Chapter 113: The Cloud's Pursuit
The Sensor-nin closed his eyes, extending his perception through the valley. After a moment, he stepped before the Raikage.
"Raikage-sama, there's still one survivor in the valley—likely the scout Konoha captured earlier."
The Fourth Raikage raised a brow. "Still alive?"
The Sensor-nin nodded. "Yes."
"Then what are you waiting for? Bring him here. Have the medical-nin on standby."
Several Cloud shinobi darted into the valley. After confirming no traps remained, they dragged back the unconscious scout. The tent he had been left in was just beginning to burn—by luck alone he had not been consumed by the flames.
The medical-nin checked him over, frowning. "No wounds… only unconscious."
After some treatment, the captive stirred awake, but his eyes were vacant, his mind broken. A deeper examination revealed faint seals burned into his forehead.
"The Konoha ninja invaded his mind," the medic concluded grimly. "They tore through his memories. His mind is shattered—he'll never recover."
When the report reached him, the Fourth Raikage's rage exploded. With a thunderous roar, he smashed his fist into a massive tree. The trunk split clean in half.
"Those despicable Konoha rats! To twist a warrior's mind like this is beneath contempt!"
To A, it would have been far more honorable to give the man a quick death on the battlefield. To strip him of his dignity and turn him into a fool—this was unforgivable.
After venting his fury, he gave the order: "Take him home. The village will care for him and his family for life."
The Sensor-nin bowed. "Raikage-sama's benevolence will not be forgotten. His kin will worship your name for generations."
But A's eyes were cold as lightning. "I had intended to let them go. Now? Change of plan. Hunt them down. Wipe them out to the last man!"
"Yes!" the Cloud shinobi roared in unison.
They too had seen the captive's ruined mind and felt their leader's fury. Konoha's methods were vile—could they not face their enemies openly on the battlefield?
The army surged forward in pursuit.
But the Fourth Raikage soon grew impatient. The troops were too slow. With a flash, his body lit with crackling lightning—Lightning Release Chakra Mode. In an instant, he vanished, surging ahead alone.
The Cloud shinobi did not despair. In their village, strength was revered above all. The Raikage, who had subdued tailed beasts with his bare hands and even torn a horn from the rampaging Eight-Tails, was their pillar. Compared to Konoha's Fourth Hokage, who died against a beast, their Raikage stood peerless.
Once, their greatest hero had been the Third Raikage—the man who faced thirty thousand Stone shinobi alone, fighting three days and nights until his death. After his sacrifice, that mantle had passed to A.
And no one doubted that their Raikage, pursuing alone, was unstoppable.
---
Less than fifty li ahead, deep within a moonlit forest, another group pressed forward.
At the head strode a man in a dark cloak, embroidered across the back with five gilded characters: Fifth Hokage of Konoha. The robe streamed behind him like a banner in the night.
This was none other than Uchiha Fugaku.
Behind him walked a tall woman with golden hair—Tsunade, her pace steady. Further back, rows of Konoha shinobi marched with grim faces, the silence of the forest broken only by the rhythm of their footsteps.
Suddenly, a gaunt Uchiha surged past Tsunade, catching up to Fugaku. His raspy voice carried forward:
"Hokage-sama, we've received word from the Eighth Unit!"
"How fares their side?" Fugaku asked, glancing back briefly. His eyes lingered on Tsunade before flicking toward his clansman in silent signal.
The Uchiha—Setsuna—understood immediately. He and Fugaku quickened their pace, widening the gap so that Tsunade fell behind.
She noticed, frowning, but did not protest. Whatever they wished to discuss, they clearly meant to keep from her. She wisely maintained her pace, feigning indifference.
Setsuna leaned closer. "The plan met complications. Of the five loyalists to Hiruzen that were marked for elimination, only one fell. Four escaped."
Fugaku's brow furrowed. "Impossible. How could Hidden Cloud fail to kill five jōnin?"
"That's the troubling part," Setsuna rasped. "According to reports, Kumogakure dispatched over a hundred shinobi. Forty of them were jōnin and special jōnin—and the Fourth Raikage himself is in command."
Fugaku's lips curled into a faint sneer. "So A himself moves. Hmph. No matter. If our forces survive his assault, then defeating the Raikage outright will add luster to our record."
"How far are they from us?" he asked coolly.
"About forty li."
"Good. The Eighth Unit was right to abandon the 'fight and retreat' plan. Against the Raikage, stalling would be suicide. Tell the men—we accelerate. We link up with the Eighth Unit immediately."
"As you command."
Setsuna dropped back. Soon, his harsh voice cut through the night air: "By Hokage-sama's order—pick up speed!"
The Konoha shinobi gave no reply, but their pace quickened, their shadows stretching into afterimages beneath the moonlight.
The night forest filled with flickering silhouettes, eerie as a parade of demons.
And far away, back in Konoha, two uninvited guests had just crossed the village gates.
---