On the battlefield in the Land of Grass...
Four-Tails, bullied by Reiji, let out a deafening roar.
He was furious!
That shameless bastard not far off had completely pushed him over the edge.
Just thinking about how his big toe might stay flattened for a long time—and could even develop paronychia—made Son Gokū seethe with rage.
"ROAR!"
In the next instant, Son Gokū gathered strength. A scorching stream of magma burst from his mouth, aimed straight at the bouncing Reiji.
"Flying Thunder God Technique!"
With a low chant, Reiji vanished and reappeared on a distant tree branch, waving cheerfully at Son Gokū.
"Over here, monkey!"
Seeing Reiji's infuriating antics, Son Gokū dropped to all fours in a fury and charged straight at him.
He was going to pound this bastard into mush.
Watching Son Gokū rush in, Reiji remained completely calm. He even closed his eyes slightly to sense the position of Ryūto's squad.
The plan was to lure the monkey close enough to Ryūto's team so they could send the intel back to Kumogakure.
With Son Gokū raging behind him, Reiji darted through the vast plains of the Land of Grass, leaping and sprinting at high speed.
Thanks to his overwhelming physical abilities and stamina, he kept a relatively safe distance from the rampaging monkey.
Not long after, Ryūto's squad, who had been scouting near the battlefield, sensed a powerful chakra signature approaching fast.
"Hide!" Ryūto barked, brows furrowed, immediately issuing the order.
The next second, a massive figure appeared on the horizon.
Ryūto shuddered in fright. Even though he wasn't a sensory-type ninja, he could instinctively feel the terrifying pressure of that chakra.
It was blistering hot and violently unstable, like a blazing sun radiating endless waves of heat.
"What is that… a Tailed Beast?" Ryūto stared wide-eyed at Son Gokū in the distance, murmuring with a pounding heart.
The rest of the team looked like they'd seen a ghost.
Wasn't this supposed to be just a skirmish between two small nations? How did a monster like that get unleashed?!
And then something even more shocking happened.
A mysterious figure wearing a straw hat and long cloak was swinging a massive club, smashing it repeatedly against the Tailed Beast's head.
The fight was brutal.
Lava surged wildly across the battlefield as Son Gokū unleashed his fury.
But his opponent didn't back down at all—appearing and disappearing at will, landing blow after devastating blow with his club, each strike making Son Gokū howl in pain.
Eyes locked on the two monsters clashing, Ryūto wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and gave the retreat order.
They had to get out of there.
Even the shockwaves from this fight could easily kill them.
"Retreat! Kohaku, take the lead; Yui, compile the intel!
We're heading back to Futago Town—get the information on the Tailed Beast out!"
With that, Ryūto and his team sprinted away without hesitation, dashing toward the Land of Waterfalls.
Back on the battlefield, just as they got far enough away, Reiji curved his lips into a faint smile mid-fight with Son Gokū.
Success!
Now, all that was left was to wait for Raikage's response.
With that thought, Reiji stopped engaging Four-Tails Son Gokū and swiftly formed a hand seal.
"We're done here, monkey!"
In the next instant, he vanished, leaving behind a dumbfounded Son Gokū, roaring in helpless fury.
...
Half a day later, as Reiji grew a bit bored, Ryūto's squad finally arrived.
Same familiar dark room, same familiar squad leader, Ryūto.
"Got more intel?"
Reiji stepped quickly into the room, his expression stern, tone serious.
Ryūto nodded firmly, pride shining in his eyes.
He placed a scroll on the table.
Reiji nodded slightly, forming hand seals at once.
"Whoosh!" In an instant, the scroll—carrying Ryūto's hopes—disappeared, teleported back to Kumogakure.
Ryūto let out a sigh of relief.
"As per protocol, this is a special intel transmission. Please remain here for one day."
Reiji spoke flatly, then pulled out a special positioning scroll from his ninja pouch and placed it on the table.
This scroll marked his identity.
If Kumogakure responded, orders would arrive here via the Heavenly Transfer Technique.
It had to be said, Kumogakure's use of the Heavenly Transfer Technique gave it a serious advantage in intel transmission.
However, because of how difficult the technique was, few field agents could use it.
Most importantly, there were only two people in the whole village capable of transporting large objects with it—
Director Tsuchibune and a deputy director whose name Reiji didn't even know.
...
Raikage Building, Kumogakure Village.
With a large bump on his head, Tsuchibune walked down the corridor with a blank, exasperated look.
Third time today!
This was the third time Raimei had knocked a huge bump on his head!
Tsuchibune couldn't help but suspect that bastard was doing it on purpose.
Seriously, who smashes heads like that unless they mean to?
But now wasn't the time to settle scores. Right now, the top priority was to deliver the scroll in his hand to Lord Raikage.
As the head of the Field Operations Division, Tsuchibune was also responsible for sorting through the incoming intel and passing it to the Intelligence Unit.
Special intelligence, of course, was an exception.
He rushed down the corridor and pushed open the door to the Raikage's office.
Inside, Lord Raikage was happily chatting away with his older brother Tsuchishige—it was obvious he was in a great mood.
"Lord Raikage, urgent intel!"
Tsuchibune didn't waste any time and strode forward to hand the scroll to the Third Raikage.
At once, the Raikage's smile vanished. He took the scroll and began to read.
The scroll detailed everything Ryūto's team had encountered—including their sighting of the Tailed Beast, and the mysterious figure who had fought it.
As he read, blue lightning flickered in the Raikage's eyes.
"Here, Tsuchishige, take a look."
He passed the scroll to his advisor, then casually asked,
"Where's Amai? Haven't seen her around lately."
Tsuchishige quickly replied, "Lord Raikage, Secretary Amai's been on medical leave. She hasn't shown up in several days."
The Raikage gave a slight nod and said nothing more.
His mind was now completely focused on the Four-Tails in the Land of Grass.
That mysterious figure fighting the Four-Tails—it was clearly the same person who had attacked the Eight-Tails jinchūriki and the Two-Tails, based on the outfit.
Looks like this guy gave up on the Two-Tails and has now set his sights on Four-Tails Son Gokū.
Good. Excellent, actually.
Getting targeted by a slippery ghost like that would definitely be a headache.
But this time, it was Ōnoki's problem.
With that thought, a bold idea suddenly sparked in the Raikage's mind.
What if he brought Kohaku no Jōhei and launched a surprise strike on the Four-Tails—could he capture Son Gokū?
Thinking it over carefully, he realized he had a lot of options.
First off, with the Heavenly Transfer Technique, he could instantly reach the battlefield—and just as quickly return to the village. His mobility far outclassed that of Iwagakure's Ōnoki.
Second, if he could trade blows with the Eight-Tails, then handling the Four-Tails—who'd had half its tails—shouldn't be a problem.
Add in the Six Paths Ninja Tool, Kohaku no Jōhei, and the odds of capturing the Four-Tails were overwhelmingly in his favor.
Plus, Tsuchishige had already mastered both the Four Symbols Seal and the Five Elements Seal. As long as they could secure the Four-Tails, sealing it would be easy.
And even if Ōnoki lost his temper and wanted to go to war, the Raikage still had options.
Sure, the village had suffered heavy losses in the last war—
But Iwagakure didn't fare any better!
They were locked in brutal conflict with Kirigakure, and their losses were even worse than ours.
Most importantly, even if it didn't come to war, he could still use the Four-Tails as leverage to extort a hefty ransom out of that big-nosed Ōnoki.
Hell yeah! Just thinking about it made him feel like he'd struck gold.
In that moment, it was as if the spirit of a bandit had possessed the Third Raikage—he couldn't sit still without pulling something off.