Chapter 102: 102. Tailed Beast Bomb Raid Cloud Shinobi!
Cloud Shinobi Village, determined to gather more information about the Akatsuki organization, saw the Fourth Raikage dispatch several ninja teams to investigate. However, except for a few fragmented pieces of information, all teams lost contact.
This caused the atmosphere in the village to grow tense, as though a war could erupt at any moment.
In large hidden villages, particularly those with aggressive tendencies, if unconventional methods fail to achieve their objectives, war often becomes the chosen solution.
Obito's concerns were not unfounded. Cloud Shinobi, having suffered heavy losses, was seriously contemplating launching an assault on Amegakure.
"It's really unsettling! Cloud Shinobi's true strength might already surpass Konoha's, the largest village in the ninja world, don't you think?"
Outside the protective barrier of Cloud Shinobi Village, Obito and Black Zetsu observed the grand village from a distance, speaking softly.
"The difference is that Konoha's strength comes from its deep-rooted heritage, while Cloud Shinobi's strength stems from Raikage's policies. But ultimately, it doesn't matter," Obito replied flatly.
He activated the space-time vortex from his right eye, releasing the massive form of the Four-Tails.
The Four-Tails' eyes glowed with the Sharingan pattern, indicating it was under Obito's control.
In an instant, the Four-Tails began condensing a Tailed Beast Ball in front of its mouth, aiming it directly at Cloud Shinobi Village and launching a devastating attack.
Inside the village, Fourth Raikage frowned, his senses keenly picking up an impending threat.
Killer Bee and Yugito Nii also felt the disturbance, immediately halting their activities to look toward the horizon.
Their eyes narrowed sharply. As perfect Jinchūriki, they instinctively recognized the telltale sign of a Tailed Beast Ball.
"Enemy attack! Evacuate the villagers!"
Yugito Nii shouted a warning, her voice carrying across the village as the tailed beast's chakra surged through her body. She transformed into Matatabi in an instant, the enormous blue feline appearing within Cloud Shinobi Village.
Nearby, Killer Bee followed suit, summoning Gyūki's form as the massive octopus-like tailed beast emerged.
"Bee! We can't let that Tailed Beast Ball land in the village—it'll destroy everything! Knock it off course!"
Yugito Nii urged, her transformed state already condensing a smaller Tailed Beast Ball. Though not as large as the incoming one, its purpose was to redirect the attack rather than neutralize it.
The two-tailed beasts acted quickly. With precise coordination, they launched their smaller Tailed Beast Balls to strike the underside of the larger one, successfully diverting it away from the village.
The redirected attack struck a nearby mountain, reducing it to nothing but ashes in a massive explosion. The resulting shockwave rippled through Cloud Shinobi Village, making the ground tremble as if hit by an earthquake.
"Tsk! What a shame. Two perfect Jinchūriki do pose quite the challenge," Obito muttered with a hint of regret.
If the attack had caused significant casualties in Cloud Shinobi, it would have intensified the animosity between Kumogakure and Iwagakure, potentially sparking an outright war between the two villages.
But that's about it now. The Tailed Beast Ball has come, and no village will give up, let alone Kumogakure and Iwagakure shinobi themselves, who are full of hostility.
"That was... the tailed beast's attack just now! Damn it, who is the shameless person that dared to attack our Kumogakure? They don't want to live anymore!"
Although the Fourth Raikage did not show up, he witnessed the whole process in his office and immediately smashed his desk into pieces.
There are only nine-tailed beasts, and they are all assigned to different hidden villages. Excluding the smaller villages, there are only four groups bold enough to attack one of the five major ninja villages, Kumogakure.
Almost instantly, the Fourth Raikage speculated that someone might want to start the Fourth Ninja War.
So which village would be unable to bear it? Sunagakure and Kirigakure could be eliminated.
One of these villages has a living environment that is too harsh for it to develop sufficient power.
The other is far across the sea and would have to deal with Kumogakure. If an attack were to happen, it would only come from the seaside; otherwise, they'd have to go through Konoha and some smaller villages.
By the way, the commotion caused by such an event would not go unnoticed, so these two villages can be ruled out.
Konoha and Iwagakure are the most likely. But now, Konoha's internal contradictions are prominent, and the Uchiha's departure is causing significant issues, leaving insufficient strength to start a war.
That leaves only Iwagakure. The Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning are separated by a narrow sea, and Iwagakure has the strength and economy to launch a war. But why would that old guy Ōnoki do it?
"Master Raikage! Through Matatabi's identification, it is confirmed that the Tailed Beast Ball just now was released by the Four Tails!"
Yugito and Killer Bee entered Raikage's office and confirmed his suspicions.
"Damn, Ōnoki... Okay! Since Iwagakure wants to fight us, we Kumogakure shinobi will take over. It's just the right time to settle old and new grudges together!"
Raikage raised his hand and noticed that his desk was smashed into pieces, and he couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed.
But this did not stop his anger from growing stronger.
His father had been dragged to death by Ōnoki's human wave tactics in the Land of Earth.
At that time, due to the impact of the Third Ninja War, Kumogakure resisted retaliating against Iwagakure. But this did not mean the hatred disappeared.
Before, he had considered heading to Amegakure to see if there was anything useful there and even thought about pursuing the Uchiha in the Land of Fire. After all, the Uchiha had left Konoha, and the family was stationed near the coast. Maybe he could acquire a pair or two of Sharingan.
But now, all such thoughts were pushed aside by the Fourth Raikage. Others had directly attacked a tailed beast in his territory. How could he focus on anything else? First, they would strike back.
Following Raikage's order, the fighting forces of Kumogakure began to gather. The Land of Lightning and Kumogakure had developed well in recent years, and now it was time to take action!
On the other side, Yagami also started his work as an advisory elder. Of course, he had no right to meddle in Konoha directly. He only oversaw the funds allocated for rural revitalization, refusing to involve himself in other matters.
"I say to the three of you, rural revitalization is a support project, not a nanny project. When you apply for funds, you need to distinguish between essential expenses and unnecessary ones. Handing me such a long and convoluted reimbursement scroll is unacceptable."
Looking at the fund application scroll that the Third Hokage handed him, Yagami couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his mouth. Was he being used as a cash machine?
At this rate of spending, the Uchiha Group would need to generate at least average income just to balance the books!
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