Chapter 10: Man-Made Disaster (Part 1)

At high noon, at the Konoha Consulate.

The scorching sun baked the earth, and in every street and alley, one could see crowds hiding under eaves to escape the heat. In this sweltering weather, many people visited cold drink shops to buy a few bottles of chilled beverages. As the icy soda poured down their throats into their stomachs, a stream of cold air shot straight from their stomachs to the tops of their heads, and their whole bodies shivered, feeling a sense of icy refreshment.

Despite the unbearable heat, the number of pedestrians on the streets of Konoha Village did not decrease; the bustling, lively atmosphere was filled with the happy, hearty laughter of people and children.

But for the Cloud Ninja gathered inside the Konoha Consulate, their mood at this moment was the exact opposite of the temperature outside.

If the world outside was a scorching, unbearable sun, then the mood of everyone present was like falling into an ice cellar, chilled to the bone.

They surrounded a hospital bed, looking at their battered and bruised Cloud Ninja leader, and everyone wore an expression of indescribable grief as they quietly clenched their fists.

"It seems that this is as far as I go."

The Cloud Ninja envoy lying on the hospital bed was hanging by a thread; every breath sent a tearing pain through his chest, and his body had suffered major trauma, nearing death.

The medical ninja standing to the side had a look of utter unwillingness on his face; he clenched his fists tight, gritting his teeth until they made a creaking sound.

—These injuries were not incurable; the Cloud Ninja envoy had rejected treatment of his own volition, personally severing his own hope of survival.

"Captain! Why must you die?"

The surrounding Cloud Ninja lowered their heads with reddened eyes, and suppressed sobbing sounds echoed in the room.

"Because, this is a sacrifice that must be made."

The Cloud Ninja envoy said in a hoarse voice. He slowly turned his head to look at his subordinates; in his eyes, there was no fear of death, only the guilt of failing the Raikage's trust on his pale face.

In his final moments, what the Cloud Ninja envoy thought of was not how his family would grieve after his death, but that if he lived—it would be equivalent to handing Konoha a handle to use against the Cloud Ninja for attempting to disrupt peace during the peace talks.

The Third Hokage did not detain him, a sinner, but instead ordered the Anbu to secretly send him back. That insidious and cunning old fox must have had other plans. Was he planning to use this incident to make excessive demands on the Cloud Ninja? Or did he want to use this handle to force the Cloud Ninja Village to compromise and accept some humiliating treaty?

Thinking of this, the Cloud Ninja envoy felt a chill run down his spine; he hardly dared to imagine what a terrible impact his failure would bring to the village.

"No... I cannot live to become a handle for Konoha. They will not easily let this opportunity go."

"Cough... cough cough..."

A burst of unprecedented strength suddenly erupted within the Cloud Ninja envoy's body, supporting him as he forced his body up and sat up from the bed.

"Captain!"

The surrounding subordinates exclaimed one after another.

Because they had witnessed with their own eyes just how severe their leader's injuries were; even breathing was accompanied by immense pain.

"Things have come to this, and it is all my responsibility! I can no longer go and apologize to the Raikage in person, so I can only atone for my sins with death—"

He forced his body to sit up, his pale face covered in beads of sweat, and as he gasped for air, red blood seeped from the corners of his mouth.

"The, the Third Hokage... they... sent me back... it is definitely not out of kindness... there must be a conspiracy behind it..."

"No... I will not let them use me to threaten the village... absolutely, absolutely not... allow... such an absurd thing!!... Pfft, cough cough, ahhh!"

A large mouthful of blood sprayed out, instantly staining the bedsheets red.

"Captain!!"

Everyone rushed over in an instant; they could not just stand by and watch after all.

And at this moment, the medical ninja who had been silent among the crowd spoke up.

"Everyone, stop!"

The medical ninja looked at the sudden burst of strength and clarity in the leader's eyes. In that instant, he seemed to understand something, and with a look of unbearable sorrow on his face, he turned his head away.

"It is already too late."

The Cloud Ninja envoy looked at his companion with gratitude. He used his last breath to say: "Tu, after I die—carry my corpse to the Hokage Building. Do not take the back alleys; you must walk along the central street of Konoha. Do not cover my face with a white cloth; let everyone along the way see my appearance clearly. Place my corpse in front of the door of the Hokage Building... cough... cough cough cough... do not mind what they say... just grasp one point... I, as a Cloud Ninja representative, died on their turf... cough cough... let them... cough cough... be unable to shirk the responsibility..."

"Only in this way... can we... reverse the situation that is... unfavorable to us... and force Konoha Village... in the upcoming negotiations... to..."

"Captain! Please, just rest, don't say any more!"

"No!! My... my life... will become the village's means of counterattack, until the very end for the Cloud Ninja Village... for the Raikage... Lord... ahhhhhh..."

The Cloud Ninja envoy sprayed a mouthful of blood onto the bedsheets, the snow-white sheets stained with scarlet blood, and his body uncontrollably slumped backward heavily.

"Captain!!"

In those few short seconds as he fell, the Cloud Ninja envoy seemed to see his whole life, playing back before his eyes like a revolving lantern.

His unruly and arrogant youth, thinking he would one day become a big shot who would shock the ninja world. In his young adulthood, he participated in the Second Shinobi World War; when he first went to the battlefield, he thought it was his time to get ahead, but in reality, he was tortured to the point of near-madness by the cruel battlefield, crawling out from piles of corpses after escaping death several times. But it was thanks to that, that he met the love of his life, and married and had children with her—

He had thought that was the beginning of happiness.

However, 10 years later, his wife and child both died at the hands of Konoha Village during the Third Shinobi World War. From then on, he had no motivation or meaning to live.

This living body now was merely a walking corpse carrying the will of the Fourth Raikage; it did not need his own will, nor did it need to fear anything, even death was the same.

Because, for him... death was a relief.

The Cloud Ninja envoy wore a faint smile with bloodstains at the corners of his mouth.

"... Raikage... I will... go first..."

In his ears were the wailing cries of his subordinates, and the world before his eyes was gradually turning pitch black.

——————

He died forever with a smile on his face just like that.

The accompanying medical ninja wiped away his tears and ordered his weeping colleagues to begin preparing the leader's remains. Although everyone was filled with grief and indignation, the thought that their captain had abandoned his chance at life for the sake of the village's interests turned everyone's anger and sorrow into motivation.

They were determined to fulfill their captain's last wish even if they all died in Konoha Village!

This was not just for their leader, but for the overall interests of the village and all the Cloud Ninja people.

"Brothers, let's go!"

Suppressing their grief and indignation, the Cloud Ninja tore down a door to make a crude stretcher and placed the Cloud Ninja leader's corpse upon it.

The leader of the Cloud Ninja delegation dying in Konoha Village, regardless of the reason or cause, was a serious diplomatic incident that might even trigger a war.

As long as Konoha Village harbored even a shred of hesitation, this move would pierce deeply into Konoha Village's soft underbelly like a sharp blade, and the Cloud Ninja's passive position would naturally be resolved. (In the original plot, they indeed succeeded.)…………