Yamanaka Kei frowned as he recalled the results from his long-range sensory technique during his battle with Dodai.
At that time, the Third Raikage and his son were the first to rush toward Dodai's mansion.
B moved only slightly slower than the two.
In addition, several other skilled ninja from Cloud also headed toward Dodai's mansion upon hearing the sounds of battle.
Crucially, Kei hadn't sensed any particularly strong presences near B at all.
Or rather, no assassins capable of threatening B.
Then… what exactly happened?
A Jinchuriki's rampage?
Why?
Kei was very sure in his memories—there was no recorded incident of Gyuki, the Eight-Tails, going berserk after B became his Jinchuriki.
Moreover, in the original timeline, during the Third Great Ninja World War, B had already mastered the usage of Gyuki's power quite well. He even faced off against Namikaze Minato, the future Fourth Raikage's predecessor, along with the Fourth Raikage himself.
To reach that level,
First, one must train their body to adapt to the tailed beast's power.
Second, defeat the tailed beast in battle.
Third, reconcile with it internally.
These weren't achievements possible overnight.
Even Naruto, the so-called chosen protagonist, spent three years training under Jiraiya before barely managing to control the Nine-Tails' Four-Tails state.
Though the Eight-Tails might not be as strong as the Nine-Tails, its power was still nothing to scoff at.
Based on this logic,
At this current point in time, B should have at least started getting his body accustomed to the Eight-Tails' chakra and established some initial communication with it.
So then… why did it suddenly go berserk?
Had he been secretly sabotaged like the previous Jinchuriki, Fulbi?
"Exactly what happened?"
The Third Raikage's expression turned grim. His arms were tightly crossed over his chest, radiating a natural air of authority that caused nearby ninja to shudder involuntarily.
"Boss, before tonight, B showed absolutely no signs of abnormality. Earlier, he was actually preparing to support Master Dodai. We're not sure why, but the moment he stepped out, he twisted his ankle. Then while trying to leap onto a rooftop, he slammed his head straight into the eaves..."
The Anbu assigned to protect B hesitantly answered the Third Raikage's question.
Recalling tonight's events,
His face behind the mask twisted into an extremely bizarre expression.
Okay, twisting his ankle when leaving wasn't too bad, and slamming his head into the roof eaves after jumping due to the ankle injury—he could still accept that.
But when landing, he staggered and fell straight into a filthy ditch.
Before he could even stand up, a massive chunk of rubble crashed down from the broken rooftop, burying him deeper in the muck and forcing him to swallow a mouthful of sludge...
Within less than three minutes,
Each of these events—ones that, individually, could've been the talk of the village for weeks—came one after another without pause.
And all of this ultimately led to...
The Eight-Tails rampaging.
After running amok for half the night, just as the Raikage and others arrived, the Jinchuriki collapsed unconscious—and as suddenly as it appeared, the Eight-Tails vanished back inside.
...
The Third Raikage A glared furiously at the Anbu standing nearby.
Is this guy serious?
Could someone actually be *this* unlucky?
And yet, things had started going haywire for no reason. By the time he arrived at the scene, everything stopped just as suddenly. Did that make any sense?
Could it be that the Eight-Tails got scared after he beat it up?
Was that even possible?
That guy's one tough bastard.
Back then, even after fighting until they were both completely drained and ultimately getting sealed away, it never once backed down or showed weakness.
"I think I get it now..."
Kei Yamanaka perked up his ears, eavesdropping on the faint conversation drifting from the crater below—between the Third Raikage and his Anbu—and silently deactivated the Black-Tier Trait [Omen of Misfortune (Black)].
[Omen of Misfortune (Black)]: Once activated by the host, anyone within sensor range issuing a 1v1 challenge will be forced into battle. At that point, all fate-related skill effects for both fighters are nullified. Both fighters enter the states of Misfortune Overcast and Cursed by Fate, experiencing sharply heightened chances of mistakes, illness, misfortune, incidents, injuries, and even death.
The effect had remained active the entire time.
Yet he had never personally issued a 1v1 challenge, nor had anyone else ever dared to challenge him directly.
Fearing exposure of his identity, he hadn't even dared to use long-range Sensor Ninjutsu.
Who could have guessed...
Tch!
Of all people, Raidei actually struck gold!
That guy must've been preparing to support Dodai when, out of habit, he started trash-talking the Eight-Tails sealed inside him.
Then... disaster struck.
"Phew..."
The Third Raikage barely held back his rising frustration.
He glanced at Dodai on a stretcher, behind whom stood over a dozen barefoot Mist ninja, before asking in a deep voice.
"Got anything?"
"No. The enemy likely withdrew entirely."
"Got suspects?"
"Initially, I suspected Konoha. Based on your position, their sword style and jutsu, it all pointed to a Konoha ninja at first glance. But it wasn't them."
"Then spit it out."
Seeing Dodai still hesitate, the Third Raikage frowned slightly.
If it weren't for the fact that this guy had barely survived an assassination attempt—and suffered irreversible injuries—he'd have already exploded.
Did they really have to stretch this out now?
"Ahem... My protective barrier consists of surface and underground layers. There aren't many infiltration routes that wouldn't trigger an alarm."
"And just now, my Anbu detected residual chakra traces of the Hydrification Technique near the broken water pipes underground."
"The Anbu are currently following those traces back to the source."
Noticing his leader's growing impatience, Dodai quickly spilled all the available intelligence.
"...Mist?"
A cold glint flickered in Raikage A's eyes as suppressed lightning chakra roared within his body.
Adding in last night's Raidei incident, that made ten assassination attempts total!
Except for Dodai—who somehow survived these targeted attacks—everyone else was dead.
Had it not been for Dodai's confession, with the mixed traces of Water Release, Fire Release, Earth Release, and Wind Release scattered across various crime scenes, his initial suspicion would naturally have pointed to Konoha.
But now, the most crucial evidence directly implicated Kiri—the village he had never even considered!
The clues that had been so openly displayed now seemed like deliberate fabrications meant to mislead the investigators.
And then there was the sudden, inexplicable confrontation with Killer B, which reminded him of Fulbi's sudden mental breakdown years ago.
No memories remained. No explanation presented itself. Even in hindsight, no clues surfaced.
Kiri!
Excellent… excellent…
So that incident with Fulbi back then was also your doing, wasn't it?
Confronted with provocation after provocation,
A, the Third Raikage, felt a fury beyond mere rage.
This large-scale assassination campaign was unlike anything Kumogakure had faced in years.
"If Kirigakure wants war! Then let's fight!"
A cast his gaze over the gathered leadership, who were clearly agitated, and coldly declared his will to them all.
In his eyes, everything had finally become clear.
Kirigakure would never admit their crimes, nor would the inquiry from yesterday yield any meaningful answers.
Then if that's how it is, they would simply have to beat the truth out of Kirigakure—make them feel the consequences of provoking Kumogakure!
[Ding~ S-Rank class-specific quest "Change Kumogakure's Strategic Objective: Initiate War Against Foreign Nations" completed. Reward: Keyword Draw Opportunity x2, Keyword Gift Opportunity x1, Random White-Rank Skill Upgrade Opportunity x1.]
The familiar system notification rang out.
Kei Yamanaka watched from afar as the Cloud ninja roared in response, privately astonished.
A single declaration had been enough to trigger the system's mission completion.
The Third Raikage's command must indeed surpass all predecessors!
And…
This time, Kirigakure is truly about to crack under pressure!
Who knows if they'll survive the avalanche of blame headed their way!
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