14 Rocky Front (3)

Two months of warfare can and will inflict some changes of perspective of anyone that is directly implied to it. May it be officers, soldiers, infiltrators, medics, or even the mailman dropping letters from home and taking those from the men and women entrenched in the battlefield.

While the first assault had pushed Iwa back a couple of kilometers away from the natural borders, the reality that this was going to turn in a pseudo-Great War kind of conflict quickly settled when we started to find out that the enemy had decided to resort to fortified defenses along the rivers or any tight passage that could be ambushed at maximum efficiency. I knew that this First Shinobi War was supposed to last decades, but I didn't expect it to get dragged on for this long now that I was around.

But wanting something didn't directly equate in me getting things done my way, and I really didn't need to get too stupid while handling missions. Much to my relief, I dodged any chances of meeting either Mu or Onoki. There were still some formidable ninjas that managed to cleverly move away from any ambush my team would set up, but their intelligence would then prove short-lived in the ensuing confrontations.

Hirotada was keen to keep away from making any bold moves if he wasn't completely certain that the enemy was approachable with his current abilities. The little encounter with Mu had gotten him extremely paranoid and less ballsy when it came in fighting any opponent. I was glad that dreadful situations like the one we had to go through seemed to have knocked some sense in that skull. I had carefully been giving him some advice in giving a look to medical books, with the boy eventually checking and growing fascinated by the practical uses of mixing medical knowledge with his combat style.

He was still a stick in the mud when it came to even considering implementing elemental techniques in his arsenal despite the big boons that would come out of that decision. I didn't push him just for the sake of not alienating him once again. After what happened with Mu, the Hyuuga Heir had kept from annoying me like he used to. Some remarks would come out once or twice in a while, but it was nowhere as frequent as it was before that deadly situation.

Reira had easily taken the role of Ninjutsu/Genjutsu specialist. Sharingan now trained to pull some nasty illusions, she tended to get fairly cruel anytime we found ourselves dealing with any issues on the safe lines. Lack of good food, the bugs were a bitch to remove from the sandals, and I believe that some illness had almost gotten hold of our line when some morons forgot to burn the dead corpses.

I pushed really hard on the need of having an entire company of medics trained for the occasion to be deployed through a few letters to the Hokage, and Hashirama was kind enough to remind me that he had already taken steps on that without putting me through punishment. I was risking a fair bit by being so pushy about the matter, but he seemed to notice that my short-temper was driven by the unpleasant nature of the frontlines.

Now I could see why OG Danzou hated Iwa. And now I had the reasons to be a bastard when it came to set up brilliant plans meant to shred onto their numbers. One thing that I knew about the Great War, at least from my personal study back before being reincarnated here, was that the only way to defeat a nation employing tactics close to trench warfare was the usage of artillery to 'soften up' the defenses before attacking en masse, or sabotage the enemy line through infiltration tactics.

So when I got the chance to give a look at the map of the frontline, I found three distinct points that individually were essential to be either captured or destroyed for the sake of this campaign's progress. The first one was the current location of the enemy's headquarters. Only a massive assault of seasoned ninjas would breach into it, but, considering the current state of defenses the enemy enjoyed, it would only warrant a meat grinder that would kill many of our soldiers.

The second objective was a section of the river that could be traversed with ease by a large contingent of soldiers, but I doubted the enemy generals were going to ignore that weak point, and I knew that the other side was surely packed with some of the heaviest defenses in the entire battlefield.

The third one, and the very objective I wanted to personally destroy, was an old facility that was previously owned by Amegakure. With the beginning of the War, a good part of the external border Ame had between Konoha and Iwa became a contested zone between the two major villages. The facility itself had been abandoned since last year, but the problem wasn't what was once developed inside it.

The issue was the storage capacity it offered and the strategic importance it held. Friendly spies confirmed it was the main location where most of the supplies meant to aid Iwa's left flank were being kept. The info was double-checked and confirmed to be true, so a few plans were already drawn to take out the facility and get back to move the front onto Iwa itself.

The real problem was actually getting Madara to list my team up for the task. Albeit young, the last two months saw us piling a non-negligible kill-streak that had thinned by a fair bit the survivors from any previous big battles. We had yet to be sent on the scary trenchline, but we were sure prepared to be thrown into a stealth operation.

Reira was chill, Hirotada knew to keep shut when the situation demanded it, and I knew how to handle plans of that caliber. He was rather unsure about it, but he decided to give me a test. While my team was the primary force of infiltration, two other teams were assigned to intervene if we didn't manage to get through the simple task of clearing out the facility… in two hours since the beginning of the operation.

