Chapter 12 He's Just Too Big

Thousands of miles away.

In the Land of Lightning, the Hidden Cloud Village, the Raikage's office.

The Fourth Raikage, a man of bronze skin and a robust physique, was doing curls with a barbell in one hand while reading a letter in the other.

Working out and working, two birds with one stone.

Unlike the Hokage's office, which was piled high with paperwork.

This spacious Raikage's office, apart from a red sofa and a coffee table, didn't even have a desk, but was filled with various gym equipment.

The Fourth Raikage preferred to leave the paperwork to his secretary, Mabui, while he spent his days working out in his office.

At this moment.

The letter he was reading was an intelligence report sent back from Konoha by the high-ranking spy, Samui, which is why he was paying special attention to it.

The content of the letter was about a guy named Uchiha Dan.

"Heh."

The Fourth Raikage, upon reading that Dan was skilled in Taijutsu, couldn't help but smirk dismissively.

He knew.

The Uchiha clan was most famous for their Sharingan, often excelling in Fire Release and Genjutsu. But when it came to Taijutsu...

The shinobi of the Hidden Cloud were the real authorities.

However.

Just as the Fourth Raikage was casually flipping through the pages, losing interest and about to toss the letter aside...

A photo slipped out from the pages and fell to the floor.

It was a back shot of Dan.

Huh?!

The Fourth Raikage's gaze fell on the photo, and the next second, his eyes widened in surprise.

Bang.

He dropped the barbell, bent down to pick up the photo, and examined it closely.

The more he looked, the more shocked he became, finding it harder and harder to believe.

How on earth did this kid train?

The Fourth Raikage furrowed his brows, his eyes unblinkingly fixed on the photo of Dan's back muscles, which resembled a devil's face, unable to comprehend.

You see.

He was born into the Yotsuki clan of the Hidden Cloud, naturally possessing a strong physique, and had been working out diligently for decades, supplemented by stimulating cell activity with Lightning Release chakra.

All these factors combined to create his current physique.

All along.

The Fourth Raikage was very confident in his physique, firmly believing that there was no second man in the entire Hidden Cloud Village, or even the entire shinobi world, who could compare to him.

Until now.

When he saw Dan's photo, he... felt inferior.

Uchiha Dan, he's just too big.

The Fourth Raikage stood at 198cm, 3cm taller than Dan, but he only weighed 100kg.

While Dan's weight was 150kg.

There was a whole 50kg difference between them.

Especially the back.

The back muscles are the most numerous and the hardest to train in the human body, as any expert would know.

Looking at Dan's imposing and magnificent back, then at his own, the Fourth Raikage realized that he had been completely outdone.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got, and finally, with a bang, he smashed the coffee table in front of him with a punch.

"Lord Raikage, what's wrong?"

Upon hearing the noise, the secretary, Mabui, from the next room, hurried over.

The dark-skinned woman, with her long white hair tied into a ponytail, was not only beautiful and elegant, but also full of wisdom and talent.

"You came at the right time."

The Fourth Raikage, clenching his fist, stood up and instructed Mabui, "Send a message to Samui, tell her to keep a close eye on Uchiha Dan. I must get that guy's detailed workout and diet plan."

He had two great passions in life.

One was working out, and the other was fighting. He didn't want to lose to anyone in either aspect.

That's it?

Samui was taken aback.

Seeing the Raikage in such a hurry, she thought there was some urgent matter. After learning the truth, she was somewhat speechless.

Who would have thought, even the Raikage could have body image issues.

"I understand, I'll contact Samui."

She nodded, but didn't leave immediately. Instead, she handed another set of organized documents to the Fourth Raikage.

"What's this?"

"According to the intelligence sent back by Samui and other spies, after the Nine-Tails incident, the conflict between the Uchiha clan and the higher-ups of Konoha has deepened to an irreparable point.

After analysis by our intelligence department, we predict:

At the earliest in half a year, at the latest in two to three years, the Uchiha clan will completely break with the higher-ups of Konoha and launch an armed coup!"

Mabui looked at him confidently, making her prediction.

The Fourth Raikage, however, shook his head, leaning back on the sofa:

"Don't underestimate the Third Hokage, that skinny old man. He wouldn't drive the Uchiha clan to a dead end."

"Why not? Didn't the prestigious Kaguya clan in the Hidden Mist also rebel due to being ostracized, and were exterminated not long ago?"

Mabui was puzzled.

The prediction made by the Cloud's intelligence department was supported by a large amount of data and examples.

The Uchiha clan, must rebel.

And when that time comes, it will be the Hidden Cloud's opportunity.

"The Uchiha are one of the two founding clans of Konoha, their foundation is not something the Kaguya clan can compare to, their strength is much greater.

If these guys with Sharingan were forced to rebel, the end result would definitely be mutual destruction with Konoha. And when that time comes, if we declare war, Konoha is done for.

Such simple logic, don't the higher-ups of Konoha understand? They're not pigs."

The Fourth Raikage calmly analyzed, still believing that Samui was too naive, thinking too simply about the Uchiha clan's problem.

With his character.

If he were Hokage, he would definitely value the Uchiha, treating them like brothers, prioritizing loyalty.

If there were someone in the Uchiha clan stronger than him, he wouldn't mind abdicating and letting an Uchiha become Hokage.

But no matter what.

He would never push the Uchiha clan into a corner, let alone order the extermination of the Uchiha. Wouldn't that be like cutting off his own arm?

"...Lord Raikage is wise."

Mabui was convinced, she thought carefully and indeed, it made sense.

The Fourth Raikage picked up Uchiha Dan's photo again, looking at it unwillingly, vowing to find a flaw in Dan's physique.

After looking for a while, he noticed the purple star-shaped birthmark on Dan's left shoulder.

"Is this a tattoo? His taste is too bad, not as good as mine."

He muttered, then looked at himself in the mirror, admiring his own shoulder tattoos, finally showing a victorious smile.

This strange competitive spirit.

Mabui saw this and couldn't help but comment internally.

She shook her head

, about to turn and leave, when the Raikage behind her suddenly called out again:

"Oh, one more thing."

"What is it?"

"Help me buy some protein powder, I'm almost out."

"... " Mabui left the Raikage's office with a look of resignation.

Back in Konoha.

Inside the gym, Dan was standing in front of the squat rack, instructing his staff member, Samui.

"You have great potential. If you do some strength training to enhance your muscle lines, your physique will be even more perfect."

These were the words Dan had said to her during her interview.

As a result, she not only became a receptionist but also a member of the bodybuilding department.

Fitness also requires talent.

Dan sometimes saw some promising individuals and was happy to guide them, such as Samui, Might Guy, and the chubby kid Choji Akimichi he met at the BBQ restaurant.

"Here, take this."

Dan handed a weightlifting belt to Samui and helped her load the barbell to its maximum, straight up to 500 kg.

Then.

He came up behind Samui, his body close to hers, his hands resting on either side of her ribcage.