A noticed Mabui's expression and a frown formed on his face.
Mabui said, "Raikage-sama, we have bad news!"
A asked, "What happened this time?"
Mabui said, "Various rumors are spreading throughout the country about the clash between Konoha ninjas and our forces."
A shouted in anger, "WHAT? I told you to keep it a secret! How did that information spread?"
Mabui quickly answered, "I kept it a secret. I am sure that Advisor Hari did too. I did some analysis and I believe that the rumors haven't started in our village. Instead, they have entered our village from the outside."
A asked, "What do you mean by outside?"
Mabui said, "I believe that someone is spreading the rumors in other villages in our country. The rumors reached our village while spreading through them."
A was stunned. However, he soon realized. He got angry and once again smashed his desk while shouting, "That damned Hiruzen!"
Mabui sighed in her mind thinking, 'I just replaced that old desk.'
However, she agreed with his analysis. She too believed that Konoha was spreading these rumors. She said, "Raikage-sama, the rumors themselves are worrying. While some rumors say the truth, a majority of them say that our 60 ninja force was defeated by one young Konoha ninja. Some even say that they were defeated by a kid who hadn't even graduated yet from the Academy."
A's eyes widened. His rage grew further. He stood up. A lightning cloak appeared around him as he cursed, "First those bastards spread rumors and then they dare to defame us?"
Before he could speak more, Mabui said, "That's not all Raikage-sama. There is another worrying situation."
A asked, "What else?"
Mabui said, "I haven't received any communications from Advisor Hari. His report should have arrived a couple of hours ago."
A calmed down and became serious on hearing that. He had sent 2 Elite Jounin, dozens of Jounins, more than two hundred Chunins and an advisor to the mine. If anything happened to them or the mine, then the losses would be severe. He didn't want to act on emotions on such a serious matter.
He said, "The messenger birds could get lost at times. Are you sure that it is something to be worried about?"
Mabui replied, "I just have a bad feeling, Raikage-sama."
A thought for a bit and said, "Wait till this afternoon. If Hari doesn't send a message once more, then have Darui's team check on them. In the meantime, arrange for some ninjas to explore the villages in our country. Eliminate any of those Konoha scums spreading rumors.
Mabui nodded and immediately left. She informed Darui's group to be ready. And she dispatched a dozen squads to scout the country for anyone spreading the rumors.
The Anbu from Konoha were aware that they would be suspected this time. So they just spread rumors for around 6 hours before escaping. The Kumogakure ninjas had to search the huge country and didn't know where to start. So the Anbu ended up escaping even before the Kumogakure ninjas reached anywhere close to them.
Having completed their mission successfully, all 10 squads left the Land of Lightning safely and began returning to Konoha.
A's day kept on getting worse. A lot of elders and clan leaders kept visiting him asking about the rumors spreading through the village. Though they had passively agreed earlier, the losses made them rethink their positions. They didn't want to fight a war if their losses would be horrendous!
A had to pacify them all and tell them the exact details of the clash. His frustration grew with every meeting!
At noon, Mabui returned to his office. She was about to report but stopped seeing how terrible A's mood was. A noticed her and said, "Get on with it and tell me what more bad news you have."
Mabui reported, "Raikage-sama, Hari hasn't sent the message once again. I have dispatched Darui's squad to check on them."
A thought about what to say, but no words left his mouth. He was tired of dealing with all the shit on the same day! He had continuous meetings all morning and hadn't even had the time to have breakfast.
He got up and said, "Alright. You handle the matter."
Mabui saw as Raikage walked towards the wall behind him. He formed a fist and punched a new door in the wall.
Mabui watched with a deadpan expression thinking, 'I knew it!'
She asked, "Where are you going, Raikage-sama?"
A said, "I need a break. I will be sparring with Bee. If anyone has any complaints or worries, send them there if they dare to come!"
He immediately disappeared.
Normally, Mabui would chuckle whenever this happens. Whenever A was overburdened by village politics, he would go to Bee and fight against his Tailed Beast form. No elder or clan head or advisor would dare to go close to their fight! It was A's way of telling them to shut their mouths and demonstrating his and his brother's power.
Unfortunately, Mabui couldn't chuckle. She was troubled by the situation herself. She sighed, 'What a mess. We haven't even started the war yet and just made two moves and still have to deal with such a headache. We underestimated Konoha due to the previous incident. I hope that nothing bad happens again.'
Bee was writing a few rap lines in his book when A landed in front of him with a huge force and sent dust flying. A looked at Bee and said, "Bee, we are sparring! Use your full strength!"
Bee had heard the rumors going around in the village. He knew that A would be extremely frustrated. He said, "Yo, yo, yo! Brother, what's good? You look mad stressed, man. Come spar with your brother Bee and let's ease that tension!"
A was even more annoyed due to Bee's rapping! He immediately activated his Lightning Chakra Mode. At the same time, Gyuki's giant octopus tentacles appeared behind Bee as he transformed into Gyuki! Both began sparring at their full power!
Their spar continued through the entire afternoon and destroyed a few mountains while creating a few new valleys.
After ending the spar, they went to Bee's home for a late lunch.
The spar and the break from others helped A relax. But Bee could still see that he was worried and his mind wasn't on the food he was eating. In order to get it off his mind, Bee asked, "So, what's the dealio? Why you lookin' like you just saw a ghost or somethin'?"
A sighed and explained the situation. He explained his plan to start a new war with Konoha, Hiruzen's tactics and annoyance caused by the Elders and Clan leaders from their village.
Bee nodded and said, "Oh snap, now that is quite a mess indeed! But you still wanna push forward, huh?"
A nodded and said, "It is for our village's prosperity."
Bee argued, "I feel you, I feel you. But let me ask you this, do we need to keep being so aggressive? The village has been chillin' lately, why not take a step back and enjoy the peace?"
A said, "This peace is only temporary. A new Great War will eventually start. Konoha and Suna are in an alliance. If Konoha manages to convince Iwa and Kiri to make a move against us, we will be in a tough spot. Anyways, I have to leave. I can't leave the office for too long."
Having finished his food, A began leaving. Bee looked at his back and said, "Just remember, brother, even if something goes wrong, we got each other's backs. We'll fix it together."
A smiled and nodded before disappearing. He soon appeared in his office. However, his smile disappeared even before he entered his office!
He entered his office from the same hole that he created and saw every elder, clan head and advisor in his office waiting for him. He looked at Mabui who had a helpless expression on her face.
Before A could say anything, an old man asked, "Lord Raikage, is it about time for you to inform us about the important events? Or do you plan to keep us in the dark until the very end?"
A frowned. Though he didn't always inform others about his plans, he was confused about why they decided to gather together and confront him. More importantly, the identity of the old man was very sensitive. He was Inazuma, an advisor to his father, the 3rd Raikage.
He asked, "What do you mean?"
Mabui stepped forward and informed, "Raikage-sama, some of the ninjas I dispatched returned back to the village. They said that there are a lot more rumors spreading around in the country."
A asked, "It's just some rumors. I can understand common people being scared of them, but why are you giving it unnecessary attention?"
Inazuma said, "It is due to the nature of those rumors. Though some of them are ridiculous, all of them say one thing in common."
Inazuma stopped speaking and observed A's expression. Unfortunately, he couldn't gauge what A was thinking.
A waited for a few seconds and shouted aggressively, "Stop testing me and just speak!"
Inazuma said, "They say that all the ninjas we sent to the mine have been wiped out. The mine itself has also been destroyed."