Not the funniest time-limit, and I was tempted to ask for an extra hour, but I knew I was already tip-toeing dangerously if I didn't pass that test. It was clear that Madara was checking if we were up to go for bigger missions. We had been held back because of our age, but… yeah, it was painful to say, but we were ready.

As much as I wanted to say 'we are kids, please keep us to do simple works' to remain away from the worst of this war, I knew that I had to advance one way or another. The quicker I started to gain some control over this chessboard, the higher the chances of a victory happening by the end of the year. I respected Madara, Tobirama, and even Hashirama as impressive war leaders for their time, but I had a modern touch of warfare that made me deadly when put against an Iwa commander. And it wasn't even arrogance speaking since I had been playing this little game with Reira that I would give my predictions over what they were going to do next and if I won I would get a piece of candy once we were back home.

Right now the girl owed me ten candy bars… and Hirotada, having decided to compete against me in this very same situation, ended up rounding an outstanding fifteen candy bars debt. It wasn't money, but it was still food I could conserve away for trying times. Still, the point was that I knew what they were trying to do, and I knew how to counter most of their moves. But saying wasn't the same as actually proving I could do this, so I needed to start from somewhere to prove I knew what we were doing there.

And the infiltration quickly became the trampoline for our promotion. If we managed to kill twenty Iwa shinobis and plant all the bombs we had in the planned spots of the building before the end of two quick-going hours after we arrived at the location.

Yep, we were going to speedrun this. Hopefully, the world record is doable.

Two days later, once we were at destination with our team and the two support ones, I decided to spare a couple of words to both my teammates. Reira listened attentively, looking more determined than ever since it also meant getting some good rep with her clan leader, while Hirotada was… a little more difficult to convince.

"Why would I want to take this risk? Why now?"

"Do you want your debt cleared?"

…

Did I say difficult? I meant 'bribes were involved', and the boy more than happily decided to lend his support in this glorious effort.

Once we were all prepared for this infiltration, I took the lead and took the small squad around the compound's perimeter. Spies had reported the existence of a small section in the defensive gates that allowed small individuals to enter inside with ease. It was a damage that had been created during an accident regarding explosives. And I really hoped for this facility to not be some sort of secret explosive-making factory that could pull a Tunguska in this world.

Despite my worries, entering the facility proved to me more successful than not. Two guards were killed as quickly as we entered inside the building. The man and woman were close to starting something awkward, thankfully two unforgiving kunais protected the innocence of both my teammates. Ah, the scandalous lives that some perverted ninjas had. We were in a deadly war, and yet they found the drive to go for that. Either ballsy or suicidal. Maybe it was both now that I think about it.

Three more, then a lone wolf patrolling the halls. We made it to a quarter of the building cleaned up, and we had yet to reach the twenty minutes stop. Another couple, this time the two men were actually doing their jobs and seemingly having no romantic or sexual interest in each other. At least that was what I could say when we greeted them with the understanding words that were our sharp shurikens.

More and more died, and we ended up racking a good eighteen kills after forty minutes of being inside the facility. Only two or three remaining in the building, we needed to get hasty, lest we were going to run in some trouble when laying down the super-explosive tags. During our little trip around, we also found some old boxes that seemed to have been forgotten by Amegakure from the signs drawn on some. We checked inside out of pure curiosity and… we frowned when we picked up some gas mask.

I blinked once, then twice and… then I recalled that the First Shinobi War was still a Great War but with Ninjas and there was no way the weltkrieg-like conflict was going to lack some chemical warfare. Geneva didn't exist in this world and… now I was really worried about some bastard in Iwa actually planning to have this used against us.

The destruction of this facility quickly gained importance in my mind just for that. Explaining this to the others in the simplest of ways seemed to garner a similar reaction to mine, except for Hirotada was more about an unfair and dishonorable disadvantage thrown at our army instead of people dying in the most painful way possible.

Our final targets proved to be close to one another, but they were just humans… or shinobi. The dog barked loudly, while the boy whimpered nervously as he tried and failed to reach for the small lower-mask that one of the Iwa guards had taken away from him, the Shinobi giddily pushing him towards the animal. I expected to see some gore to come out of the scene, and yet I was surprised when something bizarre unfolded.

