172: Blood Rain (1)

"It's not good, Jiraiya-sama!"

A Konoha Chunin suddenly varged into the room just as Jiraiya was preparing to take a break.

Jiraiya paused, straightened his clothes, and asked, "Don't worry, what's happened?"

The Chunin appeared anxious, withdrew a letter from his pocket, and handed it to Jiraiya. "Uchiha Obito has disappeared. This is the letter he left behind."

"What did you say?"

Jiraiya's expression changed, and he swiftly accepted the letter. After reading its content, he discovered that it confirmed what the Chunin had reported.

The letter indicated Obito's desire to take unauthorized action to rescue his comrade, Nohara Rin, who had been abducted by an enemy, and he hoped that Jiraiya, as the commander, would grant permission. This was a risky move. Basically action first, regret later.

"Damn it! What a reckless Uchiha brat! Didn't he consider the consequences of his actions?"

Jiraiya exclaimed with a hint of frustration. He sighed with a headache. This was a time of war, and leaving the camp without a superior's order would result in being treated as a defector.

Furthermore, Obito carried the Uchiha clan's identity, and the Uchiha clan wasn't well-received in Konoha. If this situation became known, it would further complicate matters for the Uchiha clan. It was possible that all the progress they had made in restoring their reputation would be jeopardized because of Obito's actions.

To make matters worse, there was another issue that bothered Jiraiya.

Obito was a student of his disciple Minato, and he had left the camp without authorization while under Minato's command. Did this not imply that Minato's authority was ineffective? This could lower Minato's evaluation in the eyes of others.

Even the Chunins, who were Minato's subordinates, were not under his control, even if there were valid reasons. It could be seen as a stain.

Furthermore, Jiraiya had a hunch that it was his sensei Hiruzen who had deliberately placed Obito under Minato's supervision in an attempt to appease the Uchiha clan.

This seemingly insignificant kid had a significant impact.

"What should we do now, Jiraiya-sama?"

The camp didn't permit ninjas below the Jonin level at the moment to dispatch, and Obito, a Chunin, had left the camp without an official transfer order.

"Don't breathe a word of this to anyone. I will handle it." Jiraiya decided.

"Yes."

The Chunin acknowledged, fully aware of the negative implications of the incident, especially considering Obito's ties to the Uchiha clan.

After the Chunin left, Jiraiya abandoned the idea of resting and exited his tent. He summoned capable Jonin to forcefully retrieve Uchiha Obito.

"Really, are the patrol watching outside blind?" Jiraiya grumbled.

The lack of vigilance was due to the defection incident, which had led to fewer Hyuga Clan ninja on the battlefield and a decrease in vigilance.

Another portion of the force was deployed by Minato to monitor Iwagakure's movements.

They needed to suppress this incident to prevent it from becoming known to more people. Jiraiya wasn't naive, if this matter came to light, certain individuals, particularly someone like Danzo, would exploit it. They might wait until after the war to create trouble, putting the village's leadership and the Uchiha clan in another precarious situation.

In his long history of meddling in Uchiha clan affairs, Danzo never relented.

...

'Rin, where are you?'

Obito ran frantically through the dark forest, consumed by thoughts of Rin. He had cast aside all rules, paying no heed to the consequences.

After three days of meticulous planning, Obito had obtained information about the patrol routes around the Konoha camp. Tonight, he embarked on a solo mission to rescue Rin from the enemy who had captured her

His intuition told him that Rin was still alive, but she was locked up somewhere. She must be terrified, and the mere thought of it filled Obito with a burning desire to ruthlessly tear the enemies apart.

They were Unforgivable.

As he ram through the forest, Obito suddenly detected a presence ahead of him. He stopped abruptly and fixed his gaze on the figure standing in his path.

"That's enough, Uchiha kid. If you've had your fill of trouble, come back with me." A ninja, wearing the village's uniform, his voice cold.

Obito's eyes showed nervousness. He recognized the Jonin immediately. He was skilled in earth and water jutsus.

Overwhelmed by the Jonin's presence, Obito panted heavily, kept silent, and stared at him with unwavering with his Sharingan.

"Aren't you going to speak? Give it up. Even with your Sharingan, you're no match for me. At most, you'd be a little troublesome. I wouldn't like to fight a fellow ninja from the village , even if I don't like you Uchiha."

The Jonin sighed. His words had no impact on Obito, who remained resolute. Even a powerful Jonin couldn't deter him from his mission to rescue Rin.

"It appears that negotiation is not an option. I apologize, but time is of the essence. I intend to use violence against you."

After a brief pause, and observing Obito's determined expression, he realized that verbal communication was futile, and he had to use more force to subdue him.

