"I'm afraid the Fourth Raikage you speak of is dead. I twisted his head off with my own hands. Furthermore, except for the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Killer B, every single member of the pursuit force has been wiped out. There is no future left for the Cloud Village."
Accompanied by that familiar voice, Neji, dressed in white, slowly emerged from the darkness. He radiated a bloody aura that made one's skin crawl.
Though his hands remained as fair as ever, Kabuto, who was exceptionally sensitive to killing intent, could sense that these hands had recently snuffed out many vibrant lives.
"Wha... what? Raikage-sama is dead?! Impossible! You're lying!" Yugito Nii retorted, her voice trembling with agitation.
Neji didn't bother with words. He simply tossed a yellow metal belt onto the ground with a heavy thud.
At the sight of the object, Yugito's pupils dilated instantly. The ferocity on her face crumbled into pure despair. "No! No! This isn't true! How could Raikage-sama die? He was so powerful!"
Without a doubt, this belt was one of the signature items belonging to the Fourth Raikage. Much like his golden vambraces, it served as a definitive proof of identity. If these items were in the hands of an enemy, it meant he was dead.
A tough nut to crack?
It didn't matter. You just had to use a hammer to shatter their bones one by one.
"Powerful?" Neji mocked with a hint of disdain.
He didn't pay much attention to the Two-Tails Jinchuriki's catatonic state, turning instead to Allen with an apologetic tone. "I'm sorry. I lost control of my emotions for a moment and accidentally killed the Raikage. I also wiped out nearly all of the Cloud's elite, which might have disrupted your plans."
Accidentally killed the Raikage?
Is this an apology or a blatant flex?
Kabuto's lip twitched involuntarily. He silently raised Neji's danger rating several levels in his mind. Though he wasn't sure how the battle had unfolded, judging by the fact that Neji's white clothes were pristine, without a single speck of dirt or blood, it was clear that this had been a complete slaughter.
The Cloud Village, famous for their "martial soul," hadn't even been able to resist. They had suffered an unprecedented defeat, losing their Kage in the process.
Allen, however, just smiled and shook his head. "It's fine. It was my oversight; I shouldn't have sent you to face the man responsible for your father's death. If it had been me, there probably wouldn't even be a living rat left in the Cloud Village right now. Tell me, how does revenge taste?"
"Mm... it's not bad. I felt a flicker of peace in my restless heart the moment the Raikage died. It's just a pity you didn't order me to bring back the Eight-Tails, otherwise I wouldn't have let Killer B go," Neji replied, a look of genuine regret crossing his face.
"It seems you have truly let go. That's good. Focus on your training now. Don't forget, I'm looking forward to your future performance."
After saying this, Allen gave Neji's shoulder a comforting pat and immediately ordered the extraction of the Tailed Beast from Yugito Nii.
Since this woman was a die-hard loyalist of the Cloud, he didn't hold back. He extracted the beast at maximum speed, with no intention of letting the Jinchuriki survive. Once the extraction was complete, he tossed the corpse to Kabuto to become another member of the Reanimation army.
When it came to enemies, Allen never spared even a shred of sympathy.
Having been gifted the corpse of such a powerhouse, Kabuto offered a series of nauseatingly sycophantic compliments before taking his leave. At this moment, he finally understood why Orochimaru enjoyed collaborating with Allen so much.
As long as one didn't cross his bottom line, Allen was an incredibly generous person. If he confirmed he didn't need something, he would toss it aside regardless of its value. In those moments, whoever was closest to him became the beneficiary.
Watching Kabuto, who was increasingly resembling Orochimaru, depart, Neji frowned and whispered a warning, "There's something wrong with that guy. He's using us."
"Yeah, I know," Allen replied noncommittally. "But then again, am I not also using him? Kabuto is a pathetic soul. He's spent his whole life searching for his true self and a home that will accept him. Unfortunately, he followed the wrong person and chose the wrong path."
"You mean..."
Neji clearly sensed something. He activated his Byakugan, scanning the underground sections of the Sound Village. Unsurprisingly, he found Black Zetsu's trail in a dark corner.
"Exactly. That fool Kabuto doesn't realize he's being watched by both Obito and Black Zetsu. What those two want him to do is use the Reanimation Jutsu to resurrect Madara Uchiha. Our power is so great that it has made Black Zetsu wary. He hopes to use Madara to get the Eye of the Moon Plan back on track," Allen explained with a light laugh.
One had to admit, he had been "shearing the wool" off the Tailed Beasts quite effectively lately. By the time he was done with all nine, it wouldn't matter if the Ten-Tails was resurrected. Whether it was Madara or a revived Kaguya, they would find that the Ten-Tails wasn't nearly as powerful as they had anticipated.
"What about Konoha? I heard that Sasuke has gathered some of Orochimaru's remnants and plans to attack. He wants to utterly destroy that filthy, sinful village."
Regarding Sasuke Uchiha, Neji's initial attitude had been one of loathing, but after learning the truth about the Uchiha Massacre, it had turned into sympathy. No matter how you looked at it, Sasuke's life was tragic, orchestrated from start to finish by Itachi. If not for Allen's appearance, Sasuke might have spent his life working for the very people who destroyed his family.
But now... the "Second Young Master" who had just finished off Orochimaru was overflowing with confidence. He intended to make the Leaf pay for its past atrocities with blood and death. He didn't care if the Uchiha were planning a coup; he only knew the conflict had existed since the village's founding. The Second and Third Hokage had spared no effort in suppressing the Uchiha, and Danzo, who inherited the Second's ideology, wanted to kill every last one of them.
The Hidden Leaf Village's hands were far from clean.
There was no point in trying to wash them now. Konoha had committed so many foul deeds that even if Nagato hadn't attacked, Sasuke would have, attempting to wipe the world's greatest shinobi village off the map.
Allen had been keeping an eye on Sasuke's movements. Stroking his chin, he said, "Let him be. As I've said before, people must be responsible for their own actions, and shinobi villages are no different. Since they did the deed, they should be prepared for the retaliation. How about this: let's go to Konoha together and enjoy the show? I want to see how the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, deals with the seeds of hatred sown by her own grand-uncle..."