Chapter 36- Mito vs Raikage

Raikage POV

"What do you mean you don't know?" He bellowed, slamming his fist onto the table and shattering it to pieces.

His subordinates flinched back but he was so damn angry that their reactions meant nothing to him.

He was angry that they lost to Konoha in such a brutal manner. He was angry at having been forced to retreat with their tails tucked between their legs. He was angry at the lack of spine among his subordinates. He was angry at his own failure for failing to kill the damned Toad Sage. And finally, he was angry that Yugito Nii, the Jinchuriki of the Two tails and one of Kumo two main weapons was either dead or captured. And he didn't even know which.

"Find out what happened to her at all any cost. Until then, don't dare come back!" He ordered and his subordinates quickly shuffled out of the room until only him and his brother were left.

Only then did he recline in his chair, allowing a semblance of relaxation to wash over him. Yet, beneath the surface, the flames of anger still raged, fuelled by the humiliating defeat they had endured at the hands of Konoha.

He had believed that the joint strength of himself and Bee, bolstered by their superior numbers, would easily overcome any of Konoha's leaders. And then they would deal with those uppity Uchiha bastards who had been slaughtering his shinobi since the start of this war.

However, Jiraiya thwarted his advance, his strength highly enhanced by the presence of two small toads perched on his shoulders. Meanwhile, Bee found himself continuously pushed back by the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki of Konoha.

In the end, neither him nor Bee had been able to support their forces, leading to those Uchiha tearing their way through Kumo's army. Only Yugito had been there to help, and now she was missing.

The more pragmatic part of him almost wished that she was dead. At least then, they wouldn't have to negotiate her return from Konoha. Something that would undoubtedly undoubtedly be extremely expensive for Kumo. Both in terms of money and prestige.

But if she was alive, then what?

Would Konoha even return her? They had definitely not returned Kiri's Three tails back to them. Citing that Kiri were the ones who put it within one of their shinobi in the first place.

Peh! As if there was anyone stupid enough to believe that story.

He shifted uncomfortable in the chair, a twinge of pain shooting through his back. Courtesy of a sneak attack from Jiraiya when he had panicked over the fact that Konoha's forces had infiltrated their back camp and slaughtered their medics.

And wasn't that one of the worst part about this entire situation.

Not only had he lost over 3000 shinobi during the battle. But he had lost many more over the next few days as they didn't have any medics to heal their wounds. And many others whose bodies could've been healed were now crippled.

Sure, Kumo's medics were nowhere near as good as Tsunade Senju and her personally trained subordinates. Nevertheless, they were competent in their duties.

And now they were all dead. All because he wanted to kill a brat on some stupid rumours.

Even now, they weren't sure if the rumours were accurate. And here he was. Pissing away the lives of his shinobi as if they meant nothing.

What a shitty leader he'd turned out to be.

If his father were alive, he would face certain execution for his gross incompetence.

"Yo, in this war, futile, bro,

Just for a single boy, we saw,

Losing many kin, the toll does grow,

Retreat while we can, for Kumo's best,

let it be so!" His brother suddenly spoke up, rhyming in that infuriating manner of his. But his words weren't any different from what he'd been thinking either.

He remained silent, unwilling to talk with his brother right now, lest he lose what remaining temper he has.

His brother didn't deserve the anger for his own failures.

At that instant, the tent flap swung open, and a weary messenger stumbled in, clutching a scroll. And before he could chastise the guy for interrupting his rest, the messenger spoke up. "Raikage-sama. Report from the Konoha-Iwa battle."

"Give it here!" he demanded, seizing the scroll from the messenger's grasp. With a swift motion, he unfurled it and scanned its contents.

In an instant, a mixture of fury and despair flooded through him as he comprehended the dire situation unfolding on the other battlefield.

He tore the Scroll to pieces before glaring at the messenger. "Out!"

The messenger fled in terror, and he once again chastised himself for having so little control over his anger.

Under ordinary circumstances, this might not have been an issue. However, with the war spiralling out of control and their forces suffering significant losses, he recognised the urgent need to maintain composure. He had to be a steadfast beacon of support for his people.

