"Is it done?"
Obito's figure emerged in front of the two kunoichi.
"Well, one has already been released. One hostage is enough, right?"
Pakura kicked the dried-up corpse at her feet with a faint smile.
"Good. Then let's move. Whether they take the bait or not is Cloud's problem."
Without another word, Obito turned and left Cloud Gorge with Pakura and Mei following behind.
Behind them, the blazing crimson walls of the Uchiha Flame Formation continued to burn and roar.
This barrier, passed down to Obito by Madara, was originally used to protect the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. Its defense was so strong it could withstand even the Eight-Tails' full might.
For Killer B who still hadn't completely mastered the Tailed Beast Bomb, this was more than enough to keep him caged.
The three disappeared into the distance. Silence lingered for only a moment before, inside the barrier, the ground rumbled.
With a muffled boom, the earth split and a figure sprang out of the crater.
"Yo, Lord Eight-Tails back on the stage,
Game over, time to turn the page!
Grab a drink, mix it right,
Rock on, baby, all night!"
Killer B struck a pose, raising his left hand in a rock-on gesture as he twisted his body in rhythm only he could hear.
"Stupid B… stop with the noise. The enemy's gone," Gyūki grumbled inside his mind.
"Eh?"
Killer B blinked, looking around. Sure enough, the masked man and his allies had already vanished.
"…They really dipped? Just left me locked up like this?"
"The barrier's still here. Looks like he really did just want to trap you."
"Halfway through the fight, and they bail? What's the deal with that? That masked fool's playin a shady tune, I'll kill him next time, fool, you best believe it, yo!"
"Don't get cocky," Gyūki warned. "That jutsu just now, you would've been dead if I hadn't interfered."
Killer B rubbed his chin, eyes narrowing.
"Yeah, true that. But the way that blast looked… it felt familiar."
"It should," Gyūki said. "That technique was almost identical to a Tailed Beast Bomb."
The two white pupils of the Eight-Tails widened.
This man is strong… but his head really isn't screwed on straight.
"Ohh, I get it now that you said it!" Killer B exclaimed.
He suddenly whipped out a tiny notebook and began scribbling furiously.
"Concentrate the chakra, compress it, condense it into a tight sphere…"
After jotting it down, he snapped the book shut with a grin.
"Yo, Eight! That masked fool gave me inspiration. I can speed up my Tailed Beast Bomb training, oh yeah!"
"…Is this really the time to worry about training? You're trapped inside a barrier."
Gyūki sighed in exasperation.
"That's what you said, Gyūki! Let's go!"
Killer B swaggered toward the barrier, ready to smash his way out. But after a few minutes of effort, even with his body cloaked in tailed beast chakra, he found himself flat on his ass, panting.
"Damn! Bastard guy, stupid guy! This wall ain't breaking!"
The crimson flames of the Uchiha Flame Formation still raged, completely unshaken.
"Unless you can fire off a Tailed Beast Bomb right now, there's no way out," Gyūki muttered.
"Yoshhh! Then let's grind it out right here, Gyūki. Tailed Beast Bomb training—'cause inspiration just hit me, courtesy of that masked clown!"
"…Are you serious?"
"Hell yeah, I'm serious!"
"…Do whatever you want," Gyūki said, giving up with a weary sigh.
Meanwhile, in Kumogakure…
The Cloud shinobi who had escaped from Cloud Gorge stumbled into the Raikage's office, escorted by Dodai himself.
BOOM!
A brand new desk was reduced to splinters in an instant as the Fourth Raikage slammed his fists down.
"What did you just say?! Something happened to B?!"
His eyes blazed like lightning, his body already surging with chakra. He stood up and was about to storm toward the door, ready to personally tear through anything in his way.
"Wait!"
Dodai's voice cut through the air, halting the Raikage just as his muscles coiled to leap.
"Lord Raikage, please... at least hear him out first. Right now, we don't even know who the enemy is, or how many there are."
