"Dodai! Gather the troops! We're going to crush them!"
The Fourth Raikage's roar shook the foundations of the Raikage Building.
His veins bulged in fury. They had already retreated! And yet… the Konoha shinobi had the audacity to pursue them all the way to the gates of Cloud Shinobi Village?
Was Kumogakure so easy to bully now?!
"Lord Raikage, please—calm down!" Dodai urged, stepping forward to intercept him.
"You've only just recovered—and even now, your condition is worse than most of our injured. We just lost thousands of troops. Rushing out now is suicide."
The Raikage's face contorted, rage battling reason.
Their famed A–B Combination—himself and Killer Bee—wasn't even in peak form. A counterattack now would be no more than a desperate, foolish flail.
"Damn that Hyūga Naraku… Let him enjoy breathing for a few more days."
Suppressing the fire boiling inside, the Fourth Raikage barked out another order.
"ANBU—inform the barrier unit. Activate the Regeneration Barrier!"
"…Yes!"
Even the ANBU hesitated for a moment before replying. When had Kumogakure fallen so low? Their enemies now stood at their doorstep, and they had no choice but to endure?
Above the Cloud Shinobi Village
Hundreds of giant black eagles hovered in formation, filling the sky like an omen of death.
The Konoha strike force had arrived.
Although they had flown, their journey took longer than the Raikage's desperate escape. After all, Cloud Shinobi's assault force had penetrated deep into the Land of Fire. Naraku's men had to clean up the aftermath and secure borders.
Now, as they hovered above Kumogakure, an invisible dome shimmered faintly over the village.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"
From atop the giant eagles, Uchiha clan members hurled their blazing chakra at the barrier—but nothing happened.
No distortion. No fluctuation.
"It's no use," said Aburame Shibi, recalling his insects. "Even chakra-draining bugs can't affect it. This barrier… it regenerates."
Naraku narrowed his eyes. "The Regeneration Barrier…"
He remembered it from the Fourth Great Ninja War—used by the Allied Shinobi Forces to trap Naruto and Killer Bee on Turtle Island. It took a Tailed Beast Bomb combined with Naruto's Nine-Tails mode to finally shatter it.
"It's durable… but not invincible."
Some of the younger shinobi looked anxious, frustrated that their attacks failed. But Naraku raised a hand.
"Don't panic. This is only the beginning."
"Yes, Lord Naraku!" a young Uchiha replied respectfully.
Even among the proud Uchiha, Naraku's strength had earned admiration. He was not just a powerful ninja—he was one of them: a warrior of the eyes.
Inside the Raikage Building, the Fourth Raikage stared hatefully at the sky.
"Naraku, you bastard! You dare show your face here?!"
Naraku chuckled from atop his eagle.
"Raikage-dono, you led an army into the Land of Fire. And now that you've been repelled, you cry injustice?"
"YOU LITTLE—!"
The Fourth Raikage's rage burst anew as he tried to charge out the window—but Dodai held him back.
"Lord Raikage! Even if you were at full strength, you couldn't reach him. And now? He's in the sky, and we're grounded."
Below, the villagers of Kumogakure had begun pouring into the streets, eyes turned to the sky.
"That's the Konoha army!"
"How dare they come to our village?!"
"Where's Lord Raikage? Why hasn't he retaliated?!"
"I heard the entire assault force was wiped out… Only Lord Raikage and Lord Bee returned alive…"
"Lies! Who told you that?!"
"I saw them! They were unconscious when they were carried back!"
A hush fell over the villagers.
And then, from above:
"Originally, we wanted to return the bodies of the 3,000 Cloud shinobi," Naraku announced coldly. "But…"
He smiled.
"The Tailed Beast Bomb from your own Killer Bee incinerated everything. Not even bones remained."
"BASTARD!!" the Raikage erupted, breaking free from Dodai and leaping out of the building.
"Come down and fight me, Naraku! To the death!"
Naraku's smirk didn't fade.
"If I wanted you dead, I could've done it a hundred times over. Don't forget—it was you who unleashed the Tailed Beast Bomb."
His words echoed across the mountain village.
The people below erupted into shocked murmurs.
"What? They died… because of our own Tailed Beast Bomb?!"
"No… it can't be!"
"Our troops… killed by Killer Bee?!"
The Fourth Raikage's face twisted.
"Nonsense! Naraku, you liar! They were already dead before that attack landed!"
"Oh?" Naraku replied, feigning innocence. "Hard to tell now, isn't it? After all… there's no one left to confirm."
His tone was light, but his words were heavy. Twisting the truth, sowing chaos.
The villagers' stares turned to their own Raikage—filled with doubt and betrayal.
Then Naraku turned.
He looked straight at the old man standing behind the Raikage: Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"You've defected to Cloud Shinobi, haven't you?" Naraku said with mock curiosity.
The Raikage flinched.
"Raikage-dono," Naraku continued, voice cold. "Why is Kumogakure harboring a traitor to Konohagakure?"
The Fourth Raikage's face went pale, as if he'd swallowed poison.
He wanted to retort—this man came to us uninvited!
But before he could, Naraku raised his voice:
"You have seven days to hand over Sarutobi Hiruzen."
"Or…"
A pause.
"Cloud Shinobi will be razed to the ground."
Hiruzen's heart dropped.
Seven days…
This situation—he finally realized—was the mirror image of what happened to Naraku earlier.
Once, the world gave him seven days to deliver Naraku to Kumogakure.
Now Naraku returned the favor.
Only worse—Naraku had the upper hand.
And unlike Naraku, Hiruzen had no allies here.
The looks from the shinobi around him chilled his blood. Suspicion. Contempt. Fear.
His plan… his desperate gamble to seek shelter in Cloud… was collapsing.
Maybe… he had made the wrong choice.
Back in the sky, Naraku gave a cold, final smile.
"Very well. I await your answer."
He looked upward—to the thick thunderclouds swirling above Kumogakure's mountain peaks.
"Before I go, allow me to offer a parting gift."
He began to weave signs.
The air thickened with static.
"In a place like this, where lightning echoes above the peaks… it'd be a shame not to summon a Kirin."
Dodai narrowed his eyes.
"What… what kind of jutsu is this?!"
Raikage glared up. The clouds sparked with menace.
"Relax," Dodai said. "The regeneration barrier can hold off tailed beasts. It won't fall to a mere ninjutsu."
But even as he spoke, the sky roared.
A shape began to emerge—writhing in thunder, a lightning beast shaped like a dragon—
"Lightning Style: Kirin!"
The divine beast tore down from the clouds, lightning coiling through its fangs. Its eyes locked onto the Raikage Building.
"RUN!!"
The Raikage leaped away just as the Kirin struck.
BOOOOM!!!
The mountaintop trembled as the Raikage Building exploded in a flash of white and blue, reduced to rubble in a heartbeat.
The shockwave silenced the entire village.
Only the wind remained, howling between the shattered stones of Kumogakure's proudest fortress.