Yes, the Hokage

“Hemophobia.” After rinsing off the blood, Feng Lan tried to treat it with his half-baked medical ninjutsu. As expected, the effect was not good. After all, he had never practiced medical ninjutsu before. “It would be better if you two could give me some advice, but I can’t count on you for my current injury.”

"What happened?" Hashirama, still feeling sorry for his granddaughter, immediately looked over with concern.

Tsunade turned her head away sadly, but Jiraiya stepped forward and said, "First Hokage, Second Hokage, leave Tsunade's matter to me. I guarantee I can help her overcome her hemophobia... She just needs a little time."

"Hmm~~" Hashirama, being an experienced man, looked at Jiraiya with the same expression he would give a grandson-in-law.

The First Lord just loved to gossip.

While complaining, Feng Lan tore at the bandage with both her hands and mouth, but it was too much of a strain to wrap it properly with one hand.

"Lord Fenglan, I'm here..."

At this moment, the fleeing Rizashi finally caught his breath and hurriedly got up to help, but Pakula stopped him: "Let me do it."

"Yes, thank you for your trouble."

Pakura, being a woman, was far superior to Feng Lan in bandaging, even though she didn't know medical ninjutsu. She quickly finished bandaging her entire palm with medicine.

"I feel much better." Feng Lan waved and smiled. "Thank you."

“Lord Fenglan… no…” Pakula opened her mouth hesitantly, but shook her head. “It’s nothing, I should thank you.”

"You want to ask why I saved you, right?" Her thoughts didn't escape Feng Lan's notice.

“You revealed the Flying Thunder God Technique, just to save a Sand Village person… It’s not worth it.” She said softly, “You should know why I’ve followed you.”

"I know."

"Then why..."

"Because you are still useful."

Pakula was slightly taken aback, clearly not expecting Feng Lan to give such an answer.

"You are a pawn."

But Feng Lan didn't offer any comforting words to the girl who had just experienced life and death and was perhaps yearning for warmth. Instead, his words were direct and calm, as if he were describing a trivial matter.

"Although this chess piece was sent by Luo Sha, if it is placed well, it may be able to be used by me."

Chapter 102 Fate Unknown, That is...

The Flying Thunder God Technique was so fast that even the Fourth Raikage, driving his Lightning Armor, couldn't catch up with Obito's taillights and had to hurry back to the village to hold a meeting.

When he entered the conference room, the other high-ranking officials were already seated and engaged in a heated discussion. Compared to the elders of the other four countries, the elders of Kumogakure were much younger, not old men and women, but vigorous and upright young men. It seemed that the good bro policy was at least very effective in this respect.

Therefore, compared to the conservative and stable approach of the other four villages, the Hidden Cloud Village often adopts aggressive strategies, especially in its complete hegemonic domination of the surrounding small countries. While its infamous reputation spread far and wide, it was forced to be even more aggressive, and over time, it found itself in a somewhat precarious situation.

Right now, the village's Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, "Bea" from the AB duo, and the Raikage's younger brother have been captured by someone who has brazenly broken into the Land of Lightning. If the village doesn't react at all, the image of hegemony that it has worked so hard to build will collapse. Those forces that are afraid of Kumogakure or want to curry favor with them will also scatter in all directions. They are far less solid than the alliances that Fenglan has formed based on favors and benefits.

"Scorching Release! It's Scorching Release! It must be Sunagakure's doing!"

"And that black robe with red cloud patterns seems to be frequently seen near Amegakure."

"How could Killer Bee be captured without even having a chance to transform, leaving only very few traces at the scene of the fight?"

"Could it be a genjutsu...? Impossible, perfect Jinchuriki are immune to genjutsu!"

"..."

This shows Feng Lan's shrewdness. Killer Bee was able to detect Obito's silent intrusion because Jiraiya started using the Toad Mouth Binding Technique outside the cave. So when the battle started, the entire cave was already covered by the esophagus of the Giant Toad. Things like wood release fragments, iron sand, and snake venom were all taken away with the Giant Toad when it returned to Mount Myōboku.

The only clue that could be found in the cave was the traces left by the wriggling of the flesh walls. Theoretically, the Hidden Cloud Village would not have thought of the Hidden Leaf Village in the short term.

Unfortunately, there are no perfect plans in the world...

"Boom--!"

The door was kicked open with a loud thud, and the Fourth Raikage strode in, his face full of anger. Before he could even speak, he slammed his fist on the conference table, cracking a deep fissure in the solid wood surface, and causing teacups and documents to bounce.

Surprisingly, none of the elders were frightened; they all showed expressions of being used to it. After all, this Raikage was known for frequently breaking through walls to escape, and the fact that his punch hadn't shattered the table was already a sign of restraint.

"Stop arguing, everyone! The one we're arresting is someone from Konoha!"

