Buzz!
The tent windows began to tremble with a faint glow, sending ripples across the surface of the wine in the glass on the table.
The vibration seemed to come from somewhere far away, yet it still jolted the shinobi in the other Konoha tents awake. They grabbed their weapons, stepped outside with furrowed brows, and scanned the area warily.
"What's going on?"
"Was that an earthquake?"
Hearing the footsteps outside, Hyūga Kumokawa sent his three puppets out armed, then created a shadow clone dressed in the dead shinobi's clothes and sent it along with them.
He stayed inside the tent himself.
Moments later the tremor faded. In its wake, Hyūga Kumokawa felt a faint, invisible link form inside his mind.
A three-dimensional layout of a five-layer underground palace appeared in his thoughts—vast, yet still completely empty.
Still, if he wanted, he could step straight into it from anywhere within a kilometer.
"This palace should hold up under a heavy assault, right?" he mused. "Otherwise, even a bargain-bin space-time ninjutsu for three thousand points feels like a raw deal."
He still planned to use the ruins as bait, after all. It couldn't be cracked open too easily.
For now, though, he had no choice but to trust the system's design.
Just then his eyes flicked toward the tent flap. He sensed the eight Root shinobi inside the camp—including his clone and the three puppets—converging on the same spot.
"Looks like Aburame Ryūma's here," Hyūga Kumokawa thought. "Exactly as planned. He's calling the Root together."
Everything was in place. All he had to do was wait for the show to start.
Hyūga Kumokawa melted into a black shadow and slipped into the rainy darkness, heading silently toward the Land of Hot Springs.
He would wait inside the underground palace ahead of time.
Waiting for Kumogakure and Konoha to "dig" him out.
Then…
Hyūga Kumokawa lifted his gaze to the full moon hidden behind heavy clouds.
"Since Ōtsutsuki Toneri could control that giant Tenseigan, I should be able to borrow its power too."
A soft, satisfied chuckle drifted away on the wind and rain.
————————
At the same moment, more than a dozen Kumogakure shinobi stood motionless in the rain at the port in the Land of Hot Springs.
Behind them, the hot-spring inn they were using as a contact point glowed with yellow lanterns. Gusts of wind poured through every crack, making the bulbs swing wildly and stretching their black shadows across the ground in restless patterns.
Their leader had short purple hair and wore a black skin-tight combat suit beneath a white Kumogakure flak jacket, with a yellow scarf wrapped around his neck.
"Toroi-sama," a Kumogakure shinobi appeared behind him in a flicker. "No anomalies detected. It was probably just a normal earthquake."
Boom!
Thunder crashed overhead, white lightning branching across the night sky like pale veins.
"A normal earthquake, huh…"
Toroi murmured, tilting his head upward. Rain lashed at his face on the wind. Thick storm clouds blotted out the moon, lit only by flashes of lightning that snaked through the gaps like white serpents.
An uneasy pressure tightened in his chest, a vague sense that something disastrous was about to happen—as if the clouds themselves were bearing down on them.
He had always trusted his instincts. Already wary of Konoha, he raised his guard even higher.
Yet as the appointed time drew closer, a flicker of impatience stirred inside him.
While Toroi was still turning the thought over, the shinobi beside him suddenly looked up. "They're here!"
In the distance, more than a dozen figures in black raincoats skimmed across the water, racing straight toward them.
Toroi put his fingers to his lips and gave a sharp whistle. An identical whistle answered from afar, confirming their identities.
Moments later, the Kumogakure group on the shore saw the Konoha party emerge into the warm lantern light—led by Akimichi Dōtō.
"Sorry about the weather making us late…"
Akimichi Dōtō scratched his head with an awkward, good-natured smile as he glanced at the Cloud shinobi.
"Let's get the trade done."
Before he could finish, Toroi cut him off sharply.
With that, Toroi and his people turned and strode into the hot-spring inn behind them.
"Pretty impatient, isn't he?"
Akimichi Dōtō muttered the words while shooting a quick glance at Hyūga Kumokawa behind him, then led his team after them at a brisk pace.
