Suddenly appearing from behind, Takeshi swung the scabbard unceremoniously at the head of a Rain ninja. While the enemy collapsed to the ground, he pinned his knee against the man's neck in a textbook American police-style kneeling hold.
"I can't breathe..."
The restrained Rain ninja flailed desperately. The lack of air in his lungs made it impossible to shout for help. He could only watch helplessly as Obito approached him.
With a genjutsu cast upon the nameless Rain ninja, his struggling instantly ceased, and he went quiet as if he had died.
"Don't tell me he's actually dead? I didn't even use much force."
Takeshi stood up and moved his knee off the man's neck, glancing toward Obito with a probing look.
"He's not dead. The genjutsu worked. We can ask anything we want."
Adjusting his goggles, Obito spoke confidently.
After confirming that everything was in order, Takeshi and the others brought the captive to a secluded location and began the interrogation.
"What's your name? Which unit in Amegakure are you from?"
"My name is .... I belong to the squad under Jōnin ...."
...
After over ten minutes of questioning, Takeshi got the information he needed. Then, with a glance, he signaled Kakashi to finish him off.
Without a moment of hesitation, the flash of a kunai ended the life of the shinobi—winning his family three years of tax exemption.
Looking into his now lifeless eyes, Takeshi furrowed his brows and began reviewing the intelligence they had just obtained.
Amegakure's shinobi structure was extremely convoluted. There was no upper limit to how many people a Jōnin could command—it all depended on how much money Amegakure was willing to pay the Genin.
Take this ninja, for example: the team he was in had thirty Genin. Although the large number sounded intimidating, their actual combat strength might not even match that of three ordinary Konoha Genin.
For cannon fodder like this, Amegakure's recruitment standards were laughably low. As long as one could hit any spot on a target five meters away with a shuriken, they passed.
After all, under Hanzo's rule, the life expectancy of these Genin was abysmally short. If they weren't ambushed by mountain bandits, they died stepping on explosive tags leftover from the Second Great Ninja War scattered across the Land of Rain.
Unlike the peaceful commission system in Konoha, where Genin were assigned tasks like finding lost cats and dogs, Rain Genin never had it so easy. Their simplest missions often involved assassinating mid-level civilians with some social standing but no combat skills.
The squad Takeshi's team encountered wasn't a patrol unit. They were just unlucky souls sent to clear leftover explosive tags.
So even if Takeshi's group wiped them all out, their Jōnin leader would likely assume they'd simply triggered an old trap in some backwater crevice.
"It's hard to believe that with a force like this, Hanzo could hold his own against both Sunagakure and Konoha during the Second Ninja War."
Rin Nohara, the team's top student in theory, clearly couldn't comprehend how shinobi of such low quality had once caused Konoha so much trouble.
"That's also why Hanzo ultimately failed. The Land of Rain is a small nation. It lacks powerful shinobi clans and deep reserves of jutsu knowledge. Relying on Hanzo's personal strength alone was never enough to stand against the Great Hidden Villages."
"Of course, we're far from the central tower. All of Hanzo's elite, loyal shinobi are stationed there to protect him. The ones left outside are naturally of this level."
According to the intel, Hanzo hadn't appeared publicly for quite some time. Most of his orders were being passed down by his two close aides: Hattori and Kamita.
As for the Iwa shinobi forces within the Land of Rain, although there was no concrete intel, the rain ninja mentioned that his superior had instructed them to stay away from those Iwa shinobi—suggesting Hanzo was aware of, and possibly even permitted, their presence.
"Let's find somewhere to shelter from the rain and rest for the night. We'll continue tomorrow."
Looking up at the dull grey sky, Takeshi decided to camp nearby. They had already gathered what they needed about the Iwa shinobi. All that was left was to track down the Akatsuki—still in its dawn phase.
If Jiraiya and his disciples could be contacted early on, perhaps some of the tragedies of the future could be avoided.
At the very least, maybe something good could come of this chaotic shinobi world.
...
When the latter half of the night came, Takeshi, who had volunteered for the late-night watch, took over from Obito and sat alone on a boulder outside the cave, gazing at the sky.
Sensing a familiar presence behind him, Takeshi didn't turn around. He simply asked curiously,
"Weren't we clear that I'd take the second half of the night shift?"
The person behind him didn't reply, but instead sat down beside him on the same boulder.
"That's rare... seeing this kind of expression on your face."
Kakashi, seated next to Takeshi, spoke in a flat tone, also looking up at the night sky.
"What kind of expression?"
Touching his own face, Takeshi had no idea what kind of expression he was wearing right now.
"Don't take Obito's words to heart. That guy always says whatever comes to mind."
As Takeshi asked, Kakashi simply stretched a finger backward, pointing toward Obito—who was now drooling in his sleep—and didn't respond directly.
"I wouldn't let a dumbass like that get under my skin."
Despite what he said, Takeshi couldn't help but recall what he'd seen that morning—and the state of Amegakure revealed by the captive.
"Do you remember what you were like when you first arrived in Konoha?"
Tilting his head slightly, Kakashi looked at Takeshi, then gave a tiny shake of his head and turned his gaze back to the sky.
What was I like when I first came to Konoha?
Ah, that time... Back then, he wasn't nearly as burdened with thoughts. His mother had just passed away, his father's reputation was in shambles, and the only person he could rely on was that so-called ANBU of Konoha—Sakumo-san.
Back then, the only thing he had to think about was how to survive.
Unlike now, where he had to balance missions with thoughts of how to save this person and that one.
"You've always been that kind of person—just going with the flow. Occasionally using your wits to carve out some advantage for yourself, but most of the time just following a path others laid out for you, without thinking too much."
Seeing that Takeshi didn't respond, Kakashi kept talking.
Kakashi's words left Takeshi speechless.
From the sound of it, the past few years of his life could be summed up as carefree and brainless?
Sure, that was kind of true—but did you really have to say it to my face, Kakashi?
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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