Chapter 38: I, Your Father, am a Master Baiter

Standing at 198.2cm tall and 104kgs, the leader of Kumogakure, the Raikage, was a veritable mountain of a man. He had the reddish-brown skin, characteristic of the people within his village, sand-colored hair that combed back into spiky dreadlocks, a pointed beard, and a mustache that jutted away from his upper lip like the brows above his eyes. Around his waist was a large golden belt bearing the visage of the God of Lightning, Raijin, while his forearms were clad in enormous golden vambraces, each bearing special seals that could adjust their weight from 1000-12,000kgs in an instant.

Upon learning that Samui, one of his higher-ranking Jonins, had been severely beaten just a few kilometers outside the village, the Fourth Raikage, A, rose to his feet, shattering the wooden desk in front of him as he shouted, “Whaaaaat!? You mean to tell me there’s some brat strong enough to take out one of my top Jonins just ‘messing around’ outside of Kumo!? Where’s B!? I’ll deal with this little punk myself…!”

Though she could understand the Raikage’s anger, his assistant, a fairly attractive woman with similar reddish-brown skin, green eyes, and light grey hair pulled back into a neat bun, calmly replied, “Please don’t be too hasty, Raikga-sama. While it is true that Team Samui was defeated, they only sustained mild injuries. If the enemy can truly alter his size, conceal his presence, and move at high speeds, unnecessarily antagonizing him might invite a disaster onto the village.”

Glaring at his long-time assistant, A practically barked, “Then what do you suggest we do, eh, Mabui!? We can’t just allow this brat to do whatever he pleases within our territory…!”

Nodding in agreement, Mabui replied, “My views are in alignment with Raikage-sama’s. However, mobilizing two of our most powerful forces to repel a young boy who hasn’t presented himself as a substantial threat is a bit excessive. I suggest sending Darui and C to establish contact with this ‘Saiko Dadi,’ while Lady Yugito observes from afar. If it turns out he is a threat, the three of them should be able to handle him.”

Though he wanted to ask what the point of sending three people was when they could send two, A tried his best to see things from Mabui’s perspective. If it turned out this Saiko Dadi had been sent as a distraction to pull him away from the village, a catastrophe could occur while he was away. Furthermore, if he failed to kill the brat during their first encounter, he could become a massive thorn in the side of Kumo.

Having made up his mind, A crossed his arms and snorted loudly through his nose before saying, “So be it. Send Darui, C, and Yugito, and have the Barrier Team strengthen the detection wards. Even if that brat can shrink down to the size of an ant, he shouldn’t be able to conceal his Chakra and presence completely. Put everyone on high alert for the next seventy-two hours.”

Bowing respectfully, Mabui replied, “Understood, Raikage-sama.” before immediately leaving to carry out his orders. They had already upped their alert level following the less-than-triumphant return of Samui’s Team, so Darui, C, Yugito, and several other Jonin-ranked individuals were close by, ready to act at a moment’s notice. All they needed was a green light from the Raikage, and the combined forces of Kumo would mobilize to repel or try to capture Wu and Tayuya…

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Understanding there was a ‘very’ high chance of Kumo sending people to eliminate or capture him, Wu performed some shirtless exercises to warm his body and elevate his preparedness. He had learned a little over a year ago, back when he was undergoing medical testing in Konoha’s research facilities, that his body was highly susceptible to the Lightning Release. It was the only element he couldn’t simply shrug off, so Wu wanted to be in his best condition in case someone like the Raikage showed up.

Observing Wu from a few meters away, Tayuya was bored out of her mind. It had been more than three hours since Wu started his ‘warm-up’ exercises, so she couldn’t help thinking he was making things easier for their enemies by exhausting himself. Wu had never openly trained during his stay in Otogakure, so she had no idea that his stamina was virtually inexhaustible.

Reaching the limit of her patience, Tayuya called out, “Don’t you think this is more than enough for a simple warm-up? Put your clothes back on and stop dancing around like an idiot.”

Instead of stopping his Tai Chi-like movements, Wu playfully responded, “Don’t you worry your pretty little head, Tomato-chan. I’m fairly confident in my stamina. Something for you to look forward to.”

Clicking her tongue, Tayuya picked up a few rocks and decided to ‘help’ Wu in his training. To her frustration, he happily ‘obliged’ her, his golden eyes glistening with amusement as he evaded each of the nearly super-sonic pebbles by a hair’s breadth.

Interrupting their little ‘game’ about twenty minutes later, Wu caught one of the pebbles Tayuya had thrown between in index and middle fingers as he said, “We’ve got company. Be a pet and find someplace to hide. Leave this to your beloved Dadi-sama.”

Furrowing her brows, Tayuya retorted, “What do you mean, ‘be a pet?’ Do I look like a fucking dog to you!?”

Raising his left brow, Wu generously explained, “It’s a term of endearment used when addressing a close friend or loved one. Like how people have ‘pet names’ for one another. It doesn’t mean I ‘literally’ view you as a pet, Tayuya. Now, run along. Dadi has business to attend.”

Though she showered Wu with her remaining rocks before doing so, Tayuya promptly retreated to a ‘safe’ distance. She didn’t see the point after Wu’s previous performance, but she wasn’t so obstinant that she couldn’t follow the orders of her ‘superior’ when the enemy was near.