"Konoha?" The elders all looked surprised and uncertain. "Fourth Hokage, we haven't seen anything related to Konoha. What evidence do you have?"

"Flying Thunder God".

The Fourth Raikage gritted his teeth: "At the last moment of the retreat, some guy blocked my attack with the Flying Thunder God Technique and the Rasengan."

"what?!"

These words immediately caused an uproar in the conference room.

"The Golden Flash, it's the Golden Flash attacking?"

"Impossible! That guy is already the Fourth Hokage, how could he leave the village so rashly?"

"Our spies within the Land of Fire haven't sent any information, so it can't possibly be him!"

"..."

This shows just how terrifying Minato's reputation and intimidation are. Just mentioning the Flying Thunder God Technique and the Rasengan caused chaos in the conference room. This is the most radical and trouble-loving member of the Cloud Village.

"Quiet down, everyone!"

The Fourth Raikage roared and slammed his fist on the table. The poor conference table, though repeatedly reinforced, was already struggling to withstand a single punch from a Kage-level ninja. Now, after taking a second punch, it shattered into pieces, splinters flying everywhere. However, everyone present was prepared and easily dodged the splinters, returning to their seats effortlessly. They even managed to hold onto their water cups carefully.

"Lord Raikage..."

At this time, the Fourth Raikage's secretary was not Mabui, but another older, busty mature woman who said with a helpless expression, "If you keep throwing tantrums like this, the budget for the Raikage's office will be overspent again."

"This is not the time to say such things! Konoha has captured my brother, and I will never let them get away with it!" The Raikage was furious, but he managed to maintain his composure. "Although that guy was wearing a mask, his hair that was showing was black, and if the Yellow Flash had come in person, I would not have been able to escape unscathed."

He shook his arm. Although the Rasengan he had just used was charged up beforehand, it felt weak when it hit him. It was definitely not the same as the Minato Namikaze who always drew blood.

"So... Konoha has a second Flying Thunder God ninja?" Everyone's expressions were not good. The Flying Thunder God has extremely high value in both strategy and actual combat. One golden flash is already deadly enough. Now that a second one has appeared, Konoha will become more and more difficult to deal with in the future.

"I don't care what kind of Thunder God technique he uses!" The Fourth Raikage raised his arm, but there was no table left for him to bang on. "Konoha has captured Bee, I'm declaring war, I want them to return Bee to me!"

Although he was very excited, the elders were relatively calm. Right now, Kumogakure had lost its core fighting force, the Eight-Tails, and the AB combination was not in place. On the other hand, Konoha had the ability to directly invade the Land of Lightning and capture the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki. If they were to start a direct war again...

Several middle-aged elders exchanged glances, and finally the eldest elder cleared his throat: "Lord Raikage, the fact that Bi was assigned to the Cloud Thunder Gorge is a top secret of Kumogakure. Apart from the higher-ups, only a few elites responsible for guarding the Cloud Thunder Gorge know this. However, Konoha doesn't seem to have conducted a thorough search within the Land of Lightning. Instead, they went straight to the Cloud Thunder Gorge. There's probably more to this than meets the eye..."

"You mean there's a traitor among the higher-ups?" The Fourth Raikage's gaze swept over everyone in turn, then he shook his head. "Impossible! You are all elders who have fought alongside my father all this way. You would never betray the village. Those guarding Cloud Thunder Gorge are also your nephews and nieces. I trust them too."

It has to be said that the Will of Lightning is somewhat useful. If it were someone like Danzo who was tricked by Feng Lan through the plot, he would have conducted a thorough investigation on the spot. However, there was no internal strife in Kumogakure. It seems that good brothers are sometimes more useful than family.

“Regardless of whether there is a traitor or not, Konoha Village knows our situation so well that it would be dangerous to launch a war rashly.” The elder was clearly skilled in speaking, not mentioning that we couldn’t win, but only saying that we were afraid of falling into a trap. “Besides, Killer Bee is currently being held hostage. If we are too impulsive, we might provoke them to do something to harm him.”

"But now that their fate is uncertain, am I supposed to just swallow my anger and wait?" The lightning around Raikage began to surge again.

"His fate is unknown, so isn't that the same as being dead..." someone muttered quietly.

The elder glared at the guy who was spouting nonsense. Aiben was young and hot-tempered, and his brother had been captured, so he was already furious. You should have helped him calm down, but instead you were adding fuel to the fire.

"Waiting idly is not a solution. Since it was Konoha's doing, we will send a diplomatic letter to the Third Hokage directly using the Ninja Hawk. The wording at the beginning will still be stern and tough, but the ending will be slightly more moderate, indicating that as long as Konoha returns Bee, everything that happened before can be forgiven."

