A smile formed on Kaito's face. "It would've been better if you had done this sooner. Why the delay?"

The Fourth Raikage clenched his fists, glancing away in frustration.

Moments later, Mabui entered the room, holding a scroll — the one containing the secrets of the Lightning Release Body Technique.

This technique was a treasured legacy of the Hidden Cloud Village. The scroll didn't just detail the training methods but also contained invaluable insights collected over generations.

Kaito gave the scroll a brief glance, uninterested in the basics. His own mastery of Lightning Release Body Technique was already on par with past Kage-level shinobi. What he truly sought was the final stage of the technique.

The first and second stages were techniques Kaito had already deduced on his own.

But the third stage… was far more cryptic and dangerous. It contained just five words: "Strengthen the Body with Heavenly Lightning."

Heavenly lightning — referring to the natural lightning of Thundercloud Canyon.

Body Fortifying— using the lightning to refine one's own physique.

However, Kaito had consumed the Thunder Fruit, making him immune to most forms of lightning. But would natural lightning — unfiltered and uncontrolled from the skies — still affect him?

It was a question he intended to answer.

He handed the scroll back to Mabui and turned to the Raikage. "Thank you, Raikage. I'll head to Thundercloud Canyon. I'll go first."

With a flash of lightning beneath his feet, Kaito vanished in an instant.

"What speed!" the Fourth Raikage muttered.

"Listen up!" the Raikage shouted, turning to his men. "No matter what happens in Thundercloud Canyon, no one is allowed to interfere!"

"Understood, Raikage-sama!" replied a Cloud Anbu.

"Good. Make sure my orders are followed!"

Darui stepped forward, worry etched on his face. "Raikage-sama, to be honest, even with our top-tier shinobi, we can't match Kaito's strength!"

"I know," the Raikage replied, his voice steady. "As Raikage, I've endured for the sake of the village. But as a man… I can't keep swallowing my pride. And neither can our clan. There are no cowards among us — including me!"

Without hesitation, the Fourth Raikage tore off his white ceremonial robe, revealing a muscular body crackling with chakra. Lightning erupted around him as he launched himself forward, vanishing from sight like a thunderbolt.

"Darui Sama, what should we do now?" a hesitant Anbu asked.

Darui sighed, rubbing his temple. "He's just like the Third Raikage — impulsive and stubborn. Barely acts like a Kage half the time."

He turned serious. "We'll follow Raikage-sama's instructions. We're not on his level anyway. Just hope Killer Bee has mastered full Tailed Beast Transformation."

"Oh, and evacuate the civilians. If they wander into the village now, it'll be a disaster."

"Yes, Darui-sama!"

With that, the Anbu and others exchanged glances and disappeared in coordinated flickers.

The Cloud Village kicked into action. Squads mobilized, evacuations began, defenses were reinforced, and Thundercloud Canyon became the epicenter of anxious preparation.

---

Meanwhile...

In Thundercloud Canyon, electric pulses rippled around Kaito as he scanned the entire area with his electromagnetic field.

Surprisingly, there was only one human presence in the canyon, and the chakra signature was unmistakably similar to Kushina's — a Jinchūriki.

That had to be Killer Bee. The Eight-Tails' host. And probably writing another bizarre rap.

Kaito didn't disturb him. His eyes turned to the peak of the canyon, and in a flash, he was gone.

Elsewhere, Killer Bee sat in his cave, sunglasses on, humming off-beat lyrics while scribbling in his notebook.

Suddenly, a voice echoed in his mind.

[Bee, someone's coming. A powerful one. Not from the village. He's scaling the canyon now.]

It was Gyūki, the Eight-Tails speaking.

"Yo! Trouble comes, got no drum! Guess I better go meet him!" Bee said, grinning as he pocketed his pen and stepped outside.

---

Atop the canyon, Kaito stared at the thunderclouds churning above him.

"Let's see if this actually works…"

He ignored the distant roar of the Raikage.

Crack!

A bolt of lightning as thick as an arm tore through the sky, striking directly where Kaito stood.

He didn't flinch. He simply let it hit.

He remembered what the scroll said: "Heavenly Thunder Body Fortification."

The idea was to absorb the pure, undiluted force of nature into the body — not resist it.

Boom!

A waist-thick bolt of raw energy slammed into Kaito. His body tensed, muscles spasming, hair standing on end. Yet, he suffered no injury.

Not a scratch.

Thanks to his unnatural physique and rapid regeneration, the damage was gone in seconds.

(We all know lightning shouldn't be able to hurt him lol...)

If the Fourth Raikage had seen this, his jaw would've hit the floor. In the village's history, only the First Raikage had ever managed to absorb heavenly lightning without dying. The other two came close — and nearly paid with their lives.

But Kaito? He stood firm. Unshaken.

As he focused, something strange occurred.

The lightning didn't flow into his chakra points as expected. Instead, the moment it entered his body, it vanished.

That shouldn't be possible.

Kaito narrowed his eyes. He had worked with lightning manipulation before — even used Lightning Release: Kirin — but that was child's play compared to this. That technique merely directed existing lightning, not absorbed it.

Crack!

Another lightning bolt arced from the clouds.

Kaito focused, determined to track how his body processed the energy this time.

He let it strike. Again and again.

Each blast, each roar of thunder, brought him closer to an answer — and an advancement.

---

Send Power stones 🥀