106: Kumogakure's Desperate Gamble

A fierce wind, carrying electric light, slammed into the gates of the Sunagakure camp like a war hammer descending from the sky.

The roaring of Lightning Release Chakra drowned out the howling of the wind and sand.

Ay's figure appeared like a ghost before Maki's tent; behind him, Killer Bee, carrying seven swords, yawned lazily, humming a strange, out-of-tune rap.

"Maki!"

Ay's voice, devoid of any politeness, made the tent's entire frame hum.

He stepped inside, his imposing physique almost completely blocking the entrance, dimming the light within the tent.

The air seemed to be sucked out, making it suffocating.

"Sunagakure weasels, is your 'fierce battle' just a symbolic release of a few Water Release Ninjutsu into the sky?" Ay's gaze, like a knife, cut across Maki's calm face.

Maki slowly stood up, a perfectly timed expression of weariness and helplessness on his face. "Lord Raikage-to-be, we have done our best. Konoha's defenses are stronger than we anticipated."

"Done your best?" Ay snorted coldly, glancing around at the few tense Sunagakure Jonin inside the tent. "I only see unharmed commanders and a bunch of groaning, useless individuals lying on the ground outside! Where's your casualty report? Show it to me, let me see how many people died that prevented you from even touching Kikyo Mountain!"

Maki lowered his eyes, his voice hoarse.

"Our comrades shed their last drop of blood for this battle."

"Nonsense!" Ay's patience finally ran out, and violent Lightning Release Chakra overflowed from his body, emitting crackling electrical arcs that burned several charred holes in the carpet beneath his feet. "I'm giving you one last chance: launch a full-scale assault before dawn tomorrow! Otherwise, I'll clear you, this group of third-rate actors, from the battlefield first!"

"Yo, Big Bro, calm down, don't get mad at the sand, yo!" Killer Bee poked his head in the doorway, making a rap gesture. "Acting also requires perseverance, otherwise you'll be disliked, Check it out!"

A vein throbbed on Ay's forehead as he turned back and roared, "Bee! Shut up!"

The air inside the tent solidified to an extreme, and several Sunagakure Jonin already had their hands on their weapons, but Maki's gaze stopped them dead in their tracks.

Just then, an even faster flash of lightning appeared.

A Kumogakure scout Ninja knelt on one knee behind Ay, his voice so urgent it was distorted.

"Lord Ay! This is bad!"

"Hidden Mist... Hidden Mist has fled!"

Ay spun around abruptly, the fury in his eyes instantly replaced by astonishment.

"What did you say?"

"The Hidden Mist Village camp... it's deserted!" The scout Ninja presented a half-burnt scroll with both hands. "We only found this in their main tent!"

Ay snatched the scroll.

On it, a horrifying attack route was outlined in messy handwriting.

The direction of the arrow was not Konoha.

It was Kumogakure's flank.

A precise backstab!

"Yagura... you damn brat!"

Crack!

The scroll turned to ashes in Ay's hand.

That all-destroying rage found a new, more deserving outlet for its release.

He didn't even glance at Maki again, as if these Sunagakure "actors" had become an insignificant backdrop.

"Bee! Let's go!"

Ay turned, transforming into a blue bolt of lightning, and instantly vanished into the wind and sand.

"Go catch those treacherous bugs!"

Inside the tent, there was dead silence.

After a long moment, the scar-faced Jonin tremblingly spoke, "Lord Maki... we..."

Maki sat back down, picked up the long-cold tea, and took a small sip.

The weary expression on his face disappeared, replaced by an unfathomable indifference.

"Prepare to retreat, according to the original plan."

...

On the eastern border of the Land of Fire, the pervasive dense fog was being violently torn apart.

Blue electric light savagely cut through the grayish mist, revealing hideous gaps.

"Stop! You traitors!"

The Kumogakure Ninja, like tigers descending from a mountain, unreasoningly charged into the Hidden Mist's retreating formation.

No warnings, no negotiations, only furious Lightning Release Ninjutsu.

"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"

"Water Release: Water Wall!"

Boom!

Lightning and water collided violently, generating large amounts of scorching steam that instantly engulfed dozens of Ninja; screams evaporated along with the steam.

The retreating Hidden Mist Ninja were caught off guard, and their formation instantly fell into disarray.

"Engage the enemy! Protect Lord Mizukage!" Ao pulled out his short sword and roared, his Byakugan already activated in one eye socket, locking onto the several Kumogakure Jonin charging at the front.

However, the individual strength and ferocity of the Kumogakure Ninja still exceeded their expectations.

A Kumogakure Jonin, enveloped in lightning, was like a humanoid beast; he endured two Water Release Ninjutsu, letting the water bullets explode on him, only pausing for a moment before punching a Hidden Mist Chunin's chest, causing it to cave in.

"With just this much skill, you dare to betray us?" He sneered, spitting out a mouthful of bloody saliva, and pushing off the ground, prepared to charge at the next target.

"You're next, Byakugan user!"

Just then, a heart-stopping Chakra pressure descended from the sky.

