Chapter 69

Behind enemy Lines, Iwagakure

An Iwa patrol team, consisting of eight Shinobi, was traversing the trees. They were assigned to check on a patrol ninja who hadn't made his regular report. During wartime, such incidents were normal, so the team was going to check up on them to ensure that no enemy had infiltrated deep into their lines. The leader of the Iwa team was a veteran Jonin who had participated in both the Second and Third Shinobi Wars.

"Keep your guards up; you never know when an enemy will pop up," the leader suggested as he moved forward at high speed.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, six figures dropped from above, targeting the Iwa squad like eagles diving for fish. The timing of the assault was so precise that every one of the six attacks from Kazuki's team claimed an Iwa Shinobi's life. The two Jonins at the front quickly reacted and turned to face the unknown enemies.

However, before they could move, they were paralyzed, as Kazuki had already used his shadows to bind them in a split second. Two ANBU from the team quickly moved to dispatch the Iwa Shinobi. The ANBU were so efficient that they used two clean strikes on vital areas—one on the neck and the other on the heart—to finish the enemies. With a quick gesture from Kazuki, the team quickly cleared the scene and moved all the corpses to a place they had previously prepared.

The place prepared by the team was confined within the barriers personally erected by Kazuki. In the center of the barrier, a pit was dug, and all the bodies were dumped into it. It had somewhat close to three dozen or more Iwa Shinobi corpses. Their current hideout was only a dozen miles from one of the largest Iwagakure supply points. The supply point alone had close to three hundred Iwa Shinobi guarding it.

Kazuki had picked this as his first target. The team had engaged in more than a few skirmishes in the past week since they started this mission, and the efficiency was so high that the team had maintained a hundred percent kill rate. Kazuki was particular about having all the Iwa Shinobi they engaged killed before they had a chance to retreat or escape.

"Mushi, is this enough, or do you need more corpses?" Kazuki directly asked Torune as they were preparing a large-scale kinjutsu specific to the Aburame clan. With the addition of Kazuki's knowledge of fuinjutsu and Torune's Rinkaichu, the kinjutsu was going to be much more potent than the original. Kazuki intended to use the Kinjutsu to completely take down the supply point along with its close to three hundred Iwa Shinobi in one swoop.

However, Torune was a bit reluctant to use such a large-scale forbidden technique; although he knew it was going to be used on his enemies, he felt a bit hesitant.

"Mushi, what are you dreaming about? Ryu asked you a question: " Toru, who was none other than the ANBU captain, had nothing but praise for Kazuki after serving under his leadership for the past week. Kazuki had brought them so close to the enemy's main supply point that if he hadn't been part of the team himself, he wouldn't have believed it.

"Ryu, are you sure about this? Can't we deploy some other means to get rid of the Iwa camp?" Torune, who personally knew Kazuki, wanted to persuade him into looking for other options because he himself did not know how potent this kinjutsu was going to be once it was executed.

"Sigh, sometimes I wonder if you were really trained by Root for a year. I have an estimation of how potent this kinjutsu is going to be based on the corpses used." Kazuki waved his hand, and the ANBU team moved away to give some personal space to the two juniors.

"Torune, why don't you tell me what's really bothering you? It's alright; you can set aside my status as a leader and share your concern with me as a friend." Kazuki knew that among the three on Gai's team, Torune was the one with a soft character. Even though he was brainwashed by Root for close to a year, he still held onto his original innocence.

"Kazuki, I feel this is quite cruel. Even though they are our enemies, I think this is going to be too much. They are humans, after all. Even Gai Sensei would agree with my words." Torune openly shared his reason, as Kazuki was approaching him as a friend.

"Torune, do you think I am a monster who thrives on the thrill of killing?" Kazuki questioned, to which Torune shook his head, denying his claim.

"We are at war, Torune. I understand they are following orders, but being a Shinobi means being ready to take life while at the same time being ready to sacrifice it. If we hesitate to take action today, do you know who will suffer? It will be people who we care for and love, and Konoha will suffer for our folly." Kazuki patiently put forth his words so that Torune could let go of his guilt.

"But, Kazuki, can we not find another method to execute the task? I am sure if you think hard enough, you can come up with an alternate plan." Torune was still hesitating because he felt reluctant as he treated the enemy ninjas as humans rather than Shinobi.

"Fine, Torune, let's say I agree to your proposal, and I will formulate a different plan. How many more Konoha Shinobi lives will we lose because of it? And it's not like everyone in there can be considered a human, Torune. I will take responsibility for the failed mission; however, are you willing to take responsibility for all the deaths that our inaction will lead to?" Kazuki understood Torune's main reason for hesitation, so he rummaged through his pack, pulled out a scroll, and passed it to Torune.

"Go through it, and if you still feel that these Iwa ninjas within the camp are worth sparing, then I promise I will look for an alternate plan." As Kazuki said, Torune received the scroll and unfurled it. What he read made his blood freeze, and the more he read, the more his anger flared. By the time he finished the scroll, Torune returned to his calm state, and there was no more doubt in his eyes. He knew everything mentioned in the scroll was true, as Kazuki had no need to deceive him at this juncture.

