Using the Flying Thunder God Technique, Reiji quickly left Iwagakure and returned to Kumogakure.
Kumogakure remained as quiet and peaceful as ever. The war raging in a small, faraway country seemed to have had no impact on the village at all.
Standing atop the mountain, Reiji silently watched the village he had lived in for over a year, quietly waiting.
The fruits of a bountiful harvest beckoned in the distance. Now was the time for patience and calm.
Far away in the Land of Grass, his clone continued to monitor the movements of the Four-Tails.
As soon as the Third Raikage made a move, Reiji would act in kind.
He had long since marked the Two-Tails' Jinchūriki, Taku, with the Flying Thunder God Mark.
He also knew exactly where the elusive deputy minister of the Field Operations Department was located.
...
On the battlefield in the Land of Grass—
The Four-Tails, Son Gokū, was rampaging uncontrollably, unleashing his fearsome power.
A naturally irritable Tailed Beast, his specialty was the devastating Lava Release.
Both sides of the battle could do little more than try to avoid the raging beast.
At that moment, Hanzō of the Salamander stood atop Ibuse, confronting the Four-Tails head-on.
Despite his reputation as the Demi-God of the Ninja World, Hanzō had no interest in the Four-Tails.
To him, the beast was a burden. Even if he sealed it, he wouldn't dare bring it back to his village.
After all, the Land of Rain simply couldn't compare to the might of the Land of Earth.
The war had reached a critical juncture. With Ibuse's help, the attacking Amegakure forces had gained a significant advantage.
If they pressed their assault, Takigakure would inevitably deploy their Seven-Tails Jinchūriki to the front lines.
When that happened, Hanzō planned to ambush the Jinchūriki and capture the Seven-Tails for Amegakure.
Unfortunately, that plan was completely disrupted by the sudden arrival of the Four-Tails.
Freed from its Jinchūriki, the Four-Tails had no intention of hiding. It rampaged across the battlefield, attacking everything in sight.
Whoever it saw, it attacked!
This chaos gave Takigakure a much-needed breather.
And that was something Hanzō of the Salamander could not tolerate.
Without another word, the battle broke out.
Facing the enormous Son Gokū, Hanzō had Ibuse spray poison while he quickly formed hand seals.
The Four-Tails showed no fear of the surging, viscous poison. Beating his chest with both hands, he let molten magma surge from beneath his feet.
No monkey in history had ever been easy to handle—and neither was he.
Just then, Hanzō shouted loudly and spat out a stream of water.
"Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
In an instant, surging waves rose across the battlefield like a great ocean.
The magma clashed violently with the waves, sending up towering clouds of white steam.
The shockwaves from their battle spread in every direction.
The crashing waves, carrying immense force, slammed into the Four-Tails and knocked him over.
Water Release trumped Lava Release.
But the Four-Tails wasn't about to back down. Though his toes throbbed with pain, he continued to resist the unrelenting torrents of water.
With all four limbs on the ground, he let out a deafening roar.
The next moment, blue and purple chakra began to gather.
This guy was about to pull a cheap trick.
Watching the Tailed Beast Ball quickly form, even someone as seasoned as Hanzō felt a chill run down his spine.
The chakra packed into that thing could have fueled ten Exploding Water Colliding Waves.
Without hesitation, Hanzō pushed off with his feet.
Reading his master's intentions perfectly, Ibuse immediately dove into the water and vanished.
A Tailed Beast Ball wasn't something anyone could afford to take head-on.
Amid the swirling steam and poison mist, an eerie silence suddenly fell over the battlefield.
The Four-Tails, momentarily without a target, slowed the formation of the Tailed Beast Ball.
Just then...
At the edge of the horizon, a figure crackling with blue lightning rushed forward at incredible speed.
Sparks danced wildly—he was like a streak of living lightning.
The Four-Tails immediately accelerated the formation of the Tailed Beast Ball. Within moments, it was ready to launch.
Then, with a roar, he fired it at the oncoming blue figure.
The massive orb tore through the air, skimming just above the ground and carving a deep trench where it passed.
At that moment, the blue figure abruptly accelerated and veered off course, narrowly dodging the attack.
A furious roar echoed across the battlefield.
"Hell Stab: Four-Finger Piercing!"
As the voice rang out, the blue figure suddenly burst forward.
In a flash of lightning, the figure that had been far away vanished.
When it reappeared, it was already behind the Four-Tails. One hand extended forward, four fingers pressed tightly together.
From a distance, a massive horizontal gash split open across the Four-Tails' waist.
"Roar!"
The Four-Tails let out a thunderous howl of pain.
At that moment, hidden in a distant bush, Reiji's clone smirked—and vanished with a puff.
...
In Kumogakure, high atop a mountain, Reiji sat cross-legged, propping his chin with one hand as he watched the sun slowly set.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up. He murmured to himself,
"Finally... it's started!"
The moment the words left his lips, his figure vanished.
...
Outside the Raikage's office, in the Field Operations Department, a fair-skinned middle-aged man lounged on a sofa, dressed in a standard ninja uniform, legs crossed.
On the coffee table beside him sat a specially crafted positioning scroll.
This man was the deputy director of the Field Operations Department—someone Reiji had never met before, yet a close confidant of the Raikage.
At the moment, he was humming a tune, leisurely trimming his nails.
Just then, the office door swung open and Reiji stepped in.
"Who're you looking for?"
The deputy director lifted his eyes, asking without much interest.
Reiji smiled and replied,
"Not looking for anyone. I'm new here."
"Oh?" The deputy director tossed aside the nail clippers and quickly sat up. "You're from Field Ops too? I haven't seen you around."
"I just joined recently," Reiji said offhandedly.
"Where's your positioning scroll?" the deputy director asked.
Reiji gave a helpless smile, spread his hands, and looked at the man in front of the sofa.
"I only just learned how to form hand seals. Lord Tsuchibune gave me a week off to practice."
Hearing that, the deputy director nodded to himself. That definitely sounded like something Tsuchibune would do.
With that thought, he reclined again and casually said,
"How's the practice going? Show me a seal."
Reiji nodded obediently and put on a clumsy act.
"Ram...Monkey."
Watching Reiji's sluggish movements, the deputy director curled his lip in disdain.
Seriously? This guy must've gotten in through connections.
Just then, Reiji finished the hand seal and muttered,
"Heavenly Transfer Technique!"
In the blink of an eye, a blue light enveloped the deputy director lying on the couch.
Instantly, he was overwhelmed with fear. Just as he tried to move, a powerful force seized his body and yanked him violently.
"You... you little—!"
Before he could finish, he vanished without a trace.
Reiji looked around the untouched office and nodded in satisfaction before walking out.
With all chances of sending a message cut off, by the time the Raikage returned, everything would already be cleaned up—and he'd be long gone.
Now for the final step: take the Two-Tails and disappear for good.