On the battlefield of the Land of Grass.
The Four-Tails, humiliated by Rinjin, let out an earth-shaking roar.
He was furious!
The despicable man in the distance had completely enraged him.
Just the thought of his flattened big toes—and the possibility of developing an ingrown toenail—made Son Gokū seethe with anger.
"ROAR!"
The next second, Son Gokū gathered his strength, and a torrent of scorching magma erupted from his mouth, shooting straight toward the leaping Rinjin.
"Flying Raijin Jutsu!" Rinjin's low voice echoed.
In an instant, Rinjin appeared on a distant tree branch, waving enthusiastically at Son Gokū.
"Over here, monkey!"
Seeing Rinjin's infuriating grin, Son Gokū was so enraged that he dropped to all fours and charged at Rinjin.
He was going to smash this guy into a pulp.
As the furious Son Gokū closed in, Rinjin remained calm. Instead, he closed his eyes slightly, sensing the location of Ryūto's squad.
The plan was simple: lure the monkey near Ryūto's squad and let them report the beast's presence back to Kumogakure.
Dodging Son Gokū's wrath, Rinjin darted across the vast grasslands of the Land of Grass with incredible speed.
Thanks to his extraordinary physical endurance and stamina, he maintained a relatively safe distance from the raging monkey.
Before long, Ryūto's squad, scouting near the battlefield, detected a powerful chakra rapidly approaching.
"Take cover!" Ryūto commanded, his brows furrowing.
The next moment, a massive figure appeared on the horizon.
Ryūto shuddered instinctively. Even though he wasn't a sensory ninja, he could feel the overwhelming terror of this chakra.
It was scorching, violent, and radiated an unrelenting heat like the blazing sun.
"What is that? A tailed beast?" Ryūto muttered, his voice trembling as he stared at the distant figure of Son Gokū.
The rest of the squad looked equally horrified.
Weren't they supposed to be observing a war between two minor nations? How did such a terrifying existence get involved?
Their shock only deepened as they witnessed the next scene:
A mysterious figure, wearing a straw hat and a long cloak, was swinging a massive spiked club, repeatedly smashing it against the tailed beast's head.
The battle was ferocious.
Magma flowed freely across the battlefield as Son Gokū unleashed his terrifying power.
Yet his opponent, the mysterious figure, showed no fear. His form flickered in and out of sight, and each swing of his club struck with such force that Son Gokū howled in pain.
Fixated on the clash between these two titans, Ryūto wiped the sweat from his brow and issued a retreat order.
They had to leave.
Even the shockwaves from the battle could easily claim their lives.
"Retreat! Kohaku, lead the way. Yui, compile the intel.
We're heading back to Niko Town to report the tailed beast's presence!"
With a single command, Ryūto and his squad swiftly withdrew, sprinting toward the Land of Taki without hesitation.
As they distanced themselves from the battlefield, Rinjin's lips curled into a sly smile.
Success!
Now, all that remained was to see how the Raikage would respond.
With that thought, Rinjin stopped engaging with Son Gokū. Forming a quick hand seal, he shouted:
"See you later, monkey!"
In the blink of an eye, his figure vanished, leaving behind a bewildered and enraged Son Gokū.
...
Half a day later, Rinjin, growing a bit bored, finally saw Ryūto's squad return.
The familiar hideout, the familiar Captain Ryūto.
"More intel?" Rinjin asked as he briskly entered the room, his expression serious and his tone formal.
Ryūto nodded heavily, a hint of pride gleaming in his eyes.
He produced a scroll and placed it on the table.
Seeing this, Rinjin nodded slightly and formed hand seals.
"Swish!" The scroll, carrying Ryūto's vital intel, disappeared instantly, transmitted back to Kumogakure.
Ryūto let out a long sigh of relief.
"As per protocol, this is classified as special intel transmission. Please remain here for one day," Rinjin said expressionlessly.
