There was silence inside the command tent. Everyone was stunned by Yami's idea.
Should they call him a genius… or just reckless?
Good grief, instead of fighting the enemy's main force or reinforcements, he wanted to go straight to their home base?
Was this really an attack… or was he just delivering himself to the enemy?
"Yami, are you joking?" Shikaku forced a smile. "That's like a ninja from another village saying it's impossible to invade Konoha."
Impressive, setting up a flag decades in advance.
Yami gave Shikaku a thumbs-up in his heart, but asked aloud, "Do you really think I'm joking?"
"With so many of their forces withdrawn to the front lines, the defense in Kumo's home village must be extremely thin. If I go alone, there's no way anyone there can stop me."
"Let me think about it…"
Shikaku sat down, his mind spinning rapidly as he calculated the possibilities.
After running the numbers, his eyes lit up.
There really was a way.
Just as Yami said, with thousands of shinobi deployed at the front, plus others on outside missions, Kumo's village defense would undoubtedly be at its weakest.
They had simply never considered such a move before… because they had never had a speedster like this.
Now, with Yami's Flying Thunder God Technique mastery, there was no concern about whether he could retreat safely.
As for firepower, with Scorch Release, even if Yami did not kill anyone directly, just destroying infrastructure and important facilities would cause massive damage.
This was also why Namikaze Minato had never attempted such a thing. Despite his strength, his chakra reserves were still on the lower side compared to others at his level, and he lacked large-scale destructive jutsu.
"Yami, are you certain you want to do this?" Shikaku asked seriously. "If you go to Kumo alone, we won't be able to provide backup. You'll be completely on your own."
"No problem, Shikaku."
Jiraiya was taken aback. "You really agree with this crazy plan?"
"Master Jiraiya, here's the thing…"
Shikaku calmly laid out the scenarios he had analyzed. As everyone listened, they slowly began to understand his reasoning. Finally, all eyes turned to the boy, waiting for his final decision.
"Since I'm the one who proposed it, of course I'm willing to go."
Yami's tone was natural, as if it were obvious. "I'll kill a few Kumo bloodline limit users and come back after I've gotten my revenge."
"Alright then."
Shikaku was also a decisive person. Since Yami had made up his mind, there was no need to keep debating.
"Kumo's intel likely made it back last night. Factoring in the time to reorganize and gather supplies, they'll probably dispatch more forces from the village within two days."
"To be safe, you should launch your attack on the third day. That way, even if they want to send reinforcements, they won't make it in time."
Shikaku then handed Yami a detailed map of the Land of Lightning along with some important notes.
"I got it."
It felt great to have a brilliant strategist thinking everything through. All Yami had to do was carry it out.
It was just a pity… the women of the Nara clan were generally not very attractive. Otherwise, he might have been tempted to bring one home.
"I'll go with you," Hizashi suddenly stood up.
Ever since the incident where Hizashi had been prepared to sacrifice himself to save Hiashi, he had always felt the need to prove his worth.
"Hizashi-sensei…"
Yami rolled his eyes. "If you come with me, I'll have to teleport you away too. Are you helping, or just causing me trouble?"
"You may have the Byakugan, but I've got perception ninjutsu. I really don't need the extra burden."
"Hizashi!"
Hiashi grabbed his younger brother and scolded him, "Don't make trouble for Yami-kun. You wouldn't be able to help."
Hizashi sat down, disappointed.
Yami turned back to Shikaku. "Uncle Shikaku, did you recover all my Flying Thunder God kunai? I need to reseal them."
"All retrieved and sealed."
Jiraiya handed Yami a scroll. "Kid, don't overdo it. Get your results and get out of there."
"I know my limits."
Without further delay, Yami took the scroll and quietly left camp. He didn't even tell Yugao or Kurenai to avoid making them worry. It would be better to tell them once he returned safely.
After leaving the camp, Yami circled around the battlefield and passed through the neighboring Iron Country to enter the Land of Lightning.
