Konoha's Mission Master

The purple line had arrived, and driven by their survival instincts, the Iwa ninja immediately raised their kunai in defense.

"Sever!" Yakumo shouted softly.

The sharpness of wind-style chakra and the agility of lightning-style chakra are perfectly integrated into the slash before your eyes. This is the most powerful move among the 24 styles of the Hatake Secret Manual.

It has an incredibly simple name…

A sudden, powerful strike...!

With unparalleled control, the violent slash easily severed the kunai, and the purple flames slowly dissipated.

Blood splattered everywhere!

Yakumo stared at Iwa's head, which remained open in death, and could still feel the intense fear in his eyes.

"Feel sorry."

Yakumo adjusted his breathing, recalling the brief exchange of blows just moments before. His sudden burst of power, instantly killing one person, greatly shocked the second, leading to his swift defeat.

"Fog burial".

Thick fog enveloped the surroundings. After confirming that there were no hidden enemies, Yakumo released his ninjutsu. It was already a great effort for Iwagakure to send at least ten Jonin and one elite Jonin to this mission.

The final coordination between the two was a decisive blow for Reiko Aoyama; the opponent's plan was practically perfect.

The two corpses of Yakumo were piled together, and Aoyama Reiko immediately took out the corpse-dissolving liquid from her ninja tool bag and poured it in. The two worked together more and more smoothly.

He began to cover up the traces of the battle, wiping away the spiderweb-like cracks in the ground and the splattered blood.

The two exchanged a glance and continued their frantic run towards the Land of Lightning.

Three hours later, with the two deliberately slowing down, Tsuchida caught up from behind. His hat was torn, revealing a few strands of black hair... but it was clear that he was not injured, and the two elite Jonin did not engage in a life-or-death battle.

"Didn't you encounter any enemies?"

“I encountered it… but I dealt with it,” Reiko Aoyama said with a hint of relief.

"The Jonin of Aoyama is quite strong in combat."

Tsuchida sighed, while Yakumo, who was standing next to Aoyama Reiko with a pale face, was subconsciously ignored by him.

"Where is the Anbu?"

"Sacrificed..."

Before the three even reached Kumogakure, all the Anbu members responsible for protecting them had already been killed.

The three set off again. Tsuchida began to secretly observe Aoyama Reiko, while Yakumo was also secretly observing Tsuchida. The three formed a cycle.

Whether the Konoha Anbu died at the hands of the Iwa ninja in a surprise attack or were finished off by Tsuchikage after a fierce battle, Yakumo couldn't confirm.

After all, the Hidden Cloud Village didn't want the Hidden Leaf Village's Anbu to enter openly, because they couldn't be sure if those Anbu members were carrying out other missions.

The rocks rise prominently, and the clouds and mist drift by.

The canyon runs parallel to the mountain peaks, which are connected by iron chains. Occasionally, deafening thunder can be heard, as if the entire sky is angry.

The Land of Lightning has a vast territory, surrounded by the sea on three sides. In addition to its mainland territory, it even includes several islands, such as Turtle Island, where Naruto trained to control the Nine-Tails' chakra in the original story.

Because of the rugged mountain road, it wasn't long before Yakumo was lying on the back of the earthen platform again.

That night, under Tutai's leadership, the group settled into an inn. After all, even Tutai's body was somewhat exhausted from several days of traveling and fighting.

Upon seeing that the earthen platform belonged to a Cloud Ninja, the innkeeper insisted on not charging any fees and prepared a large table of food.

After entering the house, Yakumo immediately created a shadow clone to train in ninjutsu, while his main body began grinding missions.

23:00, Daily Review, Completed.

23:40, Weekly Task, Diary, Completed.

January 01.30th, Weekly task: Reflections on reading, completed.

02:00, washed up, went to bed.

The group continued their journey the next day.

In the morning, they encountered a small team that had set off from Kumogakure to provide support. After traveling for most of the day, the group finally arrived at Kumogakure, which was hidden in the mountains and clouds.

Tsuchikage finally relaxed completely, and the Cloud Ninja team responsible for the rendezvous sent someone to the Raikage Building to report.

Tsuchidai went directly to the patient's residence with Aoyama Reiko. Yakumo noticed that most of the pedestrians on the street, regardless of gender, were tall and strong with dark skin, and some carried swords about a meter long, showing that the whole community was martial.

They first bowed to the earthen platform, and then began to discuss the identities of Aoyama Reiko and Yakumo, speaking loudly as if afraid the two wouldn't hear them.

The surrounding buildings continued the rugged and unrestrained style of the inhabitants of the Land of Lightning. Most of them were incredibly tall, yet very simple without any unnecessary decorations. Everything was based on practicality and safety, and every tall building had a lightning rod.

As time went by, the number of pedestrians around them began to decrease, while the number of ninjas quietly increased, and the surrounding buildings became more retro, as if they had been transported to the Warring States period.

"Aoyama Jonin..."

"What's wrong?" Aoyama Reiko asked.

"The person you need treatment for has the surname Ye Yue."

The leader of the earthen platform explained.

Reiko Aoyama and Yakumo were slightly taken aback, instantly recalling the history of this family: the Yotsuki clan... a family from which the Raikage came from.

The strongest ninja clan in the Land of Lightning during the Warring States period, holding a position in the Land of Lightning comparable to that of the Senju clan in the Land of Fire.

Even the location of the Cloud Village was decided many years ago by the Night Moon Clan, who are essentially the de facto rulers of the Cloud Village.