The sneering Kumogakure Jonin's movements froze, his body as if pressed down by an invisible giant mountain, unable to move.

Not just him, all the Kumogakure Ninja fighting on the entire battlefield felt that bone-chilling cold, as if their souls were frozen.

A voice, calm, resounded in everyone's ears.

"This is far enough, Kumogakure mad dogs."

A clear, childish voice rang out distinctly on the chaotic battlefield.

The sounds of fighting, the explosions of Ninjutsu, the screams of the dying, seemed to be instantly choked by an invisible hand.

Everyone instinctively looked up.

They saw a giant water sphere appear out of thin air, instantly engulfing the arrogant Kumogakure Jonin who had just shattered the Hidden Mist Chunin's chest with a single punch.

There was no room for resistance, not even time to react.

Inside the water sphere, the Jonin's limbs twisted, his face filled with the pain of suffocation, yet he couldn't make a sound.

Three enormous tails, composed of pure Chakra, appeared faintly within the water sphere, exuding a terrifying pressure that struck fear into the heart.

The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, had appeared atop the water sphere at some unknown point.

His small stature, at this moment, was like a mountain, looking down upon the entire battlefield from above.

His youthful face was as cold as ten-thousand-year-old ice.

"Ay, come out and face me."

Before his words faded, a bolt of lightning, more violent than any before, descended from the sky, tearing through the dense fog!

Boom!

The ground cracked in response, spiderweb-like fissures spreading out.

Ay's figure landed heavily before Yagura; the violent airflow lifted a layer of earth beneath his feet, dispersing the fog within a hundred-meter radius.

"Yagura!" Ay's teeth ground together, the veins bulging on his neck like coiling dragons. "You'd better give me an explanation!"

Behind him, Killer Bee also landed leisurely, arms crossed, observing the small figure standing on the water sphere with interest, already humming an improvised rap.

"Yo, Big Bro got played, about to explode! Little Mizukage had a plan, we became big fools, Check it out!"

"Bee!" Ay roared without turning his head, "Shut up!"

Yagura's gaze swept across Ay's face, contorted with rage, finally resting on Killer Bee behind him.

"Between Jinchuriki, there's no need for idle talk."

He extended his youthful hand, pointing distantly towards Konoha.

"This alliance breaking apart, from the very beginning, was caused by you, Ay. You ambushed your ally, Iwagakure, causing the four Ninja nations to be wary of each other."

"Our Hidden Mist Ninja are not here to be your stepping stones."

The sound of bones dislocating came from Ay's fist, and the Lightning Release Armor around him crackled with electricity, emitting a piercing shriek.

"So, you're planning to stab us in the back? How do you explain that map of attacking our flank?!"

"Just a gift."

On Yagura's youthful face, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, revealing an innocent smile.

But this smile sent a chill up the spine of everyone who saw it.

"A gift to ensure you won't chase us like mad dogs. A gift... to help you find new bones to gnaw on."

He paused, his tone suddenly turning cold.

"Our war is with Konoha. But that is our Hidden Mist and Konoha's war. We have no interest in venturing deep into the Land of Fire to play this foolish gamble with you."

The water sphere beneath Yagura's feet began to churn violently, the Chakra fluctuations of Isobu the Three-Tails growing stronger, as if an ancient beast was about to awaken.

"However, our border offensive and defensive actions will not stop. Konoha is still our enemy."

"Now, answer me, Ay."

Yagura's childish voice carried an undeniable authority.

"Are you going to fight me, the Hidden Mist Village, and Isobu the Three-Tails... here?"

Ay stared intently at Yagura, sanity and impulse clashing in a final struggle within his furious eyes.

To start a war here, with a Jinchuriki who could perfectly control a Tailed Beast?

In his most favorable aquatic environment?

To exhaust his most elite forces for an already betrayed ally?

While the true enemy, Konoha, watched from the sidelines, waiting to reap the benefits.

No matter how he calculated it, this was a massive loss.

After a long silence, the crackling lightning around Ay slowly receded.

He almost ground out the decision, word by word, through clenched teeth.

"Get out."

"Take your Hidden Mist and disappear from my sight."

"Next time we meet, I won't give you a chance to speak."

Yagura's smile remained unchanged, as if he had already anticipated this outcome.

He waved his hand lightly, and the giant water sphere dissipated with a "bang," the trapped Kumogakure Jonin falling to the ground in a disheveled heap, gasping for air like a fish out of water, his eyes filled with the terror of having narrowly escaped death.

"Go."

Yagura turned, his small figure leading the entire Hidden Mist force back into the dense fog.

Ao quickly followed, looking at Yagura's back, his eyes filled with fervent awe.

With his own strength, without shedding a drop of blood, he forced back the enraged future Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki.

This was their Mizukage! This was how Hidden Mist should be!

At the edge of the dense fog, Yagura's steps suddenly stopped. He turned back, looking in the direction where the Kumogakure forces had departed.

Deep within his pure purple pupils, an unnoticed crimson flash flickered, and three dark tomoe slowly rotated.

"Konoha..."

He murmured to himself in a voice only he could hear.

"The real show is yet to come."