Chapter 237: New S-Rank Mission: Hands Off My Five-Tails!
A mass of black lightning erupted from "Nara-Raikage's" palm, in an instant spreading across the entire surface of the underground river. Hōzuki Mangetsu, who was still in the water, took the full force of the blast.
"Rai—kage—"
The incredibly powerful black electricity also had a strong binding effect. He had only managed to get half a word out before the lightning completely paralyzed him. The intense current made him unable to control his body, his words devolving into a stutter.
The Hozuki clan's Hydrification Technique was formidable. It allowed them to ignore most physical and even ninjutsu-based damage. But unfortunately for them, Lightning Release was their natural enemy. A high-level lightning jutsu could instantly paralyze them, and in that state, even if they turned to liquid, they could not escape the electricity's embrace. It was just basic physics: water conducts electricity.
"Nara-Raikage's" Black Lightning was the unique creation of the Third Raikage himself. Under its high-frequency assault, the unprepared Mangetsu was instantly electrocuted into unconsciousness, his body floating limply on the surface, still ensnared by the black lightning.
The head of Kirigakure's Anbu: taken down.
"Nara-Raikage" stood up straight, leaped onto the river's surface, and casually fished out the unconscious Hozuki, carrying him to the bank.
"Why did you attack him?" The slow-to-react Lava Release user, Ishikawa, seeing his temporary teammates suddenly turn on each other, instinctively started to raise his hand. Even with his Kekkei Genkai, the thought of fighting the Third Raikage... he wouldn't dare, even if he had a hundred more lives.
But the moment he tried to raise his hand, his left leg lifted uncontrollably. 'What is happening? Why am I trying to lift my leg when I want to raise my hand?'
He tried to control his airborne leg to stabilize himself, but the nerve signal went to his left hand instead. Before he had even walked to the river to attack Mangetsu, "Nara-Raikage" had already secretly hit Ishikawa with the Body Pathway Derangement technique. In this absolute darkness where shadows were useless, Keisuke had plenty of other tools. Ishikawa, completely unaware, lost control of his body and comically toppled over.
"Third Raikage!" he yelled, catching a glimpse of the man walking towards him. "Why are you just watching?! Have you truly betrayed our alliance?!"
"Who's in an 'our' with you?" "Nara-Raikage" dropped the unconscious Mangetsu next to him and then bent down. "You Iwa ninja are truly pathetic, not even being able to identify your real enemy." He chopped the back of the Lava-user's neck, and a surge of Yang chakra knocked him out cold.
"So the masked Uchiha really only sent you two?" Keisuke's main body said, scanning the now-silent cavern. "I feel a bit underestimated."
"Understandable," the clone replied, dusting his hands. "Setsuna didn't know who I really was. And this place is a perfect battlefield for Lava and Water Style. For them, it was home-field advantage."
"By the way, Main Body, am I still on this infiltration mission?" "Nara-Raikage" crossed his arms, his voice full of complaint. "This isn't just 'three years and three years'; I'm the damn Boss of Kumogakure now! Do you have any idea what my life has been like? Being Raikage is worse than doing research! Besides, you can't just keep using the same clone for this long, right? I really don't want to be the boss anymore."
"Understandable," Keisuke's main body said, throwing his clone's words back at him. "But you're a clone. If you don't do it, another clone will. It's all the same."
"It's not the same!" the clone argued, raising a hand and using a C-rank lightning jutsu to create a ball of light, illuminating the cave. "Even among clones, there are differences. And if you leave one of us out here for too long, experiencing a different life... are you really not worried about the memory feedback?"
He had a point. Keisuke's true "main body" was always in a deep meditative state, practicing his Sage Art. It was this "core" that absorbed the mental fatigue from all the clones. But if a single clone sent back too much memory at once, it could cause a shock to his system.
"Fine," Keisuke conceded. "After this incident is completely over, I'll 'swap your core'. Now, what to do with these two?"
"The Hozuki is valuable," the clone said, looking at Mangetsu and Ishikawa. "The Lava-user... not so much. But he's a Kekkei Genkai user, so we'll keep him for now. The key is to get the intel on the Hydrification Technique out of the Hozuki. I'm leaving. You can take these two back to Kumo and find a chance to spirit them away later."
With that, Keisuke's main body vanished.
In the Konoha camp, Keisuke was processing the next steps of the plan when he suddenly felt a powerful summoning pull. He found himself on Kokuō's back, galloping across the plains of the Land of Hot Water.
"Sorry, Keisuke," the Five-Tails' voice rang in his head. "Ōnoki is here. His Dust Release is a bit much. I had to call you for help."
While Kokuō wasn't interested in most ninjutsu, it had been diligently practicing the Summoning and Reverse Summoning techniques Keisuke's clone had taught it. This was the result.
"Ōnoki of Both Scales," Keisuke said, standing up on Kokuō's head. "An old acquaintance."
He wasn't surprised. He already knew from his Raikage-clone that Iwa's primary objective was to recapture the Five-Tails.
'Let's see if I can set up another mission...' he thought, and his panel immediately lit up.
[S-Rank Mission: Hands Off My Five-Tails!]
[Mission Content: Repel the invading forces of Iwagakure and ensure the Five-Tails is not recaptured.]
[Mission Reward: S-Rank Shinobi Secret Scroll]
'It worked!'
He stood up straight, turning to face the sky. But to his slight embarrassment, before he could even say hello, Ōnoki, who was flying high above, saw the black figure appear on Kokuō's head, and, without a moment's hesitation, turned around and fled at top speed.
"Kokuō! Don't run away! Turn around!"
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