Chapter 69 Seven Days

As he ventured deeper, Yakumo grew increasingly surprised. Within the Yotsuki clan's territory, he sensed three chakra fluctuations stronger than his own.

The three streams of chakra formed a triangle, guarding the territory of the Yoruzuki clan and displaying their power with unrestrained force.

The ninjas of Kumogakure were already incredibly tall, with the Yotsuki clan being the most outstanding among them. Most of the men were around two meters tall, and the tallest of the women could reach 1.9 meters.

After several security checks, Yakumo's storage scroll and ninja sword were temporarily confiscated.

After turning left and right, the three finally entered the heart of the Night Moon Clan. The buildings here appeared more ancient and practical, with the Night Moon Clan's emblem painted in black on the exterior walls.

The Land of Lightning also follows the policy of one village per country, but there are some obvious differences. The Hidden Cloud Village has only one overlord... the Yotsuki clan, and only one voice... the Raikage. The Yotsuki clan started out in the underworld and used the rules of the mafia to rule the Hidden Cloud Village.

Pushing open the door, Yakumo was greeted by a spacious bedroom. On the left side of the soft couch knelt a man who looked like a giant bear. His muscles were well-defined and full of masculinity. He had a thick, light yellow beard and a ferocious tiger embroidered on his bald head.

On the hospital bed in front of him lay an elderly man with withered skin and atrophied muscles. His skeleton still showed signs of his once robust and strong physique, but sadly, he had succumbed to the ravages of time.

He has fallen into a deep coma and can only be kept alive by life support devices. Can this kind of life, without freedom and dignity, really be considered living?

Next to him was a medical ninja wearing a white coat, about 1.8 meters tall, with dark skin.

"This is the person you need to save."

Tsuchida first bowed to the bear-like man in greeting before speaking to Aoyama Reiko.

To what extent does the treatment need to proceed?

"All it takes is for him to wake up and regain his senses... two hours."

A deep, resonant voice came from outside the door.

"Lord Raikage," Tsuchikage greeted him with a bow.

The person outside the door was none other than the Third Raikage, the leader of the Hidden Cloud Village at that time, who was also the strongest person Yakumo had ever encountered.

The amount of chakra within him surpasses that of Yakumo... even Hiruzen Sarutobi cannot compare to him, only Kushina Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, can rival him.

The bear-like man's attitude was strange; he didn't get up to greet her, but instead opened his eyes and nodded in acknowledgment.

"Big brother," Lei Ying greeted.

The Yotsuki clan controls the entire Kumogakure village, yet it has a strict hierarchical system. Although the successive Raikage are the strongest members of the Yotsuki clan, they are not necessarily the ones with the highest seniority within the clan.

"Hmm." The bear-like man responded softly, then closed his eyes again and began to sit quietly as if nothing in the world mattered to him.

“I just need to bring him to his senses, I don’t need to cure him, right?” Reiko Aoyama asked.

“That’s right,” the Third Raikage replied.

"Then I'll begin the examination now."

Reiko Aoyama came to the bedside, and her hands emitted emerald green light that enveloped the old man's upper body.

At the same time, Yakumo quietly placed his right hand on the old man's wrist and began to close his eyes to sense the old man's body, which was like a glass bottle riddled with holes, on the verge of breaking.

The chakra within his body was nearly depleted. It was no longer a controlled force, but instead revealed a ferocious and savage side, constantly eroding the old man's body to generate new chakra.

The main reason why the old man looks like this is due to organ failure caused by chakra backlash. When the body and the spirit continuously produce chakra, it is a power that can be controlled at will. However, when the body is depleted, chakra becomes a beast that takes lives. This is the fate that no ninja can escape.

Ten minutes later, Reiko Aoyama opened her eyes.

"I've temporarily stabilized his condition with ninjutsu. I also need some time to prepare a secret medicine to stimulate his life force," said Aoyama Reiko, wiping the sweat from her brow.

“Okay…” The Third Raikage nodded in agreement.

The two were assigned to the Yotsuki clan's research lab. Aoyama Reiko could freely access the materials, but they assigned three female medical ninjas to assist or rather monitor her.

As for other reasons... Yakumo guessed that the Third Raikage wanted to take the opportunity to steal... medical ninjutsu.

The vast majority of ninjas in the Hidden Cloud Village are of the Lightning Release type... This directly leads to a significant increase in the difficulty for them to learn medical ninjutsu.

At the same time, the Yotsuki clan returned Yakumo's ninja sword and storage scroll, but restricted the freedom of the two.

Night fell, and Aoyama Reiko arrived quietly.

"Sister Aoyama, how long will it take you to concoct the secret medicine that stimulates life force?" Yakumo stopped writing and asked.

“If all goes well, we can set off back to Konoha in five days,” Aoyama Reiko replied. The old man’s question was simple; all it took was a little stimulation of his life force.

Why the Cloud Village needed the old man to regain his senses was no longer within their consideration; leaving this dangerous place as soon as possible was the most important thing.

The question is... will the Hidden Cloud Village really let the two of them leave safely? Yakumo has no intention of entrusting his life to others!

"Sister Qingshan... could you slow down this process?"

"Do you think the Cloud Ninja won't let us leave?"

Reiko Aoyama raised her eyebrows slightly, a hint of unease showing in her eyes.

"Of course he will let us leave, but the journey back to Konoha, thousands of kilometers after leaving the Land of Lightning, could become our death ground at any time."

"How long will it take..." Aoyama Reiko asked.