Chapter 82: The Bait (Patreon)

"Yugito, are you ready?"

At the border between the Land of the Frost and the Land of Hot Water, the Two-Tails Jinchūriki, Yugito Nii, along with other Kumogakure ninja, had already flanked the rear. They stood on a tree, looking at the distant camp.

Fearing detection by Konoha's Hyūga clan, they had positioned themselves quite far from the Konoha camp. At this distance, conventional ninjutsu couldn't affect the camp—unless using a Tailed Beast Bomb, which could cause significant damage. But Yugito couldn't achieve full transformation like Killer B yet. Currently only capable of partial transformation, she couldn't use the Tailed Beast Balls.

It was somewhat ironic. She had become the Two-Tails Jinchūriki at the age of two. Despite being shunned by Kumogakure, she persisted in her training. Yet, she had been surpassed by Killer B, who later became the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki.

However, their purpose here wasn't to annihilate the Konoha camp's ninja in one fell swoop with a Tailed Beast Balls. Such an action was impossible anyway.

"Mouse Hairball."

Yugito, standing on the tree, formed hand seals. From her mouth, she spat out mouse-shaped flames wrapped in Two-Tails chakra. Upon landing, they silently transformed into several fire mice. The fire mice moved with extreme speed, leaving blue afterimages.

Under Yugito's control via Two-Tails chakra, these fire mice would head to Konoha's supply warehouses and silently burn them to ashes. Thanks to the Two-Tails' chakra properties, the flames wouldn't be extinguished by Water Release until the chakra was exhausted.

"Disperse!"

Seeing this, the other Kumogakure ninja instantly scattered, preparing to cooperate with Yugito in launching a new wave of attacks. This served both to attract the Konoha ninjas' attention for cover and to press the advantage once the warehouses were ablaze.

The advantage of Hiruzen declaring war first and rapidly integrating clans to mobilize troops was that he pushed the battlefield into the Land of the Frost, closer to the Land of Lightning. Standing at the Land of Lightning's border, one could almost see Konoha's camp. That's why the Fourth Raikage was scolded by the Land of Lightning's Daimyō.

No one had expected Hiruzen to be so decisive this time, truly catching the Raikage and Kumogakure off guard. But the drawback was that Konoha had stretched its logistical supply lines longer. If the existing logistical supplies in the camp were indeed burned, Kumogakure could shift from defense to offense and push the battlefield back before Konoha's follow-up supplies arrived.

But just as the Kumogakure forces were scattering...

Screech!

A high-pitched, penetrating eagle cry reached their ears. Everyone involuntarily halted and looked up. Above them, a falcon was circling. Noticing their gaze, it released its claws and dropped a scroll.

Yugito flashed forward and caught it. Opening it, she frowned at the contents.

The Land of Hot Water? An underground palace? What's this all about?

"Lord Raikage's orders," she looked up at the other Kumogakure ninja and announced. "This operation is temporarily suspended. Change of mission objective. I'll explain the details on the way."

With that, she raised a hand, extinguishing the fire mice that had been darting away. She then led the way in the direction indicated in the scroll. Hearing this, though equally confused, the others unhesitatingly obeyed and followed.

Meanwhile, in the Konoha camp in the Land of the Frost, inside Jiraiya's tent.

Poof!

With a burst of white smoke, a toad appeared before Jiraiya. Its croaking message made him frown.

"Recall them." Jiraiya turned to a Yamanaka clan member beside him and said.

"What happened?" Hatake Kakashi, standing nearby, asked curiously. "Wasn't it said that traces of Kumogakure ninja were detected behind our lines?"

"It's Kumogakure's Two-Tails Jinchūriki," Jiraiya's expression was equally grave and puzzled. "But she suddenly withdrew just now."

With the entire Mount Myōboku as his backup, Jiraiya's "eyes" weren't limited to Konoha ninja; they also included seemingly inconspicuous ordinary toads. Kumogakure's little maneuvers wouldn't escape his notice so easily. Jiraiya had already set a counter-ambush, but unexpectedly, the Kumogakure forces had inexplicably aborted their operation.

"Were they detected?" the Yamanaka clan member responsible for communication opened his eyes and asked.

"...Probably not," Jiraiya thought for a moment, then shook his head with a frown. "According to the toad, they received an order to abort."

At that moment, Hyūga Kumokawa, who had remained silently behind Kakashi, suddenly spoke up. "Which direction did they leave in?"

Hatake Kakashi seemed to realize something, his expression shifting slightly. After asking the toad, Jiraiya also understood.

"South," Jiraiya's tone held surprise and doubt. "The Land of Hot Water? They changed their mission objective to go to the Land of Hot Water?"

That wasn't an ordinary ninja team; it included Kumogakure's Two-Tails Jinchūriki. Would the Fourth Raikage actually send them to the Land of Hot Water?

"This is bad," Hatake Kakashi frowned deeply. "The Fourth Raikage must have received some definite information. That place likely has something they need."

Otherwise, the Fourth Raikage would never forcibly interrupt this operation and send such a crucial asset as the Two-Tails Jinchūriki to the Land of Hot Water.

"This..." Jiraiya could certainly reach the same conclusion.

Previously, Jiraiya hadn't paid much attention to Kakashi's mention of the "Abyss." After all, during his travels across the shinobi world, he had heard numerous legends and strange tales. Most were unverifiable folk rumors. Only a tiny fraction, like the Jashin Cult, Mōryō, or demonic entities, had any traceable evidence. But they held little meaning. Rash contact could even lead to disasters.

