Want to read ahead? Join my Patreon for only $7 to get early access to upcoming chapters!
> > Patreon.com/NegativeTranslations <<
----------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 19 — The Hidden Cloud Wants the Flying Fortress Too?
Konan's footsteps didn't pause as she calmly ascended the creaking stairs and entered the second-floor room.
With a quiet creak, she closed the door behind her.
Downstairs, three men in varying attire sat in silence around a small, battered table. The room was tense and still; no one spoke.
When the sound of the door closing came from above, a bead of cold sweat rolled down the forehead of the gray-clad man sitting at the head of the table.
He made a subtle hand sign toward his two companions.
The next instant, all three stood simultaneously.
Without a sound, they turned into dark streaks and darted out the window, sprinting swiftly toward the mountains behind the house.
They moved with remarkable speed—silent, efficient, and deadly.
To maximize agility, the three dispelled their Transformation Jutsu, revealing their true appearances: dark-skinned, muscular men—typical shinobi of Kumogakure.
The gray-clad one led the way, the other two close behind, leaping from branch to branch as if fleeing for their lives.
Every few moments, the leader glanced back nervously into the black forest, his expression filled with dread, afraid something might follow.
One of his men finally spoke, unable to contain his confusion.
"Lord Watanabe, what happened back there? Why are we retreating from that village? What about our mission?"
"The mission is suspended for now!" Watanabe hissed, finally slowing once they had covered enough distance.
"I just used a sensory jutsu to probe that newcomer's chakra... and what I found—"
He broke off, shivering slightly at the memory.
"The chakra inside that person was massive! Maybe not quite at Lord Raikage's level, but without question—a Kage-class shinobi!"
"What?! A Kage-level shinobi?!" the two subordinates exclaimed in shock.
"How could someone that strong suddenly appear in a remote mountain village like this?"
"I'm wondering the same thing," Watanabe muttered, shaking his head, equally unsettled. Then his eyes narrowed. "Unless… they're also after Soragakure."
Their current mission, ordered by the Raikage himself, was to locate the Flying Fortress once built by the Sky Ninja.
Based on multiple intelligence reports, Soragakure hadn't been completely destroyed by Konoha. Instead, remnants had secretly continued constructing the fortress in hiding.
As a massive airborne stronghold, the Flying Fortress held immense strategic value.
Very few shinobi could actually fly—barely enough to count on one hand.
If Kumogakure could obtain such a weapon, it would massively boost the village's military might. In future wars, they would be nearly invincible.
From the skies, they could unleash jutsu or drop explosive ordnance upon enemy villages—an unparalleled aerial advantage.
It was no exaggeration to say that the fortress could shift the balance of power across the ninja world.
"The Flying Fortress must not fall into anyone else's hands," Watanabe growled to himself as they ran.
One of his men spoke again. "But Lord Watanabe, that Kage-level shinobi—there's no way we can handle someone like that. What should we do? Do we still continue the search?"
"The Flying Fortress is too important to abandon," Watanabe said darkly. "We'll report back to the village immediately. For now, we'll keep our distance from that stranger and await orders."
The fortress was enormous; he wasn't worried about someone secretly stealing it.
"Once Lord Raikage arrives, that so-called Kage will meet his end! No one steals what Kumogakure sets its sights on!"
All three Cloud shinobi felt confidence swell at the mention of the Raikage's name.
In their eyes, no one in the shinobi world could rival his strength.
But just as Watanabe's lips curled into a grim smile, a faint sound stirred behind them.
He turned instinctively—only to see a surge of white papers bursting from the shadows of the forest, swirling into a massive cloud.
In the blink of an eye, the paper storm reformed into a floating human silhouette directly ahead of them.
"Akatsuki—White Tiger!!" Watanabe froze, shock flooding his face.
He stopped mid-leap, landing heavily on a thick branch, and immediately drew a kunai, his body tense with fear.
"Akatsuki... of course. So it's you."
In that instant, everything made sense.
As a notorious mercenary organization, Akatsuki would naturally covet the immense power of the Flying Fortress.
The other two Cloud ninja landed beside him, drawing their weapons—kunai and short swords glinting under the faint moonlight—ready to fight to the death.
They were Kumogakure shinobi; even against a Kage-level enemy, they would not back down.
For the pride of their village, they would fight.
Konan hovered a dozen meters ahead, cold and composed, her expression indifferent as she looked down on them from midair.
An elite jōnin and two chūnin—none of them posed a real threat.
The outcome had already been decided the moment she revealed herself.
"Hand over all intelligence you have on Soragakure," she said, her tone frigid and restrained.
Alex silently observed from within her cloak. If these three possessed the coordinates or details of the fortress, it would save them considerable effort.
Seeing Kumogakure's presence here didn't surprise him. That village had always revered strength.
They would steal any power—be it bloodline, jutsu, or weapon—that could enhance their might.
It wasn't shocking that they now sought the Flying Fortress.
After all, Kumogakure already had chakra cannons capable of overwhelming other nations through sheer technological advantage.
If they acquired and weaponized the fortress, perhaps even mounting chakra cannons upon it—no village could stand against them.
It would be absolute domination from the skies.
No, Alex thought to himself with growing interest. That fortress will be mine. They can forget about it.
"Don't even think about it!" Watanabe roared. "We'll never betray our village!"
He turned to his subordinates. "Attack!"
But it was futile.
Before they could even weave a single hand sign, layers of white paper spiraled from the ground and wrapped around their bodies like serpents.
In seconds, all three were cocooned tightly—mummified in sheets of reinforced paper.
They couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't even form a single seal.
Alex detached from Konan's chest, fluttering down beside the immobilized men. A sheet of paper extended and deftly unfastened each of their ninja pouches.
Only standard equipment—kunai, shuriken, Exploding Tags. No scrolls.
Nothing about the Flying Fortress.
Alex wasn't disappointed. Preventing them from reporting back to the Raikage was victory enough.
It would buy at least three days before the Cloud Village realized these men had vanished—and by then, he planned to already be gone with the fortress in tow.
A single phrase appeared on his paper body: [Go back.]
Then he floated back into Konan's cloak.
Konan nodded slightly and turned away, gliding silently into the forest.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Three muffled explosions echoed behind her.
The bodies of Watanabe and his men were crushed into pulp beneath the tightening paper.
Konan didn't even glance back.
Though she often showed mercy toward small villages and their shinobi, she had none for the great nations—those that waged wars and brought endless suffering to innocents.
To her, they were the true source of chaos in the shinobi world—the root of all bloodshed.