After three days of arduous travel, Naruto and his team finally reached the borders of the Land of Lightning. Sg several t mountains, they arrived at Tenrai Mountain ohird night.

  Tenrai Mountain pierced the skies, shrouded in mist and eg with deafening thundercps.

  At its summit, the terrain dipped into a massive basin, within which y the Hidden Cloud Vilge—Kumogakure.

  Standing on the ridge overlooking the basin below, Naruto and his team gazed at the grand vilge hidden amidst the swirling clouds.

  "This is Kumogakure," Naruto murmured, "one of the five great shinobi vilges, renowned for its military and eic power. It truly lives up to its reputation."

  Naruto activated his Rinnegan’s observation mode, revealing a faint blue glow resembling an ied bowl that enveloped the entire basin.

  "Oh? This barrier is quite something," he remarked.

  Though Konan couldn’t see the barrier, she ks nature well. “That’s Kumogakure’s *Heavenly Retribution Barrier*. Anyone who enters it without authorization will be immediately detected and struck by lightning until they’re utterly destroyed. It’s an almost imperable defeeique.”

  Naruto turo Orochimaru behind him. “Orochimaru, you onfiltrated Kumogakure and attacked the previous Eight-Tails jinchūriki, Blue B. How did you bypass this barrier back then?”

  Orochimaru, unbothered by how Naruto knew such details, replied, “That was many years ago. At the time, Kumogakure’s barrier wasn’t the *Heavenly Retribution Barrier* but a sensory-based system simir to Konoha’s. It relied on coded signals for authentication. I infiltrated by scouting ahead and stealing the code.”

  “After that i, Kumogakure upgraded their barrier to the *Heavenly Retribution Barrier*. Instead of codes, they now mark their shinobi with unique identifiers to avoid triggering the barrier.”

  Naruto sighed. “Such precautions… truly troublesome.”

  Orochimaru added, “Indeed. I wouldn’t be able to infiltrate again. However, this barrier, created by the First Raikage, is an unfinished prototype. While powerful, it has fws—it carries a minuscule ce of false activation, even against those with proper identifiers. In Kumogakure, actal deaths from the barrier occur every year, though such sdals are always covered up.”

  Orochimaru’s tourned sly. “Of course, the Raikage himself has no fear of the barrier. With his *Lightning Release Chakra Mode*, his body withstand the lightning strikes.”

  Naruto houghtfully. “I see. I wasn’t aware of such details.”

  “So, what’s the pn, Naruto-kun?” Orochimaru asked.

  Naruto smirked. “It’s not as difficult as it seems.”

  He formed a hand seal.

  *Poof!*

  A shadow e appeared beside him, holding a Flying Raijin kunai in its mouth.

  Naruto turo Kisame. “Kisame, use your strength and Samehada to assist my shadow e.”

  Kisame grinned, gripping Samehada tightly. “Got it.”

  *g!* Naruto’s shadow e leapt onto Samehada’s massive bde.

  “Hraaah!” Kisame roared, swinging Samehada with monstrous strength.

  *Whoosh!*

  With Kisame’s assistanaruto’s shadow e shot through the mist, pierg the barrier.

  *Crack!*

  Thunderclouds gathered above, unleashing a ferocious lightning strike. Naruto’s shadow e vanished instantly in a burst of smoke, leaving a crater in the ground below.

  Naruto chuckled. “That was fast. It didn’t even have time to dispel itself. Silent infiltration is almost impossible.”

  *Whoosh!*

  Naruto vanished, reappearing beside the fallen kunai using the *Flying Raijin Jutsu*.

  *k!*

  He caught the kunai mid-air and pocketed it, his cloak billowing as he nded gracefully in the crater. His left Rinnegan glowed with a mysterious light.

  “Well then…”

  He formed hand seals and pressed his palms to the ground.

  “Summoning Jutsu!”

  *Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof!*

  Five clouds of smoke erupted simultaneously, revealing Konan, Orochimaru, Kisame, Suigetsu, and Jūgo standing beside Naruto.

  Suigetsu excimed, “You summon people like this?!”

