Chapter 81

Chapter 81

Chapter 81: The War in the Land of Rain

“Not good!”

In the rain, Uzumaki Kushina, who was surrounded by puppets and hit by hidden weapons, suddenly turned into a cloud of white smoke. The Sand Village puppeteer hiding in the trees nearby looked alarmed, and just as he was preparing to escape, he felt an intense heat at his back.

*Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu*

*Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Claw Red*

Uchiha Mikoto took a deep breath and released a terrifying flame dragon from her mouth, aiming directly at the hidden puppeteer’s location. At the same time, Uchiha Yosuke followed with a barrage of fireballs, raining down on the other Sand ninjas.

“Watch out! There are shuriken in the flames!”

Hidden within the *Phoenix Flower Claw Red* technique were glowing, red-hot shuriken, spinning and shooting towards the enemy.

“Don’t underestimate us, Sand ninjas!”

The puppeteer shouted as Konoha’s chakra threads revealed his position. He summoned a puppet equipped with a metal shield, blocking the incoming fire.

Boom!

As the terrifying fire attack was blocked, the puppeteer relaxed—until he heard a whistling sound from his side, filling him with dread. He turned his head to see something horrifying.

*Wind Style: Vacuum Bullets*

Kushina unleashed a stream of sharp, bullet-like wind bullets that sliced through the air. In seconds, the puppeteer’s body was riddled with holes, and blood sprayed under the rain.

“Ota!”

The other Sand ninjas yelled in rage, but Ota, the puppeteer, had already become a lifeless shell. In that moment, a pair of three-tomoe Sharingan appeared behind another Sand ninja, and Yosuke’s Kusanagi Sword pierced through his heart.

“On the battlefield, you can’t afford to lose focus, especially against the Sharingan!”

As his life drained away, the Sand ninja recalled his brief distraction, which had given Yosuke his opening.

“Damn you, Konoha ninja!”

Realizing the mission had failed, the remaining Sand ninjas reluctantly ordered a retreat, throwing explosive-tagged kunai as they fled.

“Don’t chase them!”

Breathing heavily, Yosuke stopped Kushina from pursuing the retreating enemy.

“Damn it!”

Kushina gritted her teeth, watching the enemies flee, her gaze filled with determination.

“Next time, I won’t let them escape.”

She and Mikoto began to carefully inspect the battlefield, while Yosuke, still catching his breath, thought to himself, *Is the situation really this intense? We’ve just entered the Land of Rain, and the battles are already this fierce.*

They had only been in the Land of Rain a short time, but they’d already faced dozens of ambushes.

“Let’s clean up and report back.”

“Yes!”

Mikoto and Kushina cleaned the battlefield with caution, while Yosuke looked up at the rain-soaked landscape, his brow furrowed.

A moment later, their three-man squad disappeared, leaving only the scars of their battle behind.

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“Yosuke!”

“Up ahead… a Sand ninja squad has been repelled.”

On their way back, Yosuke’s team met a reinforcement squad. After exchanging intel, the new team leader nodded.

“Good. We’ll take over from here. You three rest.”

“Be careful!”

In battle, ninja teams alternate missions when possible to allow those recently engaged in combat to rest and recover chakra. Although ninja are often seen as tools, even the great Hidden Villages recognize the time and resources required to train one.

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**Back at the Leaf’s Camp in the Land of Rain**

“Tsunade-sama, we’ve identified thirteen Sand squads infiltrating the left flank. We’ve sent out…”

Hearing this report, Tsunade frowned.

“How is this battle going? How did so many Sand and Rain ninjas infiltrate our rear lines? Where are Orochimaru and Jiraiya?”

At that moment, Jiraiya and Orochimaru, looking exhausted, entered the tent.

“Ha, Tsunade, I could hear your complaining from a hundred meters away,” Jiraiya laughed, trying to lighten the mood. But Orochimaru, in no mood for jokes, said seriously, “Tsunade, the Leaf’s White Fang led an attack on the Sand’s main camp yesterday. This is just a retaliatory move by the Sand.”

War in the Land of Rain was raging. Sand and Rain appeared to have reached an agreement and were focusing their attacks on Konoha, making the situation even more dire.

Meanwhile, Cloud and Mist were probing for weaknesses, forcing the Land of Fire to deploy large forces to secure its borders. This urgency was part of why the Third Hokage wanted to end the battle swiftly.

“So we’ve taken this area, but to win, we need to lure the Rain’s main forces out. Otherwise, we’ll just face endless harassment!”

Tsunade, studying the map in the tent, frowned.

Orochimaru nodded, calm and composed.

“Exactly. While White Fang handles the Sand forces, our task is to force the Rain’s main force into a decisive battle.”

The land Konoha held was rich in resources, making it a prime target for the Sand and Rain’s relentless attacks.

“I get it. We’ll drain resources from the Land of Rain while waiting for their main forces to emerge, rather than wasting our own on direct assaults.”

While this strategy risked a prolonged conflict, the wealthy Land of Fire could afford it, and it allowed them to seize resources from the Land of Rain.

Jiraiya scratched his head and laughed, “Tsunade, White Fang sent a report. He said we should thank you for developing that antidote—it neutralized Chiyo’s poison.”

Tsunade snorted, “I only arrived on the battlefield late because I was in the village working on an antidote for the Sand’s poison. It wasn’t just a delay.”

She had been the last to join the front lines, not because of cowardice but because she had been back in the Leaf, working to counter the Sand’s poison techniques.

“Still, we can’t let our guard down. Chiyo’s poisons are predictable, but Hanzo of the Rain Village, the Salamander, is an entirely different threat.”

Tsunade was cautious, knowing Hanzo’s skill with poisons was formidable and they had little intel on him.

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