Thunder rumbled across the sky and Ā could feel it in his chest. Kumogakure gained its name for its location, resting in the mountains above a layer of clouds. The village, established by the first man to claim the title of Raikage in Kaminari no Kuni, had grown from being an isolated and scattered town into the staple power of the north. Their country was the gateway between the world of shinobi and samurai. For decades, they boasted proudly that they "protected" the world from an incursion of foreign, savage warriors but Ā had been quickly instructed by his father that this was nothing but a farce to curry favor with the other great nations.

A foolish endeavor, Ā concluded. They've always hated us. The shinobi of Kumogakure prided themselves on maintaining their military strength even when the people did not wield special bloodline traits that would go on to form kekkai genkai, techniques that were treasured by the village and protected by the clan they originated from. Hi no Kuni had been settled by two of the most powerful clans that the world had ever known, Uchiha and Senju, causing many others to also flock to them. While you couldn't turn a corner without hitting someone from one of Konohagakure's many clans, the same could not be said about Ā's home. There had only been one active during the time of the First Raikage, a clan with abilities rumored to rival those of the Uchiha. The Chinoike with their Ketsuryugan. It was almost mythical in the Land of Lightning, a dojutsu with enough visual acuity to be compared to the Sharingan. A miracle of a find but an absolute nightmare to re-engineer. The Chinoike had all slaughtered themselves because of their maniacal infighting, leaving no one alive that shared their blood and Kumogakure's chances of resurrecting one of their ancient clans fruitless. A decades-long project, over.

Then, came the war with Konohagakure. Five years ago, the cause of the war had been a typical major territory dispute as a result of the end of the Third Shinobi World War that ended up spiraling violently out of control. Ā, in his stubborn refusal to suffer a loss in his first few years as Raikage, had sustained the war effort, taking a personal loan from the daimyō to ensure that his troops were supplied for, and he could beat Konoha through attrition. Eventually, his plan came true. He'd forced the supposed "God of Shinobi", Hiruzen Sarutobi, to sue for peace and relinquish claims on the stretch of land. Despite wishing to gloat and flex his strength to Konoha during the treaty negotiation, Ā had been forced to stay home. Bee had been going through another one of his phases where he allowed the power of the bijuu inside him to get to his head. At any moment, he could explode into the crimson chakra cloak of the demon bull or worse, access his entire form. There'd be no one in Kumogakure who could talk, or most likely beat, his brother into submission but him. So, Ā had elected to send his advisor to negotiate the terms in his stead.

The seeds of what eventually transpired had been a small nugget planted in his ear by his advisor. "Insider information", his advisor had called it, indicated that the Hyūga clan had two smal children with one soft and timid enough that capturing her would be no issue so long as her guards could be replaced...or removed. The negotiation for the peace treaty would be a perfect opportunity for the abduction, he'd been told. So, to say that Ā had no knowledge of the attempted kidnapping would have been a lie. He had, however, not ordered it. But, he had been able to come up with a plan to shift things in his favor. Lord Third had gotten soft and with the peace that he'd fought hard to achieve, the old man would surely agree to his demands of penance for the death of his advisor while he served as a messenger for the treaty.

A piece of parchment came back to Ā along with a box. The note did not carry the signature of Hiruzen nor words that spoke of peace. It said simply, "The price." The Fourth Raikage opened the box and froze. The petrified face of his advisor met him with his severed hands planted on either side of his head. His fingers had been cut off and then separated further and formed into the symbol of Konohagakure and his blood was used to create the fan emblem of the Uchiha.

Word spread quickly that Fugaku Uchiha had been appointed as the Fourth Hokage, sending sociopolitical tremors throughout the continent. The new leader of Konoha had also been keen to let the world know of the peace treaty agreed to by Kumo. This placed the pressure to keep up appearances on Ā and in order to spare himself the shame of being publicly known as an oath-breaker, the Raikage did what was expected of a shinobi. He kept the peace in front of the people while organizing his forces in the shadows to eliminate his enemies.

That had been four years ago and here he was, still sitting at the table as his war council entered his office. Each person walked in carrying a scroll in their hand as Ā refused to miss any detail about the war effort and every mission he'd signed off on. The nervous council members sat around the large table, their chairs screeching against the floor. Ā grit his teeth until silence fell, and he let out a deep sigh.

His new advisor, reinstated from his father's cabinet, Dodai cleared his voice to speak. "Our forces have begun the move south, taking up stations in and around Shimogakure. We have launched a few scouting parties but with few returns. It doesn't appear that Konoha has made any significant advancements north in some time."

Not with their troops anyway, Ā thought. "Has there been any word from Shimogakure about our investigation?"

A bald man stood and adjusted his sunglasses. Jei was a freshly appointed jonin with more wet behind his ears than a drowning man. However, Dodai found him to be rather insightful, especially from a younger perspective. Ā saw nothing insightful, just a shivering, bald young shinobi ready to make himself wet somewhere aside from his ears. "The Shimo-nin do report encountering what seemed to be the aftermath of a battle, kunai and broken shuriken in the shape of Konoha's. It wasn't with them. They did a count and didn't state any KIA or MIA losses."

