Latent Conflict

"No way!"

Minato was tense.

"Hmm..."

Otoha let out a soft, unwilling sigh and crushed a corner of the rock beneath her.

The two of them crawled behind Taiseki to protect themselves from the One-Tail the Empty Air Bullet. This was a barrier that Otoha had built using Earth Release. They were still a kilometer away from where the Empty Air Bullet had exploded, but the oncoming shockwave was as heavy as a collapsing mountain. The six-meter-thick rock wall was shattered in half by the shockwave.

Otoha was terrified, breaking out in a cold sweat. Fortunately, his Sharingan judgment was accurate, predicting that the aftershocks would be incredibly powerful. Thickening the barrier was a wise move. He witnessed a Genin behind them being unable to dodge in time and being crushed into a bloody mist by the violent shockwave.

"Damn it, it's completely useless."

His fist slammed into the rock, the boy's crimson eyes filled with resentment.

I thought my skills had improved rapidly, but when I actually encountered a strong opponent, I once again experienced my own weakness and powerlessness.

"Otoha, don't worry, there aren't many enemies of this level in the entire Shinobi World." Minato's right hand was curled inward, gripping a trident-shaped Kunai tightly, which looked very heavy.

"Minato, could it be that you...?"

Otoha raised an eyebrow when he noticed the uniquely shaped Kunai in Minato's hand.

"Think carefully before you act. Even a mere aftershock could cause you to be pulverized."

"Yes, I understand. Besides, this is just a preparation. Kushina might not necessarily lose to that monster." Minato smiled broadly, but a shadow of gloom lingered in the corner of his eye.

"Chiyo, Shukaku has reached its designated position, but... the one blocking Shukaku's way is not Sannin, but the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki!"

"Um."

Chiyo stood in front of the camp, her tough temperament like a granite block. Rainwater slowly fell down the lines of her face. In fact, if you look closely, Chiyo was definitely a beauty when she was young. It's just a pity that time is merciless. No matter how beautiful the face is, it cannot withstand the erosion of time. Like Tsunade, she is the only genius who can maintain her youth for decades.

The ninja who delivered the message lowered his head and obediently retreated, not daring to make the slightest move.

All the Sand Ninja knew that Chiyo had been in a bad mood lately, and if you accidentally offended her, you'd be lucky to escape death a thousand times over.

"Sister, it's about time we made our move."

Ebizo walked over silently and stood beside Chiyo. Looking at his silent sister, he couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

Her older sister was a genius, chosen as a disciple by the Puppet Master progenitor, Monzaemon, and the only Puppet Master among all the disciples to inherit the White Secret Technique. The word "genius" is no exaggeration when applied to Chiyo. However, Chiyo of the Sand is not perfect. Her overly sensitive and fragile heart is Chiyo's weakness. When faced with the deaths of her comrades and loved ones, she is easily plunged into a hell of self-blame.

Even though she had been active on the battlefield for decades, her sensitive and fragile heart had not changed much.

During yesterday's attack, Chiyo's former teammates died at the Black Tail Mountain.

"The Stone Ninja are a bunch of scum!"

Chiyo gritted her teeth and cursed fiercely.

The deaths of our comrades were due to the Stone Ninja's unauthorized retreat without notifying the Sand ninja forces. As a result, many Sand ninjas who couldn't escape in time were surrounded by Konoha Ninja, and their bodies couldn't even be recovered!

"Elder sister!"

Ebizo raised his voice.

"I understand. Now is not the time to be angry. I'm just... feeling really bad." Chiyo's voice was desolate. No matter how much she hated the Stone Ninja, she had to hold her tongue and endure it at this moment. Otherwise, if the two sides started fighting amongst themselves, the only ones who would be happy would be the Konoha Ninja on Black Tail Mountain.

"I will definitely avenge this."

"Yes, as long as we drive Konoha out of the Land of Rain, we'll teach the Stone Ninja a lesson." Ebizo agreed. This wasn't just a casual remark; it was the Sand ninja's planned strategy. Although the Land of Rain was poor, it was still a country, capable of supporting a ninja village of considerable strength.

The supplies they gathered might not be of much interest to the wealthy Konoha Ninja, but to the Sand ninjas who were terrified of poverty, they were a huge piece of meat!

However, here's the problem: there's only one piece of fat, but more than one person wants to eat it. If the fat, which is just enough to satisfy one person, is divided equally, neither person will be satisfied. Therefore, the only solution is to reduce the number of people who want to eat the fat.

Konoha, being the strongest clan, was targeted by the combined forces of Sand and Stone Ninja. The priority was to eliminate the strongest clan first.

"The Jinchuriki of Stone Ninja should have arrived by now, right?" Chiyo asked.

"They're here. They came in the middle of the night. It's that fire-playing monkey," Ebizo replied.

"Oh, I thought a place like the Land of Rain would send Five-Tails Jinchuriki!" Chiyo, somewhat surprised.

Among the many Tailed Beasts, the One-Tail and the Four-Tails hate water the most. The Four-Tails Jinchuriki Roshi, was of the same generation as Chiyo and had interacted with her before, so he knew how much this Jinchuriki of Stone Ninja hated water.

"It's not surprising. The previous Five-Tails Jinchuriki died several years ago. It won't be quick for the new generation of brats to grow up. That fire monkey is dreaming. The Third Tsuchikage is known for his absolute authority. Speaking of which... Mito Uzumaki is also dead. The current Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is just a kid. Logically, it's impossible for him to master the Nine-Tails' power so quickly. That's the most ferocious Tailed Beast..."

Ebizo narrowed his eyes, lost in thought.

"Alright, don't think so much. This time, with our One-Tail and the Four-Tails from Stone Ninja, even the Nine-Tails can't cause any trouble." Chiyo reached out and patted Ebizo. Her younger brother was exceptionally intelligent, but because of this, he often overthought things and could complicate simple matters.

"... Sister, shall we go?"

Ebizo shook his head, as if trying to shake off all the distracting thoughts in his mind.

"Tell the Stone Ninja that now that fire monkey is here, it shouldn't be playing dead." Chiyo sneered. "Pass down the order: set off immediately, avoiding Shukaku's battlefield. We must take Black Tail Mountain today. We... don't have much time left."

"Yes!"

The Stone Ninja relayed the order received it and rushed out quickly.

Ebizo stood with Chiyo in front of the main tent, their hearts heavy; they truly didn't have much time left.

Yesterday, news broke that the front-line camp was on the verge of collapse. Konoha's White Fang's offensive was fierce, and they could only hold out for another day or two at most. If the battle at Black Tail Mountain could not be ended within this time, they would face a pincer attack from Konoha Ninja, not to mention that one of them was White Fang.