The coastline where Sora had transford into the Azure Dragon and clashed fiercely with Kumogakure was now a scene of utter silence.
Only the faint sll of burning and the coppery scent of blood that still lingered in the air testified to the brutality of the battle that had just occurred.
Underground, the White Snake Sage’s slightly enlarged serpentine body gradually ceased its trembling.
On her snake-like face, a human-like expression of shock and awe surfaced.
"Master’s true Azure Dragon form... has grown even stronger..."
She had arrived underground long ago and had also ’witnessed’ the overwhelming might of that thousand-ter dragon body crushing everything, and had felt the draconic pressure that made even her soul tremble slightly.
To clash head-on with a Tailed Beast Ball, kill the Third Raikage with sheer force, sever one of the Eight-Tails’ tails, and severely wound the Two-Tails...
Such achievents would chill the blood of anyone aware of the details.
"Serving a master like this... perhaps... it truly is my good fortune."
The White Snake Sage mused inwardly, even harboring a hint of ambition: "If I devote myself to cultivation, by borrowing my master’s power, might I one day soar through the nine heavens like this?"
She shook her massive snake head, suppressing these distracting thoughts.
For now, there was still important business to attend to.
On the coast, the seven or eight surviving Kumogakure Anbu helped each other to their feet.
"Is... is that demon gone?"
"Why didn’t he kill us?"
Several Anbu looked towards the direction Sora had disappeared, their hearts still pounding with fear.
They had thought death was certain, but Sora had rely glanced at them before leaving.
"Whatever the reason, we must imdiately return to the village! Report everything that happened here to Lord Muchi and Lord Fourth Ai!"
The sole surviving Anbu squad leader, suppressing his intense grief, said through gritted teeth.
However, just as they were preparing to depart.
A cold, sticky, and terrifying presence suddenly descended!
Crack... crack...
The ground vibrated slightly, and the earth before them split open violently as an enormous white serpent erged from beneath.
...
Kumogakure, the Raikage’s office.
Muchi looked at the battered Killer B before him, and Yumiko, unconscious on a stretcher, and felt a chill run from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.
Behind him stood a young man of equally robust build, his face set with firm resolve.
He was the son of the Third Raikage, and the future Fourth Raikage, Ai.
His eyes, once full of sharpness and vigor, were now bloodshot, staring fixedly at Killer B.
"B... tell ... the old man, he..."
Killer B, unusually refraining from his rap, hung his head and said hoarsely:
"...Big brother... the old man, to cover our retreat... against the Azure Dragon..."
"...We couldn’t bring back his body..."
Boom!
Ai felt an explosion in his mind; he slamd his fist into the wall beside him, instantly covering the sturdy stone surface with cracks.
"AZURE DRAGON---!!!"
Ai let out a beast-like roar, his terrifying Lightning Release chakra erupting uncontrollably.
Muchi’s face was pale, but he still suppressed his grief and stepped forward:
"Ai! Calm down! Now is not the ti for rash action!"
He turned to Killer B: "B, tell us everything that happened, from beginning to end, exactly as it was."
Killer B took a deep breath and began to recount the details.
From their arrival at the coast of the Land of Whirlpools and encountering Sora waiting alone, to Sora transforming into a thousand-ter Azure Dragon, displaying overwhelming power, to the Third Raikage’s desperate rear-guard action, ultimately being annihilated by the Azure Dragon’s Boro Breath...
The more Muchi listened, the heavier his heart sank. He couldn’t help but think of the two characters ’Azure Dragon’ left by Black Crow; only now did he truly grasp their aning:
"This is no longer an ordinary Kage-level... This is simply... a monster!"
He had previously analyzed that Sora establishing a ninja village was a dead end, but now it seed that the foolish ones were them, Kumogakure!
They had gravely underestimated their opponent’s strength!
"Based on B’s intelligence, the Azure Dragon Sora’s strength far exceeds any of our previous estimates."
Muchi looked at the murderous Ai and said solemnly: "Ai, the current Kumogakure cannot afford a second loss like this!"
The Third Raikage was killed in action, the Two-Tails jinchūriki was on the verge of death, and three elite Anbu squads were completely wiped out...
Kumogakure’s top combat power had been crippled in a single battle!
Ai clenched his teeth fiercely. He understood Muchi’s aning perfectly well.
Revenge?
With what?
Unless they mobilized the entire village’s strength, they might be able to destroy the Azure Dragon, but at the cost of mutual annihilation.
But doing that would an the end of Kumogakure.
Iwagakure and Konoha, watching eagerly, would never miss such an opportunity.
He abruptly closed his eyes, forcibly suppressing his surging murderous intent and grief. When he opened them again, only cold rationality and the heavy weight of responsibility remained.
"Transmit my orders!"
"From this mont on, Kumogakure is placed under the highest state of alert! Withdraw all external defensive lines, concentrate our defensive forces back to the village!"
"Suspend all large-scale external missions, especially those involving the vicinity of Ryūgakure or the Land of Whirlpools!"
"Spare no effort in treating Yumiko! Seal the information! The news of the Third Raikage’s... death is temporarily classified as top secret!"
One by one, the orders were issued, carrying a sense of helplessness and the desperate resolve of a warrior cutting off his own arm.
Muchi watched Ai quickly assu command, feeling a slight sense of relief, but more than that, a profound sorrow.
The Fourth Raikage had been forced to take power prematurely, amidst such a massive defeat and humiliation.
It was as if a thick, dark cloud had settled over the sky above Kumogakure.
...
Secrets are hard to keep, especially walls have ears.
Especially the earth-shattering battle between Sora and the Third Raikage and his forces, which took place in the sea not far from the main island of the Land of Whirlpools.
The terrifying figure of that thousand-ter Azure Dragon was impossible to ignore.
Soon, all sorts of rumors began to circulate and fester within the underworld of the ninja world and among the major powers.
"Did you hear? Kumogakure’s Third Raikage, leading the Eight-Tails jinchūriki, the Two-Tails jinchūriki, and a large contingent of Anbu, went to wipe out that newly ford Ryūgakure, and ended up completely annihilated!"
"What? Impossible! The Third Raikage was the man hailed as the ’Strongest Spear and Shield’!"
"It’s absolutely true! Soone saw it with their own eyes! The leader of Ryūgakure, that ’Azure Dragon’ Sora who defected from Konoha, transford into a cyan dragon over a thousand ters long, and annihilated the Third Raikage with a single breath!"
"My god! A thousand-ter dragon? Is that even a person?"
"No wonder they dare call it ’Ryūgakure’ (Hidden Dragon), so the leader really is a dragon!"
"..."
The minor countries around the Land of Whirlpools, rogue ninjas, and bounty hunters all ca to regard Ryūgakure and its leader, the Azure Dragon Sora, as an absolute taboo not to be provoked.
The news spread like wildfire, flying to all corners of the ninja world.
The Land of Earth, Iwagakure.
The Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, floated in mid-air, staring at the intelligence in his hand, his brow deeply furrowed.
"So even that old man, the Third Raikage, was brought down... So this is the true ’Azure Dragon’..."
He muttered to himself, recalling the Konoha youth from the Third War who had withstood his ’Dust Release’. He hadn’t expected the boy had been holding back back then.
"Instruct the n, for now, do not approach the waters near the Land of Whirlpools or the Land of Hot Water. Also, increase intelligence gathering on Kumogakure, find out just how severe their losses really are."
"Understood, Tsuchikage-sama."
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