"Perhaps they were tracking one of their missing-nin," offered Mabui, Ā's other assistant remarked. It was possible. Ā had known that eventually Danzo would be discovered and his agents tracked down and killed as deserters. If only it had been six years earlier, perhaps this pointless shadow war would never have needed to happen.

"We can assume as much, at the very least," Dodai said. "The Fourth Hokage's reign has been far from peaceful according to our intel."

"Enough that we could negotiate with disgruntled people on the inside?" Mabui offered.

Ā shook his head. "No." It had been possible before with Danzo. His dissatisfaction with the way Lord Third governed the village's affairs had been a thinly veiled secret and his desire to depose him had offered Ā's first advisor the opportunity he needed to attempt to steal the Hyūga girl. His network of agents connected shadow ops from Konohagakure to every other country he had plants. It had been a valuable tool to gain information on an enemy's strength over the years. But with Danzo dead, his network was scattered. That left only his conspirator, one of the Sannin, Orochimaru. Ā had no interest at all in working with him. There were few men on the planet that made the Raikage's skin crawl but the white snake gave him chills. Beyond the fact that there were rumors that he somehow caused a rampage of the Gyūki beast years ago, he was widely known to be ruthless and odd. Danzo partnering with him had initially given Ā pause until he'd advised of Orochimaru's expertise in genetics.

"That's what you want, correct? The revival of your people's kekkai genkai?" the old man had said.

But those hopes were dashed too. Ā balled his fist. "We have to focus simply on our plans and strength."

"However," Dodai said. "To attack Konoha without any provocation would be a disastrous move for us, politically. We've just signed a peace treaty, and we were given the expanded borders we requested."

In exchange for silence about the reason why my advisor was killed, Ā mused.

"If we strike against them, we don't have an ally available to support us in a full-fledged war with Konoha. The most we can call on are smaller shinobi villages that might take a mercenary contract for a price"

"But then there's the distinct possibility that it could turn into a Fourth Shinobi World War, with the other powers all aiming at us," Jei said, his voice a shuddering whisper.

"Fine," Ā barked. "But our mobilization will not be for nothing. Establish communication lines and defensive stations along the border of Shimo no Kuni. We'll bottleneck them or force them to fight with their backs to the ocean."

"Yes, my lord," Dodai replied. He nodded to Jei and the bald man disappeared quickly out of the room.

Ā sniffled and sat down. There was no evidence aside from the kunai that Konoha had even crossed into their agreed neutral zone and it wasn't to do direct damage to Kumogakure. They hadn't dishonored any part of the deal that he could prove was them. Fugaku had been moving quietly and quickly if he'd done anything at all. They were at war with each other with not a single battle fought. Just words, letters, and third parties used in between. Four years of this was more than enough to make Ā want to punch a hole through something.

Or someone.

He'd never faced Fugaku Uchiha in battle before but had heard stories of his power from other Kumo-nin that had managed to survive the Third World War. His exploits in the war had earned him the moniker, "Wicked Eyes", denoting the potent power of his Sharingan. Still, Ā thought. There was no flee on sight order given for him. Only 'the Yellow Flash'. The Raikage prided himself on facing and surviving battles with Konoha's fastest shinobi while hundreds if not thousands had died trying to fight him. If it did come to war, he wanted the chance to face him again. He'd been developing a new jutsu that he knew was fast enough to catch the Yellow Flash and strong enough to crush him.

Which reminded him...

"Dodai," Ā said as the older man was heading towards the door. His advisor skillfully pivoted to turn to him.

"Yes, Lord Raikage?"

Ā stood up and pushed his chair into the table. "Where is my brother?"

"He was last reported being seen in Unraikyō, my lord."

"Good," Ā replied as he exited, his footsteps booming in the hallway.

He found his brother sitting on the edge of a cliff, tapping a pencil against his head as he hummed incoherently. "I walk in the forest, they shakin'. Squealing pigs, they bacon." Bee chuckled to himself and wrote the lyrics down in his notebook.

Ā sighed. "You've been sitting out here all day and that's the best you could come up with?"

"Hey, big bro, cut me some slack. It's hard to write with you breathing down my back," Bee replied. He paused again to write in his notebook.

Ā looked around at his brother's training ground. The mountainsides bore the scar marks of whatever explosive techniques Bee had been practicing. At this rate, the borders of the valley would need to be expanded and the maps changed. He's getting restless, Ā thought. When he was promoted to Raikage, one of Ā's first decrees was that his brother not be permitted to exit the village in order to preserve both his life and that of the bijuu inside of him. None of that mattered though if he ended up eventually destroying everything out of boredom.

"What have you been doing up here? Practicing a new jutsu?"

"Ah-ah, it's a secret. If I let you know, you'd better keep it," Bee replied.

Ā scoffed. "Fine."

Bee's eyes gleamed and he jumped to his feet, swirling his around so dramatically that Ā thought he was performing some odd hand seals. Finally, his brother stopped and through his left hand in the air with his pinky and index finger extended. "The ultimate jutsu, drippin' with style! They'll talk about it over every mile! Even if our enemies haven't picked their tombs, they'll find it when I go, 'boom'! The super-powered, ultra-flashy–"

"Bee," Ā said flatly. "Please."