Not this emotional mess he'd turned into.

"Yo, what was in that scroll, big bro?" His brother asked and for a moment, he contemplated ignoring Bee once again.

But whether he likes it or not, Bee was one of the main pillars of Kumo, his loyal subordinate and a valuable advisor, if you can look past his shitty rhymes.

Most of all, Bee was his brother. And perhaps the only one in Kumo who still had his back after his most recent failures.

"Report from Iwa. They lost their battle as well. Though not nearly as badly as us." He said.

"Had they Uchiha's fire to excel?

How did they fall, what tale to tell?

With Onoki's might, and two Jinchuriki's swell,

Yet still, they faltered, a shadowy spell." Bee rhymed back again, to his great irritation. But he understood the gist of it regardless.

(AN: Sorry, I'm shit at writing rhymes.)

"No, there were no Uchiha present on that battlefield. And Konoha's forces were outnumbered by those of Iwa," he replied with a grunt. "But they did have the Fourth Hokage, the Third Hokage, the Snake Sannin, Slug Sannin, and Ringo Ameyuri."

"Two S-class alone, against 5000 they bemoan-"

"Ah, stop your blasted rhyming already. I'll explain damn it!" He snapped. "The battle was going decently for the most part. But then a group of shinobi snuck in behind Iwa's lines as well. And slaughtered all their medics and injured shinobi. Things started going downhill from there. Iwa's lines faltered. And at the end of the day, Iwa lost over twice as many shinobi as Konoha. Not as bad as us. But not good either."

Despite their alliance, a part of him couldn't help but feel a sense of relief at Iwa's defeat. It didn't erase the shame of their own loss, but it provided him with a semblance of justification to present to his people.

If Onoki, with his decades of experience, could suffer such a defeat, then what chance did he have, when he hadn't been the Raikage for even a decade.

Though he frankly doubted that any of his counsellors would care to listen to his pathetic excuses.

It was likely that once they returned back to Kumo, he would have to give up his hat as the Raikage for this great failure. Though… who would take the hat from him? He didn't know of anyone who had the strength to bear this heavy burden.

Well, Bee, perhaps. But he doubted that they would want to replace him with a Jinchuriki. And one who cannot even speak in straight sentences at that.Furthermore, he doubted Bee would even entertain the idea of replacing him. Bee was nothing if not loyal.

Not to mention that replacing a Raikage for his failures would set a very dangerous precedent.

Still…

"How did Konoha grow so strong?" He asked, more to himself than anyone else.

He'd always known that Konoha was a strong village. The strongest even. But he was pretty damn sure that Kumo was catching up to them and would eventually surpass them.

This war had thoroughly disabused him of that notion. And he was left doubting his own judgement regarding everything.

Yes, in theory, Kumo has only lost about 5000 shinobi and still had three times that number to call upon. However, a significant portion of those reserves consisted of inexperienced shinobi, barely at Genin level. Sending them against the Uchiha would be akin to sending them to the slaughterhouse.

Yes, they could still continue this war for a while longer. But in reality, they've already lost.

At that moment, the tent flap opened once again and another messenger entered.

The look of panic on his face made his heart sink. And his mind began to conjure the most dire of possibilities.

Had Konoha chosen to press forward, pursuing his retreating forces? Had Iwa sought peace, abandoning them to fend for themselves in the war? Or had one of their smaller allies defected, aligning themselves with Konoha instead?

"Raikage-sama!" The messenger said after taking a deep breath. "The Kizuna Port. It's gone!"

"The Kizuna Port? What do you mean it's gone?" He asked, more confused than anything. Did Konoha send an army to attack that port? Why? Sure it was important for trade but at the end of the day, that's all it was.

It wouldn't diminish Kumo's strength in the slightest. Moreover, Konoha wasn't renowned for openly attacking civilian settlements like this.

"They're also not known for obliterating shinobi villages overnight, as they did with Kiri," a dark part of him pondered.

"It was attacked, Raikage-sama. By two people. They sunk the port into the sea and destroyed all the ships harboured there. Lord Kura Kizuna is said to have perished in the battle against these two attackers."