The loud mutt, which had looked to be healthy and ready to bite at the poor child, suddenly started to have trouble breathing. Its body shaking and its legs growing weaker as the beast fell on the ground and started to choke on its own spit. It was a horrifying sight, but it was only through it that I realized what was going on.

This facility was previously used by Amegakure and we had already found the gas masks near the entrance, so the chances of these masks being actually meant to handle something beyond chemical warfare were starting to increase as I finally connected dots on the identity of the kid thanks to his short blond hair, our current location and the circumstances that might have led a child to be in a place that was well-furnished with gas masks. Standing up, and backing away from the now deceased dog, a young Hanzo the Salamander stared in pure fright at his new captors.

I doubt at this point it was Iwa's interest for them to make use of the facility for this purpose, but the current sight would explain some unexplained details from Hanzo's backstory. He never explained how he got the poisonous sack of the Black Salamander inside him, and I doubted a chibi Hanzo just stabbed randomly, pulled an organ that looked to be fitting for a poisonous sack and put it inside him and close to his kidney. And now that confusion was cleared out as everything started to connect.

Hanzo was possibly recruited by his own village to receive the implant of the Black Salamander's poisonous sack. Maybe he didn't even know that he was going to receive that as a reward for killing the monster, and since he would then turn in a paranoid bastard worse than Stalin himself, I wouldn't be surprised that sense of distrust came right from this very experience.

With that in mind, I ordered the team to put on the gas masks we had picked up for an eventuality of this kind. I really hadn't made any plans of being subjected to sudden gas leaks, so I had the squad prepared for the occasion. And it all worked as we proceeded to take out the two distracted Iwa ninjas.

A kunai pierced one through his right eye and skull, while a shuriken slammed onto the other throat, cutting really deep in it. The two murdered guards fell on the ground, eliciting a panicked yelp from the boy as he recoiled at the sight of these new deaths. At first he thought he was responsible for those too, but then he noticed the weapons used to slay the guards, his attention turning left and right as he tried to identify the origin of the attack.

Young Hanzo was sharp, way sharper than I thought early on. Ignoring common sense once more, I proceeded to show myself. His attention was immediately aimed at me as I slowly advanced towards the now-dead shinobis. He backed away a little bit, just enough to put a safe distance between himself and me. His eyes were glued on me as I crouched down by one of the corpses to retrieve a single object that was needed for any steps I could take right now. I stood up once I had it, and I walked up to him with a careful pace. He tensed up, expecting something bad to happen… and then he realized I was holding the thing that the malicious Iwa shinobi had gotten from him.

"This is yours, isn't it?" I offered quietly, extending towards him the hand holding his respirator. The only thing that could help him walk around other people without letting out any poisonous breath at them.

He stared at the palm, distrust evident in his eyes and… then I decided to give him something sweet to think about.

"We are going to destroy this place. And we will take you to a better place, one where your gift shan't be abused."

Hanzo stared back at me, his distrust burning even brighter at my words… before he finally reached out and quietly took the respirator off my hold. He put it on and… he nodded. My hand was still stretched towards him and he quietly took hold of it as I started to lead him to where the rest of the team was. Despite the uneasiness behind this decision, the rest of the squad still went through with it as we proceeded with the next steps of the plan.

The child followed us, looking at our actions as we started to plant down the paper bombs on the founding columns of the building. Reira would steal a glance or two towards the younger child, while Hirotada barely paid any attention to the boy. We had the task mostly done, with all explosive set up to be triggered once we were safe and away from the facility.

But… Now what was I supposed to do with little Hanzo?

Ditching him would be barbaric and… inconvenient. Despite his despotic rule over Amegakure, the man still would be an important element during the Second Shinobi War. And I knew that something like that was eventually going to happen with how badly Iwa was getting kicked during this conflict.

Maybe I was seeing things more than I needed to, but I really didn't want to ditch an abused child in this very situation. So, bearing a tough posture as I approached the nervous boy, I carefully pulled him up. He didn't speak, and I wasn't that sure he knew how to even communicate as things were right now.

How long has he been here? What kind of education did he have? Could he speak or even read? I needed to check this once we were sure he was in a safe location and in a place where he couldn't harm anyone out of fear.

After signaling to the other teams that we were done, we started to leave the vicinity of the facility. Hanzo peered over my shoulder as a powerful explosion lit up the entire area, destroying anything that once existed there and the supplies Iwa had stacked inside the place. Our retreat to the headquarters would then be a smooth and calm one as two days went by without us encountering any enemy scouts. I managed to get him to introduce himself, albeit curtly as he offered his name and ultimately confirmed my suspicions.

