Judging from the information transmitted by the Anbu, the Akatsuki organization has not found the exact location of the Jinchūriki.

Not only that, their infiltration into the Land of Lightning was not successful, and there was not much valuable information from within the Hidden Cloud Village to be passed on to the members of the Akatsuki organization active in the Land of Lightning.

Although the Jinchūriki has not been found, the main reconnaissance forces - Jūgo and Hozuki Suigetsu are still on the move. It seems that they have been in this country for quite some time and are getting closer and closer to finding the Two-Tails Jinchūriki.

To Shuimu's regret, although the Land of Thunder was not rich, its territory was surprisingly large. If the many ice-covered areas, sparsely populated areas and other places that were not suitable for human survival were added, the area would almost catch up with that of the Land of Fire.

Without accurate intelligence, it is impossible to find a specific person in a place like this, and there is no place to ask.

It is no wonder that the intelligence work of the Akatsuki organization here is not going smoothly. Except for local tyrants like the Hidden Cloud Village, it is impossible to survive in the Land of Lightning.

"It's a bit far, and I can't get there in a short time. Besides, the Hidden Cloud Village is right in front of us, so let's do other things first."

Shuimu once thought about whether it would be better to just abandon the so-called diplomatic mission and sneak in alone, but in the end he gave up this attempt.

There is definitely no danger, but finding people is troublesome. If there is no obvious communication point, it will be a problem to contact the Anbu secretly sent by Konoha Village, not to mention finding the target of the mission.

Before an all-out war breaks out between the two ninja organizations, no matter how strong an individual's fighting power is, it has its limitations, and there are big problems with intelligence and the overall perspective.

…

After a short rest, Mizuki and two warriors from the Iron Kingdom set out on the journey to the Hidden Cloud Village.

The Hidden Cloud Village shrouded in clouds and mist appeared in front of the three people from a distance, but it still took them nearly half a day to reach their destination.

The most helpless feeling for travelers in the Land of Thunder is to run to a dead horse while watching the mountain.

Unlike other ninja villages, the Hidden Cloud Village is more like a war fortress built by flattening half of a mountain. Stone buildings are everywhere, and there is hardly any green.

Although the architectural style is rather rough and most of the ninjas in the Hidden Cloud Village have unfriendly faces, they are relatively easy-going in temperament. Even when facing the enemy ninja Mizuki, they are not petty enough to deliberately make things difficult for him.

After formally handing over the handwritten letter from Tsunade, Mizuki and the two samurai were placed separately.

Mizuki wasn't interested in what the Iron Kingdom and the Raikage said, and he didn't even want to care about what Tsunade wrote in the letter to the Raikage.

The main purpose of coming here is to see if the situation in the Hidden Cloud Village is as expected. It would be terrible if it is useless if the war breaks out.

The person in charge of arranging the Iron Kingdom is Ma Buyi, a female ninja with the same dark skin color as most people in the Lightning Kingdom.

The one communicating with Mizuki was Darui, the only disciple of the Fourth Raikage and a Jonin who possessed the Bloodline Genkai of Storm Release.

For two consecutive days, Mizuki did not see the Raikage. He just walked around with Darui and rested in the room the rest of the time.

On the third day, perhaps the people of the Iron Country did something, and they finally arranged for Mizuki and the Raikage to meet.

The Raikage's residence and office is the tallest building in the Hidden Cloud Village. Not only can one observe the entire Hidden Cloud Village from a high vantage point, but one can even see the mountains looming in the distance.

The Fourth Raikage Ai is a person who makes people feel oppressive, both in terms of his size and strength.

Of course, since Shuimu was able to come as an envoy, he was naturally not afraid of these simple threats and temptations.

"Konoha's top ninja Mizuki, a cadre of the security department, is a master who can defeat Orochimaru. Konoha is really full of talented people!"

"I am Shuimu, you flatter me!"

"I can judge whether it is an exaggeration or not. Since Tsunade has expressed goodwill, we do not want to resort to violence. However, after so many years of hatred between our two countries, we can no longer trust each other. There are always limitations to correspondence, and many things cannot be explained clearly. I want to hear what reasons you have to convince us!"

“I see!”

Shuimu lowered his head and thought about it.

"I don't know what Tsunade-sama wrote to you, but I can guess the general content. In my opinion, the reason for the friendship doesn't matter, but there is no benefit in the current enmity between the Hidden Cloud Village and the Leaf Village. We have the ability to repel any country in the Ninja World..."

"What did you say?"

The Fourth Raikage didn't wait for Mizuki to finish his words, he punched the desk in front of him and smashed it into pieces, shouting angrily.

"Do you look down on us?"

"This isn't really looking down on me, it's just stating a fact. In a one-on-one fight, no one can match Konoha."

"You are so brave to say such things!"

Although the irritable Raikage was reluctant to admit it, Konoha's strength could not be defeated under normal circumstances.

He waved his hand and ordered his subordinates to clear the garbage in front of them.

"Tsunade's methods are powerful. She has won over the Hidden Mist Village and the Hidden Sand Village, and even swayed Ōnoki. But do you think we will be afraid of this?"

"You misunderstood me. Konoha has no intention of attacking the Land of Lightning. It has formed an alliance with other ninja villages and has no intention of targeting the Hidden Cloud Village. If you don't want to join, just wait and see. I have also seen in the past few days that your village is really in full military shape, so I am relieved!"

"rest assured?"

The Raikage was somewhat confused by Mizuki's words.

"We are so strong that we are not afraid of any challenge. How dare you, a ninja from an enemy country, say such a thing?"

"It's also a good thing to have a strong power to protect your own safety. Konoha doesn't have to worry about taking care of the Hidden Mist Village and the Hidden Sand Village!"

"Protect?"

The Raikage sneered.

"It seems that Konoha has been frightened by a rebellious ninja organization. Ohnoki is old and too timid. I didn't expect Konoha to gather the power of three ninja villages just for these ridiculous things!"

Mizuki wasn't angry either.

"You are right to understand it this way. In fact, what we are doing now in Konoha is indeed just to strengthen our ability to protect ourselves. If Lord Raikage and the Hidden Cloud Village become stronger and can share more pressure, it will be a good thing for us!"

"Okay, let's take the guests from Konoha down first!"

Shuimu bowed slightly and turned to leave.

Soon, Darui and Mabui were the only ones left in the office with the Raikage.

"The Konoha messenger is probably just exaggerating, right?"

Ma Buyi, the Raikage's secretary, spoke tentatively.

The Fourth Raikage shook his head.

"It's not surprising that the messenger would gossip, but he wouldn't tell such a clumsy lie, so we can't just ignore it!"

Having been the Raikage for many years, Ai is no longer a fool who only knows how to show off his bad temper.

"Send my brother, Kirabi, to Yunlei Gorge for temporary shelter, and bring back Yumu Ren who is practicing alone as soon as possible..."