They say that the fierce fear the ruthless, and the ruthless fear those who have nothing to lose!
The Fourth Raikage had always been known for being incredibly reckless. His disregard for consequences, combined with his top-tier strength among Kage-level shinobi, had made it so that few ever dared provoke him.
If you were to describe the Fourth Raikage, a fitting analogy would be that he was like the honey badger of the shinobi world—fearless and headstrong.
Because of his recklessness, the Fourth Raikage had always managed to succeed in the shinobi world. This was his personal experience.
But today, his recklessness met its match, and Akira was even more reckless?
The Fourth Raikage found this hard to believe.
Just a few shinobi from the Leaf Village, and they dared to make a move inside his Cloud Village?
And most notably, Akira didn't hesitate to summon the True Several Thousand Hands? Was he really serious about fighting?
At this moment, everyone's eyes were fixed on the enormous wooden Buddha statue, standing hundreds of meters tall. All of them were shaken, including the Fourth Raikage, who was stunned into silence, unsure of how to respond.
If the True Several Thousand Hands attacked, could Cloud Village truly withstand its power?
"Raikage, what's your answer? Will you continue to be obstinate?"
The Raikage's shock was evident, and as for the other shinobi and civilians in Cloud Village, their thoughts were clear as well.
Standing atop the head of the True Several Thousand Hands, Akira looked down at the Fourth Raikage as if he were standing at the edge of a cliff. His gaze was lofty as he posed his question.
Because of the distance, Akira's voice had to be loud. In the stillness of the night, not only did the Fourth Raikage hear it clearly, but the entire Cloud Village heard Akira's words echo throughout.
"Akira? So it's him who's causing all this?"
"The legendary Akira who mastered the First Hokage's Wood Release, and even greened the entire Rock Village. Seems it's true after all."
"But what kind of conflict could the Raikage have with Akira? Could it be because Raikage didn't go to meet him earlier today?"
Upon hearing Akira's proclamation, the entire Cloud Village began to talk among themselves, debating the meaning behind the clash between Akira and the Raikage.
As for the Raikage himself, Akira's pressure had pushed him to a precarious position. His expression was grim, and he found himself stuck between a rock and a hard place.
After causing such a commotion, and with his voice reaching the entire village, it was clear that everyone's eyes were on them now.
If the Raikage backed down, what would become of his pride and honor?
Yet, at the same time, from Akira's attitude, it was evident that he was not backing down in the slightest.
If the Raikage didn't relent, it seemed like Akira was prepared to take action!
The infamous power of the Wood Release and the rumored Divine Dragon transformation—if Akira was pushed to use his full power, regardless of the outcome, one thing was certain: Cloud Village would suffer massive destruction—something the Raikage absolutely wanted to avoid.
They could shout about standing and dying with dignity, but if there was a way to avoid death, who would willingly choose to die?
"So, Raikage, are you going to give me a proper answer or not?" Akira pressed again, seeing the Raikage remain silent for so long.
"Alright, Akira, let's talk about this properly."
After a long silence, the Fourth Raikage sighed helplessly and spoke up to Akira.
For someone like the Fourth Raikage, even saying this much was equivalent to accepting Akira's demands.
But things had already escalated to this point. Akira wouldn't settle for a vague answer.
"Raikage, I'll ask you one last time: will you agree to the two conditions I put forth?" Akira asked, clearly running out of patience.
With Akira's words, the enormous wooden Buddha beneath him moved.
Most importantly, the thousand wooden arms that had been fanned out behind the statue, like a peacock's feathers, clenched into fists at that moment.
And these fists were all aimed directly at Cloud Village!
It was clear that if the Raikage's answer wasn't to Akira's liking, he would proceed with action—no more talking.
With a thousand wooden arms aimed at him, the Raikage felt an intense sense of threat!
It felt as if he were being stared at by a venomous snake. His instincts screamed danger!
"I agree!" The Raikage finally shouted to Akira.
"What did you say? The wind is too strong; I couldn't hear you!" Akira cupped his hand around his ear, pretending he hadn't heard.
The Raikage's face darkened. Of course, he knew Akira was doing this on purpose.
But once you'd said it the first time, saying it a second time wasn't that hard.
The Raikage shouted again, "I said, I agree to your two conditions!"
"Good, I understand." Akira nodded in satisfaction.
With that, the enormous wooden statue of True Several Thousand Hands slowly sank back into the ground and disappeared.
Akira descended to stand in front of the Raikage once more, smiling as he said, "See? If you had agreed earlier, things would have been so much easier. But instead, you waited until the whole of Cloud Village knew, and only then did you agree—what was the point of that?"
Hearing this, the Raikage's expression turned sour.
This was clearly Akira getting in a few final jabs after getting what he wanted.
The Raikage chose not to respond, instead turning his gaze toward Killer Bee, who was still in a sealed state.
After throwing a couple of sarcastic remarks at the Raikage, Akira chose not to say anything more.
He had already defeated the Raikage in action, and forced him to bow his head. There was no point in prolonging a war of words.
Raising his hand, Akira released the sealing technique he had used on Killer Bee.
With the seal removed, Killer Bee awoke from his slumber.
At the same time, Akira also released his ocular jutsu's control over Gyūki, the Eight-Tails.
"Brother…"
Awakened from his sealed slumber, Killer Bee looked around at his surroundings. It was clear that a fierce battle had taken place.
Lowering his head, he walked over to the Raikage and said, "I'm sorry, Brother. I couldn't match Akira, and I ended up troubling you. I've caused you a lot of trouble!"
"It's alright, Bee. Don't blame yourself. I couldn't beat Akira either!" The Raikage looked at Killer Bee and shook his head.
"What? Even you couldn't defeat him, Brother?" Bee's expression turned gloomy.
Then, he gave Akira a deep look, wondering if he and his brother's famous AB Combination would have to make a comeback in the ninja world.
Would they need to use their Absolute Bull Lightning Cutter again just to deal with Akira?
"Enough, Bee. I've already agreed to Akira's demands." The Raikage quickly understood what Killer Bee was thinking and spoke.
"Demands? What demands did he make?" Bee asked in surprise.
"The first condition involves you," the Raikage said, not hiding anything.
"The Leaf Village brought three Jinchūriki. They want to train and establish complete harmony with their Tailed Beasts. Only you can lead them in this," the Raikage explained.
"What? Three Jinchūriki, and they want to harmonize with their Tailed Beasts…" Killer Bee looked stunned.
However, after a moment of thought, Bee didn't refuse. Instead, he nodded and agreed.
If possible, Killer Bee was actually quite willing to help other Jinchūriki bond with their Tailed Beasts.
After all, only a Jinchūriki knew the pain of being one, and Killer Bee also understood the suffering of the Tailed Beasts that were sealed.
After agreeing to this, the second matter involved the Raikage personally visiting the Leaf Village and paying respects at Hizashi's grave.
This matter couldn't be rushed; it would have to wait until Akira and the others returned to the Leaf Village.
Thus, after the commotion of the night, the Raikage and his group, including Killer Bee, finally left the inn.
As for Akira and his group? Seeing that the inn had been completely destroyed, Akira could only shake his head in exasperation.
The inn was destroyed, and the Raikage didn't even offer to relocate them to a new place. Wasn't that a bit too petty?
With that thought, Akira summoned Wood Release and created an even grander house for them…