Some Ninja sat by a stove drying their wet clothes, others secretly gathered to play cards, and logistics personnel rubbed rustproof oil onto weapons. The newly promoted Jonin Maki was still too junior to attend the meeting, so he lay on his bed with his eyes closed, resting.
The sound of rain hitting the tent roof made him drowsy, and the camp carried a tired but lifted mood. They all believed that Sunagakure would defeat Konoha this time, and they enjoyed this rare short calm during the war.
However, that brief calm was broken. A sharp scream came from outside the tent, short and full of fear, cutting through the silence of the camp.
"That direction…" someone shouted. "The main command tent where Chiyo is!"
Maki opened his eyes and got up at once, moving together with other alert Ninja. They used Shunshin and rushed straight toward the main tent.
The entire camp fell into chaos, with footsteps, collisions, and the sound of metal as weapons were drawn. When they rushed out from their cover and looked toward the center of the camp, everyone froze at the same time.
With a deafening boom, the solid ground was forced upward as if struck from below. Wooden stakes holding several tents groaned before being ripped out, and soil, stones, and broken pieces of wood were thrown into the air.
The violent force scattered debris like pellets in all directions. Screams rang out again as sharp fragments pierced bodies, and heavy rocks smashed people into bloody shapes.
Maki managed to dodge and was not hit, but when he looked toward the main tent where Chiyo had been, his pupils shrank. Broken limbs and pieces of flesh were thrown into the air and then fell back down under gravity and impact.
It was like a horrifying rain of flesh, crashing onto the heads, faces, and shoulders of nearby Ninja. Warm, sticky, foul-smelling blood spread through the camp at once.
Within the rolling smoke, a massive and terrifying shadow could be seen. Someone cried out, asking what it was.
As the dust was beaten down by the rain, the sight became clear to the shocked and terrified Sunagakure Ninja. They watched as dozens of companions, thrown into the air, struggled in vain and fell screaming into the open mouth of the giant shadow.
The screams ended instantly as the huge mouth snapped shut. There came the sound of crushing and chewing, followed by a wet swallowing noise.
All sound turned into cold fear that crawled up their spines. Death felt close enough to touch.
"That is the salamander… Ibuse," Maki said stiffly, staring in shock. The Sunagakure Ninja around him also stood frozen, looking up at the towering figure.
As the dust cleared, the form of the salamander Ibuse appeared fully before them. It was huge, ugly, and bloated beyond reason.
Its gray, slippery skin dripped with poisonous slime, and its body loomed like a small hill among the ruined tents. The massive head swayed slightly, and thick saliva mixed with blood and bone fragments poured from its mouth.
Below it formed a filthy pool that reeked of blood. Maki suddenly realized something, and his already wide eyes trembled.
Other Sunagakure Ninja realized it as well, just as fear pushed them to the edge of collapse. At that moment, a hoarse and aged voice roared out, filled with killing intent.
"What are you standing around for? I am not dead yet!" The familiar voice cut through the panic in the ears of the Sunagakure Ninja who were about to flee.
As the words fell, the battered figure of Chiyo flew out of the smoke and landed hard. She stared at Hanzo in the distance, with two of the three puppets in her hand already shattered.
But she was still alive. She staggered forward and stopped in front of the Sunagakure Ninja, raising her hand to gather Chakra and place it on her abdomen.
"Chiyo!" people cried out, calling about her injuries. She raised her hand sharply to stop Maki and the others, and spoke calmly despite the pain.
"It is nothing. That big thing only looks scary," she said. Hearing this, the others stopped, and their shaking hearts settled a little.
Thunder rolled as the clouds grew heavier and darker, as if pressing down on the camp. Where the people of Sunagakure could not see, Chiyo stared at the massive shadow with deep concern.
Something was wrong, both with Hanzo's strength and with the size of the salamander Ibuse. Not only had the old man grown stronger, even Ibuse itself had become larger.
Her gaze shifted to the huge Black Rods near Ibuse's tail. She did not remember that thing being there before.
Could it be because of that object. What had Hanzo done to grow stronger with age, and who was supposed to be protecting whom now?
