Chapter 48 – The Final Battle
Deep within the dense forest.
Ever since the rogue ninja captain left with his men, the figure in a black cloak had been waiting silently. His hood was pulled back now, revealing none other than Ishihara Masafumi, the head of the Ishihara family's second branch.
As time dragged on, Masafumi grew restless. He paced back and forth, glancing often in the direction the ninja had departed, desperate to see them return with the result he desired.
At last, the faint rustle of footsteps reached his ears. Masafumi quickly drew his hood back over his head and turned toward the sound.
The missing-nin finally stepped into view. But Masafumi's expression darkened instantly—two fewer men than before, and not the ones he wanted brought back.
Before they could even report, he strode forward and demanded, clinging to his last shred of hope:
"Aoyama, did you kill that brat?"
"Kill him?!" Aoyama, the rogue from Sunagakure, barked furiously. "You've got some nerve! What kind of intelligence did you feed us? I lost a chūnin and a genin because of your 'information'—how do you plan to answer for that?"
"Stop stalling. What happened?" Masafumi snapped impatiently.
Aoyama ground his teeth, but relayed the events nonetheless. "Those Konoha shinobi weren't what you told me. Their leader was a jōnin, and the rest were no ordinary genin. They caught us completely off guard."
Masafumi's face twisted with anger, his brows furrowing tight. Damn that main family… their luck is absurd.
"So what now? We can't just give up!" he hissed. "This isn't only my stake—you lot won't want the prize snatched away either."
Aoyama spat to the side. "No choice. We wait for Kōji. With him, a tokubetsu jōnin, added to our forces, then we'll have the edge we need."
Though unwilling, he knew it was true. Originally, this had been an easy payday, but now the spoils would have to be shared.
---
Meanwhile, back with the caravan…
The battlefield had been cleared, scattered wagons and survivors reassembled. When the losses were tallied, the numbers hit like a hammer—nearly half the people had perished in that single ambush at dusk.
Ishihara Masao sat off to the side, fingers flying over his abacus, grimacing as he tried to calculate whether this disastrous trip could still turn a profit after paying out compensation.
Taichi, watching him, could only shake his head. People have died, and he's still counting money. Truly, a merchant through and through.
"Mr. Ishihara," Taichi finally interjected, "have the caravan make camp early. Everyone's exhausted, and without proper rest, no one will have the stamina for what's ahead."
Masao slapped his forehead. "You're right, you're right! That skirmish rattled me so much I nearly forgot." He hurried off to give orders, leaving Taichi free to rejoin his teammates.
By the campfire, Ishihara's wife and young son sat close by—understandable, since nowhere else felt safer now. Nearby, Yōhei was boasting animatedly to Saori, reenacting his glorious battle, how he cut down enemies left and right, and how he awakened his Sharingan.
"If only they'd stayed a little longer," he bragged, "I would've taken them all down myself!"
Saori laughed behind her hand, while little Ishihara clapped in wide-eyed admiration.
"Alright, that's enough," Yamaguchi-sensei finally cut him off as Taichi approached. "Everyone's tired. Rest early—we'll need all our strength tomorrow."
"Yōhei, you'll take first watch. Taichi, you take the second. Saori, you're injured—focus on recovering."
"Yes, Captain!" the two answered in unison.
Saori lowered her head, fiddling with her fingers. The fierce kunoichi who had fought four against one earlier now looked almost timid.
---
The night passed quietly. At dawn, the caravan was already on the move, hours earlier than usual.
The storm the previous evening had left everyone uneasy. They knew the battle wasn't finished—those who had escaped would return with reinforcements.
So they pressed hard, the pace relentless. If they kept this speed, they would reach Kanematsu City by the eighth day at noon, completing the escort mission. But this was only the sixth day… more than enough time for the enemy to regroup.
Sure enough, as Taichi had predicted, the sixth day went by without incident. No attacks, no skirmishes—as if the ambush the night before had never happened.