  Naruto stood and said, “Stick to the pn. Create chaos in different areas to draw their attention. Remember—no killing.”

  The group responded in unison, “Uood!”

  Naruto waved his arm. “Scatter!”

  *Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*

  Everyone except Konan dispersed, heading in different dires.

  Konan cautioned, “Kumogakure has many powerful shinobi. Be careful.”

  Naruto nodded. “You too.”

  With a rustle, Konan spread her arms, her body and cloak transf into tless elegant paper butterflies that fluttered away.

  Naruto bent down to retrieve his kunai, his gaze fixed on a blue-roofed fortress in the distahe Raikage’s residence.

  ---

  **Kumogakure Barrier Unit**

  A hooded shinobi reported, “The barrier was triggered a moment ago. Based on the ripples, the intruder moved with precision and speed.”

  Another member gnced out the window at the clear skies. “The *Heavenly Retribution Barrier’s* lightning should have ralized the intruder. Sino further strikes occurred, the target must have been eliminated.”

  The unit leader ordered, “duct a field iigation to firm. Also, send a squad to guard the Raikage’s residence, just in case.”

  “Yes, Captain!”

  ---

  *Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!*

  Explosions echoed from all dires.

  “What’s going on?!”

  A Kumogakure shinobi appeared. “The vilge is utack! Multiple assaults are happening simultaneously!”

  “What?! There’s more tharuder? And they somehow bypassed the *Heavenly Retribution Barrier*? These invaders are formidable. Deploy reinforts to the attack sites and use the *Thunderunication Jutsu* to notify the Raikage immediately!”

  “Uood!”

  ---

  As Kumogakure’s forces rushed to respond, Naruto, disguised as a Kumogakure shinobi using the *Transformation Jutsu*, approached the Raikage’s residence.

  “This is going much smoother than I expected…”

  “Your clever pn ends here, intruder.”

  A firm voiterrupted his thoughts. A stoic Kumogakure shinobi with a bck eyepatch appeared, fnked by a squad of ANBU.

  “Dodai?” Naruto’s mind fshed to a niame he’d once given this man—“Uncle Rubber.”

  During the Freat Ninja War, Dodai had repeatedly used his *Lava Release: Rubber Wall* to protearuto’s shadow es. His tactical a and bat skills had left a deep impression on Naruto.

  Dodai’s cold gaze bore into him. “Your iions are clear. You created chaos across the vilge to distract us. Your real target is this residence.”

  Feigning calm, Naruto replied, “Dodai-san, what are you talking about? I just returo report to the Raikage.”

  Dodai’s sharp eyes sed him. “Enough with the act. Your disguise as Samui is impressive, but Samui left on an A-rank mission three ho. There’s no way she pleted it so quickly. Besides, Samui never uses honorifics with me. Show your true form!”

  Naruto gnced down at his chest and sighed. “Is that so? I was quite fident in this disguise. But since I’ve been exposed…”

  *Poof!*

  The *Transformation Jutsu* dissolved, revealing Naruto in his Akatsuki cloak and mask.

  Dodai’s eyes narrowed. “That cloak… you’re with the Akatsuki!”

  Naruto’s voice deepened. “Not Akatsuki—remember this name: *Meishō*. Soon, it will resound across the shinobi world!”

  Dodai sneered. “Arrogant fool. her you nor your allies will leave Kumogakure alive. Attack!”

  *Crackle!*

  Electricity surged as the ANBU used the *Lightning Body Flicker Teique* to surround Naruto in an instant.

  *Screech! Screech!*

  Swords were drawn and stabbed into the ground. The ANBU formed hand seals in unison.

  “*Lightning Release: Ground Surge!*”

  Naruto’s left eye glowed ominously.

  “*Shinra Tensei!*”

  Annou

  The neter update is here!

  Additionally, the advanced chapters of this book are now avaible on Patreon

  This el is expected to feature 15 books, with each book receiving an additional 3-5 early chapters updated weekly.

  It will always maintain a signifit lead along with extra side stories. Feel free to visit

  Happy reading, everyone!

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