Chapter 243: Coordinating With Third Raikage A Pincer Attack

The southeastern coast had weak defenses, and being a sea route, it was the hardest to detect.

Dodai’s eyes sharpened as he turned to look at Toroi, who had remained silent.

"Toroi! I want you to lead two thousand elite troops from here and take the sea route!"

Dodai tapped a position on the map heavily and continued, "After completing their mission, that Konoha strike force will definitely return the same way. Your task is to block their retreat."

Toroi narrowed his eyes slightly. "Coordinate with third Raikage-sama for a pincer attack?"

"Exactly." Dodai nodded. "Once you detect them, attack immediately without waiting for orders. Third Raikage-sama should have already reached the village by now. After dealing with the Eight-Tails and stabilizing things, he will surely pursue this Konoha force. Your job is to cut off their escape at sea."

Toroi nodded and slowly straightened his posture. "Understood! I will make them realize that the Village Hidden in the Cloud is not a place they can come and go as they please!"

....

In the Village Hidden in the Cloud, flames soar into the sky.

A dazzling white light flashed across the high platform of the Raikage building in the center of the village, and the Third Raikage’s burly body appeared on the spot like lightning.

"Raikage-sama!" Several ninjas who had been anxiously waiting there immediately stepped forward.

The third Raikage didn’t even glance at the devastation around him and asked in a deep voice, "Where are those Konoha ninja?"

"They escaped five minutes ago! We... we couldn’t stop them..."

The Third Raikage’s expression darkened, but he did not lash out and just forcibly suppressed the surging killing intent within him.

The most important thing right now is to deal with the rampaging Eight-Tails; as for the rats, he can chase them later.

"Where is A?" He continued.

A Jonin immediately responded: "A-sama has successfully lured the Eight-Tails to the northeast..."

The Third Raikage nodded, turned around, and transformed into a bolt of lightning, rushing to the battlefield.

He believed that, with Dodai’s intelligence, he would surely be able to determine the Konoha troops’ infiltration and retreat routes and would definitely send someone to intercept them.

Just as he disappeared, in the shadows of what appeared to be ordinary residential ruins not far away, a person dressed in civilian clothes, huddled behind a broken wall, had a glint of iridescent light in their eyes.

Then, the next second, the civilian quietly turned into a wisp of smoke and disappeared.

....

"Is everyone here?"

Dozens of kilometers outside Village Hidden in the Cloud, deep within a dense forest.

Shinichi quickly scanned the figures silently gathered in the dim forest while counting in his mind.

Of the five hundred elite troops that had set out, only a little over four hundred were still standing and able to continue.

Even though they had struck during Village Hidden in the Cloud’s most chaotic moment, and even though most of Village Hidden in the Cloud’s elite had been diverted to deal with the Eight-Tails, the remaining forces in the village, even excluding the Genin, still had three times as many Chunin and Jonin as they did.

Even after completing the mission and withdrawing immediately, ninety-five people had still died forever in that burning village.

Jonin Shinra stepped forward while lowering his voice. "Yes, Captain Shinichi. All surviving comrades are here. We also brought back the bodies of the fallen wherever possible."

Shinichi was silent for a moment. "The village will remember their sacrifice."

He said nothing more. At a time like this, any words felt pale. This was war; death was never absent.

Shinku stepped forward, his gaze falling on Shinichi’s face.

Two months ago, when he and Shinichi went to the northeast battlefield as part of a support force, he was the commander, and Shinichi was the deputy commander.

Now, their positions have been reversed.

Upon hearing this, Shinichi did not answer immediately, but instead took out a map from his pocket.

Shinichi’s finger moved across the map, eventually stopping at a certain spot.

"Let’s go here."

Shinku Yuhi leaned closer, and his pupils contracted slightly: "Mount Raigu?"

Mount Raigu carries immense weight in the Land of Lightning.

Every ninja clan in the Shinobi World has its own ancestral land. Even after the establishment of the ninja village era, when various ninja clans moved into the village, people were still sent to guard the ancestral land.

Just like the Naka River is a sacred ancestral land for the Uchiha Clan!

Mount Raigu is the ancestral home of the Yotsuki Clan, the number one ninja clan in the Land of Lightning.

’Then let me teach you, Village Hidden in the Cloud... what a true lightning war (Blitzkrieg) really is.’

Shinichi looked at the location on the map belonging to the Yotsuki Clan’s ancestral land and thought to himself.

...

At the same time, as Shinichi pointed toward Mount Raigu, in the outer regions dozens to hundreds of kilometers away from the Konoha force’s gathering point, dozens of figures with the same chakra signature as Shinichi were racing like phantoms across the wilderness, mountains, forests, and plains of the Land of Lightning.

A glass-like glow flowed wildly in their eyes, spreading like a vast net, silently enveloping the region.

...

Three hours later, at dawn, at the Raikage Building.

A faint gray-white light appeared on the horizon, and the outline of the village gradually became clear in the morning light. But the usual tranquility of dawn was gone.

Collapsed buildings, overturned earth, shattered rocks, and scorched black marks were everywhere.

In the distance, thin strands of black smoke slowly rose, mixing with the morning mist and casting a gray haze over the entire village.

The destruction caused by the Eight-Tails’ rampage was shocking.

Inside the Raikage’s office, the third Raikage sat behind his desk while looking at the subordinates reporting losses.

"Report."

An administrative officer responsible for statistics spoke stiffly, "Raikage-sama, preliminary estimates of the damage caused by the Eight-Tails’ rampage show 227 collapsed structures, including residential areas, commercial zones, warehouses, and..."

His voice grew lower as he continued, while the third Raikage’s expression became increasingly grim.

"What about the logistics department?"

Another administrative officer stepped forward solemnly. "The logistics department is almost completely destroyed. Most of the stored tools, Explosive Tags, food supplies, and related machinery were burned in last night’s surprise attack. Preliminary estimates suggest losses of at least seventy percent. The medical department also..."

After listening, the third Raikage’s breathing became heavier, veins bulging faintly at his temples. He tapped the desk again, this time harder, producing a dull sound.

"What about Blue B?"

The moment he spoke, the office fell into dead silence, then a Jonin stepped forward.

"Raikage-sama, we were unable to find Blue B-sama’s body afterward. His remains have likely..."

"Konoha..." The third Raikage’s hand froze midair as he ground his teeth.

Bang!!!

With a loud explosion, the heavy wooden desk in front of him shattered under a single strike.

Wood splinters flew, documents scattered, and an ink bottle smashed onto the ground, splattering black ink everywhere.

"Shinichi Higashino!!!"

His voice roared like thunder, echoing through the office and making the windows buzz.

He raised his head sharply, his bloodshot eyes blazing with killing intent as he spoke through clenched teeth.

"Good! Very good!"

"First B, then Blue B... and not even sparing his corpses!"