Several hours earlier.
The night wind, carrying grains of sand, swirled through the Suna camp at the border of the Land of Wind, pelting heavily against the faces of the Ame ninjas.
"Puh! Puh!"
In the quiet night, the sound of ninjas spitting out sand could be heard.
The banners of Suna had all been taken down, replaced by the banners of Ame.
Yawning patrol ninjas wandered along the edges of the battered camp, their forehead protectors occasionally catching a faint glint of moonlight.
By the bonfire, several Ame ninjas sat in a circle, their pupils reflecting the leaping sparks. They sat there, from time to time glancing up at the night sky above.
"I wonder when we'll see the signal from the first ambush squad..."
Worry flickered in one ninja's eyes.
"Relax!"
"They'll definitely send it!" another replied firmly.
"Yeah! I heard from Mizu that the kid went too!"
"What, you don't trust his strength? Even if you don't trust him, you can at least trust his curse! Hahaha!"
The ninja with a scar across his face burst into hearty laughter, the sound echoing through the night sky.
"Yeah! He may not even be ten yet, but his strength far surpasses that of an ordinary ninja!"
At the mention of Shiratori, smiles appeared on the ninjas' faces.
"We're really lucky," one said, gazing at the bonfire.
Even though he didn't finish the sentence, the others understood what he meant.
"Truly lucky!" they nodded in agreement.
Ever since he had arrived at Ame, everything had been heading in a better direction.
The number of ninja deaths in the village had decreased, and victory had followed victory in the ongoing wars.
"Let's hope they return safely."
"They will."
"I'm going to take a leak."
One ninja stood up and walked toward a broken wall in the darkness.
"Don't go too far!" a comrade called after him.
"Relax! I'll just be behind there!"
He pointed to the broken wall standing not far away in the shadows.
"Alright."
His companions glanced over and nodded. Entering the pitch-black area behind the wall, the ninja lazily loosened his waistband.
Then his movement froze. His eyes widened sharply.
His pupils contracted violently.
Pfft.
The expression on his face froze. The light in his pupils gradually dimmed.
A kunai had pierced cleanly through his slightly open mouth. His body went limp and collapsed backward.
By the bonfire, the Ame ninjas' expressions shifted.
A faint smell of blood drifted through the air. It wasn't strong, but it was enough to set them on alert. They immediately stood and looked toward the broken wall. The smell of blood was coming from that direction.
Their comrade from just now... had been killed.
Just as the ninjas heightened their vigilance, a fleeting trace of golden light passed through the night sky.
Agonizing pain shot through their backs, and their eyes went wide. Golden spikes burst from the ground, piercing their bodies in an instant.
So fast that they didn't even have time to react. All their voices were strangled in their throats.
Their bodies convulsed before slamming heavily to the ground, kicking up a cloud of sand mixed with blood.
The flickering bonfire stretched countless shadows across the ground.
Rasa stood before the ruined gates of the Suna camp. He could almost picture the despair and agony his comrades had felt when they were slaughtered here by the Ame ninjas.
His expression was dark and cold.
"Take back what they stole from us, and avenge our fallen comrades."
Though his tone was calm, it was laced with a chilling killing intent. Behind him, countless Suna ninjas stared at the Ame-occupied camp ahead, hatred blazing in their eyes.
They began to move, charging toward the camp. The silence beneath the starry sky was shattered.
The bonfire was kicked apart by countless feet, scattering embers in all directions. The Suna ninjas burst in while the Ame ninjas were completely unprepared, beginning a massacre.
All across the camp, screams and the muffled sounds of blades piercing flesh erupted almost at once.
From the shadows, countless Suna ninjas suddenly pounced, their weapons slashing throats and stabbing through hearts.
Blood splattered across the tents.
Caught off guard, the Ame ninjas fell like wheat stalks under a scythe.
"Enemy attack!"
"Suna ninjas!"
"They are here!"
One ninja shouted the alarm with a voice like tearing lungs. But within moments, a kunai had pierced his throat.
