Chapter 699 : Shocking the World!

Within the span of a few hours, all the leaders of various hidden villages received messages from Kumogakure. No matter who it was, every single one was shocked.

In Kirigakure, Mangetsu read the scroll and muttered in disbelief, "Impossible!"

He immediately got up and went to inform the Fourth Mizukage.

In the rebel camp, Mei had a similar stunned reaction. However, a smile immediately appeared on her face as she muttered, "Interesting. To think that someone would humiliate Kumogakure. However, why wasn't the Raikage in the village?"

In Sunagakure, Rasa read the report with a solemn expression. He had the same doubt as Mei when a certain memory surfaced in his mind. He thought, 'Irrespective of why the Raikage and the Jinchurikis weren't in Kumogakure, this event will destabilize Kumogakure. Even though the means are different, the end result will be similar to how my position became unstable a few years ago. Was Konoha behind this as well?'

He quickly analyzed before concluding, 'This is undoubtedly Konoha's work! Lightning masters are rare outside Kumogakure. The only famous one is Hatake Kakashi. If I assume that Suzuki Fujin destabilizing the Land of Wind was some sort of test, then this could be a test for Hatake Kakashi. Unfortunately for Konoha, they've picked the worst time to do this…'

A glint appeared in Rasa's eyes as he had an idea. He decided, 'Orochimaru hasn't given me any response on how to deal with the rank S ninjas in Konoha. However, if we can ally with Kumogakure as well, then we won't have much difficulty in crushing Konoha. I need to act quickly!'

In Iwagakure, Onoki read the two reports. Kitsuchi was with him as well. A serious expression appeared on their faces. Kitsuchi muttered, "Strange… This is very strange! An entire base suddenly became empty and for some reason, Kumogakure decided to send a whole army. This should mean that they were already aware of what caused that base to be emptied and the threat was large enough to dispatch an army.

Yet, the army fell into a trap despite having a Grandmaster. While returning, they ran into this Akuro fellow and he not only fought them but also went to Kumogakure and humiliated them to this degree. Have you heard of this guy?"

Onoki shook his head and replied, "No. However, he must be very formidable. Taking on an entire army led by Darui and a near-perfect Jinchuriki is extremely difficult. Very few ninjas can accomplish this. However…"

A smirk appeared on Onoki's face. He said, "There is no doubt that he must have great hatred for Kumogakure. This is good news. That brat Ay was too arrogant. This should tamper him down considerably. Pay attention to news coming from Kumogakure. We'll get some interesting news."

Unlike the major villages, the minor villages were in a panic. If Kumogakure, despite all its military might, couldn't deal with Akuro and were humiliated to such an extent, what could they do? Akuro immediately became the most feared ninja among the leaders of the minor villages, even exceeding the Spectral Swordsman!

They could bear losing some of their ninjas, but being humiliated to such a degree would be a very big slap on their faces. None of them wanted to experience what Ay had to. The leaders immediately decided to order all their ninjas to stay clear of him after Kumogakure put his appearance in the Bingo book.

In Konoha, Hiruzen muttered in disbelief, "What in the hell?"

He continued reading the scrolls. His eyes suddenly widened and he thought, 'A Lightning jutsu of this caliber? This is similar to the attack on Root Headquarters! Could it be the same guy? However, why is he in Kumogakure? No…'

Hiruzen glanced at his Anbu Guards and ordered, "Bring Shikaku and Fujin here."

A couple of guards disappeared from the room. Hiruzen analyzed, 'No, the first question is, why did he attack Root? And why did he stop attacking after the Root disbanded? Why did he now change his target to Kumogakure? Was it just because they interrupted his meal or did he have some other goal?'

Hiruzen thought for a while before concluding, 'If it was just because they interrupted his meal, then it could explain some things. Perhaps some Root ninjas ran into him and annoyed him, leading him to take such drastic measures. However, this is still too strange. Why would anyone go to this extent to humiliate others for such a small issue? Something about this guy is off.'

