__________ POV Narration __________

The Raikage sighed as he finally sat back down in the comfortable chair of his office.

The journey from Konoha had not been that long for him. Although he was no longer the fastest shinobi around, his speed had not yet diminished due to old age.

Not everything about the Alliance meeting had gone as planned. He had entered Konoha fully prepared to withdraw or face expulsion from the alliance.

Much as he would have liked to think of himself as a major player in the Alliance's trade, his desolate Cloud Village could offer very little in comparison to the Whirlpool and the Leaf.

They were mostly useful for their influence at first, but with Ken's strength alone they could more than likely manage.

'After my outbursts, I was not expecting Ken to actually extend an olive branch and allow the cloud to continue benefiting from the Alliance...'

In all honesty, even with their falling out and all the jabs he was now giving the Blind Assassin, the Raikage was still hesitant to sever all ties with him.

They had known each other for a very long time, and were close friends.

For crying out loud, Ken had even gone to A's funeral—and not because he had to.

At that point, it could've been said that the Blind Assassin had gotten pretty much everything he needed from the Cloud.

His Cloud Village may have helped the Three Corners Alliance gain a more solid position at first, but the Raikage was well aware that the Blind Monster would have found a way to survive even in its absence.

And now, he had essentially only gone there and made a fool of himself over nothing... He had also antagonized Ken, though all of their interactions as of late were similar. They both took potshots at each other.

As those thoughts flashed through his mind, a masked figure appeared in front of the Raikage, standing tall and proud.

The man appeared to be dressed like an Anbu of a different land. A cloak covered most of his body, and a fox mask covered his face.

"Lord Raikage. I have received word that you have not managed to cut ties with the Alliance in the end."

The figure spoke with a tinge of disapproval in its voice. There was also a strange disappointment in the Anbu's tone.

"Plans have changed, I may have a place in the alliance still. I no longer have any reason to side with the noble clans... or their new hidden villages."

The Raikage merely scowled at the Anbu's impolite behavior before turning to some documents on his desk. He did not even bother getting up to greet the figure.

"Fucking nobles, they are always prying into my affairs."

The Raikage mumbled, recalling that one of the primary causes of his assurance following his would-be departure from the Three Corners Alliance had been the Nobles who had gotten in touch with him.

He had felt trapped in the Alliance for a while, and they had provided him with an out.

But his interactions with Ken, although hostile, reminded him of the friendship they once had, and they also reminded him of something else...

The tacit fear he had grown accustomed to at Ken's unstoppable strength and the tools at his disposal.

That fear was what had birthed respect in the past, and it was doing much the same now after that meeting.

After all, the Raikage already knew that the Noble clans would never win against Ken...

It didn't matter how many resources they amassed, whatever new forces they had managed to recruit and foster over the years.

'It would take a monster of equal proportions to the First Hokage to even compete with Ken... If the Nobles actually had that at disposal, they would have acted instantly.'

"Hmm? Do you wish to forsake our deal then? The Clans would be most displeased..."

The Anbu himself showed his displeasure without hiding anything. It was clear that he didn't respect the Raikage one bit.

But what could one expect from a former Rogue Shinobi?

"So what if they're displeased? They can go take a walk for all I care. Just like you should be doing right now if you want to keep that masked head on your shoulders..."

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The Raikage no longer bothered to accommodate the stray Shinobi.

And for just a second, the Anbu's face seemed to twist under his mask, as he muttered a small swear underneath his mask.

He turned around, clearly not taking the Raikage's threat into consideration as he spoke out one last time.

"The Clan Heads will hear about this... And who knows? Maybe your little band of 'friends' in the Alliance will as well..."

The Anbu's tone was filled with frustration, disgust and disrespect.

"..." The Raikage raised an eyebrow, almost too confused to act for a moment.

"Now that there will be two opposing Hidden Villages in this Land of Lightning, it stands to reason that one needs to vanish...

Sleep with both eyes ope-"

Before the Anbu could finish his threat, the Raikage's powerful arm was grabbing hold of his head and breaking his mask in the process.

"I don't get it... How in the world did you gain the courage to speak so freely in front of me?"

With an intense look of anger, the Raikage tilted his head, causing his long grey hair to fall to one side as veins started to appear on his forehead.

"I-I apologi-"

The Anbu wanted to speak, but he found it difficult to even articulate a word. It was as if an iron vice had clamped down on his head, trying to pop his eyes out forcefully.

"I do not want to hear any apology. At this point, it will not help you.