Kura Kizuna. An arrogant Lord who thought that he could marry a bunch of kunoichis and raise a minor shinobi village within his own domain. As if either Kumo or the Lightning Daimyo would ever let that happen. Ultimately, that lord was slated for death, whether at his or the Daimyo's hand didn't matter. That he did this way just saved him more work. But…

"Do you know who these two attackers were?"

"No Raikage-sama. But one of them appears to be a teenage Konoha anbu sporting a crow mask. It is also reported that he had Sharingan eyes, and seems to be the one who sunk the port and burned the ships with a large scale Ninjutsu." The messenger said. "The other was and woman wearing white kimono and a henya mask to hide her face. She is reported to have used Golden chains during the battle and slaughtered the 5 Jounin serving Lord Kuro Kizuna within seconds."

Golden chains, golden chains… ah. The Uzumaki. It seems that Konoha managed to rescue more of those Fuinjutsu masters than Kumo had initially assumed. Especially if they had one of such calibre under their sleeves.

"Just the two of them? Or do they have an army following in their wake?" He asked, wanting to know if this was the start of a counter-invasion. He was pretty sure it wasn't, as Konoha wasn't known for launching attacks from the sea. But it doesn't hurt to ask.

"No Raikage-sama."

"In that case. Send a message to Kumo immediately. Tell them to gather a hunting party composed of at least 2 Elite Jounin, 50 Jounin and 200 Chunins. Their mission: locate and eliminate these two assailants before they have a chance to flee the Land of Lightning." He said, knowing well enough that this is the most Kumo can afford to send out after all the losses they've recently suffered.

"Yes, Raikage-sama." The messenger nodded and left.

He leaned back on his chair and thought about why Konoha would attack the port. Was it just to weaken the Land of Lightning? But, attacking just a single port won't achieve much in the large scale, no matter how important that port. Or was there something here that he was missing?

Five minutes later. The messenger returned again, looking even more panicked this time. "Raikage-sama. They attacked and destroyed the Kuroshio Penitentiary."

He got up from his chair instantly. "Who? And when did this happen?"

"It was the anbu with the crow mask Raikage-sama. He was alone this time and… all the prisoners inside that prison have been freed."

His eyes narrowed at that piece of information.

So this was their target. Freeing the worst of Kumo's prisoners so that they could wreck havoc within the Land of Lightning and cause more trouble for Kumo.

After all, if Kumo is too busy with internal conflicts, then they wouldn't have the ability to continue their war was Konoha.

But if they really wanted this, then why attack the Port City? It made no sense.

"What about the Saro brothers who were tasked with guarding that location?" He asked. The Saro brothers were two powerful Jounins whose special bloodline allowed them to fight against Elite Jounins on equal footing. And even hold their own against weaker S-class shinobi if they fought together.

"They were both slain by the crow-masked anbu, Raikage-sama." The Messenger said and his lips pursed.

If this was indeed true, then this Uchiha anbu was definitely an S-class threat. One who has now invaded deep into Kumo's territory and was doing whatever he wanted.

'Though… how did this bastard go from Kizuna Port to the Kuroshio Penitentiary so swiftly.' He thought and then felt like an idiot for having such a stupid question.

It was definitely the Fourth Hokage helping them with his Hiraishin markers.

But if this really was the case. Then this meant that those shinobi could now attack any of Kumo or Land of Lightning's weak points with impunity.

His eyes widened at this realisation, but before he could utter another word, another messenger rushed into the tent.

"Raikage-sama! Emergency message from the Mitsumori Goldfields. They are under attack and are asking for immediate reinforcements!"

'Fuck.' He thought as he realised the overarching plan of those Konoha bastards. 'They want to destroy the Land of Lightning's economy and cripple the entire country.'

"Summon Secretary Mabui at once,." He ordered urgently. "And have her prepare the Heavenly Transfer Jutsu. I'll go there myself. Also, assemble all my commanders and advisors. This is an emergency."

—————

Mei Terumi POV

She stared in mild awe and fear as the golden chains swirled in front of her in a dance of death. Stabbing and slicing at any enemy shinobi that got within range.