Even so, his cry had an effect.
"Defend! Hold the line!"
The quicker-witted ninjas roared to their comrades, steadying themselves and mounting an organized defense.
However, the appearance of a single figure effortlessly shattered their formation.
The space seemed to ripple and warp violently, like water disturbed by a thrown stone. Countless grains of golden sand appeared from thin air, gathering like a massive golden sandstorm swept up by a hurricane.
The golden light grew stronger, and in the blink of an eye, it condensed into a massive cube above the Ame ninjas' heads. The cube floated in the air like a dark cloud over them, exuding a crushing pressure.
A terrible premonition struck the ninjas all at once.
The next moment, the golden cube plummeted from above.
Boom!
A thunderous impact.
It was as if the battlefield had been frozen.
Both Ame and Suna ninjas stared in shock at the scene before them. The golden cube slammed heavily into the sandy ground.
Blood mist mixed with airborne yellow sand.
Dozens of Ame ninjas were crushed into pulp before they even had time to scream. The ninjas who remained alive stared wide-eyed, their gaze bloodshot.
Just like that... Their comrades... Just like that...
An intense hatred burst forth from their eyes. Unlike the Ame ninjas, the Suna ninjas looked toward Rasa with eyes full of admiration.
Rasa glanced at the surviving Ame ninjas. These few were no longer capable of causing any trouble.
"They're yours," Rasa ordered.
"Yes!"
The Suna ninjas surrounded the remaining fighters.
One by one, the Ame ninjas fell.
With overwhelming numbers, they were slaughtered without even a chance to fight back.
In no time, only corpses remained in the camp.
"Clean up the battlefield."
"Yes!"
The Ame ninja corpses were burned to ashes.
The banner symbolizing Suna once again fluttered above the ruins of the camp.
The ninjas unconsciously stopped their work, looking up at the bloodstained flag.
They would have their revenge.
Revenge for their fallen comrades!
Rasa withdrew his gaze from the banner. Turning around, he looked at the ninjas behind him.
"We will make sure Ame has no strength left to fight back!"
"This battle has only just begun!"
"Leave one hundred men to guard the camp. The rest of you will follow me to the border of the Land of Rain and drive those rats back into their holes!"
His voice echoed in the sky above all the ninjas.
Each one's eyes were firm and resolute.
"Yes!"
Rasa turned, facing the direction of the Land of Rain.
With a wave of his hand, he commanded, "Advance!"
Dense ranks of Suna ninjas brushed past him, running toward the Land of Rain.
At the same time, at the border of the Land of Rain.
An Ame ninja, drenched in blood, knelt on one knee before Hanzō.
"Hanzō-sama... The ninjas at the border... They were all killed..."
"Rasa..."
After uttering these key words, the ninja's body collapsed heavily to the ground.
The two medical-nin shook their heads at Hanzō.
If Shiratori were here, this ninja might still have had a chance to survive. But he had not yet returned.
It seemed the first ambush unit's mission had not gone so smoothly either.
And the worse news was... Every Ame ninja knew in their hearts what that meant, but no one spoke it aloud.
It would damage morale.
Hanzō, without hesitation, waved his hand. His deep, icy voice pierced through his respirator and into the ears of every ninja present:
"Leave two hundred men to guard the camp. The rest will follow me to counterattack!"
"Yes!"
In less than a minute, the Ame ninjas were already prepared for battle.
Following him, their figures raced toward the border of the Land of Wind.
---
A chunin behind Rasa suddenly frowned, stopping in his tracks. He noticed fresh blood in the grass, crouched down, and touched it with his hand.
The blood was thick. The chunin stood up, his expression changing. "Rasa-sama, Ame may already have received the news!"
Rasa's face remained calm. "Keep moving!"
The chunin nodded.
The Suna forces continued advancing toward the border of the Land of Rain.
Up ahead, the sensory-nin stopped.
Closing their eyes tightly, they reported:
"Rasa-sama!"
"We've detected a large concentration of chakra ahead, and it's moving toward us. It should be the Ame ninjas. The distance between us is less than twenty kilometers."
