"Senior Sakumo, this really isn't an easy task..."
Although his words had a tendency to complain, Uchiha Yoichi still got up to pack his ninja tools.
Sarutobi Hiruzen originally intended to have the Anbu notify Uchiha Yoichi, but Hatake Sakumo accepted the mission and personally came to the Uchiha Clan Land to inform him.
"Mr. Yoichi's strength is worthy of my trust, but I apologize, I considered that the Third Raikage would not proactively engage, so I hoped Mr. Yoichi would join this mission."
Hatake Sakumo honestly stated his reasons; he wasn't scheming against Uchiha Yoichi, just purely for two points.
Uchiha Yoichi's strength is very formidable; having him there increases the chance of provoking the Third Raikage.
"It's no problem. I just feel like leaving the village for a bit, and with Senior Sakumo around, this mission is reassurance enough."
Even though he said so, Uchiha Yoichi was fully prepared; Lightning Fang, Soldier Pill, Immortal Bean, and various ninja tools.
He even donned a ninja battle suit. Originally, Uchiha Yoichi didn't plan to wear it, as his physique was already quite strong.
But this time, they're facing the Third Raikage; the opponent has refined his Lightning Release Chakra Mode for decades more than Yoichi, enough to battle the Eight-tailed for three days and nights. Better to be cautious.
Once he's fully prepared, Uchiha Yoichi spoke to Uchiha Kenji before departing, asking him to notify all the business heads and Madam Mikota, along with his three students, then left the clan land with Hatake Sakumo.
Hatake Sakumo didn't prepare much; every time he returned from a mission and greeted Kakashi, the first thing he did was prepare for the next task.
Only after being ready for any tasks at any time would Hatake Sakumo relax slightly.
Upon reaching the rendezvous point, the ninjas arranged by Sarutobi Hiruzen were all present.
The Ino-Shika-Cho Squad was led by Orochimaru as their captain, tasked with holding back other Hidden Cloud Ninja.
The reconnaissance squad consisted of Hyuga, Inuzuka, and Aburame, along with a Perception Ninja, dispersed in four positions: front, center, left, and right, responsible for scouting three directions and reporting back to the central ninja.
Lastly, it was Hatake Sakumo, Uchiha Yoichi, Sarutobi Shinnosuke, Nakagawa Takumi, and Shirakumo Hayama.
The three ninjas dispatched by Sarutobi Hiruzen were all very capable. Despite his young age, his eldest son was quite famous in the village; as for Nakagawa Takumi and Shirakumo Hayama, they were also elite jonin of the village.
"I believe you all understand the mission. I've just arranged the formation for the advance. If there are no issues, let's set out."
With that said, the thirteen people present immediately began moving.
Even the youngest, Uchiha Yoichi, had been through a hundred missions as a jonin. The team included Konoha White Fang and the Sannin, and Yoichi as Konoha's emerging talent, the Konoha Lightning Fang.
The mission was to hold back the Third Raikage, but Uchiha Yoichi did have some thoughts about potentially killing the opponent.
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In a hidden forest, twelve Hidden Cloud Ninja sat resting there. After a while, three Hidden Cloud Ninja returned, replacing another three ninjas to keep watch.
The forests in the Land of Fire were dense, and hidden places like this for resting were abundant.
"Mabum, has there been any intel from Killer Bee's side?"
A dark-skinned, stout man asked the Hidden Cloud Ninja beside him; he was the strongest ninja in the Hidden Cloud Village, the Third Generation Raikage.
"We've been in the Land of Fire for nearly half a month now, and we've even looted their village supplies twice. Has Konoha shown no reaction?"
The ninja named Mabum shook his head and said, "There's been no information from the Land of Earth, but Konoha can't possibly endure us for so long. They've likely dispatched forces, perhaps searching for our tracks."
"Third generation, maybe we should hold back a bit; after all, this is the Land of Fire!"
If it were in the Land of Rice Fields, Mabum wouldn't be so worried, but here, in enemy territory, the Konoha Ninjas can easily dispatch a large number of ninjas to encircle them.
The Third Raikage said, "No need to worry. Trust in Bulimu's perception ability; if Konoha dispatches a large group of ninjas, we'll leave immediately."
"Senior Mabum, rest assured, I'll use perception ninjutsu every ten minutes to be vigilant of the surroundings."
The one who spoke was Bulimu from the Hidden Cloud Village, the ninja there with the best perception abilities, surpassing even Konoha Ninja Village's Byakugan in range.
Upon hearing Bulimu's assurance, Mabum relaxed a bit but still asked, "Then, Lord Raikage, should we send the Amber Purifying Pot back first?"
"Let's wait for another seven days to see if a third opportunity arises!"
The Third Raikage spoke in a deep voice, "If a third chance exists, let's teach Konoha a lesson; if not, we'll return to the Land of Hot Water."
Though his temper is a bit fiery, he's no mindless brute; the opportunity he's waiting for involves more than just plundering supplies but also the opportunity to ambush Konoha ninjas.
If there's a chance to let off some steam, the Third Raikage definitely won't miss it, but he also wouldn't stay in the Land of Fire just for revenge—that wouldn't be fitting for a Raikage.
After resting for a while, these Hidden Cloud Ninja gradually restored their Chakra and stamina.