With those words, he vanished from his spot, reappearing instantly behind Obito, and swiftly swung his sword at the back of Obito's neck.

Obito dodged by tilting his head to the side and evaded the surprise attack from the Jonin.

The Jonin was mildly surprised; this kid displayed some interesting moves.

"It's true that your Sharingan can track my movements, but avoiding them is a different matter... I underestimated you, so let's use a little more force then."

He performed hand seals, finally clasping his hands together.

"Earth Release: Earth Prison!"

Earth pillars shot up rapidly from Obito's feet. Startled, Obito quickly moved aside, narrowly avoiding the stone pillars emerging beneath him.

These earth pillars appeared to have tracking properties; as Obito retreated, they extended to block his path.

While Obito's attention was on the earth pillar under his feet, the Jonin gathered a large amount of chakra at his feet, conjuring a pool of water.

"Ah!"

Obito cried out in pain as he was struck in the back by the ninja's palm, spitting out a mouthful of blood and falling awkwardly to the ground. However, he continued to fix his Sharingan gaze on the Jonin.

The Jonin was cautious not to make direct eye contact with Obito's Sharingan. As a Jonin, he had cooperated with Uchiha ninjas before, understanding the power of these eyes.

Sharingan-based genjutsu only worked when eye contact was established. Thus, when battling a Sharingan user, the best approach was to avoid making eye contact.

Of course, fighting without direct eye contact would give the opponent an advantage. It meant that you couldn't perceive the enemy's entire body, reducing your battle instincts.

However, this was a disadvantage only when facing opponents of equal standing. Obito's strength was clearly not on par with a Jonin's.

So, even without tracking Obito's every move, the Jonin could exploit their superior strength and experience to defeat Obito. Fortunately, this was an Uchiha fledgling.

Obito gritted his teeth and retreated.

From the beginning of the battle, his opponent had never looked at his Sharingan. Relying on his rich experience and strength, his opponent completely crushed him even with his Sharingan.

Even with that Obito wasn't discouraged at all, he was well aware of the gap between a Chunin and Jonin.

This gap was difficult to make up even with the Sharingan. In the previous battle alone, he had already gone all out, while his opponent still seemed to be able to handle him with ease.

But he couldn't retreat here. He was determined to break through this blockade.

"Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu!"

Through rigorous training, the fire jutsu Obito unleashed possessed power of a jutsu that exceeded that of Chunin. However, in the eyes of the Jonin, there were still openings in these easy moves.

Though he was a ninja with the Sharingan, it would take time for him to reach his full potential.

A water wall rose in front of the Jonin, extinguishing the fireball with a powerful surge. "Impressive heat, but it's unwise to underestimate a ninja."

Having battled Obito until now without a speck of dust on his person, the Jonin gazed down at Obito with an air of superiority.

This was an insurmountable gap. Obito was well aware of it.

"Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu!"

"Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu!"

"Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu!"

The sheer scale of the jutsu made them challenging to dodge, prompting the Jonin to use water jutsu to extinguish the fireballs. White, mist-like steam filled the area, obscuring Obito from view.

"Even if you use jutsu to create a foggy environment, you can't escape my pursuit. It's a waste of chakra." the Jonin admonished.

If ge wanted to use the contact of water and fire to generate a mist that obscured vision, it had to be properly executed. Obito had underestimated the power of a Jonin.

Obito vanished from the misty environment, but the Jonin remained calm. He carefully sought out Obito's footprints and determined the direction of his escape.

Before he could give chase, a sharp bolt of lightning pierced the mist.

Turning his head to investigate, the Jonin promptly lost consciousness and collapsed, his body convulsing on the ground.

As the short figure that had emerged from the mist observed the paralysed and unconscious Jonin, they disappeared and pursued Obito's trail. Soon after, two more figures arrived, finding the fallen Jonin and rushing to assess the situation.

"Hey, Ueno, what's the matter? Wake up."

The Jonin who had fallen to the ground gradually regained consciousness and found two familiar faces beside him.

"Why are you lying here? Where's Uchiha Obito?" one of them inquired.

Ueno showec a wry smile, touched the part of his body paralyzed by lightning, and said, "It was a careless move. These young ones nowadays should not be underestimated."

"Could it be that Uchiha Obito is that strong?" the other one asked.

"It's not him, it's that Kakashi kid, Sakumo's son.".

After hearing Ueno's words, the two companions' eyes widened in surprise.

"He, like Obito Uchiha, is also a Chunin, right?"

"Yeah, he managed to silently approach and knock me out with ease. Even though it was due to my carelessness... But in a direct confrontation, I might not be able to defeat him." Ueno admitted.

The two comrades exchanged concerned glances. "Has he really grown to this extent?"

