Time ticked by.
Inside the advancing Cloud formation, Samui felt the unease in her chest grow heavier with every step.
The forest around them was alive with insects and distant bird calls.
Too alive.
"Lord Dodai!" a scout suddenly appeared ahead of the column. "We've made contact with the reinforcement unit. They're waiting one kilometer ahead in the forest!"
"Good!" Dodai exhaled, raising his voice. "One last push! Once we regroup, we're safe!"
But even as he spoke, a shadow of doubt lingered.
They were hauling a massive sealed barrel through the Land of Fire—enemy territory filled with Konoha outposts.
Even if the main pursuit force couldn't catch them, small interception squads should have appeared by now.
Delay tactics.
Harassment.
Anything.
Instead?
Nothing.
Too smooth.
Too clean.
Dodai wasn't naïve enough to think this was luck.
Konoha wasn't sloppy.
And Shimura Danzo certainly didn't have total control over the entire village.
In fact, Danzo had been clear: he could guarantee their exit from Konoha's walls.
After that?
Survival was their own problem.
Which meant—
Konoha was waiting.
Weaving a net.
Just not pulling it tight yet.
Fine.
Then Cloud would gather strength—
And tear through it.
Reunion
The final kilometer disappeared quickly.
Figures materialized between the trees.
"Lord Dodai! Sister Samui!"
A petite figure dashed out eagerly.
Dodai and Samui both froze.
"Yugito?!"
Yugito Nii.
Twelve or thirteen years old.
The Two-Tails jinchūriki.
She wrapped her arms around Samui, smiling brightly.
"Lord Raikage was worried Killer B-sensei might not be at full strength after long sealing," she explained. "He wanted to come himself, but the council stopped him. So he sent me."
She added quickly:
"I can use part of Matatabi's power now. She's stubborn, but she won't let me die."
Dodai's expression tightened.
Yugito wasn't a perfect jinchūriki yet.
But partial control was enough.
A tailed beast was a natural disaster.
One Tailed Beast Bomb—
Could rip open any defensive line.
"And Lord Raikage said," Yugito continued proudly, "he'll personally wait at the border of the Land of Hot Water. Once we cross out of Fire Country, he'll receive us."
"If Konoha dares pursue, he'll reopen the war."
Dodai and Samui both felt a surge of loyalty.
Unlike the calculating leaders of other villages, the Raikage fought for his people.
Reckless?
Maybe.
But Cloud followed him without hesitation.
Arrival at the Valley
Before dawn, they reached the outskirts of the Valley of the End.
The first reinforcement unit had arrived.
Kariyui's assassination group had not yet reached them.
"Send four squads to perimeter watch," Dodai ordered. "The rest rest, hydrate, eat."
He paused.
"Begin unsealing Killer B."
Samui immediately gathered the Cloud shinobi skilled in fūinjutsu.
One by one—
The sealing inscriptions on the massive barrel began to unravel.
The moon had already set.
The sun had not yet risen.
The darkest hour of night pressed down around them.
No fires.
No light.
Only breath.
Only tension.
Dodai stared at the barrel as if it were salvation.
But the more seals broke—
The stronger his unease became.
Then—
A sentry rushed back toward camp.
"Lord Dodai! Kariyui's unit has arrived! They're just—"
WHISTLE—
A shrill sound split the darkness.
An arrow streaked through the night.
It struck the scout's skull mid-sentence—
And exploded his head into blood and fragments.
For a single frozen heartbeat—
Everything stopped.
Then Dodai roared with every ounce of strength in his lungs:
"Enemy attack!"
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