasn't mistaken, that had to be a jinchuriki.
He wasn't afraid for himself. Even if he couldn't win, he could escape. But his teammates wouldn't. That was why he chose to retreat immediately.
Once they reached a safer location, Koro asked, "What did you see?"
Raiden organized his thoughts.
"Counting scattered units, at least two hundred genin… sixty to seventy chunin… and around ten to twenty jonin. There's also…" he paused, "a jinchuriki."
Everyone's expressions stiffened.
"Are you sure?" Koro asked seriously.
Raiden nodded. "Its chakra was at least ten thousand times larger than mine. Chaotic and violent. If that isn't a jinchuriki… I don't know what is."
Koro didn't hesitate. "We return. Now."
They hurried back to camp.
Along the way, they noticed unfamiliar Konoha ninjas. Its look like Reinforcements had arrived. But they didn't stop — they headed straight for the commander's tent.
After leaving the chunin outside, they entered.
Inside, nearly thirty jonin had gathered. Ten of them were new arrivals. Beside the commander stood a tall, slender man with pale skin and snake-like eyes. His presence was cold yet composed.
Raiden recognized him instantly.
Orochimaru.
The legendary prodigy hadn't yet walked the dark path, but his aura was already oppressive.
Orochimaru's gaze swept the newcomers. It paused briefly on Raiden.
The young ninja looked calm despite entering a room filled with many jonin. His silver hair framed a composed, handsome face, and his posture showed neither arrogance nor tension. There was a quiet steadiness in him.
"Raiden"A newly promoted young jonin and not someone raise in green house but also a battle hardened ninja who has killed more than one jonin, and only 16 years old, he heard about him from commander isshi and his teacher although not much but by observing him he can sense of threat from him, although little its already very surprising , you have to know he has faught many battles and is a top tier jonin and even closer to low level kage, and his sense is always accurate which always saved him from many dangerous situation and he felt threat from a young jonin who is oy 16 year old ?
Interesting, Orochimaru thought, observing him for another moment before shifting his eyes away.
Commander Isshi spoke, sensing the serious mood. "Did you find their strength?"
Koro gestured. "Raiden will report."
Raiden repeated everything — numbers, formation… and finally, the jinchuriki.
The room erupted in murmurs.
Isshi's face darkened. Even Orochimaru's calm expression turned serious. He had personally witnessed a jinchuriki's power. If not for his teacher intervening, the Four-Tails' fully charged Tailed Beast Bomb would have destroyed their entire forward camp.
After the noise settled, discussion began.
Why would the Four-Tails appear here?
Gradually, the jonin reached the same conclusion.
"He's here for Hanzo," someone said.
The self-proclaimed demigod of the Rain Village was powerful enough to threaten Iwa.
A jinchuriki stationed here could be meant to counter him.
Isshi nodded. "But we can't rely on assumptions. If Hanzo and Iwa cooperate, the situation becomes worse. Stay cautious."
Everyone agreed.
Soon, the divisions were arranged. One group would continue defending the Rain front. Another would prepare against Iwa forces. Orochimaru, familiar with Iwa tactics, would lead the latter.
Raiden's team was assigned under Orochimaru.
With plans settled, the meeting ended.
Back at his tent, Raiden saw his two clones still training. His increased chakra allowed them to remain longer.
After a while, he dispelled them.
Bang! Bang!
Memories flooded back. His head throbbed briefly before settling.
A smile appeared on his lips.
His Chidori had advanced beyond basic proficiency. Even without time stop, his combat strength had reached elite jonin level.
That meant his safety increased significantly.
Now he only needed to refine Chidori… and eventually develop its variations.