GSiN: Ch. 185

In the end, Sōwa couldn't bring himself to kill his own brother. He just drove him out of Taki.

Jiraiya listened to the whole tearful story with furrowed brows, then gave Sōwa another long look. So the man's frailty wasn't natural weakness, it was the Hero Water that had wrecked him. And here he had been worried his books were responsible for sapping the guy's vitality.

"Cough... cough..."

Sōwa covered his mouth. He slowly straightened, then faced Jiraiya, Yahiko, and Konan with a deep bow.

"Thank you. All three of you. For coming to help us when we needed it most. Time's running short. The enemy could attack any moment. I need to organize our defenses immediately, I can't give you the proper welcome you deserve. But please know that every person in Taki will remember what you've done for us."

Without waiting for a response, he turned and stepped out onto the stairway landing. He drew in a deep breath.

"Gather round!"

Taki ninjas appeared from all directions, converging on their leader.

"First squad, move to the village entrance. Set up traps and defensive barriers. I want layered protection."

"Second squad, reconnaissance. Get outside the waterfall and give me eyes on enemy movement."

"Third squad, civilian evacuation. Make sure every non-combatant reaches the shelters. No one gets left behind..."

As his commands rang out, the ninjas swiftly moved into action.

Ninja-guided civilians carried essential supplies toward the shelters. Children's faces showed fear, but they stayed quiet, following their parents without complaint. Worth noting: even though Sōwa knew Aoi was his brother's inside agent, he hadn't done anything drastic. Just confined her to one corner of the village.

Meanwhile, Jiraiya, Yahiko, and Konan had been granted the highest clearance level within Taki's borders.

Not that they felt like sightseeing. The three of them just stood in the village center, watching the busy yet orderly scene unfold around them.

"Impressive," Jiraiya said quietly. "No wonder Taki's managed to survive in this world. They know what they're doing."

The Land of Waterfalls had geography on its side, wide plains perfect for farming, resource-rich forests, and even decent port access to the north for fishing and trade. Prime real estate in a world where most small countries got the short end of the stick.

No surprise the daimyō had dropped serious cash to buy a tailed beast from Konoha as a deterrent. It wouldn't do much against the big five nations, but for the poverty-stricken backwaters surrounding them? The threat of the Seven-Tails kept the vultures at bay.

But Yahiko didn't respond to Jiraiya's observation. Instead, he sat slumped on the wooden steps of a nearby house, staring at nothing, occasionally sighing.

"So talking really can't prevent war, can it?"

"Yahiko..." Konan placed a hand on his shoulder. "You did everything you could."

"Konan..."

While those two had their pre-battle moment, Jiraiya bit his finger and drew the facial markings across his face. Then he slammed his palms together.

CLAP!

The sharp sound made Konan and Yahiko both turn. Gone was Jiraiya's laid-back demeanor. His face was all business now.

"Jiraiya-sensei, what are you—" Konan started.

"I'm entering Sage Mode."

"Sage Mode?" Yahiko and Konan spoke in unison.

"Right, you two wouldn't know about it. It's something I picked up after leaving the Land of Rain. I learned it at Mount Myōboku. Basically, it amplifies your abilities to a whole different level."

Up until now, Jiraiya had always acted like he had everything under control around these two. But against Hanzō? That confidence was a mask. He wasn't sure he could win.

He'd gotten stronger over the years, no question. But Hanzō hadn't exactly gone soft either. The man was still a monster, and Jiraiya wasn't about to bet on taking him down without going all out.

Sure, he had that emergency scroll Ryouma had given him as a backup. But that thing was meant for dealing with Black Zetsu, not as a "break glass in case of emergency" solution whenever he ran into trouble.

No, better to summon the Two Great Sage Toads before the fighting started, then hit Sage Mode the instant Hanzō showed his face.

That was the only way to guarantee victory.

---

While the entire village prepared for war, Sōwa slipped away unnoticed. He made his way alone to a giant tree on the island in the lake.

Hidden within its massive trunk was an inconspicuous hollow, its entrance disguised by vines and moss. Even if you knew what you were looking for, you'd have a hard time spotting it.

He glanced around, confirming he was alone. Then his hands moved through seal sequences, dispelling the concealment barrier. He pushed aside the covering vegetation and ducked inside.

The interior was cramped but organized. A few dim oil lamps hung from the walls.

He walked to the center of the hollow.

There, on a simple but sturdy old wooden table, hung a gourd-shaped water flask suspended in midair.

The Kazama clan's greatest treasure: the Hero Water.

Technically speaking, the stuff was just sap naturally secreted from the massive underground cavity that supported Taki's foundation. Nothing fancy about its origins.

But during the Warring States Period, this seemingly ordinary liquid had been the Kazama clan's ace in the hole.

In those blood-soaked days, it had turned the tide at moments when extinction seemed certain. Again and again, it had saved the clan.

Then Taki was founded. They bought the Seven-Tails from Konoha, and suddenly hostile forces thought twice before attacking.

With its severe side effects, the Hero Water had been sealed away in this secret location. Only successive clan heads knew where it was hidden.

Sōwa untied the rope holding it and carefully took it down. Then he poured some of the Hero Water into a small vial. He re-tied the gourd and returned it to its place.

The Kazama clan's accumulated knowledge was clear: a person could drink the Hero Water at most three times in their life. And the survival rate for a second dose? Less than ten percent.

He didn't believe his luck was that good. He wasn't about to gamble on that slim chance.

So if the situation became desperate enough that he needed to use the Hero Water... he would kill Sōto with his own hands.

He took a deep breath, tucked the vial into his breast pocket, and left the hollow without looking back.