Chiyo clenched her fist slightly in the rain and let out a deep breath, pushing away stray thoughts. Things had reached a point where there was no room to retreat.
She was not foolish enough to seek peace after being attacked directly. Too many Sunagakure Ninja had died, and showing weakness to Hanzo would only shatter morale.
"So it seems one of us must die here today," she thought, already knowing the result she faced. Fighting among Ninja was truly exhausting.
Fear, dread, and unease came together. She looked at Hanzo in the distance and felt his overwhelming presence.
"You understand this feeling too," she thought. "How lucky you are, Hanzo."
"No matter what price you paid, to regain the strength of youth is something to envy and resent." A Ninja's life was nothing but fighting.
Even people like them, old and left behind by the times, had spent their whole lives in battle. Death and aging pressed in on her, as they did on all who once shone brightly.
Still, dying by the hands of this old foe was better than wasting away unnoticed in some corner. Chiyo's gaze became calm and clear as she spoke aloud.
"Everyone," she said. Her voice pierced the rain and reached the ears of the Sunagakure Ninja behind her.
Each of them fought for what they believed was the right choice. Why they fought and how to live were questions without clear answers.
They stood here for their own reasons, watching Chiyo's slightly bent but steadfast back at the front. At last, she spoke a single word.
"Kill."
The order fell like a spark on dry grass. The instinct to survive and return home, the toughness forged over long years in harsh conditions, all turned into pure action.
Kill.
Author: October Fengshen
"Wind Release·Great Breakthrough!"
"Wind Release·Pressure Harm!"
"Wind Release·Airflow Wild Dance!"
"Wind Release..."
Dozens, then hundreds of voices roared from every corner of the camp, each shout filled with the resolve of a final stand. Bursts of forceful, sharp, or drawn-out airflow erupted from the bodies of the Sunagakure Ninja. In an instant, countless pale, half-transparent wind masses surged out, chaotic at first, then gathering into high-speed tornadoes.
Chiyo flicked her wrist again and threw out a Scroll, forming seals as Chakra poured into it. With a heavy boom, the remaining four Puppet flew out together. All of the Chikamatsu Ten Puppets gathered around Chiyo, each wearing a white robe but holding different weapons.
Facing the surging tide formed by countless Wind Release Ninjutsu, three Puppet stepped forward and formed a triangular formation. Mechanical components labeled "Buddha," "Dharma," and "Monk" opened in unison. Chiyo moved her fingers slightly and shouted, "Three Treasures Devour and Shatter!"
The three Puppet in formation brought their hands together as their mechanisms turned with a dull clicking sound. A terrifying suction force burst forth in the next moment. Dust,Sui stone fragments, blood, and even the cold rain pouring down were violently dragged toward the formation.
This technique was usually used to pull enemies or their Ninjutsu into the center and crush them apart. Now, Chiyo used it to draw in all the scattered Wind Release Ninjutsu. Like rivers forced back into the sea, the winds were compressed bit by bit and fired out from behind the triangular formation.
A sharp hiss rang out. Wind filled the air, endless wind. Scattered wind blades spun, gathered, and fused together.
The piercing noise, the heavy pressure, and the shrill tearing sound stopped being chaotic. They became a violently rotating, gray-white horizontal tornado. Formed from the combined Wind Release Ninjutsu of countless Sunagakure Ninja, it howled as it surged toward Hanzo.
Where the tornado passed, the air was torn away and deep grooves were carved into the ground. Hanzo stood atop the head of Salamander Ibuse, his white-gold hair blown straight back by the gale. Cold rain struck his hardened face as his body trembled under the pressure.
This time, the trembling was not from fear. It was from pure joy so intense it felt like it would burst from his chest and set him ablaze. He threw his head back and laughed loudly.
The laughter cut through the shriek of the storm and echoed across the land. There was no gloom in it, no fear of death. There was only wild satisfaction and battle hunger, like a man finally drinking after endless drought.
How long had it been. Ten years, or twenty. He could no longer remember the last time he truly enjoyed battle.