"Then speak fast!" Ai barked, his voice rumbling like thunder.
"Yes, Lord Raikage. That's…"
The battered Cloud shinobi quickly stammered out everything he had witnessed at Cloud Gorge.
By the end of the account, Ai's eyes burned with fury.
"Dodai!" he roared.
Dodai's face darkened. "According to his description… the kunoichi who used Scorch Release could only have been Pakura of Sunagakure. And the other without a doubt was Terumi Mei of Kirigakure."
Ai's veins bulged with rage. "Pakura… so she really survived. And now she's defected, throwing in with the Land of Snow?!"
Dodai exhaled grimly. "It seems so."
"Damn it! I've ignored them this long, and they dare come after my brother first?!" Ai's killing intent erupted like a storm.
"I'll go to Bi myself. Dodai! you bring reinforcements and catch up later!"
Before anyone could respond, Ai's massive frame surged with crackling blue lightning.
He smashed straight through the floor-to-ceiling window of the Raikage's office, glass exploding outward.
BOOM!
In the blink of an eye, the Raikage was already streaking across the horizon, a thunderbolt racing toward Cloud Gorge.
"…Lord Raikage," Dodai muttered helplessly, staring at the destroyed window. He sighed, then spun on his heel.
"Gather the elites, we're moving out immediately!"
Moments later, Dodai led a squad of Kumogakure's finest out of the village, hot on the Raikage's trail.
--
Far away, atop a lonely mountain overlooking the village, a lone figure stood silently.
Through his Sharingan, Obito had already "seen" everything.
As he sensed the Raikage leaving the village like a thunderstorm unleashed, the corner of his lips curled upward.
Obito lingered a while longer, making sure the Raikage and his forces were well out of range.
Only then did he step down from the boulder, brushing the dust off his cloak.
"Raikage has left. He took the bait. Time for us to move."
He turned to Pakura and Terumi Mei, resting a hand on each of their shoulders.
"I've placed my Flying Thunder God mark on you both. If you get overwhelmed, flare the signal and I'll be there instantly."
"Remember... warehouses, hospitals, the ANBU quarters, and the information division are your primary targets."
Kumogakure, built into the steep mountains, had most of its structures jutting out like fortress-lofts along the cliffsides. The perfect hunting ground.
The two kunoichi exchanged a look, then gave firm nods.
"Got it."
Flying Thunder God, the legendary jutsu of the Fourth Hokage. Obito had shown them the basics, but without a knack for space-time ninjutsu, neither Pakura nor Mei could master it.
"Let's move," Obito said, his voice low.
He pulled them both into the swirling vortex of Kamui, and in the next instant, they slipped through space itself, reemerging inside Cloud Village.
Before departing, Obito had already dispatched a wooden clone to guard the main gate.
Its task was simple: kill any shinobi trying to flee toward Cloud Gorge, cut the line of communication, and lock the village in silence.
Moments later, space warped again, three figures appeared atop the Raikage Building.
"Go."
Pakura and Mei nodded, then leapt off the rooftop, vanishing into the dark streets below.
It didn't take long. Flames suddenly erupted from one sector, painting the night in orange. Another district was swallowed in thick, suffocating mist.
Then came the screams.
"Enemy attack!!"
Cloud shinobi scrambled awake, exploding into motion. Signal flares arced into the sky as alarms roared through the village.
Kumogakure, once quiet under the mountain moonlight, now blazed with chaos.
And in the midst of that chaos, Obito slipped into the Raikage Building like a shadow.
His Sharingan gleamed as he formed shadow clones, sending them down each corridor to comb through the rooms.
--------------------------------------
Support me at patreon.com/Arthorain and read upto 50 Advanced Chapters and Exclusive R-18 Content!
--------------------------------------
Update schedule: 7 chapters/week
Every 300 power stones = 1 Extra Chapter
By voting with [power stones], you can easily get double the number of chapters.