He knew this would probably be his last chance to protect the village.

"Sōto... forgive me."

---

At dawn, an explosion array lit up the sky, marking the beginning of the war between the Land of Rain and the Land of Waterfalls.

Though calling it a "war" was generous. More like a battlefield with about two hundred people total. Nothing compared to the Great Ninja Wars where major nations threw thousands of troops at each other.

Guided by Sōto the Ame ninjas blasted open another entrance into Taki from the land side.

At the same time, dozens of giant salamanders surfaced from the waters surrounding the island in the lake. They released purple poison gas from their mouths, immediately shrouding the entire battlefield.

Standing at the blasted-open entrance, Sōto shot a sideways glance at Hanzō.

"Hey. Don't forget our deal. Keep that poison controlled."

His plan was to seize leadership of Taki, not exterminate every ninja in the village. Besides, he had plenty of his own people embedded inside.

"I don't need your reminders. And why is Jiraiya here? You hid that detail from me."

Sōto knew he'd screwed up. He turned his head away from Hanzō's piercing stare, his neck stiffening defensively.

"He is one of your old defeated enemies, isn't he? Or are you saying you can't beat him?"

Hanzō mentally cursed. Idiot.

Sōto had to be brain-damaged. This wasn't about whether he could win. Jiraiya was now an important figure in Konoha's hierarchy, teacher to the current Fourth Hokage, for crying out loud. And Konoha? The village that had emerged victorious from all three Great Ninja Wars.

During the Second War, even he had been forced to compromise before Konoha's might and let Jiraiya and his two companions escape, despite having cornered them. And now Konoha had even stronger fighters. But the arrow was already nocked. No turning back now. They'd come this far, he couldn't abandon the plan just because of Jiraiya.

He loathed Sōto's foul mouth, but he prided himself on keeping his word. He controlled the salamander swarm to spread poison only across the water's surface, encircling the entire island.

At this point, they were grasshoppers tied to the same rope. If Sōto failed to seize Taki's leadership, the great villages would use this incident as justification to crush Ame again.

With that thought, he raised his left hand and swept it downward.

"Begin the assault!"

At his command, dozens of elite sprinted across the water's surface toward the island.

---

Inside Taki, the ordinary villagers had already been evacuated to the shelter beneath the Hero Tree.

Every critical point in the village was guarded by the remaining Taki forces, ready to respond to any sudden attack.

Suddenly, standing at the foremost defensive line, Jiraiya's eyes narrowed. "They're coming. Ma, Pa, I'm counting on you two."

The ones he addressed were the two small toads perched on his shoulders.

Shima, the one with curly purple hair, rubbed her face and grumbled. "Honestly, summoning us this early and making us wait around... I didn't even get to finish my beauty sleep."

"Now, now, Ma, don't be like that," Fukasaku said gently, his white hair and brows giving him a grandfatherly appearance. "Jiraiya must have his reasons."

"You spoil him too much," Shima replied, clearly dissatisfied.

"Sorry, sorry. But the enemy really isn't someone to underestimate this time, haha." Jiraiya gave an apologetic smile.

Even as they talked, their hands didn't slow. Natural energy from the surroundings flowed into the two Sage Toads.

Under Mount Myōboku's Sage Mode influence, frog-like features inevitably appeared on Jiraiya's face.

But with a brutal battle looming, no one had the mental bandwidth to focus on his appearance. No one except Yahiko. His mouth opened and closed like he was about to say something potentially offensive.

Jiraiya immediately guessed his student was thinking. Quick as lightning, he pointed toward the rising purple poison mist ahead.

"Use long-range attacks to wear them down first!"

Before the words had even finished leaving his mouth, his hands blurred through seals. A fireball shot directly into the purple poison cloud. It instantly evaporated a wide swath of poison gas, then struck, blasting an Ame ninja who'd thought himself well-hidden straight down into the lake's depths.

The other Taki ninjas with long-range capabilities followed Jiraiya's lead. Waves of Water Release techniques and kunai with explosive tag rained outward.

Water and fire exploded across the battlefield.

This was the inherent danger of an amphibious assault, the landing phase was when you were most vulnerable. Easy pickings for defenders with the high ground.

But Hanzō was a veteran. He'd anticipated this exact scenario. His fingers formed seals across his chest. The lake below suddenly split open into five raging whirlpools.

From them burst five massive salamander clones. Their maws opened, spewing downpours of corrosive, poisonous rain that blotted out the sky.

Several Taki ninjas failed to dodge in time. The venom splashed onto exposed skin, and flesh immediately began to bubble and sizzle like it had been doused in boiling acid.

"Scatter! This stuff will melt you!"

One Taki ninja roared as he tore off his corroded right arm. But purple blotches were already spreading along his veins up toward his neck. His warning drowned beneath more screams.

A Taki jonin's hands blurred through seals. He expelled a torrent from his mouth, which solidified into a protective barrier in front and above him.

Several nearby Taki ninjas immediately joined in, pooling their chakra to expand the water wall's coverage.

But Jiraiya's brow remained furrowed.

He knew Hanzō's strength. That poisonous rain wouldn't be stopped so easily.

With that thought, his hands moved rapidly.

Just as the technique neared completion, his pupils suddenly contracted. Through his heightened senses, he detected it, a chained scythe slicing toward him at blinding speed. Even the slightest cut would drop a grown ninja within seconds.

No choice.

Abandoning his technique mid-sequence, he pivoted sharply. His right foot slammed down as he twisted aside to evade the strike.

The scythe sank deep into the ground. With the rattling of chains being pulled taut, Hanzō's figure emerged beside his weapon.

"We meet again."

"Hanzō," Jiraiya muttered in a low voice.