He then retrieved a special tracking scroll from his ninja pouch and placed it on the table.
This scroll represented his identity as a transmitter. If Kumogakure needed to respond, orders would be sent here via the Heaven-Sent Technique.
It had to be said that Kumogakure's mastery of the Heaven-Sent Technique gave them an unparalleled advantage in intelligence transmission.
However, due to its difficulty, the number of field operatives capable of using the technique remained limited.
Most crucially, only two people in the entire village could use the Heaven-Sent Technique to transmit large objects:
Director Tsuchibun and another deputy director whose name Rinjin didn't know.
...
In the Kumogakure Raikage's office.
Tsuchibun, sporting a large bump on his head, walked down the hallway with a resigned expression.
For the third time!
Raimei had hit him on the head for the third time!
Tsuchibun couldn't help but suspect that Raimei was doing it on purpose.
After all, who headbutts someone with such force?
But now wasn't the time to settle scores. The most pressing matter was delivering the scroll in his hand to the Raikage.
As the director of the Field Operations Division, Tsuchibun was also responsible for categorizing returned intel and forwarding it to the intelligence team.
Of course, special intel was an exception.
Quickly crossing the hallway, Tsuchibun arrived at the Raikage's office door and pushed it open without hesitation.
Inside, the Raikage was chatting cheerfully with his elder brother, Tsuchibun. It was clear he was in a good mood.
"Raikage-sama, urgent intel!" Tsuchibun wasted no time, striding forward to present the scroll to the Third Raikage.
The Raikage's smile vanished instantly as he took the scroll and began reading.
The scroll detailed everything Ryūto's squad had witnessed, including the tailed beast and the mysterious figure battling it.
Gradually, a blue lightning glow flickered in the Raikage's eyes.
"Here, Tsuchibun, take a look!" he said, handing the scroll to his advisor, Tsuchibun, before casually asking:
"Where's Ayame? I haven't seen her around lately."
Taking the scroll, Tsuchibun replied quickly, "Raikage-sama, Secretary Ayame has been on sick leave for several days."
Hearing this, the Raikage merely nodded, saying no more.
His thoughts were already consumed by the Four-Tails on the battlefield in the Land of Grass.
The mysterious figure battling the Four-Tails was clearly the same individual who had attacked the Eight-Tails' and Two-Tails' Jinchūriki.
It seemed this guy had given up on the Two-Tails and set his sights on Son Gokū.
Good. Very good!
Being targeted by such a ghost-like figure was undoubtedly troublesome.
But now, it was Ōnoki's turn to have a headache.
As this thought crossed his mind, the Raikage suddenly had a bold idea.
What if... what if I used the Amber Purifying Pot to launch a surprise attack on the Four-Tails and capture Son Gokū? Could it work?
The more he considered it, the more possibilities he saw.
First, with the Heaven-Sent Technique, he could instantly reach the battlefield and return to the village just as quickly, giving him far greater mobility than Ōnoki.
Second, he had fought the Eight-Tails to a standstill before. Taking on the Four-Tails, who had half as many tails, would be no problem.
Third, with the Six Paths tool, the Amber Purifying Pot, the chances of successfully capturing the Four-Tails were incredibly high.
Moreover, Tsuchibun had already mastered the Four Symbols Seal and Five Elements Seal. As long as they captured the Four-Tails, sealing it would be a breeze.
Finally, even if Ōnoki lost his temper and threatened war, Kumogakure still had options.
Though the village had suffered significant losses during the First Great Ninja War, Iwagakure wasn't in great shape either.
Their prolonged conflict with Kirigakure had left them even worse off.
Most importantly, even if war didn't break out, Kumogakure could use the Four-Tails as leverage to extort Ōnoki.
Damn! The more he thought about it, the more it seemed like a surefire win!
At that moment, the Third Raikage felt like the god of bandits had possessed him. He couldn't shake the urge to pull off this heist.
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