"It's only natural. After all, he graduated from the ninja academy at five, became a Chunin at six, the son of White Fang, and a student mentored by the Yellow Flash... An eleven-year-old Jonin is no small feat." Ueno sighed.

"What's our next move?" one of the them asked.

"We need to catch up, not just with UchihaObito but also that Kakashi... It's a mess, even if it's to rescue their comrades." Ueno replied. He stood up from the ground, brushed off the dust, and resumed the pursuit with his two companions.

....

After determining Obito's location, Kakashi used the shadow clone jutsu to create two clones. One of them started to seal again, and used the transformation jutsu to transform himself as Obito.

"The tracking work is entrusted to you." Kakashi's main body instructed.

The two clones nodded, vanished from their position, and headed in different directions.

Once they were gone, Kakashi bit his finger and smacked his palm against the ground.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

With a puff of white smoke, a small dog wearing a blue vest and a Konoha forehead protector appeared on the ground.

"Yo, Kakashi, long time no see." the dog greeted Kakashi with a raised paw.

"No need for the pleasantries, Pakkun. Go catch up with Obito. He's headed in this direction." Kakashi pointed.

"Obito? That stupid Uchiha kid?" Pakkun said after his recollection of who that was.

"Yes."

"Even though I'm not sure what's happening, I'll handle this."

Pakkun assured Kakashi, setting off in the direction indicated.

Once Pakkun had left, Kakashi retrieved a scroll from his bag, glanced around, and whispered to himself, "Time to make preparations here..."

...

No one was catching up to him?

Obito glanced behind him and realized there were no Konoha ninjas in pursuit. He found it strange but didn't dwell on it. Rescuing Rin was his top priority.

As he continued forward, something landed on his head, making him lower his head abruptly.

"It's me."

"This voice... Ah, you're Kakashi's..." Obito recalled the owner of the voice.

Kakashi had a habit of summoning various breeds of ninja dogs when chasing enemies, as they possessed strong tracking abilities.

"I'm Pakkun, and Kakashi sent me to assist you. Is there anything I can do for you?" Pakkun asked.

"What? Kakashi, that guy, is also concerned about Rin..." Obito's lips curled up in a slight smile.

"Rin? Is is that little girl?" Pakkun tilted his head asking.

"Yes, Rin was captured by an enemy a few days ago. I'm on a mission to rescue her now." Obito declared resolutely.

"Do you know who's responsible?"

"Well... maybe Iwagakure." Obito responded.

"Maybe? And where was the girl captured? In Iwagakure?" Pakkun raised an eyebrow.

Obito turned his head away, unable to meet Pakkun's gaze.

Pakkun hopped onto Obito's shoulder, sighed, and said, "I think I understand why Kakashi sent me here now. You charge into action without knowing much."

"Hey, I didn't get a good look at the enemy that day. How would I know?"

"Do you have any thing from the little girl?" Pakkun asked.

"What are you doing?" Obito turned to Pakkun, looking a bit suspicious.

"I'll use her scent to track her down. As long as it's been less than a week and there hasn't been any rain along the way, I can follow her scent trail." Pakkun explained.

Obito recalled Pakkun's ability, stopped, and retrieved a pink and white belt from his bag.

"What's this?" Pakkun asked, scrutinizing the ribbon with suspicion.

"Ahem, this is Rin's belt." Obito stammered.

Pakkun continued to stare at him.

"What do you think I did? This is just the belt Rin accidentally broke a few days ago. I picked it up from the trash because I didn't want it to go to waste. It's not what you're thinking! Hmph!" Obito blushed.

"Abnormal." Pakkun remarked.

"I'll kill you and eat your dog meat." Obito threatened with frustration.

"Got it..... By the way, are you in an unrequited love?" Pakkun teased.

Obito felt like a sword had been plunged into his heart and was then mercilessly twisted.

'This nasty dog, just like its owner, Kakashi.'

"Nonsense! I'm going to confess to Rin soon!"

"Isn't that unrequited love?"

"I'm going to kill you!" Obito gritted his teeth.

Pakkun smiled, shelving his intention to tease Obito. He sniffed Rin's belt and committed the scent to memory.

Obito nervously asked, "Can you really use that to find Rin's location?"

"Although the scent on the road is weak, I can still track it." Pakkun assured.

"Cab you really find her?"

Obito appeared skeptical, given that several days had passed.

Pakkun elaborated, "Of course. I may not have a general method, but my sense of smell is highly perceptive and covers a wide range. And..."

"And?"

"The scent on the road matches that of the belt, and the route appears relatively intact."

"Really?"

"Don't worry, we can definitely find her."

"Oh... hey, look at that!"

