Minato Namikaze was furious. Sickeningly, uselessly furious. And he couldn't argue with a single damn word Qianyu had said.
It was the truth. In that situation, with those injuries… death was certain. And Daigo had chosen it. Willingly.
That was what made the rage burn. If Daigo had fallen to an enemy blade, Minato would have grieved, not raged. That was war. Kill or be killed.
But this? Daigo died by the explosive tags Qianyu gave him. Because Qianyu told him to die.
"Are you truly this heartless?" Minato's voice was raw. "If you were in danger one day, wouldn't you want your comrades to save you?"
Qianyu snorted. "Heartless? Call it what you want. If I die, it's because I wasn't good enough. Don't waste your worry on me."
He leaned in, his tone dropping to an icy blade. "And let me remind you, the fight isn't over. Every second we waste here, another comrade might die. And those deaths, Minato Namikaze, will be on your head."
With that, Qianyu vanished in a shunshin, melting back into the chaos.
Minato slammed a fist into his palm. Damn it. He'd let anger cloud his judgment. This wasn't the time.
He turned his fury outward, onto the enemy. No more targeting commanders. Just kill. Move. Fight.
Qianyu did the same. The enemy officers, having learned their lesson, were now ghosts in the storm, directing from the shadows.
The real carnage came from the Sannin. Orochimaru and Jiraiya were drenched in blood and gore, their devastating jutsu carving swathes through the enemy ranks.
Even the mighty Manda and Gamabunta were pressed back. No longer facing mere ninja, they now battled a pack of summoned beasts from Cloud and Hot Water, harried by endless ninjutsu from below. The tide was turning.
Then Qianyu's eyes locked onto a new target.
A man. Older, with greying hair, wearing a Hidden Hot Water headband. But his movements… sharp. Precise. Different from the rabble around him.
Qianyu grabbed a nearby Hot Water ninja by the throat. "Him. Who is he? Three seconds."
The ninja choked, eyes wide with terror. "O-our leader! That's our leader!"
Qianyu snapped his neck.
Finally.
Their goal wasn't to conquer the village. Impossible with their numbers. It wasn't even to wipe out the Cloud force. Also impossible.
The goal was to drive Cloud out. To make Hot Water stand down. And for that, they needed the man in charge.
In the plan he'd discussed with Orochimaru, only Hot Water itself could expel the Cloud ninja. They had to make the entire village understand: picking a side in a war between giants would crush a small village like theirs.
Make them understand, and the mission was a success. Then Konoha could magnanimously "forgive" their transgression, offer a return to neutrality. Cloud, having brought this ruin upon Hot Water, could hardly complain if the village wanted them gone.
And it all started with the leader.
Qianyu summoned a small snake, hissed a message, and sent it slithering toward Orochimaru.
The Hot Water leader fought with a heart full of ash and regret.
This… this wasn't the deal.
He'd allowed Cloud to garrison here because he knew the Land of Hot Water would become a battleground. Cloud promised protection. In exchange for a base.
He'd done it to save his village. To see it survive the war.
But what protection was this? The Cloud ninja fought for themselves, letting his people die like grass before a scythe. Every fallen villager, every cut-down ninja was a stone of guilt piled upon his soul.
He hadn't wanted to fight. As the village leader, taking the field changed everything. Until now, Hot Water ninja had not engaged. A thin thread of plausible deniability against Konoha's future wrath.
But watching his home burn, his people scream… he couldn't just watch anymore.
He roared, unleashing water jutsu after water jutsu against the Konoha invaders, his rage a feeble answer to the devastation.
The snake returned, coiling around Qianyu's arm. "Lord Orochimaru is pinned. He says to watch the leader."
Watch him? Qianyu's lips curled. Fine.
He'd watch him up close.
His hands flew through seals. He drew a deep, sharp breath.
"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Song!"
Four roaring serpents of flame erupted from his mouth, streaking toward the older ninja from different angles.
The leader's eyes widened. No clean dodge. His experience took over.
"Water Release: Water Wall!"
A dome of water surged from the earth before him, swallowing two of the fire dragons in a violent hiss of steam.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
He formed another seal. Water from the shattered wall and the damp ground coalesced, forming a massive, coiling dragon. The leader leaped into its maw. The watery beast surged forward, crashing through the remaining two fire dragons with a thunderous explosion of mist and dying flame.
As the steam cleared, the Hot Water leader stood, breathing heavily. His eyes found Qianyu.
And in them, Qianyu saw pure, undiluted hate.
The leader had seen him from the start. Noted the young demon with the blade, cutting through his people like wheat. Even if not specifically targeted, too many Hot Water lives had ended by his hand.
This boy was the heart of the nightmare.
And now, he was right here.