His brother looked confused then dejected. His head bounced up again and he was grinning. "I haven't been workin' on anything new or cool. Just wanted to see if you'd wait to listen, but you're no fool."

"I know you too well, little brother," Ā answered. "Just like I know that you're bored out here." Bee said nothing for once as if he were listening intently to his every word. The Raikage smirked. His brother knew what came next. "But, I'll have need of you very soon."

Grinning, Bee nodded and raised a fist to Ā. Lord Fourth returned the gesture, bumping fists with his brother. He could feel Bee's natural strength from their connection and sensed the swirling mass of chakra inside him. If it did come to war, Ā wouldn't want anyone else at his side.

He left his brother in the valley and traversed the mountain ranges of his homeland. The air was thin and cold, yet felt pure as it entered and exited his lungs. The wind whistled above his head, carrying a flock of geese on their migratory flight south. Ā closed his eyes and took in a deep inhale and exhale. It was rare that he traveled alone. Usually, he was accompanied by his bodyguard tandem, Darui and C, two impressive young shinobi that had been trained by his father to serve as the right and left hands of the Raikage. They were at least strong enough to achieve the rank of jonin, an admirable feat, especially for shinobi so young. He'd never seen them in an actual combat situation though.

That can be remedied, Ā mused. If the war against Konoha became too serious, he'd be forced to take the battlefield. The war effort's severity could only be judged by him which meant if he deemed so much as the sight of a Konoha shinobi as a significant threat, he could immediately join the fray. He imagined crushing them underfoot and shattering their defenses with his bare hands. Once he could finally let loose and practice his new technique...

The thought chilled his spine but something else did too. Someone following him? Here? Ā paused to take in his surroundings. The wind came to his ears on the tail end of one of its howls. The geese were long gone now, mere specks in the blue sky. And Ā heard...grass crunching behind him.

He whirled on his heels and saw two figures in black, hooded robes with porcelain animal masks. The markings were easily identifiable by Ā. Konoha ANBU... Deep within his lands, no less. They had managed to sneak up on him and catch him out and alone. Though he was lacking his bodyguards, the Raikage had little doubt he could take them. He tightened his fists and let his chakra pulse out around him.

"If your Hokage sent you here to kill me, I'll gladly send your charred bones back to him in a box," he growled.

The figures did well to seem unfazed. "Lord Hokage did indeed send us. But, he doesn't offer a sword but a peace deal," a young man said. He held out his hand, revealing a paper crane.

Ā spat. "Peace?" he repeated. "The Hokage sends assassins to negotiate peace? He'd be better off letting a wolf to guard sheep."

"If our mission had been to kill you, we would've attacked without hesitation," another man spoke before pausing to say, "My lord."

He's bold, Ā thought. Maybe I can split his head first.

"Lord Hokage's deal is simple. This war of ours has been fought in the shadows. Let it stay there and die so that no one else has to."

Ā narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw. "And this requires what from me?"

"You can maintain the lands given in the peace treaty four years ago. In exchange..." the young man paused. "You must hand over one of your jinchuriki."

Bristling, Ā stepped forward. "Why would I be stupid enough to give up a valuable asset to an enemy nation? Surely, your Hokage doesn't think that keeping those expanded borders is worth letting your village disrupt the balance of the continent's power?"

"He does. Your village has attempted to create imbalance and cause world conflicts by stealing children from their beds to experiment on them. Doubtful that you can possibly feel so secure hanging from that moral high ground." It was that bold man again and Ā lucidly visualized punching a hole through his chest. He relaxed and cooled himself down. No matter what was said to him, attacking messengers would undoubtedly invite worldwide scrutiny. The last thing he needed was the attempted abduction of the Hyūga child being exposed.

Ā took a breath. "Tell your Hokage that if the price for peace is surrendering something as valuable as a bijuu, Kumogakure will only accept those terms when I am a corpse rotting in the ground."

The temperature of the wind dropped as it burst over the hills. It blew the hood and cloaks of the Konoha shinobi and Ā noted that the man that offered him the paper crane had blue hair. The other man, bold and disrespectful, stared into his eyes.

There was an angry flash of red from behind his mask and Ā froze. "We'll be sure to give the Hokage your regards." After the words parted from his mouth, the pair of Konoha ANBU disappeared into the air, leaving Ā alone in the mountain field. The wind carried wispy clouds that thinned into a fog that began to hover over the high-altitude grass. Ā felt a haunting chill that paralleled the settling of the fog. The ANBU had been sent by Fugaku as a warning. He couldn't have expected him to accept those terms for peace, no matter how much dirt he had to expose about how Kumogakure operated. These kinds of bluffs were consistent with how the shinobi world operated but something about this exchange felt more...sinister. The clandestine missions that they'd fought on either side, the smaller villages that had been involved in their cold war the past four years, all of it felt pointless. Or leading to something else that Ā couldn't exactly pinpoint. It was so beyond his understanding that he could feel a creeping sense of foreboding as he walked through the white-gray mist and descended the mountain.

This fog, this confusion, he thought. Is the fog of war.