He rarely spoke, and it seemed like I was the only one he trusted in that situation. He was trying to act tough, but I really was wary around him as his 'act' reminded me too much of how older Hanzo was going to speak and voice his own thoughts. Pinching his cheeks when he would get too intense with his speeches seemed to work masterfully, and he seemed less reluctant to ask me about Konoha.

He wanted to know what his new home was going to be like, and he seemed particularly interested by the fact it wasn't constantly raining just like Amegakure was known for. Once we were back to safety, I quickly asked an audience with Madara. The man was… proud. And worried.

I could tell that he was happy that I had completed the mission as I had promised, but he was unsure if, by the end of the day, it would have been good to give me the fucking jacket or not. He had to since he promised and because the necessary paperwork had been prepared for the occasion, but I knew it wasn't him doubting my skills- it was tied to the fact he grew a soft spot for me, and I was going to be put in for greater danger from now on.

Still, the shift swiftly moved to Hanzo and… things really got unpleasant really quickly about it.

"He should be executed at once. While his potential is impressive considering the implanted poisonous sack, I doubt that it will ever be mastered by the boy."

"He can make it. He just needs some early assistance to make through these issues. I believe Mito has knowledge of seals that could be used to regulate his ability."

"Seals can fail, and when that happen-"

"If that happens," I interrupted tiredly. "Sensei, I will be honest with you. I know this might sound a big reach, but I believe we should really spare him. He can become a loyal soldier to Konoha if he is given a good life in our village. He was abused by Amegakure and he was belittled by Iwa shinobis. Give him care, and he will become someone that will fight wholeheartedly for Konoha's sake."

…

"You're really stubborn on this point. I guess… it can be problematic when you are handling an orphan of war," He muttered calmly, eyes shining an unpleasant glint at that. "He should be killed to avoid the death of many innocents. An uncontrollable power isn't worthy, no matter how faith you have in its user."

"Good thing that it can be controlled then," I calmly remarked. "Else your point would have made sense right now."

…

…

"You… are really going to be a pain to handle in this war, aren't you?" Madara continued. "Not only with your propensity to put yourself in danger, but your interest in sparing those that you deem innocent."

I huffed. "Only because… I know it can make the difference. Maybe I just don't like being a murderer while I work here as a foot soldier."

"So you fancy yourself a hero?"

…

"No. Heroes don't… exist. Not yet," I lamented quietly. "I might do good, but none of that matters if in the end I'm also ruining lives in the process. Who is right now our enemies, will be a neutral acquaintance by the end of this foolish war. And… I know this sounds childish to say, but maybe I hate War so much that I act against its traditions. I don't just kill for my duty, but I also refuse to give it nourishment by ruining innocent lives in the process when it's possible by sparing non-combatants and those that have been already ruined by war itself."

…

"You really are… a mystery to me, Danzou. Once a fool, then a boy with incredible wisdom, and then an idealist that dreams to the same light Hashirama does. But really, what are you?"

"Your apprentice," I curtly admitted. "And I'm quite proud of that."

…

"Ha..." Was he trying to laugh? I could tell that he was, but at the same time… he couldn't. Not now that the stench of burning corpses was still too recent within our minds. I didn't indulge more for any other conversation. I was… really tired, and I knew that tomorrow was going to be another march day. This time, hopefully, we will not be stopped into another stalemate against Iwa.

Preparing our own supplies and promising Hanzo that his new caretakers were going to be extra kind to him and not ask to hurt himself by using his power seemed to get a half-successful effect on him. Just enough to get him packing without much of an uneasy comment and a paranoid glance around.

Hopefully Mito had something that could work as a 'switch' for Hanzo to use to disable the poisonous sack…

But for now, my real worry was right here on the frontline, where the real shit was about to start. Two weeks after the raid, we managed to beat Iwa back to the inner perimeter of their village, presenting a legitimate threat… but also reaching a renewed war of attrition against them. This time, the chances of breaking through were minimal compared to before. They learned their lesson by spreading their supplies in various locations, properly hindering any chances of ruining their lives by burning their food and medical equipment in a single move.

Good news is that I managed to get my hands on how to pull Kage Bunshins. Shadows clones weren't the Rasenshuriken I was still struggling to form without putting myself in danger, but one was good enough to make some interesting moves to expand my arsenal.

Especially something about making them explosive chibi-fiends to throw at my opponents.