However, seeing Kumogakure go to such lengths now made Jiraiya hesitate. Could there really be some secret treasure?

Just then, the tent flap was pulled aside.

"Lord Jiraiya." A Konoha ninja entered the tent. Seeing Jiraiya's complex expression and the strange atmosphere, he was momentarily taken aback. But he quickly regained his composure, speaking in a grave tone. "According to black market intelligence, someone has hired a large number of bounty hunters to go to the Land of Hot Water..."

Screech!

This time, before he could finish, Kakashi could no longer remain seated. He abruptly stood up, his chair scraping loudly against the ground.

"Lord Jiraiya, I must take my leave."

With that, he made to pull Hyūga Kumokawa away, but Jiraiya suddenly called out to stop him.

"Wait," Jiraiya hesitated no longer, his voice heavy. "Take some additional personnel with you."

Everyone knew that old man Ōnoki loved using bounty hunters behind the scenes. These bounty hunters were clearly being manipulated by Iwagakure. The Fourth Raikage of Kumogakure was one thing, but that old man Ōnoki wasn't foolish. He never acted without purpose. Of course, Jiraiya clearly hadn't considered that Ōnoki thought the same way.

Only Hyūga Kumokawa, with his bird's-eye view, knew what was really happening. Seeing this scene, he found it somewhat amusing.

"Exactly as predicted earlier... even exceeding expectations somewhat."

This was the application of the so-called "Catfish Effect." Broadly, it refers to the effect of introducing a strong competitor to stimulate weaker ones to become stronger. When any one party, or even two, begins to act, others who view them as rivals feel threatened and are compelled to take action. In Hyūga Kumokawa's view, if Kumogakure's actions were a bit slower, even the always low-profile Sunagakure would likely join in.

"Ah well, can't force it. The Akatsuki, Kumogakure, Konoha, Iwagakure... should be enough for the experiment."

Hyūga Kumokawa's eyes flickered slightly as he thought: Materialize - First Level of the Underground Palace. Activation Condition: the Two-Tails Jinchūriki's maximum chakra capacity. The souls and flesh of those who die within the palace will be preserved...

He briefly outlined the layout, restrictions, and functions of the first level. Now, at the underground palace, it would be his stage.

But you can't expect the horse to run without feeding it. Besides, giving something would also increase the credibility of his identity. However, for the first level, there was no need to go overboard. Of course, primary ownership should still remain with him, retrievable whenever he wished.

"Hmm, then materialize a sword named 'Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi' (Heavenly Sword of Gathering Clouds), a Kusanagi Sword. Use text to imply it is the foremost among all Kusanagi Swords. Shape: a one-handed axe. Built-in 'Earth Style: Added-Weight Rock Technique,' suitable for imbuing with Earth chakra..."

"Since the Sage of Six Paths created the Treasured Tools like the Kōkinjō, Benihisago, Shichiseiken, and Bashōsen, it's not too much for me to make a 'God-Slaying Whip,' right? Built-in 'Adamantine Sealing Chains,' suitable for imbuing with Lightning chakra..."

Also add three more suitable for 'Ōtsutsuki Kumokawa,' 'Hyūga Kumokawa,' and 'Kage' to use, openly strengthening the main body and the alternate identities.

"For 'Ōtsutsuki Kumokawa,' just make a useless sword no one else can use. It can respond to a summon and unlock when that identity appears later."

"For 'Kage,' then imitate the Oni Mask from Jackie Chan Adventures that can summon various shadow ninja. Materialize a similar one."

"For 'Hyūga Kumokawa,' flight capability is best, and it must fit the persona. The Wing-type Imperial Arm 'Mastema' from Akame ga Kill! would be very suitable."

After pondering for a moment, Hyūga Kumokawa seemed to think of something and couldn't help but smile.

"Plus a set of seven swords named 'Seven Deadly Sins,' corresponding to Pride, Envy, Wrath, Sloth, Greed, Gluttony, and Lust."

That's six already. Finally, add four ordinary chakra blades to make ten exactly.

[Cost: 10,000 Realization Points. Confirm Materialization?]

"...Dropped below ten thousand again," Hyūga Kumokawa couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth. But he still responded mentally: "Materialize."

[Remaining Realization Points: 8,754]

Having inexplicably received 8,000 points from that old toad and Jiraiya, Hyūga Kumokawa didn't feel too pained spending them now. Besides, at least three of the items were for himself. It was just the drop below 10,000 that felt uncomfortable.

These ninja tools weren't inherently extremely powerful. They were essentially chakra metal weapons with special ninjutsu built-in, hence the relatively low point cost. But for other ninja, weapons that could be imbued with chakra attributes—like Asuma Sarutobi's Hien (Flying Swallow)—were incredibly precious. Because no one knew how to forge chakra blades anymore. Even chakra metal was a dwindling resource, its price on the black market far exceeding its intrinsic value.

For Hyūga Kumokawa, as long as he had enough Realization Points, he could materialize enough chakra metal. So, using such things as bait was undoubtedly the most cost-effective choice. The bulk of the cost went into constructing the first level of the underground palace, the uniquely effective "Seven Deadly Sins" set, and the mask and wings prepared for himself.

"Kumokawa, let's go."

At that moment, Hatake Kakashi had finally finished selecting personnel. He looked up, called out to Hyūga Kumokawa, then hurriedly walked out of the tent.

Hyūga Kumokawa withdrew his thoughts and quickly followed him out. He was also somewhat excited. Spending 10,000 points like this—what kind of return would it bring him? What ripples would it create?