newbobooks Chapter 444 Another Village
Chapter 444 Another Village
"What?! Minato Namikaze has been resurrected?! Could it be... Edo Tensei?!"
Inside the Raikage's office in Kumogakure, the atmosphere was as heavy as leaden clouds before a storm.
"...No, according to the 'eyes' planted in Konoha, it was not the forbidden technique of Impure World Reincarnation that desecrates the dead."
The Cloud Village intelligence ninja standing in front of the Raikage's desk reported in a low voice, his voice filled with barely suppressed astonishment, "That was a living, breathing Minato Namikaze, with body temperature and complete vital signs. Konoha officially confirmed this this morning with a formal statement."
The Fourth Raikage, A, slammed his fist onto the solid wood table with a dull thud, causing several fine cracks to appear on the surface. His rugged face was furrowed, and the veins on his forehead throbbed faintly.
Alive? What kind of tricks are those people from Konoha playing?
The Raikage's voice echoed in the office, "An official statement? What explanation did they give?"
The intelligence ninja swallowed hard and presented a transcribed announcement bearing the Konoha Hokage crest: "Konoha's explanation is... After the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, used the Reaper Death Seal, his soul remained within a Shinigami. Recently, due to his 'unwavering will and deep affection for the village,' he actually 'moved' the Shinigami, and the two reached a reconciliation."
"The Grim Reaper not only released his soul, but also used 'special chakra' to reshape his physical body, allowing him to return to the mortal world."
"Stop talking nonsense!"
The Raikage grabbed the copy, glanced at it, then crumpled it into a ball and slammed it to the ground. "This kind of fairy tale can't even fool a three-year-old! Has Konoha become too lazy to even make up believable lies?!"
The intelligence ninjas, of course, understood the truth, which was obvious to everyone, but there was no objection within Konoha.
The villagers were overjoyed, spreading the news far and wide, regarding the Fourth Hokage's return as a divine blessing, and their morale soared. There was no dissent within the ninja ranks either; almost everyone readily accepted this bizarre explanation.
The Raikage stood up, his imposing figure casting a huge shadow in front of the window. He gazed out at the rugged cliffs and swirling mists of Kumogakure.
"What's Minato Namikaze up to now? Has he taken back the position of Hokage?"
"No." The intelligence ninja shook his head. "He is currently operating as a regular Jonin, keeping a low profile. The Fifth Hokage, Jiraiya, is still in charge."
"What do you think, Lord Raikage? Should we...?"
The intelligence ninja tentatively suggested that perhaps some diplomatic probes, even just polite inquiries, should be made to verify the veracity of the so-called "resurrection of the Fourth Hokage."
If true, this would be nothing short of a bolt from the blue for the Hidden Cloud Village. The reappearance of the long-lost "Yellow Flash" would be enough to tilt the balance of power between nations.
But after a long silence, the Raikage slowly shook his head. "Let's not act rashly for now."
Contrary to his outward appearance, the Fourth Raikage can make decisions that consider the bigger picture, even when he is angry.
"Testing? Even if we send our top spies and use every means to confirm that Minato Namikaze is standing alive and well on the streets of Konoha right now, so what? What would we gain besides making ourselves more aware of the gap between ourselves and Konoha?"
"But, Lord Raikage, we can use this—" the subordinate tried to articulate the shared thought that lurked in the hearts of many.
"Could we use this as an opportunity to unite with other countries and launch an attack on Konoha under the pretext of 'playing with life and death and desecrating common sense'? Could we attempt to start a war?"
The Raikage cut off his subordinate's words, throwing out the most radical yet straightforward possibility in his mind. He continued, "Yes, if the Fourth Hokage were to truly be resurrected, Konoha's current strength would be enough to make any village, no, all villages, feel uneasy."
Once the seeds of fear are sown, alliance seems like the logical next step.
The ninja who reported nodded; this was precisely the concern and underlying thought he had not dared to fully express.
"Is Lord Raikage still worried about that [Jin] organization? But so many years have passed..."
"Even so, we can't afford to gamble." Ai gave a firm answer. "The deterrent power of [Jin] cannot be easily worn down by time. Unless there is irrefutable evidence that the organization has completely disintegrated, we must not gamble the life and death of the entire Hidden Cloud Village on Menma's bottom line and reaction."
"So... what should we do?"
"Wait." The Raikage uttered a single word. "We'll soon find out what happens next with this information. Since Konoha dared to release this information so 'openly,' they can't have only made this one move... They must have more to do. What we need to do is open our eyes wide and listen carefully, instead of impatiently jumping out to become targets."
"At the same time, pass down the order that if any letters from Iwagakure during this period... imply or explicitly request cooperation, intelligence sharing, or even joint operations regarding this matter, they should be treated as if they have not been seen, not responded to, and returned unopened."
Seeing the slight confusion on his subordinates' faces, the Raikage snorted and explained, "Whether Minato Namikaze's resurrection is true or not is currently only Konoha's claim. But if we're talking about who's most anxious, Kumogakure is definitely not number one."
He quickly scanned the intelligence from all sides in his mind. The next generation of talents in Kumogakure was emerging, Darui had already shown his potential, and there were also two perfect Jinchūriki, Killer Bee and the two Yugimon, to oversee the village. He was not too worried about the future of the village and its high-end combat power.
In contrast, according to reliable intelligence, Deidara, the direct disciple of the Third Tsuchikage Onoki, has already defected from Iwagakure and there are even indications that he may have become involved with the [Jin] organization.
In addition, the Four-Tails Jinchuriki, Rōshi, has long been at odds with the village and his whereabouts are a mystery... The anxiety of a lack of talent and the loss of top combat power is deeply troubling him.
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(I originally wanted to write about weddings, but I realized I didn't have enough chapters.)