The sensory-nin updated the report in real time: "Now less than fifteen kilometers..."
Rasa stared forward, his gaze sharp as a hawk's.
"All units, listen up!"
His voice carried an unmistakable, decisive authority.
"First and Second Divisions, immediately take the eastern sand dune high ground!"
"Third Division, set traps and prepare the first wave of ambush ahead!"
"Fourth and Fifth Divisions, secure the western rocky high ground!"
"Sixth and Seventh Divisions, stay with me and construct the front-line defenses!"
"Move!"
Under his urgent commands, the Suna ninjas hesitated not at all, moving with explosive efficiency.
One after another, figures shot out like arrows loosed from a bowstring, heading toward their assigned positions.
On the sand dunes, ninjas buried themselves deep beneath the sand. Within the wind-eroded rock formations, they blended seamlessly with the stone.
The Third Division swiftly reached the front, laying deadly explosive tags and poisoned caltrops beneath the sand.
The voice of the intel-nin rang in everyone's ears.
"Ten kilometers..."
The Suna ninjas' hearts tightened.
"Nine kilometers."
"Five kilometers."
They held their breath.
The world fell silent.
They're here!
The ninjas said it in their hearts at the same time. The first thing they sensed was an unusual change in the wind speed.
Living in the desert, they were the most sensitive to the wind's movements.
Now, the wind speed was clearly different from usual. On the heat-distorted border ahead, hazy figures finally came into view.
The Ame ninjas wore pure black uniforms, their silhouettes now like ink spilling forward toward the Suna ninjas.
What puzzled Rasa was that their numbers were small, only about thirty.
Compared to his forces, they seemed almost laughably weak. But the figure at the very front quickly drew Rasa's attention.
It was none other than Hanzō the Salamander!
The Ame ninjas following behind him had cold eyes, their faces hidden behind special respirator masks, like poisoned blades in their sheaths.
At a distance of one thousand meters from Rasa's forces, Hanzō stopped.
They had not stepped into the Suna ninjas' traps.
Hanzō's eyes, filled with murderous intent, locked onto Rasa. He slowly raised his right hand. "Leave no one alive."
The Ame ninjas immediately stepped out from behind Hanzō, forming a straight line. At the same time, their hands flashed through seals, their chests swelling before they exhaled violently.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Hanzō extended his hand, scattering countless glass bottles into the air.
A fierce wind suddenly rose, carrying crushing force straight toward the Suna ninjas.
The bottles shattered in midair.
A purple poison mist instantly spread.
The violent wind swept it all toward the distant ninjas.
The Suna ninjas reacted just as quickly.
Pressing their hands to the ground, thick earthen walls rose up, trying to block the poison.
However, the poisonous mist seeped through every gap.
Any ninja who inhaled even a trace of it collapsed almost instantly.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Seeing the earth walls fail, the Suna ninjas nearly all launched the same technique again.
"No!"
Rasa's eyes widened, but his order came too late.
Winds rose from both sides of the battlefield.
At the moment the gusts collided, the poison mist completely spread through every corner of the desert before them.
As soon as the winds died down, Hanzō moved. His speed exceeded the limits of human vision.
A dense purple gas, thick as ink, erupted from his entire body without warning.
The poisonous mist expanded at an astonishing speed, instantly shrouding the battlefield.
Those Suna ninjas who were even slightly slow to react didn't have time to take the antidote from their pouches before collapsing, breathless.
Rasa's brows furrowed tightly. The moment Hanzō acted, he had already swallowed the antidote provided by Elder Chiyo.
Though they hadn't been able to produce much of it in such a short time, most of the Suna ninjas still carried doses of the antidote.
It was just a matter of whether they could take it in time.
Rasa's eyes burned with killing intent as he stared at Hanzō's figure, hidden within the poison.
Hanzō was indeed not easy to deal with. But if he could kill the Salamander here, his prestige in Suna would soar even higher.
The position of the next Kazekage would surely be his!