Yet that very calm only wound nerves tighter. Even the heavens seemed to mirror their unease: from nightfall onward, a soft rain began to fall, endless and cold, drenching the world in tension.
By the seventh day morning, the drizzle still had not stopped. Such rain was rare in the Land of Rivers, whose climate was usually dry under the influence of the Land of Wind.
Taichi, however, nearly laughed aloud. This weather… it's perfect for my Water Release.
The caravan trudged on through the misty rain. Today the formation was different: Yamaguchi led the team at the very front, Taichi and his squad guarding Ishihara's wife and child directly. Their march was purposeful—forward only, with no retreat.
And then, just past noon, they finally saw them.
The enemy stood openly across the road, waiting without even the pretense of an ambush. A crowd of brigands flanked them, blocking the path with smug defiance.
Truly arrogant. Heaven strikes first with hubris before the fall.
"Listen well, Konoha shinobi!" Aoyama's voice rang out, bold and unyielding. "Hand over the boy in the caravan. He's the only one we want. This doesn't concern your mission."
Yamaguchi stepped forward, eyes hard. "I refuse. Abandoning an innocent child? That is not the way of Konoha."
"Think carefully," Aoyama pressed. "This time we have another jōnin on our side. Do you really think you can stand against us?"
The Konoha captain smiled coldly.
"Only one way to find out."
The moment Taichi laid eyes on the enemy, he had already begun preparing. Using the cover of the carriage, he quietly created a Shadow Clone, instructing it to ready the Water Prison Jutsu.
As soon as negotiations collapsed, Taichi struck first. Water Release: Great Water Prison Jutsu! Bolstered by the humid weather, the technique's power surged—walls of water suddenly rose around the enemy, threatening to close in within seconds.
The rogue shinobi realized what was happening and attempted to escape with Body Flicker, but they were still a step too late. Taichi's technique ensnared one chunin and a genin, instantly cutting their numbers. With two captives, the battle tilted in Konoha's favor.
"Damn it!" Aoyama spat, fury flashing in his eyes as he commanded the rest to charge the Leaf shinobi.
The bald newcomer stepped forward, his hands flying through seals. Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere! Countless wind blades shot forth in a sweeping wave, their range so wide they threatened not only Taichi but the carriage itself—clearly aiming to force him to drop the jutsu.
But Taichi, having seized the initiative, refused to let go. Darting in front of his clone, his own hands blurred through seals. Water Release: Water Formation Wall! A massive wall of water surged upward, intercepting the incoming blades in a roar of spray.
Meanwhile, Captain Yamaguchi clashed head-on with the traitorous Sand shinobi, Aoyama. Like the day before, their duel was pure taijutsu, fists and feet colliding in a brutal rhythm. Aoyama's strength proved formidable, holding Yamaguchi evenly for the moment, though his grim expression betrayed how much he was forcing his body to endure.
On the other side, Yōhei had gained the upper hand against two genin attackers. He pressed them hard, driving them back step by step until they were forced away from the carriage.
Saori, meanwhile, stayed close to the wagon, shielding both it and the clone maintaining the Water Prison, all while fending off the bandit who kept lunging for an opening.
Taichi, however, was struggling against the bald shinobi. The man's mastery over Wind Release was terrifyingly refined—without the damp weather tipping the balance toward his own Water Release, Taichi suspected he would have already been cut down.
The battlefield had reached a stalemate. Each clash seemed locked in deadlock, as though everyone were waiting for the first balance to collapse.
And then—it did.
A sharp cry split the air. From the treeline, another figure suddenly burst forth—a hidden chunin who had been waiting for this exact moment. Moving swiftly, he cut down the guards blocking his path. Before anyone could react, he stormed the carriage and snatched away young Ishihara.
Only then did the Konoha shinobi realize the truth—Kōji wasn't the only special jōnin among their foes. A hidden chunin had been lurking all along, biding his time for the perfect strike.
"Hahaha! Surprised, Leaf shinobi? Seems our strategy was a step ahead of yours after all!"