WebNovels

Chapter 105 - Chapter 105 – Fourth Raikage, Has He Lost His Mind?

"Listen to me first, Darui."

Tutai raised his hand, stopping him. "If my reasoning about his genjutsu is correct, then Uchiha Kenya is practically invincible in group battles. But… what if it's one-on-one?"

He paused, then continued, "Think about it. His illusion—the one that forces enemies to slaughter each other—would be useless in a duel. At most, he can change his appearance and disguise himself as someone else. But in a direct fight, with only two people, that kind of genjutsu loses all meaning, doesn't it?"

The room fell silent. One by one, the others nodded inwardly, finding Tutai's logic convincing.

C finally spoke up. "Master Tutai, you mean… let Lord Raikage fight him alone?"

"Wouldn't that be far too dangerous?"

Darui frowned. "Judging from his current record, I'd say that guy's strength is no weaker than the Third Raikage."

"What are you afraid of?"

The Fourth Raikage roared, cracking his knuckles with a sharp snap. His voice was like thunder.

"Then I'll kill this brat myself—and offer his life as tribute to the Wooden Golem and the two thousand men I lost!"

Tutai's expression remained calm, but he raised a finger in warning. "Please don't misunderstand, Lord Raikage. What I've suggested is only my hypothesis about Uchiha Kenya's new genjutsu. To confirm it, we still need… an experiment."

His tone sharpened noticeably on the last word.

Darui narrowed his eyes. "An experiment? Don't tell me you mean to gamble with the lives of our shinobi."

Tutai sighed. "I don't think spies or scouts can get close enough to deceive the Sharingan. This is the only method I can think of. All I can hope for is to minimize our sacrifices."

Then he turned to the Raikage once more. "My lord, this is the only plan available right now. What is your decision?"

The Fourth Raikage closed his eyes tightly, grinding his teeth. For several minutes, he remained silent. Then his eyes snapped open—fierce and unyielding.

"Tutai, do it! This war cannot be won without sacrifice!"

"Yes!" Tutai answered, bowing. "But we'll send only a small unit. Their task isn't to defeat Kenya, but to uncover the truth behind his genjutsu. Once they discover the secret, they're to retreat immediately, minimizing losses."

"Good!" The Raikage nodded in satisfaction. "I leave it in your hands!"

It was, by all appearances, an excellent plan—the best one Cloud Shinobi had at the moment.

But Tutai and the others overlooked a fatal error.

They were still assuming Uchiha Kenya's strength was equal to the Third Raikage's.

Because in their minds, no shinobi alive could surpass him.

The strongest Raikage in history—a man who had performed countless miracles: facing the Eight-Tails alone, holding off ten thousand Rock Shinobi so his men could escape.

To the Cloud, the Third Raikage wasn't just a leader.He was a god.

And so, no matter how powerful Uchiha Kenya appeared, they simply couldn't believe he could surpass that godlike figure.They convinced themselves: as long as they cracked his new illusion, victory would be theirs.

Present Time

According to Temari's report, Kenya had led their forces to a cliff not far from the camp. From there, he looked down at the approaching enemy.

The Cloud Shinobi army was barely a speck from this height—yet their numbers were shockingly small.

"Only three hundred?" Kenya muttered, frowning. For someone as hot-tempered as the Fourth Raikage, that was far too few.

"Who's leading them?" he asked without turning around.

The Mist shinobi, Ghost Lantern Mangetsu, immediately replied, "Yes! It's Elite Jōnin Toroi of the Cloud!"

The boy had grown much more restrained since witnessing the Wooden Golem incident. Once arrogant and brash, he now didn't dare to show even half the insolence he once flaunted before Kenya.

Kenya's eyes narrowed. What are you playing at, Cloud Shinobi…?

At this point, he could have simply entered the battlefield himself and ended it in an instant. But it was obvious that Cloud wasn't launching random attacks—they were testing something.

"Sensei, are you planning to go yourself?" Temari asked cautiously.

"No." Kenya shook his head with a smile. "This fight belongs to you young ones. Temari, Mangetsu—I'll leave it to you."

"Yes!"

Mangetsu bared his sharp teeth in excitement, unslinging the twin swords Niedai from his back as he began rallying the army.

"You're still only five or six years older than me…" Temari muttered under her breath, disgruntled.

Kenya chuckled. "Alright, go."

The armies were deployed—but before the clash could begin, the Cloud Shinobi forces abruptly turned around, retreating without a single exchange.

The entire battle lasted less than five minutes.Casualties: zero.Intent to fight: nonexistent.

Kenya frowned deeply. What are you scheming, Cloud Shinobi?

And so it continued.

For more than half a month, nearly every day, Cloud sent small units—never more than five hundred—to challenge them. But as soon as Kenya's forces advanced, they immediately fled.

No casualties. No real battle. Just the same farce, over and over.

The coalition camp was left scratching their heads.

Had the sting of their first loss driven the Raikage insane?What kind of bizarre "strategy" was this supposed to be?

"Sensei," Temari finally said one evening, clearly frustrated, "Cloud's behavior makes no sense. We still don't know their true purpose. Shouldn't we take the initiative next time?"

Her voice trembled with irritation. "This is war, not some child's game of tag!"

Kenya was silent for a moment, then smiled faintly."Alright. After all, I dislike wasting time on meaningless games."

More Chapters