The once-golden chains now bore a crimson hue, stained by the blood of countless foes. While it undoubtedly facilitated their mission, she couldn't shake the unease she felt toward this woman introduced to them as Vortex.

She held a strong suspicion that this woman was the same person who aided in sealing the Six Tails within Ren. However, along with the change in the mask, the woman had somehow managed to alter her scent and chakra signature, making recognition nearly impossible.

As she witnessed the death and destruction wrought by Vortex, she understood that if the two of them fought, there was no way she would win.

Where did Ren even find a monster like her?

She used Acid Release to melt down a team of shinobi that tried to attack them from behind, thinking of her and Shisui as the weak link. And then she went back to focusing on the battle in front of her, if you could even call it that.

Over the past few hours, they had destroyed multiple economic centres in the Land of Lightning. And while the first few targets were easily destroyed and provided little challenge, as more time passed, they were now facing heavier and heavier resistance with each subsequent target.

Not that it did anything to stop them. If there were more enemies between them and their target, then it simply meant that more enemies would be slaughtered by the time they're done here.

She glanced at Ren as he walked casually within the enemy lines, slaughtering enemies with such ease that one might mistakenly believe that he was just out on a stroll in the park and nothing more.

Though, unlike Vortex, Ren didn't terrify her near as much.

After all, she had always known that Ren was a monster since the first time she fought him and got owned within a minute.

And she was pretty sure that he had become even stronger since that day. And not by just a small margin either.

It seems like deciding to join him was indeed the right decision.

Given his rapid growth, he might well ascend to the rank of God of Shinobi long before reaching his teenage years, if he hadn't reached that status already.

She swiftly evaded a Fuma shuriken, poised to unleash another devastating Ninjutsu, only for the enemy to be peppered by a dozen shuriken from his blindspot.

She gave a grateful nod to Shisui, the sole member of their group whose strength lagged behind hers, with her being deemed 'merely' an Elite Jounin.

However, that evaluation of her strength had been made before Ren implanted Hashirama cells into Shisui's body. At present, she wouldn't be shocked if Shisui had already pushed the boundaries of S-class.

And that's not even mentioning Shisui's terrifying Genjutsu prowess. If the two of them fought, then she wasn't all that confident in her ability to win. A single look into Shisui's eyes and she would lose.

So… perhaps Shisui wasn't the weakest link of their group after all.

Considering that she had access to Two power bloodlines, she probably shouldn't be complaining. But seriously, what the hell is up with these Uchihas and their broken Genjutsu abilities.

"We're finished here," Vortex declared, as the remaining enemies opted to flee rather than defend the Industrial Town they were hired to safeguard.

"Indeed," Ren concurred, and with a single hand sign, the entire town was swallowed into the earth where it was crushed into scrap metal before being buried beneath a new layer of soil. Not a single trace of the town remained.

The largest Steel Producing factories in Kumo. Gone, just like that.

And this was just a minor feat compared to all the other things she'd see Ren do today.

"Let's move on." Vortex said and used her golden chains to wrap around her and Shisui's waist before Ren used Hiraishin to teleport them to their next location.

"Hm… this is a surprise." Ren muttered as they saw the opposition waiting for them outside their next target. Their target being a large bridge that connected the Land of Lightning to the Land of Hot Springs.

According to the information Ren had gathered, constructing the bridge had taken a decade and cost over Three billion Ryo. If they were to destroy it today, it would severely hamper trade between the Land of Lightning and the Land of Hot Springs for the foreseeable future.

It was undeniably the most crucial bridge for Kumo, serving as their vital link to the rest of the continent through the Land of Hot Springs.

And it appeared that Kumo had deployed an exceptionally formidable force to defend it.

"Is that the Raikage?" She asked as she squinted at the tall burly figure standing in the middle of the forces waiting near the bridge.

"Yes." Ren replied, a calculating look on his face.

"Should we skip this target?" Shisui asked.

Ren fell into silence for a brief moment as their enemies finally caught sight of them and braced themselves for combat. After a lingering pause, a grin spread across Ren's face.