"Kazuki, I am sorry for questioning your decision. I only knew about our Leaf Kunoichi's casualty numbers, but I never thought they were subjected to such cruelty before their deaths. I never realized Iwa's hatred for Yondaime ran so deep." Torune was now sure that most within the current Iwa camp did not deserve his mercy, so he resolved himself to carry out the mission without further hesitation.

"Remember, Torune, mercy should only be granted to those who deserve it. If you meet such monsters among us in the future, don't hesitate to cut them down. I will personally bear the consequences." Kazuki declared, to which Torune nodded. Within a few minutes, the preparation for the kinjutsu was complete, and the team was simply waiting for the perfect time to strike.

"[Kodoku no Jutsu]" (Jar of Poison Technique). Weaving a number of handsigns, Torune completed the final part of the jutsu after waiting a couple of hours. Kazuki's idea was to make the poisonous cloud drift towards the Iwa supply point. He had already deployed his shadow puppets in three directions to erect a barrier and trap all the Iwa Shinobi. Once the poison gas filled up, they would ignite it, causing any Iwa ninja caught within the barrier to perish.

With a nod from Kazuki, his team moved stealthily to close the distance with the camp. Torune released the barrier enclosing the poison gas. Kazuki had taken precautions to provide his teammates with antidotes for Torune's rinkaichu to avoid his teammates accidentally getting killed during the initial gas explosion. Due to Kazuki's modification of the ritual, the poison gas produced was colorless and odorless. Only those who were aware of Rinkaichu could detect it, so the Iwa Shinobi had no idea as death loomed over them.

Once Torune confirmed that the poison cloud had drifted into position, Kazuki immediately had his shadow puppets raise a barrier. Normally, the Kinjutsu was meant to be detonated, and the Rinkaichu would spread indiscriminately, but Kazuki didn't want that. He wanted the attack concentrated on the Iwa supply point.

The moment the sealing barrier was deployed, the sensor ninjas on the Iwa side became aware that they were under attack. However, it was too late.

"KATSU!" With only a final handsign, Torune triggered a super-large-scale explosion, which ignited the poison cloud. Although the explosion was contained within the barrier, the aftershock attracted Iwa Shinobi's attention within a dozen-mile radius. Kazuki had already planned for such an eventuality, so he instructed his shadow puppets to plant three totems, which would act as a temporary core for the barrier. He recovered his puppets and started retreating with his team away from the Iwa camp, which was now going through literal hell.

The entire Iwa supply camp was completely caught unaware, and due to the barrier enclosing them, they had no way to escape. Within a few seconds, the poison cloud was ignited, and the entire camp was filled with Rinkaichu poison.

Screams and wailing filled the entire Iwa camp, as none were spared. The poison, the moment it made contact with the skin, started corroding and melting the Shinobi. Even bones started melting as if potent acid were poured on their bodies. The Iwa Shinobi tried to escape using earth release; however, Kazuki had accounted for such a thing, and the barrier even covered this escape route. So they had to resurface when they ran out of air under the ground, exposing themselves to the poison again, as they could only resurface within the barrier.

Some Jonin and elite Jonin started launching various ninjutsus and combination earth release techniques as their skin and bones corroded, but the barrier held firm. Within minutes, the Iwa shinobi who had been within the vicinity for miles had arrived, but they were helpless as the barrier stood, and they could only watch as their comrades succumbed to the poison.

Kazuki used this method because he wanted to send a message back to Iwa. During the last combined attack of Iwa and Kumo, when the Konoha army lost, the main reason was because Iwagakure had deployed a large number of similar large-scale kinjutsu, although not as potent as the one Kazuki used. They made up for it with numbers and also specially hired mercenaries who specialized in such kinjutsu. So Kazuki wanted to teach Onoki a lesson that he would not forget, and if he wanted to use such kinjutsu again, he must remember that even Konoha had at their disposal even more potent kinjutsus.

The cries within the barrier only subsided after more than an hour. Although the Iwa Shinobi had found the totems that acted as barrier cores under the advice of a veteran Elite Jonin, they chose not to remove the barrier as there was a danger of the poison spreading. The entire Iwa camp became a no-man's zone, fully contaminated by the poison. As the poison was colorless and odorless, the Iwa Shinobi had no idea how to proceed. There were already Iwa teams scouring their defense lines to find the Shinobi responsible for the tragedy. However, none were able to find even a single trail of Kazuki's team.

The news of the massacre sent the entire Iwa army into turmoil. Every Iwa ninja was howling for the blood of the perpetrators. Unlike the ANBU captain's report, the base did not have just five hundred shinobi; it also held an additional two hundred Iwa elites who had just delivered the recent batch of supplies meant for the next three months. So Iwagakure, in addition to losing five hundred of their shinobi, also lost one of their largest supply points along with months worth of supplies. This was a heavy blow to the Iwagakure army.