The inn, funded by Kumogakure, had a large hall that easily held the combined group of thirty-plus shinobi from both villages.
The Konoha members kept subtle eyes on Hyūga Kumokawa. Only after he gave them an almost imperceptible nod did they relax.
"The weather tonight is awful."
Toroi suddenly stopped and turned to face Akimichi Dōtō, his tone icy.
"…"
Understanding the unspoken warning, Akimichi Dōtō took a deliberate step back and shrugged. "Fine, fine. Let's make this quick, then."
He had recognized Toroi the instant he saw his face—a jōnin from Kumogakure who specialized in the Magnet Release kekkei genkai.
The Fourth Raikage had actually sent him. Had they caught wind of something?
"If it comes to a fight, I'm not sure I can keep that Hyūga kid safe," Akimichi Dōtō thought with a silent sigh. "The Third really handed me a headache this time."
"Where are the goods?" Toroi asked bluntly.
Akimichi Dōtō tilted his head slightly. Hyūga Kumokawa stepped forward from behind him, shot Toroi a cold look, then drew a scroll from inside his jacket.
Bang!
A dark-brown coffin materialized in front of them. Under the warm yellow lanterns it radiated a heavy, deathly stillness, turning the already tense atmosphere even colder.
"Just as expected."
Toroi's brows drew tight, but he said nothing more.
On the journey here he had received word from the village: the daimyō had sent faulty information, so it came as no surprise that Konoha had seized on the slip and delivered a "corpse."
As long as the body belonged to Hyūga Hiashi, it still carried real value.
"Step back," Toroi said coldly. "We're inspecting the merchandise."
Calling the corpse "merchandise" clearly struck a nerve. Anger flashed in Hyūga Kumokawa's eyes as he glared at Toroi.
Before he could speak, Akimichi Dōtō raised a hand to stop him and stepped back himself, giving Toroi room.
Toroi walked up to the coffin, slid a strangely shaped shuriken from his sleeve, and sliced through the seal on the lid.
Crack.
The instant the coffin opened, the black night sky ignited with blinding white lightning. The dazzling flash stretched every shadow in the hall long and ghostly across the floor.
"…"
Behind Akimichi Dōtō, Aburame Ryūma stared hard at Toroi's face—only to see an expression he hadn't anticipated.
Rage, shock, and fear all twisted together on the Cloud ninja's features.
Why that reaction?
Doubt surged through Aburame Ryūma's mind. Then Toroi's head snapped up, his face contorted with alarm as he opened his mouth to shout.
Boom!
Thunder rolled right on the heels of the lightning.
"Retreat!" Toroi's urgent cry was swallowed by the roar.
Akimichi Dōtō, standing closest, heard the unmistakable hiss of a lit fuse. His pupils shrank to pinpricks.
An explosive tag?
Impossible—!
Before anyone could react, a blast far louder and more terrible than thunder swallowed the world.
Blinding white light exploded outward, engulfing them all.
Boom!!
Hi guys, I just wanted to let you know that the rewrite for the Supreme Overlord project is officially ongoing now. If you want to read it, feel free to check out my second account.
Since this account got shadowbanned and I can't really interact with anything anymore, I decided to upload it on my second account instead: Elenea. (I'll leave a comment under this post so it's easier for you guys to find my second account.)
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[Father of the Evil Gods]
Synopsis:
In Zoroastrianism, the Mother of the Evil Gods is the source of all sin and darkness!
It is said that she created the Six Archdemons: Malice, Chaos, Aging, Betrayal, Weakness, and Destruction!
After obtaining the Authority of the Mother of the Evil Gods in the Little Garden, Saigou became the Supreme Being in the world of Overlord;
Surrounded by the Overlord, the Witch of the Void, the Archon of Teyvat, the Sage of Gensokyo, the Satan of DxD, and the Creator of the Demon Pillars;
Saigou was certain that he had firmly established his name as the Evil God;
And so, he must shout at the top of his lungs - God is dead!
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If you're curious and want to read it, feel free to check out my second account.