Along the way, he left Flying Thunder God marks at intervals for an easy escape route if necessary.
While Yami was traveling, news of his Flying Thunder God mastery had already spread throughout the entire ninja world.
Iwagakure.
Ōnoki had been keeping a close eye on the conflict between Konoha and Kumo, ready to make a move whenever either side showed weakness. Whether it was Konoha or Kumo, he had no problem taking a bite out of whichever one looked vulnerable.
Through multiple intel channels, the report from the latest battle was finally placed on his desk.
But Ōnoki couldn't smile after reading it.
Flying Thunder God.
The Fourth Raikage had spent years living under the shadow of Namikaze Minato… and now, another Flying Thunder God user had appeared.
Back during the Battle of Kannabi Bridge, Minato had almost single-handedly turned the tide for Konoha, forcing Iwa to issue standing orders to retreat at the mere sight of the Yellow Flash.
How long had it been since Minato's death?
Now, Konoha had another speedster—Shimura Yami.
"Useless!"
Ōnoki slammed the report onto the table, furious.
"A bunch of useless idiots! After all this time, not only did no one assassinate Shimura, but they didn't even discover he had mastered Flying Thunder God! Sand shinobi are completely worthless!"
"Tsuchikage-sama, are we going to launch a surprise attack on Kumo?" Kitsuchi asked in his deep voice.
"Of course!" Ōnoki declared. "Konoha is our ally. Kumo's aggression toward Konoha is the same as aggression toward Iwa."
"Raikage's arrogance is inherited through every generation. After suffering such a defeat, the Fourth Raikage will definitely want revenge."
"This time, I will personally lead three thousand Iwa shinobi to strike at the heart of Kumo!"
"Prepare the warships!"
"Yes!"
Ōnoki twisted his back again, grimacing as he sat back down.
There was no helping it. He had assumed Konoha would slowly decline, but their foundation was far deeper than he expected. In the end, bullying Kumo was the only realistic option.
One way or another, the Land of Earth was going to profit from this war.
Not far from the Tsuchikage's office, a young Kurotsuchi was sharing the news with a blond boy playing in the mud.
"Grandpa's really angry. Konoha has a new Flying Thunder God user. Super strong."
"Flying Thunder God isn't impressive at all," the little blond boy sneered, sculpting mud figures. "Spinning around a few kunai like a fool. No artistry."
"But… Brother Deidara, your art wouldn't be able to blow him up," Kurotsuchi replied softly.
"Who said that?!"
Deidara leapt up, furious. "My art is the strongest!"
"But Flying Thunder God users are fast."
"Then I'll make a super huge bomb! There's no way he could escape it!"
Amegakure.
In a cave beneath the village, the masked man had just finished a conversation with Hanzo. He turned toward the figure rising from the ground—Black Zetsu.
"What's so urgent?"
"Shimura Yami has mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique. The brat you dismissed is now quite formidable."
Black Zetsu relayed all the intel gathered by White Zetsu's network.
The masked man fell silent, his back aching faintly at the memory.
"Flying Thunder God again…" the masked man muttered, recalling a bitter defeat. But his expression quickly shifted back to one of disdain.
"So what if he has Flying Thunder God?"
"Last time, I was caught off guard by the Fourth Hokage. But this time?"
"That kid Shimura can only bully chūnin and jōnin with that technique."
"I might make a hundred mistakes and survive. But if he makes even one mistake, he's dead."
Black Zetsu quietly sighed, but said nothing. Honestly, if the masked man hadn't awakened that ridiculous eye technique, Black Zetsu wouldn't even think he was qualified to carry Yami's shoes.
"Forget about such small matters."
The masked man's tone became serious again. "The Rinnegan is the real priority. Tell Hanzo to act against the Akatsuki organization immediately."
"You go and disguise yourself as a member of Akatsuki. Kill some of Hanzo's men and frame Akatsuki for it. I want Hanzo to give up on this peace nonsense."
"I understand."
Black Zetsu slowly sank back into the ground to carry out the plan.