Obito suddenly spotted something with his sharp eyes.

"What's the matter?" Pakkun inquired.

Obito pointed to a strand of hair tied to a blade of grass. "This is Rin's hair! See, it's the same color as Rin's hair!" His face lit up with confidence.

Pakkun's reaction was less enthusiastic: '...Identifying someone based on her hair color, this guy... is no ordinary pervert!'

Yet Pakkun also knew why the route was accurately perceptible. At intervals within his olfactory range, there were similar scents, forming a comprehensive track.

"It seems that the direction is correct. Rin must have stayed here, leaving traces while the enemy was distracted, waiting for rescue. She is indeed the person i like." Obito declared with a renewed sense of purpose.

"I hope so." Pakkun sighed, feeling that Obito's enthusiasm was getting more pronounced. Unfortunately, the kid remained blissfully unaware. His determination was admirable.

Leaving an unmistakable signal for an idiot was weird, no matter how he looked at it. Still, it was possible that Rin was quite clever and had left a sign for her own rescuers.

"Let's continue the chase, but I should mention that I'm not a fighter. Can I leave the rescue to you?" Pakkun inquired.

"Of course! The honor of the Uchiha Clan is on the line!" Obito replied, touching his forehead protector and sporting a confident smile.

"Follow me." Pakkun led the way.

"Wait, that's not the direction to the Land of Earth." Obito said.

"Who told you we were heading to the Land of Earth next? Based on the scent trail, we're heading in this direction. Another three kilometers down, and we'll find the next strand of hair." Pakkun explained, raising a forelimb and pointing the way.

Obito was surprised.. "The direction is..."

...

Boom.

A huge cave seemed to be cracked in the gray sky, releasing pea-sized raindrops that cascaded like arrows, carving criss-crossed channels on the ground.

The sound of wind mingled with the roars of thunder. A bolt of lightning cleaved through the darkness, illuminating the sky and earth.

The accompanying thunder underscored the intensifying deluge.

Nearly a thousand Amegakure ninjas marched under the command of Hanzo.

As they watched the downpour resembling a shower of arrows, their faces had various expressions – fear, tension, excitement, and a thirst for blood. Their emotions were discernible.

Last night, each ninja had written their final words and left them for their loved ones – parents, lovers, children, friends. They had given up everything to face the battlefield. They were fighting for their village and their nation.

In the past, the Land of Rain had not seen the concept of a ninja village. All the country's ninjas were native to the Land of Rain.

In their efforts to resist and bring peace to the country, the Ninja Village was established after enduring tumultuous times.

They loved this country that was about to fall apart.

Lightning illuminated the land, washing it in a brilliant white light.

The Ame army, led by Hanzo who moved solemnly. Hanzo stood at the head of the formation.

Today marked the day when he had agreed with Konoha to launch a full-scale assault on Suna.

However, Hanzo's thoughts were not on the battlefield. He was overwhelmed by fear.....

The fear of death

The fear of losing his reputation as the demigod and his legend.

The fear of losing his supreme power of Amegakure.

The fear of being unable to protect his family.

Fear, fear, and more fear.

Hanzo had many reasons to be afraid and many regrets left unfulfilled. He didn't want to die, and he did not want to fight. Yet the decision had already been made, and there was no turning back. Retreating would ruin his reputation. It was a fate worse than death for him.

He thought of Kaze, the old man whom he had met bedore. Having saved Kaze's life, the village head had defied the entire village's objections and donated the village's only food to Hanzo.

Hanzo was a great hero revered by everyone in the Land of Rain. This belief in heroes had endured for thirty years, unwavering.

Hanzo pondered the people who remained in the Land of Rain. Were there any like Kaze among them? Did they choose to stay and resist their country's collapse because of him?

Though he possessed only vague memories of these people and could not recall all their names, those he had saved likely remembered him vividly.

Finally, Hanzo thought of the red-haired boy named Nagato, whom he had met only once but who had left a deep impression.

His memorable eyes had drawn Hanzo's attention.

The Rinnegan. The legendary eyes of the Sage of the Six Paths.

"Hanzo-sama." Kandachi's voice pulled him from his thoughts.

Hanzo raised his gaze to find a chilling aura emanating from the front through the downpour. On a high cliff stood Chiyo, a senior advisor to Suna. She was the most powerful puppet master in Sunagakure, having served two generations of Kazekage.

When their eyes locked, Hanzo knew that this confrontation was inevitable. The Land of Rain had no way to retreat, and neither did he.

Hanzo held his sickle, and his heart steadied. As an elderly figure, he needed to set a heroic example for the youth. He needed to tear apart the hypocritical peace created by the great powers.

----

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