Chapter 391 – Intelligence
Dawn broke.
Fugaku yawned as he stepped out of his tent, the cool morning breeze instantly jolting him awake.
A full night's rest had done wonders—his body felt light, his mind clear.
Although he'd managed some rest the previous afternoon, that barely counted as recovery.
For shinobi, sleep was the best medicine.
Watching the first rays of sunlight creep over the horizon, Fugaku shook his head faintly.
Waking early had long since become habit.
"Fog?"
He raised a hand slightly. A thin layer of mist lingered throughout the camp.
Given the Fire Country's humid forests, morning fog was hardly unusual—especially after the light rain that had fallen the night before. Fugaku didn't think much of it.
Rolling his shoulders, he planned to do a bit of light activity.
Nothing strenuous—barely even a warm-up by his standards—but on the front lines, maintaining readiness was crucial. Even simple stretching mattered.
Then—
A clear, deep horn blast thundered through the camp.
Fugaku froze for a split second.
His expression changed instantly.
Following the horn's call, shinobi surged from their tents, assembling at astonishing speed.
Even those still half-asleep snapped into formation under their captains' commands.
Fugaku rushed toward Nara Kyōhei, who was already directing troop movements.
Distant explosions echoed from the outskirts of the camp, tightening Fugaku's brow.
Did the Cloud really lose their minds and launch a dawn assault?
They're faster than expected…
"Captain Fugaku," Kyōhei greeted him with a quick bow.
"What's happening?" Fugaku asked bluntly. "The Cloud has arrived?"
"Yes," Kyōhei replied rapidly. "Around a thousand Cloud shinobi. They launched a rear assault using the fog as cover."
"They moved extremely fast. Once they detected our outer defenses, they forced their way through. The first wave of sentries has already been eliminated."
"I see…"
Fugaku nodded calmly.
"Split our forces into four battalions to secure all sides of the camp. Assign sufficient reserves to rotate in immediately."
"Have our sensory teams use every available technique to locate enemies concealed in the fog. Do not let them break through."
Kyōhei nodded again.
He'd already issued these orders—but as a member of the Nara clan, he knew better than to say so.
He also didn't mention that he had already gathered wind-style specialists and prepared to disperse the fog.
Though he had once served as frontline commander, Kyōhei adapted effortlessly to a subordinate role.
Moments later, hundreds of wind-style shinobi gathered and unleashed their techniques together.
A violent gale formed midair, sweeping outward in all directions.
Fugaku cast Kyōhei a subtle glance.
He said nothing—but inwardly, he approved.
It might have looked like Kyōhei was pre-empting his authority, but Fugaku knew his own role clearly. He had never been power-hungry.
And competence mattered more than ego.
"Captain Fugaku!"
A Hyūga shinobi, Byakugan active, scanned the surroundings—his expression grim.
"They've breached the perimeter!"
"And the commander is—"
He swallowed.
"—the Fourth Raikage."
"The Fourth Raikage?" Fugaku's expression tightened. "He's here? Where is he now?"
The Fourth Raikage...
Why did this guy personally move out?
The moment the question crossed Fugaku's mind, a violent tremor rolled through the ground not far away, making his brows knit together.
At that point, he had already pieced together the Cloud Ninja's intentions.
A distance of just over ten kilometers was practically nothing.
Speed is the essence of warfare—and this was exactly what that phrase meant.
Launching a surprise attack right after Konoha's reinforcements arrived was, from any angle, the correct decision.
This strike force numbered only about a thousand men, and it was led personally by the Fourth Raikage.
That alone meant these were elite assault specialists.
They were fast—faster than ordinary units—and their destructive capability was anything but weak.
But more importantly, they were built for speed.
Only with overwhelming speed could they still punch through even after being detected by the Byakugan, force an engagement, test Konoha's defenses, and then calmly decide whether to continue fighting until the main force arrived—or retreat safely back to their own camp.
Thinking this through, Fugaku spoke at once.
"Where is the Fourth Raikage?"
"Southwest!" the Hyūga ninja replied quickly, his voice tense. "He's moving extremely fast!"
Tense was an understatement.
Almost no one present was calm.
Everyone knew the Third Raikage's legendary feats—holding off tens of thousands alone.
The Fourth Raikage might not match his father exactly, but blood mattered.
No one knew whether he had already reached a similar level of power.
Fear was only natural.
Especially when Konoha currently had just four thousand shinobi deployed.
The two thousand under the Third Hokage had yet to arrive—whether they were delayed, maneuvering elsewhere, or preparing a flanking action was still unknown.
Fugaku shook his head, discarding unnecessary thoughts.
This was his moment.
His chance to step forward.
He closed his eyes briefly.
When they opened again, they were crimson—three tomoe spinning slowly.
Fourth Raikage… let's see what a Kage is truly worth.