"Nah. Since he put in all the effort to come here in person. It would be impolite of me not to kill him." Ren said and took a step forward before he paused and turned to face Vortex. "Unless you want to fight him yourself? Get your revenge and all that."

Vortex stared at Ren for a brief moment before she gave a nod.

"Very well." Ren said before glanced at her and Shisui. "Prepare yourself. All those enemies are Jounin, with a few being Elite Jounin. This battle might be difficult for the two of you."

She nearly choked on the information before swiftly redirecting her attention to the enemies once more. There were... approximately a hundred of them.

Seriously, had the Raikage mustered every last Jounin remaining in his army?

She nodded shakily to Ren, who smile back at her before he disappearing from his position, moving with such speed that her eyes couldn't track his movements.

In the next moment, a resounding boom echoed from the heart of the enemy forces, and she witnessed the Jounins being hurled around like ragdolls.

But unlike the other enemies they'd fought thus far, these guys didn't flinch back in fear or even hesitate for a single instant. Half of them swiftly formed a defensive formation and launched their assault, while the other half charged toward them.

As for the Raikage. Where was h- CLANG!!!

A golden chain appeared in front of her just in time to block an overhead attack from the Raikage, making her eyes go wide with fear.

The speed... while not on par with Ren's, was still leagues beyond her own.

"Your opponent is me." Vortex said in a calm, unbothered voice and before the Raikage could react, another chain wrapped around him and threw him away from them.

The Raikage was sent hurtling through the forest, obliterating numerous trees in his wake. Yet, in the blink of an eye, he regained his footing and was suddenly atop Vortex, engaging in combat against the dozen golden chains, each capable of effortlessly cleaving through a Jounin.

"Focus." she heard a voice beside her, and turned to see Shisui drawing her kunai, a grave expression etched on her features as she surveyed the approaching enemies.

"Right," she replied, taking a shaky breath before delivering a self-reprimanding slap to her cheek, steeling herself for what promised to be the most formidable battle of her life.

—————

Ren Uchiha POV

'What a waste.' He thought with a heavy sigh as he killed the last of Kumo shinobi and added him to the pile.

Unlike what was shown in the canon story, and despite the outcome of this battle, Jounin are not actually cannon fodders.

They are the backbone of a shinobi village. The best of the best. The top 5% shinobi. With coordinated teamwork, a group of Jounin is more than capable of defeating even a low-ranking S-class shinobi.

Furthermore, it requires tens of thousands of hours of rigorous training for a shinobi to attain the rank of Jounin.

In any other profession, they would have reached the pinnacle of their craft—a distinguished doctor, a masterful artist, a renowned singer, a seasoned engineer, and so forth.

And he'd killed over 50 of them in just this single battle.

He felt about as bad at the loss of so many years of hard work and knowledge as he felt about the loss of human life.

He created a few Shadow Clones to go and demolish the bridge before he shifted his attention to the two battles taking place in the distance.

The Raikage seemed to be fighting Mito on equal footing, each of their clashes shattering the terrain around them. Their movements were so swift that an ordinary shinobi would struggle to comprehend the intensity of their confrontation.

However, he understood that they weren't evenly matched. With each exchange, Mito siphoned away a portion of the Raikage's chakra, bolstering herself while diminishing his strength.

They were named the Adamantine 'Sealing' Chains for a reason. If a dying Kushina could utilise them to restrain Kurama long enough for Minato to seal him within Naruto, then he was confident that Mito could achieve even greater feats with them.

As it was, he had his suspicions that Mito was merely playing with the Raikage until she got bored enough to finish him. And wasn't that a terrifying thought.

Furthermore, it dispelled his doubts regarding Mito surpassing Tier 6, the rank of a Kage, and advancing to Tier 7, the domain of Super Kage.

This didn't surprise him very much, since both Minato Tobirama, users of Hiraishin who were only mid S-class shinobi themselves, were also classified as Tier 7. He guessed that the power to teleport around the battlefield just gave you that large of an advantage over your enemies.

