'Countered by Lightning Release? Too bad, ow~.'
Takeshi used the Flying Thunder God to bring Kura Uchiha back to Rin, setting him down gently.
"Takeshi, what happened out there?" Minato asked, his expression imdiately turning grim as he saw Kura's miserable state.
Kura, a descendant of Kagami Uchiha, was known for his top-tier Body Flicker Jutsu and Taijutsu within the Uchiha clan and even across Konoha. Yet, he was now on the brink of death. Minato knew that without Takeshi's tily intervention, Kura would certainly be dead.
"ow~ A couple squads from Kumogakure ambushed them. Kura-senpai's team was wiped out, he was the only one left. I didn't see much. The Third Raikage showed up, so I made myself scarce."
'Third Raikage?' Minato paused, catching his breath.
He didn't know much about Kumogakure, but the Third Raikage's strength was legendary. It was already a miracle Takeshi had managed to bring Kura back after facing him. But now, the question was... 'What should I do? Go alone, or bring Kakashi and the rest?'
Against the Third Raikage, Kakashi's squad would only get in the way. The Third Raikage had that Lightning Release Armor, they couldn't break through it. Plus, he was fast. He'd cut down kids like Obito and Guy without even trying.
"Oh, I did kill couple of them and roughed up the Third Raikage's kid pretty bad. Maybe they've already pulled back, ow." Takeshi finished, jumping onto Minato's shoulder after placing Kura down.
"Let's go take a look together," Minato said, already bursting into motion.
He moved with incredible speed, covering vast distance in an instant. At speed Kakashi, Obito, and Guy couldn't hope to keep up.
While Kakashi and Obito hesitated, Rin spoke up. "Help make a makeshift stretcher. We need to get Kura-san back to the main camp quickly. His injuries are too severe, hurry!"
"But..." Obito started speaking before saying, "Okay."
Obito grit his teeth, grabbed Kakashi's sword, and started chopping down thick branches, following Rin's instructions to build a makeshift stretcher.
Kakashi's lip twitched. "The Third Raikage is terrifying. We'd just be a liability. Better to help here."
"Right." Guy was a little disappointed but knew Kakashi was right.
'Thinking about it, it's true,' Guy thought. 'Who could possibly fight a Kage-level opponent? Not us. Even in the entire Eastern War Zone, besides Tsunade-sama, there probably aren't many who could go up against the Third Raikage. We'd just be throwing our lives away.'
Genma, silent until now, simply nodded and began helping with the stretcher, pushing aside his other thoughts. The Kakashi squad definitely had more front-line experience.
--**--**
"You're saying you killed couple of them and hurt the Third Raikage's son?" Minato asked, as he pushed himself to his top speed.
His movent was like a bolt of lightning, his talent for speed was undeniable. Though, compared to a cat, a human would always be slightly outmatched. A cat's reaction speed was simply on another level, there was no comparison.
"ow!" Takeshi confird with a nod.
Minato clicked his tongue.
The Third Raikage's son? That ant Ay, the Fourth Raikage candidate and Bee, Perfect Eight Tails Jinchuriki, the infamous 'Ay-Bee' duo who were rapidly gaining notoriety. They were Elite Jonin level, maybe even reaching Kage level. Minato wasn't even sure he could beat them.
But Takeshi... Takeshi had actually seriously injured him while protecting Kura.
Minato felt a strange mix of frustration at being outdone and deep pride. For a mont, words failed him.
"We're here," Minato said, slowing his pace as he sensed lingering chakra fluctuations ahead. After a mont of careful observation and scanning, confirming no enemies were present, he erged from the trees.
A scene of devastation greeted them.
Severed limbs and broken bones painted a grueso picture of the battle that had taken place. Three trees lay felled, their trunks seared with Lightning Release marks. This must be where Takeshi had faced Ay.
"ow..." Takeshi let out a low sound.
Even though he didn't know these shinobi, seeing them cut down like this still felt...pointless, all of them died for dumb reasons.
He shifted his gaze away, scanning the imdiate area. Minato, anwhile, was checking the corpses for any survivors or clues.
But as Takeshi turned his head, another scent caught his attention, faint, mixed, but definitely the lingering trace of another team.