With his decades of experience and sharp instincts, Hiruzen immediately realized that something was odd about Akuro. However, he couldn't put his finger on what it was. After thinking for a minute, he gave up.

He glanced at the scroll again and thought, 'Anyway, Fujin's ability to set up traps is quite ridiculous. To think 67 experienced ninjas died to just the traps he set in one base! Then again…'

Hiruzen let out a chuckle, recalling Fujin's house. He thought, 'I guess I shouldn't be surprised considering what he has done with his house. In future Great Wars, we could use this ability of his to slow down all invading forces. After a few successful traps, all enemy forces will have to move very carefully even if they don't find any traps.'

Several ideas appeared in Hiruzen's mind to properly utilize this ability of Fujin to a devastating effect. As he was thinking, Shikaku and Fujin entered his office. He glanced at his guards, who immediately cleared the room and activated the seals.

Shikaku asked in an exhausted voice, "What is it this time?"

Hiruzen pushed the scrolls forward and said, "See for yourselves."

Shikaku opened the scroll and he and Fujin began reading. Surprise appeared on both their faces as they went through both scrolls. Shikaku sighed and muttered, "Another troublesome fellow."

As for Fujin, a slight smirk appeared on his lips. Hiruzen had been paying close attention to Fujin's reaction. He asked, "Did you find anything odd, Fujin?"

Fujin just chuckled and replied, "Not really. I just can't help but feel sorry for them. At any other time, the Raikage might have been in the village and fought off this Akuro fellow. Unfortunately, they ran into him right when we targeted them."

Shikaku added, "They're indeed unlucky. The timing couldn't be more off. Regardless, I now see why the Raikage and Killer Bee were rushing back at such speeds even after they disbanded their bases. Still…"

Shikaku's expression became very serious and so did Fujin's. As if reading Shikaku's mind, Fujin said, "That Lightning jutsu is suspicious, isn't it? It brings back the memories of that attack on Root."

Shikaku nodded and added, "Yes. There aren't many who can use a Lightning jutsu of that scale. I don't see Kumo sending Killer Bee inside our village to target the Root. So, it was most likely this guy. Especially if we consider how easily he snuck into and took control of the Raikage Building."

He sighed again and muttered in annoyance, "What did Elder Danzo do to step on the toes of such a troublesome fellow? It's a good thing that we disbanded Root or we may have suffered quite a bit."

Fujin nodded in agreement. He looked at Hiruzen and asked, "Grandpa, did you find out anything about this guy from Elder Danzo? Surely he must have tried to do an independent investigation and figured out some details regarding the attacker and how the Root offended him, right?"

There wasn't a hint of doubt or shame in Fujin's voice. Even experienced and intelligent people like Shikaku and Hiruzen didn't find anything wrong with the way he said it. Hiruzen could only shake his head and answer, "No. He always claimed ignorance related to that matter. That said, if this guy is as peculiar as these reports suggest, then it could be something very petty. So, it's not a surprise that Danzo doesn't know about it."

Neither Shikaku nor Fujin found anything wrong with Hiruzen's line of thinking. Hiruzen asked, "Fujin, did you find anyone suspicious while traveling through the Land of Lightning?"

Fujin replied, "Not really. However, from the information in this report, he was very close to the route I had taken. If I had gone on foot instead of flying, I might have run into him. A shame… We may have got some details about what exactly happened on that day."

Shikaku immediately replied, "What shame? Considering his performance, killing him would be very difficult. Even if you had fought and defeated him, you'd have attracted a lot of trouble for Konoha if you failed to kill him. At this time, it could have put us in a tough spot.

So, it was undoubtedly a good thing that you didn't run into him. Lord Hokage, I propose that we avoid offending this guy, at least until we have more information on him. Even though he may have killed a few of our ninjas, we don't know for sure whether it was Akuro.

Even if it was Akuro, the losses we will suffer to deal with him aren't worth taking his head. It'll be better if we let Kumogakure be occupied in trying to hunt him down. If we're lucky, some other villages might offend him as well."

[A/N: Wrote the next chapter a bit as well. Should be able to finish it today in probably around 6 hours.]

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