Konoha. Hokage's Office.
Hiruzen had been staring at the battle report for half an hour. His pipe's tobacco had long since burned out, but he didn't even notice.
The results of the battle were extraordinary, with only a few dozen casualties, they had killed nearly five hundred Kumo shinobi.
As Hokage, he should have been pleased.
But…
Yami was shining too brightly.
So bright that no one could compare to him—not even Jiraiya.
This was a dangerous signal.
If Yami continued down this path, he would become too powerful to control.
From the beginning, Hiruzen had never considered Yami as a successor for Hokage.
He trusted Danzō and Yami to some extent, but their personalities were too radical. Putting Konoha in their hands could lead the village down a dark and dangerous road.
His efforts to influence Yami were always about softening Root's future leadership… not about making him Hokage.
But now, the situation was clearly slipping out of his grasp.
Hiruzen reread Shikaku's report carefully. His eyes lingered on one section.
"…Anbu. That might be the solution."
If Yami joined Anbu, it would hide his identity and limit his exposure. His reputation would stop growing, the heat around his name would die down, and Hiruzen could slowly cultivate a more suitable candidate.
Of course, Danzō would see through this immediately. So Hiruzen would need to keep Danzō distracted.
He smiled faintly.
"Uchiha…"
Their passive attitude throughout the war had already irritated him. But Hiruzen kept his displeasure hidden.
"Letting Danzō keep Uchiha in check… that might work out well for the village."
A plan was already forming in his mind.
The Land of Lightning.
Yami passed through Cloud Thunder Gorge, following the route Shikaku had mapped for him while carefully controlling his speed.
On the third day, he finally arrived at Kumo's village.
He casually knocked out a patrolling Kumo shinobi and, with a simple genjutsu, quickly extracted the intel he needed.
Just as Shikaku had predicted, the atmosphere in the village was tense. There were very few shinobi left.
Just yesterday, under the command of elite jōnin Yurui, another thousand Kumo shinobi had left for the front lines.
The highest-ranking person remaining in the village was Killer Bee, the Eight Tails jinchūriki.
Killer Bee, huh?
A perfect jinchūriki was troublesome.
But that was all.
Everyone knew that when the Sage of Six Paths divided the chakra of the God Tree into the nine tailed beasts, the Nine Tails received the greatest share. One stone's worth of chakra—and the Nine Tails held eight.
The Eight Tails was indeed the strongest among the other beasts, but only slightly above those like the One Tail or the Five Tails.
Its power remained within the range of standard Kage-level.
For Yami, this was an opponent he could handle.
Yami snapped the neck of the patrol ninja without hesitation, then walked casually into Kumo.
The entire village was built on a massive mountain peak that rose high into the clouds, hence the name.
Countless tall boulders jutted upward, lifting the village high above the ground. The higher your status, the higher your residence.
The most eye-catching structure was the spherical Raikage Building, easily visible from anywhere in the village.
Unfortunately for the common folk living at the base, they spent most of their day shrouded in shadow, unable to see much sunlight.
"Hey, kid. Where did you steal that forehead protector?"
A Kumo chunin frowned as he noticed the protector on Yami's waist. But the moment Yami turned around and the protector's engraving became visible, his expression changed drastically.
"Wait… you're from Konoha! Sound the alarm! There's a Konoha spy!"
Hearing the shout, several nearby shinobi immediately turned their heads and began rushing toward Yami's direction.
But before they could react any further, Yami smiled lightly and spoke with a calm tone, "Since you were able to see through my perfect disguise, I, Shimura Yami, acknowledge your sharpness."
The Kumo shinobi froze for a moment.
"…Were you even disguised at all?"
They hadn't noticed anything resembling a disguise. It was as if he had just walked straight in with no effort to hide.
But while they were still stunned by his words, Yami had already moved.
With a simple push from his feet, he leapt high into the air, his hands forming seals at incredible speed.
Then came the cold words:
"Well then… let me greet you all properly."
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
(To be continued.)