Naruto: Kurotsuchi Mayuri

BOOM! 

Snaking bolts of lightning pierced the thick clouds, briefly illuminating the pitch-black sky. The rain poured relentlessly, like an endless cascade of water, falling so heavily that it was impossible to see a person's face from just a few meters away. 

Deep within a mountain cave, a faint fire flickered, casting soft, wavering light. 

"With this kind of rain, it should cover our tracks, right?" Anko let out a sigh of relief as she looked at the downpour outside. Her face showed exhaustion, and her appearance was disheveled—clearly worn out from the recent events. 

In just one day, they had fought multiple battles. The Cloud Village (Kumogakure) shinobi were like sharks drawn by the scent of blood, swarming toward them. 

They had already taken down three squads of Cloud ninjas. One was led by a jonin, and the other two teams were composed entirely of chunin and elite chunin. 

Anko had nearly lost her life when the Cloud jonin launched a desperate counterattack, leaving her in this ragged state. 

Luckily, their team had Kagetsu, a powerful medical-nin and she herself was also skilled in Armor Mode—a defensive jutsu. It allowed her to downgrade fatal injuries to severe wounds and heal severe wounds into minor ones within a short time. 

Otherwise, Anko would have slowed the group down, and the Cloud ninjas tailing them would have eventually caught up, surrounding them. 

"We've already crossed out of the Land of Fire," Kagetsu said calmly, shaking off the rain. "From now on, unless it's absolutely necessary, we should avoid any more fights. There are way too many Cloud ninjas in this area." 

If they didn't end each encounter quickly, reinforcements would come pouring in, wave after wave. Even a minor skirmish could attract several squads. 

In the cave's dim light, Shisui emerged from the shadows, his Sharingan glowing red. As he stepped into the firelight, his eyes reverted to their normal dark irises. 

Behind him, tied up and slumped against the rocky wall, was a captured Cloud ninja with a Kumogakure forehead protector still fastened on his head. 

"I've extracted two pieces of intel," Shisui reported, his voice steady. "The Raikage and his forces have broken through the Land of Rain and are now locked in a standoff with Sunagakure in the Sand Village's border defenses. They've fought several battles already, and Cloud seems to have the upper hand." 

He paused for a moment before continuing. "But then a jonin from the Sand named Rasa showed up and slowed the Raikage's advance." 

"A jonin? I thought the Third Kazekage went missing? How could some random jonin like Rasa stop the Raikage?" Anko asked, her surprise clear. In her mind, only another village's Kage could fight on equal footing with a kage. 

"If nothing unexpected happens, that Rasa—who inherited the Third Kazekage's magnet release—will probably become the Fourth Kazekage," Shisui replied quietly, sitting down by the fire. 

"There's more," Shisui added after a moment's thought. "Cloud has been aggressively raiding food supplies. Those squads we fought? They were sent to locate hidden ninja outposts and gather food." 

"Is Cloud running low on supplies?" Anko asked, now realizing the significance of the information Shisui had uncovered. 

"Yes. The Third Raikage A, brought an elite force with him, hoping to catch the Land of Wind off guard by advancing quickly. Their plan was to take advantage of the chaos after the Third Kazekage's disappearance, with the Raikage leading his jonin deep into the heart of the Sand Village and forcing Sunagakure to surrender." 

Shisui leaned against the cave wall, his voice calm as he explained. "The Raikage almost succeeded. If it weren't for Rasa and his magnet release, Cloud would've broken through by now." 

"But now that their blitz strategy failed, they've been dragged into a war of attrition with the Sand Village. When a plan goes off track like this, it takes even more force to get things back on course."

"The Hidden Cloud Village is currently short on supplies. If the Raikage doesn't want to retreat, he'll need to find new resources to support the incoming ninja forces before their own provisions arrive. So, who's his target?" Kagetsu calmly analyzed the intelligence they had extracted from Shisui's interrogation.

Shisui and Anko both fell silent for a moment.

"The Land of Rain!" 

"The Land of Fire!" 

They answered simultaneously.

"Exactly. The only places close enough to the battlefield that could provide food are the Land of Rain and the Land of Fire. However, the Land of Rain is extremely poor. Not only does it constantly get caught between the bigger nations' wars, but the constant rain limits their ability to store food. Their supplies are insufficient to sustain another army." 

Kagetsu paused for a moment and continued: 

"But the Land of Fire is different. We have the largest stockpile of food. If the Hidden Cloud wants to secure a large supply of food and war materials, they'll have to take it from us. 

I also remember Orochimaru-sensei mentioning that Hanzo, the leader of the Hidden Rain Village, is a stubborn old man. He doesn't let anyone meddle in the affairs of his country or his village. This means that in the conflict between the Land of Wind and the Land of Lightning, he won't take sides. 

As long as we can confirm these facts, our intelligence-gathering mission will be considered complete."

Anko nodded thoughtfully, a look of realization crossing her face. 

"No wonder there are so many Cloud ninja inside the Land of Fire and along the border."

Shisui's expression darkened. 

"But the food and supplies for the Leaf Village are kept at the border outposts, right? If the Hidden Cloud wants to seize large amounts of provisions, wouldn't their first targets be those outposts?"

Kagetsu shook his head slowly. 

"It's possible they've already taken action. We just don't have the clearance to access that level of intelligence yet." 

He looked Shisui in the eyes and asked firmly: 

"If the Raikage is tied up fighting at the Sand Village frontlines, who is leading the invasion into the Land of Fire?"

Shisui thought hard for a moment before replying, though with some hesitation. 

"From what I gathered from his memories, it's two young jonin who are very close to the Raikage."

Kagetsu's mind instantly narrowed it down. 

"The future Fourth Raikage A, and Killer B, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki."

Anko clenched her fists. 

"So… do we need to go provide support?"

"Hasn't Minato-senpai already gone with his team?" Kagetsu glanced at Anko. It was no surprise that the encounters between the A-B Combo and Minato happened during this period.

Minato Namikaze's mobility made his support and combat abilities exceptionally strong. He could quickly rush to assist after an attack occurred at a location.

"Let's rest and take advantage of this rare opportunity to recover our strength. I believe we will face even more battles ahead," Kagetsu said as he took out a storage scroll and opened it, releasing explosive tags, kunai, shuriken, and other supplies, distributing them to Shisui and Anko to replenish their losses.

After silently completing this, Anko and Kagetsu closed their eyes to meditate, while Shisui took charge of the first round of guard duty.

As Kagetsu immersed his consciousness in meditation, he felt a presence and awakened his panel.

****

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