After a night's rest, Sora, Minato, and the other four were fully prepared to depart.
This trip would take three to five days, so they gave final instructions to Hiruzen, Kushina, and Tsunade before setting off.
On the surface, the weakest of the group were Uchiha Fugaku and Hiashi Hyūga, both elite jōnin, so their overall travel speed was very fast.
But while Hiashi was indeed just an elite jōnin, Fugaku had already awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan—he just hadn't revealed it yet.
Sora had brought him along precisely to push him into using it, so he could gauge his own strength.
Once Fugaku realized that even the Mangekyō was only at Kage-level, he would stop dreaming of rebellion.
After all, there were seven or eight people in Konoha not weaker than him. With no hope in sight, giving up was inevitable.
At that point, they could talk to Fugaku about integrating the Uchiha Clan into Konoha completely.
Sometimes Sora thought—if not for Minato and Kushina's existence, he might've already become a rogue ninja and joined the Akatsuki.
But it was precisely because of their wholehearted care that he resolved to help Minato become the greatest Hokage.
From sparing Orochimaru, reuniting Jiraiya and Tsunade, to confronting the Hidden Cloud and preventing the Uchiha rebellion—all of it was for this goal.
In just one day, they entered the Land of Lightning.
With their level of power, ordinary ninja couldn't possibly detect them.
That night, Sora casually used Wood Style – Mansion Construction Technique, stunning the others.
They knew he could use Wood Style—but no one expected him to build a villa while on a mission!
Later, when he pulled out gourmet food from his portable space, everyone immediately lost interest in their military ration pills.
The next morning, they set off again. This time, their pace slowed, as they needed to avoid detection by Hidden Cloud ninja.
The closer they got to the Hidden Cloud Village, the more cautious they became.
By the third day, they finally arrived near the Hidden Cloud.
"What now? Should we really just barge in?" Minato asked hesitantly.
Even though he was Hokage, Minato was still Minato—he didn't like sneak attacks.
Sora gave a helpless smile. "Up to you. Either way, we're invincible. We can try talking to the Raikage first."
He was confident. Thanks to the Nine-Tails card, Sora's chakra reserves were immense.
While one-on-one might be tricky, against cannon fodder, he figured he could take on ten thousand—and still have chakra left!
So whether the Hidden Cloud was ready or not didn't matter. They couldn't win anyway.
Five Kage-levels and one pseudo-Kage—you think this is a joke?
"Alright then, let's pay a proper visit!" Minato nodded, his sunny smile returning.
The others had no objections. After all, Minato was the Hokage.
"I wonder what the baths in the Hidden Cloud are like. I've never been there," Jiraiya joked, nudging Orochimaru with a grin.
Orochimaru rolled his eyes, clearly not amused.
Seriously? You're thinking about peeping right before a battle?
Once the decision was made, the six of them boldly walked toward the Hidden Cloud's main gate.
"Halt! Who goes there?"
The Hidden Cloud ninja spotted them immediately and surrounded them.
"I'm the Fourth Hokage. I'm here to see your Raikage."
"Please wait here. I'll inform the Raikage right away."
Hearing Minato's identity, the ninja became noticeably more respectful—though more guards continued to gather.
Minutes later, the Raikage arrived in a flash. Seeing his speed, Sora's pupils narrowed sharply.
That speed… he wasn't confident he could react in time. One solid hit might finish him.
Sora had a massive chakra pool—like a game character with a huge mana bar—but that didn't equate to raw combat power.
The Raikage didn't have as much chakra, but like an assassin, his burst power was no joke!
In a drawn-out fight, Sora would win. But in a head-on clash? Not so certain.
Even Jiraiya and the others dropped their casual attitudes—none of them had expected A to improve this much.
Back in the Third Great Ninja War, he hadn't been this strong.
Now the Cloud ninja stood behind A and Killer Bee, facing down the six from Konoha in a tense standoff.
"Fourth Hokage, sneaking into our village like this—are you trying to start a war?" the hot-headed Raikage growled.
Minato, who already knew A's temper, didn't get angry—but his tone turned stern. "Your envoy attempted to kidnap the Hyūga clan's princess. We're here for an explanation!"
A instantly realized they'd screwed up. But he hadn't expected such a direct response from Konoha.
Last time, when they kidnapped Kushina, Konoha just paid compensation and didn't dare retaliate.
He hadn't expected this—but that didn't mean he'd back down.
Lightning crackled violently around his fists, blindingly bright.
"Framing us? Then let's fight!"
Admit it? Not a chance. Even though it wasn't their first time pulling this kind of stunt, they'd never admit it.
"Fire Style – Fire Annihilation!"
Minato was about to argue further, but Sora shut that down with jutsu.
This Raikage was a stubborn mule. In the original story, even when Naruto got on his knees, he still refused to listen. You think talking will help?
Boom!
In an instant, the battle erupted at the gates of the Hidden Cloud. Waves of shinobi surged forward.
Minato, Jiraiya, and the others immediately joined the fray.
"Konoha is attacking! Wipe them out!"
"Kill them! Charge!"
The six were still holding up easily against the swarm, handling it without trouble—for now.
But as soon as A moved, Sora's expression changed. "Minato, big bro, you take A!"
Without waiting for a response, Sora used Body Flicker to change direction and go after the foot soldiers.
All those card drops waiting to be collected—and you want him to fight the Raikage head-on? He wasn't stupid.
"Lariat – Level Four!"
A launched a deadly strike—but Sora was already gone. Now he faced Minato's Rasengan through Flying Thunder God.
Helpless, A had to dodge and ended up tangled with Minato.
"Crap!"
As Sora dodged A, he accidentally ran into Killer Bee.
"Eight-Sword Style – One Blade, Nine Segments! Yagaaa!!"
Bee rapped with his usual odd rhythm, but his strikes were anything but playful—he was aiming to kill.
"Earth Style – Earth Rampart!"
A towering wall shot up in front of Sora, blocking Bee's attack like a segment of the Great Wall.
But within a second, it was crumbling. Bee had already entered partial Tailed Beast Mode.
As the first perfect jinchūriki, he could transform and retain his consciousness.
Dodging swiftly, Sora spotted Fugaku nearby. His eyes lit up, and he rushed over.
He'd been meaning to show Fugaku what real power looked like—what better opponent than Killer Bee?
Fugaku had awakened his Mangekyō, but never used it in combat. Facing Bee on his first try? A great reality check.
Maxed-out Body Flicker, overwhelming chakra, powerful physique—Sora's speed left even Bee in the dust.
He flashed past Fugaku, shouting, "Clan Head Fugaku, I'll leave this one to you!"
"Earth Style – Earth Dragon Bullet!"
Out of kindness, Sora even summoned a massive earth dragon to slow Bee down and put him face-to-face with Fugaku.
As the two clashed, Sora turned his attention elsewhere.
Jiraiya had somehow ended up facing Yugito Nii, the Two-Tails jinchūriki. While fending off other enemies, he was playing a game of cat-and-mouse with the girl.
His mane of white hair didn't just tank jutsu and shuriken—it whipped through enemies with deadly force.
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