But after Bulimu used perception ninjutsu again, he suddenly furrowed his brow, then rapidly opened his eyes to say to the Third Raikage, "Lord Raikage, there are ninjas approaching, but the number is only three..."
Among them is one Perception Ninja, seemingly Konoha ninjas searching for us!"
Perception ninjutsu can be mutually detected, so when Bulimu discovered the Konoha ninjas, they also detected him.
"Only three ninjas?"
"We can't rule out the possibility that there are other ninjas behind them... Lord Raikage, the enemy is approaching us, they've appeared! It's not just these three ninjas, there are ten more behind them!"
Within Bulimu's perception range, ten more ninjas suddenly appeared.
"Have the guards return."
After speaking, the Third Generation Raikage asked Bulimu again, "Are these the only ones? It seems they don't know I'm leading the team and think it's just an ordinary elite squad...."
If they knew he was in the team, they should have sent more ninjas; however, after plundering the supplies, they killed all the Konoha ninjas, making it indeed difficult to obtain useful intelligence.
"How is their chakra amount?"
Bulimu carefully sensed and then said, "Among them, two have quite a lot of chakra, but far less than you, Lord Raikage. Another has more chakra than Senior Mabum, and the remaining ten are about the same...."
"It looks like it's not the Third Generation Hokage or the Nine-tailed Jinchuriki. Prepare for battle and teach these Konoha bastards a lesson!"
"Yes, Lord Raikage!"
After hearing the intelligence, the Third Generation Raikage confirmed his thoughts: Konoha didn't know that this Raikage also dispatched an elite ninja squad to destroy them.
What a blunder by that Third Generation Hokage guy!
"Head to the plains we passed earlier!"
After the Third Generation Raikage gave the order, all the Hidden Cloud Ninjas moved to relocate; most Hidden Cloud Ninjas need broad and open spaces during battles. If the terrain is too obstructive, the Third Generation Raikage's strength would be the first to be affected.
When they reached the open plain, the Third Generation Raikage turned to look at Bulimu, who once again used a Perception Ninjutsu and then pointed forward, saying, "They're here."
More than ten ninjas appeared in the Third Generation Raikage's sight; both sides had perception ninjas and could detect each other's presence, making tactics like ambushes useless.
"White-haired ninja, and that person should be Orochimaru... Uchiha bastard!!"
Upon seeing Uchiha Yoichi, the Third Generation Raikage's anger erupted instantly.
This Uchiha bastard stole the Hidden Cloud Village's Secret Technique for controlling Tailed Beast Power, destroyed the Hidden Cloud Village's Ninjutsu building, hypnotized him with an Illusion Technique, and nearly killed him!
Seeing this person, the Third Generation Raikage could no longer control the fury in his heart.
"Mabum, watch out for that Uchiha bastard's Illusion Technique. Today I'm going to slaughter him."
........
On the other side, upon seeing the Hidden Cloud's team, Hatake Sakumo also noticed the Third Generation Raikage's anger and couldn't help but say to Uchiha Yoichi,
"Mr. Yoichi, it seems our plan has a chance of success."
Before they came, Uchiha Yoichi proposed the idea, Orochimaru supported it, Hatake Sakumo consulted everyone, and Nara Yusuke was assigned to devise the plan.
Killing the Third Generation Raikage might be difficult, but they decided to slay the other Hidden Cloud Ninjas to teach the Third Generation Raikage a lesson.
This plan required ensuring two points: effectively pinning down the Third Generation Raikage,
and quickly taking out the other Hidden Cloud Ninjas.
The former was entrusted to Uchiha Yoichi and Hatake Sakumo, and the latter to Orochimaru, the Ino-Shika-Cho, Sarutobi Shinnosuke, Nakagawa Takumi, and Shirakumo Hayama.
Pinning down the Third Generation Raikage was rather dangerous, so they needed to swiftly eliminate the other Hidden Cloud Ninjas.
Otherwise, even the Konoha White Fang and Konoha Lightning Fang would struggle against the Third Generation Raikage.
"Mr. Yoichi, it's up to you."
"I understand."
Uchiha Yoichi chewed on a Soldier Pill, preparing to recover his chakra, then rapidly charged towards the Hidden Cloud Ninjas.
Orochimaru followed closely behind, while the other Konoha ninjas followed the predetermined plan, distinctly heading to the left and right.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Extinguishing!"
Having gathered chakra in advance, Uchiha Yoichi spewed forth a sea of flames from his mouth as he approached the Hidden Cloud Ninjas!
The prolonged absorption of Natural Energy had already altered Uchiha Yoichi's chakra, and with the additional heat from Godzilla, his Fire Release far surpassed that of any other Uchiha Clan Members.
"The area of the Fire Release is too large, retreat!"
The moment the Hidden Cloud Ninjas recognized the threat, they immediately knew it was irresistible, withdrawing in a squad formation to avoid the Fire Release Ninjutsu, almost without a directive from the Third Generation Raikage.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow City Wall."
Orochimaru followed with a Ninjutsu, deliberately controlling it to consecutively create earthen walls that split the battlefield into two zones, with the left being the most dangerous, where the Third Generation Raikage was.
"We did it, Senior Sakumo, Mr. Yoichi."
Upon hearing Orochimaru's signal, Hatake Sakumo and Uchiha Yoichi didn't hesitate, lightning dancing around their bodies as they instantly moved towards the Third Generation Raikage.