Another elder added, "That's right. Konoha's early action was probably because they realized we were preparing for war... To be honest, fighting this unprepared war now might not have been a good outcome anyway. Taking this opportunity to back down would allow them to get Killer Bee back and steadily consolidate the village's power before looking for another chance. It wouldn't be considered a failure."

The Fourth Raikage's face twitched violently. He knew the elders were right, but compared to his own brother...

Although he was worried and angry, Konoha was not the Akatsuki of Shippuden. The Jinchuriki captured by the Akatsuki back then had no chance of survival. Now, Konoha had captured Killer Bee for other purposes. So the elders were right. If he acted rashly, he would only put Bee in danger.

Therefore, just as Feng Lan had predicted with 90% accuracy, no matter how unwilling the Fourth Raikage was, he could only take a deep breath and say, "Immediately write a letter and demand an explanation from Konoha!"

……

Meanwhile, while the letter was being written in Kumogakure, Fenglan was also writing a letter. To whom? Of course, to Sunagakure.

Why bring Pakura along, and specifically have her intercept the pursuers? It's because if Killer Bee is successfully captured, Konoha and Kumogakure will most likely not go to war. What will happen to Rasa's promise to take sides then?

Furthermore, even if he doesn't take sides, he can still come to me to ask for low-priced supplies, since he has an excuse—the Cloud Village itself doesn't dare to fight, so they can't blame me for breaking my promise, right?

Therefore, Fenglan needs to make Sunagakure fulfill its promise again before things calm down and the other party speaks. You don't want to be Konoha's underling? Hmph, sorry, you're going to be that underling.

Right now, there's no need for Sunagakure to send troops to support them. Fenglan's demand is that Sunagakure publicly announce that Akatsuki captured Killer Bee with the support of Sunagakure. The reason is simple: the Third Shinobi World War started because of your Kumogakure's surprise attack on my Sunagakure. Now we want an explanation!

Furthermore, he did not inform Rosa in advance, but instead allowed Pakula to expose his identity. He only started contacting them after Killer Bee had already been captured, which clearly indicated that the two sides were not on equal footing and that Rosa needed to understand the identity of his underling.

Could Rasa refuse? Obviously not, because Konoha hadn't yet fulfilled its promise to start selling supplies at low prices, so this deep bond was something he had to accept.

Moreover, Fenglan has given him an opportunity. How much benefit Sunagakure can get from Kumogakure with Killer Bee's help depends entirely on Rasa's own abilities.

This would not only weaken Kumogakure, but also allow Amegakure to be completely controlled by Konoha, and Sunagakure to be highly aligned with Konoha. This is a plan that kills three birds with one stone.

Writing this letter now is Fenglan's way of showing Luosha that our deal will continue; otherwise, not only will the promised help and benefits be lost, but Pakula, as a hostage, will also die.

That's why he saved Pakula.

The only reason.

Chapter 103 The Five Kage Summit

Soon after, Amegakure issued a public statement to the ninja world, claiming that Kumogakure was the culprit who started the Third Shinobi World War and caused great damage to Sunagakure. The Akatsuki organization of Amegakure, out of a sense of justice and righteousness, kidnapped Killer Bee, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki who committed numerous crimes during the Third Shinobi World War, in order to seek justice for Sunagakure!

Immediately afterwards, Rasa formally announced to Kumogakure that Killer Bee had been transferred from Akatsuki to Sunagakure, and that if the Fourth Raikage wanted his Jinchūriki back, he must agree to his four demands:

First, Kumogakure must publicly acknowledge that the outbreak of the Third Shinobi World War was caused by Kumogakure launching a military attack on Sunagakure first, and formally apologize to Sunagakure for this.

Second, compensation shall be paid to Sunagakure for the direct economic losses suffered during the Third Shinobi World War, including but not limited to village reconstruction, ninja compensation, and material losses, totaling a certain amount.

Third, open the small country corridor between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning, allowing Sunagakure caravans to travel freely through Konoha within the Cloud Village's territory, and reduce or waive transit tariffs.

Fourth, as one of the parties responsible for the war, Kumogakure must hand over the list of core commanders who planned the "surprise attack on Sunagakure" operation and hand it over to Sunagakure and Konoha for joint trial.

Finally, Yahiko stood beside Rasa and delivered a passionate speech, as if he were a champion of justice: "The Akatsuki has no intention of starting a new war, but we feel that this corrupt and outdated ninja world should not continue like this. Killer Bee is justice in our hands. If Kumogakure wants to redeem him, they should first live up to this justice."

It has to be said that this combination of punches stunned everyone!

The people of Kumogakure were bewildered. They couldn't understand why it was Sunagakure who announced the kidnapping of Killer Bee when it was Konoha. They also couldn't understand why Amegakure and Akatsuki were jumping around in the middle.

