The massive chakra fluctuation and the sounds of the brief, intense battle finally drew the attention of nearby Stone patrols.
When they arrived, they found Hanzo's bisected, mangled corpse and a clearing ruined by combat. The killer was long gone.
The news flew back to the Iwagakure command post like it had wings.
"WHAT?! Hanzo is... dead?!" Onoki practically floated out of his chair in shock.
He knew Saiki was a threat, but he never imagined the boy could erase a man like Hanzo so cleanly.
"Was it Saiki Shiroya? Confirm it!"
"The residual chakra matches the 'sharp' signature found at the previous massacre sites. It's almost certainly him," the strategist reported, his voice shaking.
Onoki's face turned a thunderous shade of grey.
With Hanzo dead, the Rain Village was a wild card that could defect at any moment.
Saiki had officially been upgraded from a "nuisance" to a "mortal threat."
"He must have paid a price! Hanzo wasn't a weakling; Saiki cannot be unscathed!" Onoki roared, forcing himself to analyze the situation. "Deploy every sensory ninja! Send the Elite Assassination squads! I want him found! Dead or alive, I want his head! Focus on any sign of a wounded target!"
A cruel light flashed in his eyes. "And keep Hanzo's death a total secret! Find a Jonin with a similar build and use Transformation and Genjutsu to maintain the illusion of his command! We must hold the Rain together until we strike!"
Orders were broadcast, and the Stone war machine rampaged into high gear.
Onoki knew he had to use this final "window" to crush the Leaf before the Rain realized they were leaderless.
He stared at the map. "Mass the army! We launch the total offensive at dawn tomorrow!!"
That night, deep in the forest, in a new hidden base.
Saiki looked at Zilin. She had proactively stripped herself bare and was currently warming his bedrolls. Her face was a mask of submissive bashfulness.
Saiki was starting to feel a bit overwhelmed.
He hadn't expected the women of the Stone to be this docile and compliant. He almost regretted his lack of self-control the night before. He couldn't exactly bring her back to the Leaf, could he?
"Lord... it is getting late," her soft, timid voice murmured.
Saiki's hesitation was crushed. He stripped and joined her.
The sheets were a storm of heaving waves and rhythmic tides.
In the middle of a war zone where death lurked behind every tree, Saiki found himself basking in the warm, fragrant embrace of a beauty.
After the climax, Saiki gently cupped one of her large, firm breasts.
Looking at her flushed, dewy face, he spoke softly. "Zilin, do you want to go home?"
The body that had just been moaning in pleasure went rigid. She looked at him with terror. "Lord... I..."
"Don't be scared. You can't exactly come back to Konoha with me," Saiki soothed.
The next morning, Saiki leaned against a tree. Zilin was carefully wrapping a bandage around his arm—an arm that had no actual wound.
She had stained the cloth with a bit of her own blood to make it look convincing.
"Lord... will this really work?" her voice was uneasy.
"Just do as I said," Saiki replied with his eyes closed. "Onoki is suspicious, but he is also incredibly arrogant. Seeing me 'maimed' and you—his 'loyal soldier'—returning with my head, he will believe it."
"But... once I return, they will interrogate me. They might use memory-probing jutsu..."
"I've already handled that," Saiki said, opening one eye. "The thread of Sage Chakra I left inside you will sense any mental intrusion. It will automatically project a simulated memory of you being coerced, playing the part, and finally finding the chance to strike back. It's a perfect loop. As for your... 'submission' to me..." He paused. "That will be the 'proof' of the humiliation you endured to gain my trust."
Zilin's face turned red, and she looked down.
She understood. This was Saiki giving her a way out—a way to return to her village as a "hero" instead of a "traitor."
It was high-risk, but better than being executed or wandering as a fugitive.
Saiki's earlier apology for "kidnapping" her had touched something deep in her heart.
"Ready for the performance?"
On the road, Saiki "deliberately" exposed his trail in an open clearing, even leaving behind "accidental" scraps of blood-stained bandages.
Sure enough, a massive pressure descended from the sky!
Onoki hovered in the air, backed by dozens of Stone elites. They surrounded Saiki and Zilin instantly.
Onoki's eagle-eyes locked onto Saiki's bloody arm and the look of "forced composure" on the boy's face.
His heart settled. He really is wounded!
"So, you are Saiki Shiroya!" Onoki boomed with the arrogance of a victor. "Arrogant brat! You killed Hanzo, but now you're broken! Surrender, and I might leave your body in one piece as a mark of respect for your talent!"
He then turned his gaze to Zilin, who was shivering behind Saiki. "And you, Zilin! A Stone ninja, hiding behind the enemy? Return now and strike him down, and you may yet live! Otherwise, die with him!"
Zilin followed the plan. Her face showed struggle, terror, and finally a look of "grim resolve."
She lunged from behind Saiki, shouting at Onoki, "Lord Tsuchikage! I... I was forced! But Lord Saiki was kind to me... I... I'm sorry!"
During her "apology," a kunai slid into her hand.
Taking advantage of Saiki's "slowed reactions," she spun and drove the steel deep into his back!
SQUELCH. The sound of the blade entering meat was unmistakable.
Saiki's body jerked. He wore a mask of "disbelief" and "agony."
He looked back at Zilin, his eyes full of "shock" and "fury."
Zilin performed a backflip, creating distance from the wounded boy.
"HAHAHA! YES! EXCELLENT!"
Onoki's last doubt evaporated. He laughed with pure triumph.
"Saiki Shiroya! You're just a brat after all! You thought a pretty face wouldn't betray you? You fell for the oldest trick in the book!"
He didn't waste another second. "Particle Style: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!"
A transparent cube of light expanded, swallowing the "maimed" and "backstabbed" Saiki.
However, a microsecond before the light exploded, the "Saiki" inside the cube transformed into a log. The one Zilin had stabbed was just a high-fidelity clone.
"WHAT?! A REPLACEMENT?!" Onoki's laughter died in his throat, replaced by a roar of rage.
"Onoki... you really think I'm that easy?"
Saiki's voice drifted from the surrounding trees, sounding "weak" but mocking.
"You win this round... but we'll meet again!"
The voice faded as the boy's presence rapidly retreated into the distance.
Onoki was livid. He hadn't expected a wounded opponent to still have such sharp reflexes.
He looked at the pale, dazed Zilin standing in the clearing.
"Hmph! He got away, but you chose the right path at the end. Your attempt to kill him was a service to the village. You live for now! Take her back for interrogation and debriefing!"
Two Stone ninja grabbed Zilin, none too gently, and led her away.
Zilin kept her head down, but she let out a massive breath of relief.
The first part of the plan was a success.
She felt the tiny, resilient thread of Saiki's energy inside her. It was her only lifeline.
Onoki, having been made a fool of by a child, was now burning with a singular purpose.
He glared toward the Konoha lines.
"Pass the order! The total offensive is moved up! WE ATTACK AT MIDNIGHT!!"
"YES!" The Stone army vanished, chasing Saiki's ghost.
Meanwhile, Saiki stood on a high ridge, watching the dust of the Stone army.
His eyes were deep and knowing.
"The piece has been placed. Now... Zilin... good luck."
He whispered to himself as his silhouette dissolved into the shadows.