Rising Shadows: Uchiha's Wrath

The Fourth Raikage's jaw tightened as he surged forward, his mind racing with possibilities of what he might find. Panic gripped him, and he desperately pushed his speed to its limits.

Yugito, the Two-Tails Jinchūriki, was one of Kumogakure's most powerful assets. If anything happened to her, the village would suffer a catastrophic blow!

Ten seconds later, the Fourth Raikage arrived at the battlefield—only to find Yugito's lifeless body lying amidst the rubble, her once-bright eyes now dull and unseeing.

"How could this happen?!" His roar of fury reverberated across the devastated battlefield.

From the shadows, Kaito observed the scene, his face a mask of indifference.

"So, that's the Fourth Raikage?" he murmured. "I suppose I'll pay the rest of the Kumo forces a visit."

With that, he vanished into the night using the Body Flicker Technique (Shunshin).

More than ten minutes later, Darui and the others finally arrived. What greeted them was the enraged Raikage and the unmoving corpse of Yugito.

"Lord Raikage… Yugito, she..." Darui muttered, his voice heavy with grief.

The Fourth Raikage clenched his fists, his body trembling with suppressed fury.

"I will avenge Yugito," he vowed, his voice thick with rage.

His sharp gaze swept over the battlefield, analyzing the destruction.

"To cause this much devastation in just two hours... it would take at least a thousand shinobi to surround and overwhelm her!"

"And the only force capable of mobilizing that many troops here without us noticing… is Konoha!"

He turned to his men, his voice resolute.

"Take Yugito's body back to the village immediately. At dawn, we attack Konoha!"

"We will reclaim the Two-Tails and avenge Yugito!"

Meanwhile, Kaito, who had already distanced himself from the battlefield, smirked to himself.

Konoha will pay for this, even if they're innocent. That only makes it sweeter.

Kaito walked toward the hotel, his expression downcast.

Earlier, he had infiltrated the Hidden Cloud Village's military garrison, hoping to locate Killer Bee. But to his frustration, Bee was nowhere to be found. Logically, in a war between two great ninja villages, Kumogakure wouldn't leave their Eight-Tails Jinchūriki idle. Yet, Bee was absent—confident enough to not even participate in the fight against Konoha.

Kaito sighed inwardly. The Fourth Raikage's actions had completely disrupted his plans. Originally, he had intended to capture the Two-Tails, let the Hidden Cloud ninja intervene, and then lure either the Raikage or Killer Bee into a trap. If the Raikage led the reinforcements, Kaito would infiltrate Kumogakure and seize the Eight-Tails. If Bee led the charge, Kaito would crush the reinforcements and take the Eight-Tails directly.

But reality had other plans. After hypnotizing a high-ranking official, Kaito learned the reason for Bee's absence: On the eve of departure, Killer Bee had insisted on holding a concert, infuriating the Raikage. As punishment, Bee had been confined to a hidden location in the Land of Lightning, making it nearly impossible for outsiders to find him.

Kaito had no choice but to admit his bad luck.

Still, he quickly shook off his disappointment. Capturing the Two-Tails had been a bonus, not his primary goal. He wasn't greedy enough to seize all the Tailed Beasts at once.

"Just as well," he thought. "After a fight, a hot spring sounds perfect."

Humming a tune, Kaito strolled into the most famous hot spring shop in the Land of Hot Water.

In stark contrast to Kaito's leisure, the Fourth Raikage returned to his camp and immediately began mobilizing his forces. This time, he brought 5,000 elite shinobi—nearly half of Kumogakure's military strength. Without warning, they marched into the Land of Hot Water, heading straight for Konoha's border.

The Land of Hot Water was thrown into chaos, but its leaders dared not protest. They could only hope that Kumogakure would overpower Konoha quickly, sparing their territory from becoming a battleground.

On Konoha's side, the mobilization of Kumogakure's forces had not gone unnoticed. After intense discussions, it was decided that Tsunade would lead 3,000 troops to intercept. However, they hadn't anticipated the Fourth Raikage's reckless aggression. By the time Tsunade's forces arrived, the border defenses had already fallen, forcing Konoha to retreat three kilometers.

But Kumogakure's assault didn't stop there. With the Fourth Raikage leading the charge like a humanoid beast, Konoha's forces were pushed further back. After three days of probing, Tsunade and her team learned the reason for the Raikage's fury: Yugito, the Two-Tails Jinchūriki, had been killed, and the Two-Tails had been taken. The Raikage blamed Konoha for the loss.

Tsunade and her comrades were baffled—they had no involvement in the ambush. But explanations were futile in the face of such overwhelming force. The invasion continued unabated.

News of the conflict spread quickly throughout the ninja world. The Sand and Stone Villages began mobilizing their forces, eyeing the opportunity to claim the Land of Fire's rich resources if Konoha fell.

Back in Konoha, Sarutobi Hiruzen and his advisors were at a loss. After the recent Uchiha incident, the village had lost significant manpower. With only 1,000 troops left to defend against multiple fronts, Konoha was on the brink of collapse.

"Have you contacted Tsunade and Jiraiya?" Hiruzen asked desperately.

"Lord Jiraiya is already on the battlefield, but Tsunade... we still can't find her," a subordinate replied.

Danzo slammed his cane against the ground. "That woman is truly lawless! At a time like this, she still hasn't returned. Does she plan to betray us?"

"Danzo, watch your words!" Hiruzen snapped, his voice sharp. Tsunade's absence was a sore subject, and Danzo's accusations only made things worse.

Meanwhile, Kaito had been patiently observing the battlefield. When Jiraiya joined the fight, the tide began to turn. Even in Sage Mode, however, Jiraiya struggled to hold off both the Fourth Raikage and Killer Bee. The Eight-Tails' rampage was devastating, and Konoha's forces were being pushed to their limits.

Desperate, Hiruzen made a risky decision: he would send Naruto Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, into battle.

Kaito, watching from the shadows, smirked. This is getting interesting.