"Nara Kyōhei," Fugaku said rapidly. "This place is yours."
"You command here. Don't let a single Cloud ninja slip through. If possible—wipe them out completely."
"Uchiha Ryū. Uchiha Kawa. I appoint you as squad leaders. Follow Kyōhei's command."
"I'm intercepting the Fourth Raikage."
Before Kyōhei could say a word, Fugaku vanished—charging straight toward the Raikage's position.
Kyōhei opened his mouth… then closed it.
Turning to the assembled forces, he immediately began issuing orders.
Screams were already echoing through the camp.
Any delay now would be fatal.
---
Steel clashed.
The camp descended into chaos.
"Cloud ninja here!"
"We've got wounded—medical unit!"
"I hit one! He's injured—sensory team, track him down!"
Shouts overlapped, blending into a single roar of confusion.
Fugaku's heart tightened.
The Cloud had chosen their timing perfectly.
He accelerated again—
And then two Konoha shinobi were suddenly hurled through the air, smashing into the ground with sickening cracks as bones shattered.
Fugaku dodged instinctively and stopped.
Raising his head, he saw him.
A towering figure.
Broad-shouldered. Dark-skinned. Bareheaded. Wearing only a white robe.
Standing there casually.
Yet the pressure he radiated was suffocating.
Fugaku recognized him instantly.
The Fourth Raikage.
---
Meanwhile—
Kei flicked the blood from his blade and glanced at the corpses strewn across the room, a faint look of disdain on his face.
Truthfully, this mission didn't require him personally.
But since Kakashi had asked—and since the request came from Minato—he didn't mind stretching his legs a little.
A warm-up, before the real battlefield.
Everyone here was Cloud ninja. He was certain of it.
Among the bodies were two faces he recognized—not personally, but from information Ayaka had once given him.
On the night Hinata was kidnapped, two sensory-type shinobi had been responsible for information relay.
Those two had enabled Atsubi to infiltrate the Hyūga compound undetected and abduct Hinata.
Ayaka had provided their sketches.
Kei hadn't paid them much attention at the time.
He hadn't expected that information to become relevant now.
But these two resisted fiercely the moment he appeared.
So Kei gave them no chance to survive.
Once he confirmed who the leader was, he killed them immediately.
Of the six Cloud ninja in the cabin, only one remained alive.
---
"Kei."
Kakashi rushed in, grimacing at the heavy stench of blood—but not surprised.
"How bad is it?" he asked.
"Handled," Kei replied calmly. "Everyone's dead except the leader. He's under genjutsu."
"I didn't give them time to destroy anything. Still—you'd better collect what's left."
He tossed a file to Kakashi.
Kakashi frowned as he read.
The document detailed Konoha's mobilization timetable, commanding officers, mission objectives—even the rough composition of participating clans.
Dangerous information.
Not fatal—but close.
Early intelligence could shape strategic decisions.
Better that it never reached the Cloud.
Kakashi exhaled slowly and turned to the man slumped on the floor.
Middle-aged. Slightly overweight.
At first glance, just a harmless hunter.
A wife. A son.
Both lay dead nearby—single, precise cuts to the neck.
Every corpse bore the same mark.
Clean. Efficient.
This "ordinary" family had been Cloud spies embedded in Fire Country for years.
If not for this purge, they might never have been found.
---
"You collect the documents," Kakashi ordered the ANBU and Root operatives. "No tricks. Everything goes to the Hokage."
"Hizashi," Kei said calmly, turning to Hyūga Hizashi. "Record everything. No need to send him to interrogation—we'll finish here."
"Yes, Sir," Hizashi replied, stepping forward.
Kei's Sharingan spun.
Three tomoe were enough.
The Cloud spy twitched, then slowly raised his head.
"Speak," Kei said flatly. "What intelligence did you pass to the Cloud? And what orders were you given?"
"I—"
The man suddenly clutched his head, screaming in pain.
A seal had activated.
Kakashi tensed—but Kei did not stop.
He pressed harder.
The seal devoured the man's mind—but it could not break Kei's illusion.
Blood streamed from the man's eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.
"I sent… part of it…"
His voice was dull.
"But… there was more… new instructions…"
"What instructions?" Kei asked calmly.
"They told me… to plan a route… they will send people… into Konoha… create chaos… delay the Hokage—"
Boom.
The man's head exploded.
Kei and Kakashi leapt back instantly.
Brains and blood splattered the room.
ANBU and Root operatives weren't so lucky.
Kei sighed.
"Looks like there's no need to escort him anymore."
Kakashi nodded grimly.
"That's more than enough."
The meaning was clear.
Cloud ninja intended to infiltrate Konoha again—coordinate with remaining spies, sow chaos, and keep Minato from the front lines.
They had tried this once before.
This time—
They would not succeed.
Not with the Uchiha, the Military Police, and Kei standing beside the Fourth Hokage.