"No! Give Bee back to me!"
Ai woke up from his dream with a pale face. The first thing he saw was a dark face, and a large hand slapped him directly.
"Who is it? Why so ugly!"
Darui saw that the Raikage still had the strength to hit him, and was immediately relieved. He rubbed his red face and said happily, "Raikage-sama, you're finally awake!"
"Awake?"
Ai finally remembered that the village was under attack by the Akatsuki organization. He quickly got up from the sickbed and shouted, "Where are those damned Akatsuki bastards? I'll crush them all!"
As soon as his feet touched the ground, Ai felt a wave of dizziness, his body involuntarily fell back onto the bed, his face pale.
"Raikage-sama, you need to rest well. Your mental damage is very severe. The Akatsuki organization has already retreated, so you don't need to worry anymore."
Ai forced himself to lean on the pillow. After Darui's reminder, he finally remembered that he had been pulled into a genjutsu world for three days and three nights, enduring inhumane torture. Even now, Ai's heart couldn't stop trembling as he recalled it.
It was too terrifying!
A sharp pain shot through his head again. Ai panted slightly, his pale lips slowly saying, "How long have I been unconscious?"
Darui said, "Half an hour."
"Only half an hour?!" Ai was somewhat incredulous. He had already felt like days and nights had passed, but in reality, it was only half an hour?
Darui added, "You stared at that Akatsuki member for one second, and then you collapsed."
"One second?" Ai's voice rose slightly, but the stabbing pain in his head returned, and his eyelids grew heavy again. He knew his body was telling him he needed to rest.
"Although everyone is in disbelief, that's indeed the situation,"
Darui said with a solemn expression, "However, that person should not have had an easy time either. They were supported by their companion and fled the village."
"Fled? What about Yugito? Did you chase after them?"
Darui's expression was grim, "Senior Dodai has already sent people to search for the enemy's tracks, but... there are no traces of Yugito."
Bang!
"Damn it! Damn Akatsuki, I will not let you go!"
Ai punched the wall, leaving a crack. But then he coughed violently, and the dizziness in his head made him collapse on the bed again. With the last bit of clarity, he said,
"Issue an order: the village will be on high alert for seven days. Have Dodai send people to protect Killer Bee. We absolutely cannot let Bee get hurt!"
"Also... quickly send away Uzumaki Lin Yu and fulfill his demands..."
Uzumaki Lin Yu was a ticking time bomb at this moment. Cloud Village had suffered heavy losses. If Uzumaki Lin Yu colluded with the Leaf Village from the inside, then their Cloud Village would face a life-or-death crisis!
After speaking, Ai collapsed back onto the sickbed, his consciousness sinking back into unconsciousness. Having suffered Itachi's Tsukuyomi, his mental damage needed time to recover and could not be healed in a short period.
Darui covered Ai with the quilt and quietly withdrew. Although he was usually lazy, he had to step up now and take charge... to notify Senior Dodai to handle the situation!
Darui was still young. Even if the Raikage favored him, the Cloud Ninjas below would underestimate him due to his lack of seniority. At this time, it was better for Senior Dodai, who had assisted two generations of Raikage, to maintain the overall situation!
It was absolutely not because he was lazy.
The Cloud Village had been invaded, so many injured people needed treatment, so many damaged areas needed repair, and the surrounding defenses still needed to be guarded. But he, Darui, resolutely took on the most difficult task—caring for the unconscious Fourth Raikage, Ai!
This proved that he was definitely not lazy; he was prioritizing the bigger picture!
The Raikage Building, or rather, the empty Raikage Building.
Dodai looked expressionlessly at Lin Yu, who was sitting in the Raikage's seat with his legs crossed. If it were any other time, he would have already ordered the Cloud Ninjas to throw him out.
But now, this place didn't look like the Raikage Building at all; it was more like a half-finished building!
He didn't know which Akatsuki member had emptied the Raikage Building. How treacherous!
However, the most important reason was that Dodai had witnessed Lin Yu's strength in fighting two Akatsuki members and a fully tailed beast transformed Yugito alone. This strength was truly formidable, especially for the current Cloud Village, which could not afford a second invasion.
Dodai now only hoped that Lin Yu would leave quickly. But the other party had made an outrageous demand, asking for more money afterward. This was simply unacceptable!
"Have you considered it yet?" Lin Yu nonchalantly picked his ear. Samui stood beside him, her face cold. However, Samui still held a sliver of hope for the Cloud Village.
Now that the Akatsuki had left and only Uzumaki Lin Yu remained in the village, perhaps she had a chance...
Dodai said, "Your request is too much, sir. How can the agreed-upon stakes change at the last minute!"
From three billion to five billion, you're trying to drain my Cloud Village dry!
You know, the annual budget allocated to the Cloud Village by the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning is only a little over two billion ryo. You are essentially asking the Cloud Village to stop developing for two and a half years. How can anyone agree to this!
After losing these two and a half years, the overall strength of the Cloud Village will plummet, and they might be completely suppressed by Ohnoki next door.
Lin Yu, however, didn't care about the Cloud Village's situation. He pointed to his sleeve, which had been torn by Kamui, and said, "Look! To help you repel the enemy, even my wedding anniversary shirt is damaged! Of course, I need more compensation for emotional distress!"
Dodai looked at the cheap item that was everywhere and said with a straight face, "I can give you a hundred identical shirts, Mr. Lin Yu..."
Before Dodai could finish, Lin Yu interrupted him, "Don't you understand? This shirt has commemorative meaning. It's different!"
Dodai frowned, "But I remember you are not married yet, Mr. Lin Yu, so how can it be your third wedding anniversary?"
Lin Yu scratched his head, "Is that so? Then let's change the reason. It's... Ichiraku Ramen's Big Eater Champion shirt!"
"..."
Even though Dodai had countless words in his heart, he was helpless against such a scoundrel. The other party simply didn't make any sense, so what could he do!
Samui, on the other hand, was feeling happier and happier. Let them argue like this, the more intense the argument, the better!
It would be best if he went to war directly with this bad man, then she wouldn't have to become his spoil of war!
Just then, Darui entered and whispered something to Dodai. Then Dodai sighed and said to Lin Yu, "Then as you wish, our Cloud Village will pay you fifty billion ryo for your services, but..."
Hearing Dodai pause, Samui's face was full of nervousness, and a hint of anticipation arose in her heart. The village would not abandon her!
Dodai continued, "But fifty billion is too large a sum, and our Cloud Village cannot prepare it all at once. We can only pay you twenty billion first, and the remaining thirty billion will be sent to the Leaf Village later. What do you think?"
Lin Yu smiled brightly, "No problem at all. However, I'll need an IOU. I believe no one in this world can default on my payments."
Dodai and Darui exchanged a glance and nodded, "Alright."
"Then, happy cooperation!"