But this battle proved without a shadow of doubt that Mito was a Tier 7 powerhouse, which was one of the main reasons why he wanted her to join him in this attack in the first place.

Because this means that Capturing her would give him 60 points instead of 30 points. Which made it even more disappointing that she hadn't shown much interest in joining his harem.

Nevertheless, given that both he and Mito were now immortal—him due to Everlasting Talent and her due to her pact with her Deity—he had all the time in the world to seduce her. There was no rush.

And if she's not interested at all, then that's fine as well. She might be special in this world, being one of the few kunoichis to ever reach Tier 7. But in the wider multiverse, there were plenty of waifus who would stomp her in a second.

Why would he waste more time on her when he could go after them instead?

He then directed his attention to the other battlefield where the remaining Jounins were launching an assault on a 20-feet-tall Susanoo, with both Shisui and Mei standing within the green coloured giant.

Mei used her Ninjutsu attacks every now and then in retaliation, but the Jounin group seemed to have caught onto most of her attack patterns and were able to dodge her attacks for the most part.

The Susanoo managed to eliminate a few of them, its speed surprisingly swift despite its bulky form. However, it was also under relentless attack from all directions by Jounins employing potent Jutsu to breach its defences.

And while all the damage it suffered was repaired almost instantly, he could see that Shisui was steadily running out of chakra. The same for Mei who was also on her last legs.

The only reason Shisui had managed to endure this long was due the additional chakra provided by the Hashirama cells integrated into her body. Without them, she would have exhausted her chakra reserves long ago.

He sat on the ground and watched the battle unfold. He noticed Mei giving him a desperate look and gave her a reassuring smile and a thumbs up.

With his Hiraishin ability, he could appear on her side in an instant so she wasn't really in any danger in this battle, even if she seemed to forgotten that.

Eventually, Shisui's chakra ran out, leaving both her and Mei out in the open against their enemies. But before the Kumo Jounins could take advantage of that opening, he appeared beside them and used his own Susanoo to shield them.

His Susanoo dwarfed Shisui's Suanoo by over thirty times, reaching a colossal height of over 600 feet.

The remaining Jounin took one look at his Susanoo and decided to cut their losses. Wise of them, really. But he was in no mood for mercy right now.

The battle didn't last long after that.

"We're increasing your Physical training once we return home." He told Mei and Shisui before he changed the composition of his chakra, matching it to their own, and transferred it to them until their reserves were filled to the brim.

"Thank you." Shisui said politely, looking much better now while Mei simply sighed and draped herself over him, her budding breasts pressing into his shoulders.

"Ren-chan~ You're so cruel. Helping us only at the last moment like that." Mei complained.

"Call me Ren-chan again and I'll spank you until your ass is red." He told her and Mei squawked in outrage while Shisui chuckled.

Mei was wise enough not to test him on his word, unfortunately. And with no more enemies in sight, he dispersed his Suanoo and led them to the battlefield where the Raikage was still fighting Mito. Though the Raikage's chakra reserve was in the red by this point.

"Vortex. Finish this quickly." He said. "We still have a few more targets to hit. And I would like to return home before dinner."

Mito didn't show any acknowledgement of his words, but the next instant, she appeared behind the Raikage, catching him completely off guard with her sudden use of Hiraishin.

That single moment of shock and hesitation was enough for Mito to completely cocoon him up in her chains. And he sensed as all of the Raikage's remaining chakra was soaked up by Mito, lulling him into a sleep he'll never wake up from.

Mito sealed up the Fourth Raikage's corpse within a storage scroll and then appeared beside them, making both Mei and Shisui flinch in surprise and slight fear.

"I'm done here. Do you want the body?" She asked.

"Not really. But someone in Konoha could probably learn a thing or two by studying it so I don't mind taking it off your hands. Unless you want to study it yourself?"

Mito shook her head and threw him the storage scroll. "Let's go."

He nodded and Hirashined them to their next target, the bridge connecting the Land of Lightning to the Land of Hot Water long since destroyed by his Shadow Clones.

—————

AN: That's it for this chapter. Hope you guys enjoyed reading it.

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Have a nice day.