The Adventurous Gamer Ninja - Daichi Hekima [Vol. 02]

Chapter 388 - Clash: Dragon vs Akatsuki

In the Hidden Stone Village

In the heart of the Hidden Stone Village, the venerable Tsuchikage, Onoki, was sitting quietly in his dimly lit office. Moonlight seeped through the windows, casting pale beams across a desk littered with scrolls and strategic maps. The old shinobi's tired eyes traced the lines of borders on the map, deeply concerned by the recent reports about the Hidden Leaf Village's activities. 'What are you doing Hiruzen? What is going on over there?'

Suddenly, a distant but vibrant orange glow illuminated the horizon. The room trembled ever so slightly, rattling the glass of the windows for just a moment.

"What on earth...?" Onoki, the Third Tsuchikage, immediately rose from his seat, his chair scraping sharply against the stone floor. With narrowed eyes, he floated several feet off the ground and moved to the window, peering out into the night.

He squinted toward the northern horizon. A radiant orange-red glow illuminated the clouds high above, making them swirl in a strange, unsettling pattern. "Since when do the skies brighten at this hour...?" Onoki rasped, voice betraying the slightest quiver.

The bright, unnatural illumination stretched skyward, flickering like a distant flame from some unknown cataclysm. The clouds gathered darkly around the phenomenon, creating an ominous picture across the horizon.

As he observed, the door to his room burst open. A sensor-nin arrived, panting from exertion, bowing quickly before speaking. "Lord Tsuchikage! We have reports... an immense spike in chakra. It's like nothing we've sensed before." The ninja's voice shook with residual fear. "It lasted only moments, but the aftershock is still resonating."

"What?!" Onoki was shocked and an uneasiness spread in his heart.

"Yes. Our sensor division detected the fluctuations coming from the northern sector near the borders. They say the energy signature is extraordinarily powerful. Far beyond anything we've detected in recent memory."

Onoki's eyes narrowed at the horizon, the swirling orange glow made his concern grow. "High-level ninjas fighting or... something else entirely."

He immediately asked another doubt that had formed in his mind. "Was it Han or Roshi?"

The Stone ninja shook his head. "No sir. We've confirmed it with the sensor nins. They're positive it's not them. It also isn't a tailed beast chakra. They're sure of that."

Onoki frowned deeply, folding his hands behind his back. "Send word to all the patrol teams near the area to be on high alert and tighten their defenses. And prepare a recon unit immediately. I want a full team sent there within the hour. I want to know exactly what's going on."

The subordinate bowed swiftly, "Understood, Lord Tsuchikage!" and vanished in a blur of speed.

Onoki hovered in place a moment longer, scanning the unsettled skies. "Let's hope we're not on the brink of another conflict." A chill ran down his spine as thunder rumbled faintly. 'That ominous glow on the horizon... Something terrible must have happened. Damn it. Why now?'

—-

Dragon at the Western Base - A Few Minutes Ago

Several kilometers away from the fiery carnage, clad in a dark green cloak and a red dragon mask was Dragon (Daichi's shadow clone). He meticulously checked the last of the storage cabinets within the base. Rows of medical machines and vials lined the shelves. He hummed quietly, surveying which to destroy and which to salvage.

"He has quite the collection," Dragon muttered, flicking his gaze at a row of specialized cellular culture tubes. 'These aren't anything useful to me. But it might still be dangerous in the wrong hands... better incinerate it.' He placed a hand on the tubes and channeled a surge of fire-natured chakra, scorching them to ash in seconds.