Poison Cavalry

"This weather in the Land of Rain is really awful."

"It's wet everywhere, and the rain just never stops."

A Konoha ninja stood beneath a cliff, complaining helplessly.

Ever since they had entered the Land of Rain, the rain had not stopped for a single day, severely affecting the speed of their advance.

Not only that, but the muddy roads had also made logistical supplies exceptionally difficult.

All of this left the Konoha ninjas feeling miserable.

"Can't be helped. Why else do you think it's called the Land of Rain?"

Another Konoha ninja joked.

"Come to think of it, our front line has advanced ten kilometers already. Why haven't we seen any Amegakure Ninja?"

At those words, the other Konoha ninjas immediately burst into laughter.

"Maybe that Amegakure Leader got scared and doesn't dare send troops out to fight!"

"Hahaha, that's entirely possible. Didn't Hanzo surrender like that before?"

"Heh, ninjas from these small countries are all like this. They don't have any backbone at all."

As the Konoha ninjas chatted, their laughter and cheerful voices seemed especially jarring beneath the gloomy sky.

Suddenly, the commander of this twelve-man Konoha squad frowned.

"Do you feel that..."

"The ground seems to be shaking?"

"Shaking?"

Confusion appeared on everyone's faces.

They pressed their ears to the ground.

Sure enough, a dense sound like drumbeats came through.

"What is that sound?"

They looked at one another, puzzled.

The next second, the sensory ninja outside shouted:

"Enemy traces detected, eight hundred meters to the southeast..."

"They're rapidly approaching—six hundred meters..."

"Prepare for battle!"

The Konoha squad leader decisively gave the order.

Everyone immediately drew kunai from their Ninja Tool Pouches and stood ready.

The drumbeat-like sound grew increasingly distinct.

Under their watchful eyes, dark figures rose from the hazy horizon.

They wore crow-like masks, their bodies concealed beneath black raincoats, riding warhorses as they rapidly advanced.

"How foolish. There are actually people who still fight on horseback these days."

Seeing the enemy's appearance, the squad leader finally relaxed.

In his memory, no powerful ninja had ever charged into battle on a warhorse.

"Two hundred meters remaining!"

The scout's warning snapped him back to his senses.

Though their speed seemed absurdly fast, this was as far as they would get.

"Everyone, get ready!"

At his command, all the Konoha ninjas raised their kunai or prepared to unleash ninjutsu.

A cavalry charge?

That was an outdated relic.

One round of ninjutsu bombardment would blast these antiques away without leaving even a scrap behind!

Unexpectedly, before the Konoha ninjas could launch their attack, the rapidly approaching cavalry drew their weapons first—

They were cannon tubes a full meter long. The cavalrymen held their reins in one hand and rested the cannon tubes on their shoulders with the other.

Their pitch-black muzzles were aimed at these damned invaders.

"Two hundred meters. First volley!"

A calm voice came from beneath the mask of the cavalryman at the very front.

Then, his voice rose sharply.

"Dedicate your hearts to the Land of Rain, everyone!"

"Dedicate your hearts to the Land of Rain!!"

Suddenly, roar after roar rang out through the rain.

Amid the rain, the wind, and the shouting, they finally pulled the triggers.

Terrifying flames erupted from the cannon barrels. The force of the fiery explosions launched the shells high into the air, sending them crashing toward the Konoha ninja at incredible speed.

"Shells?"

The Konoha ninja froze for a moment.

Wasn't the enemy underestimating them a little too much?

With a ninja's reflexes, dodging these shells was effortless.

And that was indeed the case. Not a single shell falling from the sky struck an enemy.

"Looks like the Rain Hidden really is out of tricks if they can come up with something like this..."

The Konoha squadron captain shook his head, his eyes full of disdain.

Just as he was about to swiftly deal with these cannon fodder, the shells that had landed on the ground finally exploded.

The compressed purple poison gas burst forth all at once.

Like demons choosing their prey, the purple toxic mist bared its fangs and swallowed the careless Konoha ninja whole.

Heart-rending screams rang out from within the poison gas.

In mere moments, the horrifying toxin traveled with their blood to every part of their bodies.

While inflicting intense pain, it rapidly destroyed their brains as well.

"Damn it, it's poison gas from those Ibuse!"

The Konoha squadron captain's expression turned utterly grim.

However, he reacted quickly. Facing the continuously surging poison gas, he decisively flung out several Exploding Tags.

As they detonated, the resulting airflow finally bought him a little space.

But only a little!

While Konoha was in disarray, the Poison Cavalry had already charged up before them.

"Second round, direct fire!"

"Kill these invaders!"

A cold voice came from beneath crow masks that looked like those of demons.

Everyone raised the shells in their hands and emptied their Poison Gas Bombs once more!

The poison gas continued to spread, like a rapidly expanding demon swallowing the entire battlefield into its belly.

Yet the remaining Konoha ninja did not give up.

Under the cover of the poison gas, the squadron captain appeared behind a cavalryman at tremendous speed, the kunai in his hand flashing with bone-chilling light.

"Die, you despicable bastard!"

The kunai in his hand pierced straight through the man's neck without incident.

After all, that cavalryman was merely an Ordinary Person. Faced with a ninja's attack, he had no chance to react.

However, the instant he realized he was about to die, he unhesitatingly pressed the button in his hand.

Sorry, Little Red—that was the name of the warhorse beneath him.

The next second, a sudden explosion and poison gas instantly swallowed the squadron captain.

This was how the Poison Cavalry fought.

First, they unleashed a volley from long range, disrupting the enemy's formation while causing as much damage as possible.

Then everyone charged into the enemy lines at top speed and launched a second bombardment, ensuring the poison gas covered every enemy.

If they were unfortunate enough to be caught by a ninja, they would immediately detonate the Poison Gas Bomb in their hands, trading their lives for the enemy's if possible...

Under the ceaseless wash of rain, the poison gas gradually began to dissipate, and the battlefield returned to calm.

In this ambush, they had successfully wiped out twelve enemy ninja—

At the cost of five of their own dead.

There was no helping it. Ninja were simply too fast.

Even when they seized the initiative, they could easily be taken down by a dying counterattack.

Poison gas was the only means these ordinary mortals had to fight against ninja.