He sniffed. "ow, there's another team nearby!"
He followed the scent imdiately, Minato right behind him.
Before long, they found the spot. It was outside the Land of Fire's territory, though still a considerable distance from the Land of Lightning's border. Here, there were no corpses to be seen, only faint scorch marks from lightning.
"'Another two squads,'" Minato murmured.
Four squads had been sent against Konoha. Only Kura Uchiha had survived.
If not for Takeshi's rescue, it would've been impossible for Kura to make it. It was clear Kumo wasn't holding back this ti, striking with brutal efficiency. Even Tsunade's reorganized patrol system of sending two squads together couldn't prevent tragedy.
Soon, couple Konoha squads arrived at the scene. It seed Kumowasn't planning any further imdiate attacks.
Takeshi felt the familiar pull and knew he was being summoned back to the camp to rest. He'd used a significant amount of chakra. Even a short break wasn't enough to fully recover, a good night's sleep was the best way to replenish his reserves.
However, he hadn't been asleep for long when he felt the room spin. Opening his eyes, he saw Kanna kneeling uneasily beside a bed, staring at him. Takeshi looked around. 'I am in Kanna's room?'
Kanna wore a simple robe, looking even more beautiful than usual.
"ow?"
"'Takeshi-sama,' Kanna said, bowing her head. 'I summoned Asui just now to inquire about the situation. Yahiko and his team have already arrived in the Land of Snow and are searching for that village, just as you instructed.'"
Takeshi quickly turned his head away, thinking for a few seconds before asking again, "'Anything else?'"
"'They wished to send you so information through ,' Kanna replied, taking four sealing scrolls from her sleeve. 'It's all written by Yahiko.'"
Takeshi took the scrolls and spread them out with his paws. The information detailed troop deploynts along the Land of Earth and Land of Wind borders, each marked with the date. Combined, the scrolls revealed the recent movents of ninja from Iwagakure and Sunagakure, including so interesting rumors.
What stood out was this: Rasa had beco the Fourth Kazekage.
This information was a few days old. Akatsuki had been busy recently, preparing for their retreat and gathering supplies, keeping personnel movent minimal and limiting recent intelligence gathering.
'Rasa is the Fourth now...' Takeshi thought. 'How long until they launch an attack on Konoha?'
'Probably not long.'
Takeshi thought to himself. "Konoha's been chaotic lately. Be careful here, ow. I can take you to the Land of Snow. There are fewer people there, and no one will care about your hair color."
"Thank you, Takeshi-sama, but I'm happy here. I'll ask for your help if I can't stay here any longer." Kanna smiled sweetly.
Takeshi disappeared in a puff of smoke, heading back to the Ninja Cat Fortress.
His Summoning Jutsu had tid out.
He left the scrolls behind.
'I can't let anyone know I'm working with Akatsuki,' Takeshi mused. 'If word gets out we're still in contact, everything from that day could be exposed.'
Besides, while Yahiko's intel was useful, it wouldn't change much.
Orochimaru and Jiraiya had already anticipated a joint offensive from Sunagakure and Iwagakure. They were prepared. Takeshi didn't need to stick his nose in.
The Sannin were seasoned veterans. Just look at Tsunade's quick response tonight. A commander's experience made all the difference.
'But what next?' Takeshi wondered. 'I can't just stay here and wait to be attacked. I have to do sothing...'
Takeshi started to strategize.
Kumo wouldn't be easy. Ay and Bee were not be at their peak, and he could outmaneuver them easily, but the Third Raikage was a different story.
His defense was impenetrable, and his attacks were brutal. Even with Needle Jizo and Ice Release defenses combined, it might not be enough.
'It looks like it's ti to acquire Wind Release: Rasengan.'
Wind Release was strong against Lightning Release.
'If I can develop the Rasenshuriken and enter Sage Mode, even if the Third Raikage takes a direct hit, he probably won't be able to withstand it. Even if he survives, no big deal, I'll just hit him again.'
'But before I get the technique,' he decided, 'I should talk to Minato first.'
With his plan settled, Takeshi ran out of the tent to find Minato.
===============
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