The spectators from Iwagakure and Kirigakure were stunned. This announcement contained a wealth of information. Although it seemed to be Sunagakure seeking revenge, the shadow of Konoha could be seen everywhere. Things like opening the small country corridor between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning, the joint trial between Sunagakure and Konoha, and the fact that the delegation had previously made a show of going to Amegakure was even more obvious.

Therefore, they dare not make any rash statements when the true situation is unclear.

Even Konoha was stunned. When the Third Hokage received the diplomatic letter from Kumogakure, he did guess that Feng Lan had captured Killer Bee using the power of the First Hokage. But before he could figure out how to respond to Kumogakure or to profit from the situation, the public statement had already been released!

F3 wanted to ask Fenglan what was going on, but none of them knew where Fenglan was, and even when they asked Shuimen, the answer was the same!

This kid is acting like a general in the field who doesn't follow orders. He didn't consult with the village's Kage before doing anything. If it weren't for Minato's absolute trust in him, Konoha would have suspected that Feng Lan was going to become a rogue ninja and declare himself king.

But the Third Hokage thought about it carefully. Could he really settle accounts with Feng Lan afterward? The answer was no. As long as Feng Lan successfully dealt with Kumogakure, he would be a hero of the village. Moreover, the fact that he dared to act in this way clearly meant that the First and Second Hokage had given their approval. Even if he did settle accounts later, the village wouldn't be afraid.

Therefore, all the Konoha leaders can do right now is wait and continue to strengthen their defenses, lest the Hidden Cloud Village really go crazy and attack.

……

When the public statement was conveyed to Kumogakure, the Raikage was so angry that he smashed his office.

"Damn Sunagakure! They actually dared to ask Kumogakure for a public apology and compensation! The most outrageous thing is that they want to publicly try our people?!" The Fourth Raikage smashed through the office wall with a single punch. "What right does that Rasa have to make such demands?!"

The secretary next to him looked helpless and could only quickly arrange another high-level meeting. This time, they found a secluded and quiet place outdoors to hold the meeting, so that Lord Raikage would not waste office funds meaninglessly.

"It's obvious that Konoha is behind this." The elder gave the answer immediately. "It was Konoha who kidnapped Killer Bee and used it to put pressure on us. Sunagakure is a subordinate, and Amegakure is just a lackey. But... even when beating a dog, you have to consider its master."

He knew what the Raikage was thinking and quickly said, "Lord Raikage, calm down..."

"Calm down my ass!" The Raikage punched the ground so hard it created a crater. "My brother is in their hands, and they're treating me like an ATM! A mere Sand Village... I'm going to annihilate them!"

"Konoha is the mastermind behind the whole thing. If we directly send troops to attack Sunagakure or even Amegakure, Konoha will definitely not sit idly by. We will be attacked from both sides, which will be very disadvantageous for us."

The elder advised kindly, "Especially since Killer Bee is probably still being secretly imprisoned by Konoha. Even if we destroy Sunagakure and Amegakure, we may not be able to find him."

Just as Rin was Obito's weakness, Killer Bee will always be the Raikage's weakness. Mentioning his younger brother, this bull with bloodshot eyes finally calmed down and started panting.

"Moreover, according to my analysis, if we declare war on Sunagakure or Amegakure, it will play right into Konoha's hands."

"How to say?"

"Think about it, Sunagakure and Kumogakure were the ones who took the lead in this matter, but Konoha, who were hiding behind the scenes, reaped all the benefits. How could they be willing to do this? The three parties' power was not equal to begin with. The fact that they were able to cooperate was probably because the other two were coerced and lured by Konoha."

After all, he was someone who could sit in the position of Grand Elder, and he really had some skills: "If we rashly send troops, that will leave Sunagakure and Amegakure with no way out and make them completely side with Konoha. If this behemoth really uses this as an opportunity to completely control Sunagakure and Amegakure, I'm afraid we will no longer have the ability to fight against it."

"On the contrary, if we don't fall for it, we can sow discord among them and make their cooperation less solid. If we don't let their alliance collapse on its own, at least if they are less united internally, our chances of rescuing Killer Bee will greatly increase."

"Hmm, that makes sense." Raikage took a deep breath. "So, what methods should we use to retaliate?"

"That is of course..." A cold glint flashed in the Grand Elder's eyes, "The Five Kage Summit!"

Soon after, the Hidden Cloud Village issued a public statement, first accusing the Sand Village of fabricating all its claims as pure fake news. Therefore, the Hidden Cloud Village called on the Five Great Nations to hold a Five Kage Summit to restore justice to the Hidden Cloud Village and peace to the ninja world in a fair, just, and open manner.

Of course, after the official strong statement, they also had to admit defeat a little. Kumogakure said that they could discuss both paying money to redeem Killer Bee and opening up trade, provided that Sunagakure brought Killer Bee to the talks.