With Tayuya out of the way, Wu took a moment to release some of his hairs into the wind before pulling out his staff and perching atop it in a crouching posture. One of the approaching Chakra signatures gave him a similar impression to Naruto, so Wu assumed it belonged to one of Kumo’s two Jinchuriki, human weapons with powerful creatures known as Tailed Beasts sealed within them.

After learning about Jinchuriki following one of Naruto’s little ‘outbursts,’ Wu had been looking forward to facing a competent one in direct combat. He knew the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox was the most powerful of the Tailed Beasts, characterized by it having the most tails, but Naruto was currently too weak-minded to use the beast’s power properly. Thus, if Wu wanted a ‘real’ challenge from a Jinchuriki, he had no choice but to look beyond the borders of Konoha.

“Huh…?”

Sensing that his precious Jinchuriki was hanging back, allowing its two companions to rush forward on their own, Wu’s expression morphed into a frown. The duo approaching him were clearly Jonin, one even possessing Chakra comparable to a Kage. Jinchuriki, however, were weapons of mass destruction that could wipe out an entire village with a single devastating attack known as a Bijuudama(Tailed Beast Ball). Wu ‘really’ wanted to try fighting one…

Spotting Wu atop his staff, a fairly tall man with dark skin, a bulbous nose, black eyes, and shaggy white hair gestured for his ally, a fair-skinned man with short blond hair, to stop. The latter was the Sensor between the two, but he had been unable to detect Wu even though he could sense Chakra across vast distances.

Noticing Wu shortly after they came to a stop, the blond-haired man cupped his chin with his thumb and index finger, remarking, “Wow, he really is just a child. If I had to guess, he couldn’t be more than twelve, maybe thirteen years old. If he could soundly defeat Samui and her team at this age, he’ll be a force to be reckoned with in the future.”

Instead of responding to his ally’s observations, the dark-skinned man looked around for any indicators that Wu’s miniature clones were nearby. Samui had given a detailed report of her encounter with Wu, so, despite appearing relaxed, almost bored, the man was actually on high alert.

“So, how do you want to handle this, Darui?” asked the blonde-haired man. “Should we approach and try to talk with him, or should we seize the initiative to attack?”

While continuing to pay close attention to his surroundings, Darui replied, “I don’t see any of his miniature clones. He also isn’t attacking us, so we might be able to talk things out if we approach slowly…before that, how go your efforts to sense his Chakra, C? Can he really not be detected…?”

Shaking his head, C revealed, “That appears to be the case. I’m looking right at him and focusing my senses to the extreme, but he gives off the same impression as the surrounding terrain. Do you think he could be an apprentice of the Tsuchikage? Someone who has inherited the abilities of the Second?”

As there was only a single person throughout history that was infamous for being completely undetectable, C couldn’t help correlating Wu’s ability with that of the Second Tsuchikage, Mu. The latter possessed an ability that allowed him to become intangible, possessing neither a physical form nor a Chakra signature. This, alongside his many other skills, allowed him to become one of the most powerful Shinobi in his era, his moniker being the ‘Non-Person’ due to the sheer impossibility of detecting him.

Hearing C reference the Second Tsuchikage, the expression on Darui’s face became uncharacteristically serious. Mu was known as the greatest infiltration expert and Assassin in the entire history of the Shinobi World. If ‘Saiko Dadi’ was truly his descendent, they were dealing with a monster that couldn’t be allowed to mature…

Suppressing the urge to unsheathe the cleaver-like sword on his back immediately, Darui said, “Let’s try talking to him…” despite having every intention of cutting off Wu’s head the instant he showed a clear opening. Kumogakure had the policy of trying to recruit powerful Shinobi to their side, but people like ‘Saiko Dadi’ didn’t just appear out of thin air. For him to reach his current age and possess such tremendous power, there ‘had’ to be a force backing him.

Understanding his partner’s intentions, C’s expression morphed into a friendly smile as he waved his hand and called out, “Heeeeeeeey! You’re Saiko Dadi-sama, right? Mind if we come over and have a chat with you?”

Though Wu immediately answered C’s question, his voice didn’t come from the direction the two men were expecting. Instead, it came from above them as a chorus, courtesy of several ant-sized clones standing in the air above them, “Sure, why not?”

Seeing the dozens of clones hovering above them, the pupils of Darui’s eyes shrank. Samui hadn’t reported that Wu possessed the ability to fly, so he hadn’t been paying any attention to the sky. At the same time, this all but confirmed that ‘Saiko Dadi’ had some kind of connection with the Tsuchikage. After all, while several Shinobi could traverse the sky using a variety of methods, only the Third Tsuchikage was known to be able to fly freely…

With his clones continuing to provide overwatch, Wu leaped over to the small, pillar-like mountain where Darui and C were standing. His actions caused the duo to tense, but neither attacked as they weren’t sure if he was the ‘real’ Wu. If they attempted to assassinate him mid-flight and he was just a clone, they would have undermined their ‘friendly’ approach for nothing.

Shouldering his red and gold staff, Wu adopted a friendly smile as he inquired, “So, what did the two you want to discuss? I don’t mind hearing you out ‘before’ I give you a beating.”

Hearing Wu suggest he was going to ‘beat’ them, the brows of Darui and C visibly twitched. Neither believed they would go down easily, but it was clear ‘Saiko Dadi’ didn’t feel threatened by them in the slightest…

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