A quarter of an hour feels unbearably long when working, yet in rest, it passes in the blink of an eye. Fortunately, shinobi possessed great endurance. No one complained about the short respite; instead, when time was up, they rose to their feet without a word.
The joint Iwa-nin and Ame-nin force set off immediately, surging toward their destination.
Soon, under the moonlight, they caught sight of an abandoned village nestled on the slope ahead. Crude, uniform stone houses lined the ground in neat rows. In some of them, lights still flickered—standing out starkly in the deep quiet of the night.
"Akaishi, as planned… you'll lead the vanguard."
Hanzō's masked gaze turned toward him.
This had been agreed upon beforehand. Since Amegakure had mobilized more men for this operation—and Hanzō's own strength far outstripped Akaishi's—the terms of cooperation specified that Akaishi, the one most skilled in Hardening Techniques, must serve as spearhead, the first to charge into enemy ranks.
"A promise made is a promise kept."
Akaishi's reply was low and firm.
To lead the charge—he had no objections.
Even without Ame-nin, they would still have had to make their move, and the task of breaking through the enemy lines would have fallen to him regardless. Leading from the front had always been his habit, the reason he had devoted himself to mastering the Hardening Technique—not the other way around.
"Slate, your target is the Koeda Clan's jōnin. Don't mistake who you're fighting."
He cast a glance back at the Iwa-nin, his tone commanding.
The next instant, Akaishi formed hand seals and sank into the earth with Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole Technique, tunneling below to approach the village unseen.
This was not meant as an ambush—rather, it was to bypass traps and penetrate enemy lines as directly as possible.
In truth, no one expected a sneak attack to succeed. They already knew the Koeda Clan and Akatsuki had highly skilled sensory-types among them. A night raid was unlikely to catch them unawares—if anything, such an hour only heightened vigilance.
The timing was chosen for another reason: the Koeda Clan had marched all day, their stamina inevitably waning by nightfall, while their own side had conserved strength and were still fresh at their peak.
The tunneling went smoothly, unobstructed.
The village was less than a hundred meters away when—
"Earth Release: Moving Earth Core!"
His underground passage shook violently. A surge of powerful chakra spread in an instant, seizing control of the earth around him, and heaved up a massive section of land. Caught within, Akaishi was forced upward with it.
And then—
"Lightning Release: False Darkness."
A blinding thunderclap split the sky.
From the heavens lanced a spear of lightning, tearing through the uplifted earth with crushing might. The mass of stone and soil exploded into fragments.
Only Akaishi's reflexes saved him. The moment the ground lurched upward, he had already sprung sideways, barely avoiding the devastating bolt. Cold sweat ran down his temple.
He knew that technique.
He had fought Kumogakure shinobi more than once, even witnessed the Third Raikage himself—an unstoppable juggernaut on the battlefield. That had driven him to polish his Wind Release to counter their lightning techniques. But this single strike… not one of those Kumo-nin he'd faced had unleashed such overwhelming power.
The Third Raikage's legend lay in his fearsome Lightning Release-enhanced Taijutsu, the source of his titles Strongest Spear and Strongest Shield. Pure Lightning Release techniques were rarely seen from him.
"...Nagato?"
Akaishi's gaze snapped toward the source of the lightning.
There, a young man with flowing crimson hair stood, his features hidden, clad in black combat attire. His face was shadowed, yet his presence radiated unmistakable weight—just as Hanzō had described.
"Lightning Release: Spider Web."
Another attack followed swiftly.
"Wind Release: Thousand-Faced Gale."
Akaishi countered instantly. He exhaled a storm of countless razor-thin wind blades, raining down like a sudden squall, slicing into the earth below. Exploiting wind's natural superiority over lightning, he severed the crackling web of current.
Even Nagato himself was within the storm's reach.
"Iwa-nin…"
Nagato's lips pressed together. He raised a hand and flicked it lightly.
An unseen repulsion force swept out—every wind blade was cast aside, scattered into nothingness.
"What—?"
Akaishi's eyes widened.
He had never expected to strike Nagato down, but the way the attack was dismissed—casually, with a single motion—was beyond comprehension. Fear of the unknown gripped his chest.
Ninja battles were battles of information. Facing the known and the unknown were worlds apart.
"Hanzō!!"
Akaishi bellowed.
"This one's yours—he's Ame's prey!"
The words drew a faint lift of Hanzō's brow.
But he wasn't surprised. He had never expected the Iwa-nin to handle Akatsuki for him. That was why he had brought so many of his own elite jōnin—to personally crush this growing thorn in his side.
If he had agreed to this "joint operation" with Iwagakure, it was only because this opportunity was rare.
Until now, Akatsuki's movements had always been elusive; scattered searches left his forces vulnerable to being picked off piecemeal, allowing them to escape time and again. But now—for once—they had a chance to focus their might and deliver a decisive blow.
"Ninja Art: Summoning Jutsu."
At Akaishi's shout, Hanzō slammed his palm down. With a puff of smoke, a massive salamander materialized, its hide ashen gray and belly stark white.
"Ibushi—use the poison!"
Hanzō stamped his foot, giving the order.
The beast opened its cavernous jaws.
An ocean of dark violet poison gas gushed forth, rolling forward like a tide, engulfing both Akaishi and Nagato.
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