What? Did you idiots think that Ken is the only major threat in the Alliance? Did you think the rest of us can just be pushed around on your whims?

Do you really think any of us are afraid of war?!?"

The Raikage's voice boomed into the Anbu's ears, causing them to bleed as the Village Leader held nothing back.

The Raikage was correct, the New Hidden Villages did not view them all as threats. Ultimately, these new villages were primarily made up of Shinobi who had turned against the Alliance Leaders, believing them to be cowards.

Given that the Nobles appeared to be eager to cause trouble in the world, it was only fitting that they would attract other warmongers of a similar disposition.

That being said, neither the Raikage nor the Cloud Village were afraid of conflict.

"Hmph, your puny village better attack soon. The moment I find it, I'll send B to blow it to smithereens."

The Raikage said as he then crushed the Anbu's skull in the palm of his hand.

He didn't even need to enter his Lightning Cloak to deal with such small fry.

As for their threats of informing the Alliance of his fallen deal with the Noble Clans... He really didn't care.

In fact, he was going to inform them all himself. In their deal, the Noble clans had managed to divulge quite a bit of information to him. Things that could be useful to them all.

In the first place, the Raikage doubted that the other leaders of the Alliance hadn't already assumed he had some deal worked out with the clans.

It was the only natural response to why he would be confident enough to leave the Alliance in the first place.

But even with that in mind, Ken had allowed him to continue remaining in the Alliance. So the Raikage was going to return that respect.

"Hmph! You all! Come clean up this trash! Mount his body on a spear and send it over to the Daimyo." The Raikage shook the blood and brain matter of his hand as he then returned to his seat and started writing a few letters.

"They want war, huh? We'll show them what a real war means in the Elemental Nations!"

The Raikage huffed as he continued writing.

And whilst the Cloud Leader was doing so, Ken had already finished tracking Yue down.

It hadn't taken him too long to catch up to her, her trail had become warmer and warmer as he dashed through those woods.

He had eventually passed through the border, out of the Land of Iron and into the Land of Fangs.

The Blind Monster could already smell her closer and closer as he rushed through plains and valleys, dashing from one rock formation to another before finally finding something.

A small community nestled in a strategic position in between two large natural rock formations.

It looked to be a compound of some sort, not even large enough to be called a village.

But regardless of that, Yue's trail had already ended. He had finally reached the place where she was currently resting...

"Are these... bandits?"

The guards at the entrance appeared to be quite afraid for an unknown reason as the Blind Monster's senses quickly washed over them, and Ken could smell Yue's scent throughout the compound.

'It's impossible for them to have captured her with these forces... Did she... Did she join the Green Forest Union?!?'

The Blind Assassin was in complete shock: Yue, the princess who had always believed that her royal lineage made her superior to others, was now associating with outlaws, rapists, and other scoundrels?

Something was simply not adding up.

The Blind Assassin didn't really wish to antagonize the Green Forest Union too much. He wanted them to continue acting like a neutral force and hopefully deterring the Nobles a bit longer whilst he got things in order for them.

But now, it seemed that he would have no choice but to interact with the Bandits directly.

The Blind Assassin rushed through the front gates, the guards not even noticing him as he had timed his entrance in between blinks.

He sneaked through, just outside the field of vision of everyone as he eventually reached the building in the centre, where he could feel Yue speaking with a burly man, who seemed to be quite terrified of her.

"Stop dilly-dallying, perform the ritual already, or whatever it's called!" The Princess's voice was just like Ken remembered, brimming with unfound confidence and arrogance.

'She truly hasn't changed one bit... What the hell was I expecting anyway?'

"S-sorry miss, umm, Bloody Princess... It's just that I wasn't expecting someone of your stature to want to speak to the King himself~"

The burly bandit clasped his hands together as he then prepared to touch the ground, wanting to light up a strange seal formation underneath Yue.

Yue closed her eyes and took a deep sigh of relief as that happened.

'Finally! I've managed to get away!'

...

It was only moments after that she realized that she was still in the same room...

"What the hell is taking you so long!?" She quickly snapped her eyes open, only for them to widen and for her entire body to freeze in fear.

The burly bandit leader from before was now no longer alive... Instead, he was nailed to the pillar in front of the formation while making a cross with his hands and legs.

The man's body was covered in cuts and scars, making him even more grotesque. It appeared as though the person who caused the injuries had taken their time torturing the victim, but it had all happened in a split second.

And there was only one person that Yue knew who was capable of creating a divine piece of art.

Her first instinct was to turn around. And when she did, the person she had wished to see the least was standing there there...

"T-teacher..."