Take the Initiative

Kawafune and Sakumo went ahead. By the time they entered the Land of Rain, wary expressions were already on their faces.

The moment they entered the concealed camp, ninjas wearing Konoha forehead protectors and holding kunai blocked their path.

They were all within Kawafune's sensing range.

"Who are you?"

The two wore Konoha's green ninja flak jackets. They were at least Chunin.

"I am Hatake Kawafune, a Jonin of the Hatake Clan."

"This is my elder brother, Hatake Sakumo."

As he spoke, Kawafune took out his identification to verify his identity.

One of the ninjas carefully accepted it. Neither of them lowered their kunai at any point.

Only after confirming it repeatedly did they finally relax.

"Chunin Asakawa Ryo, at your service, Lord Kawafune."

"Chunin Jira, at your service, Lord Kawafune."

As Kawafune took back his identification, he vaguely sensed that something was off about the camp.

"Did something happen?"

Sakumo also frowned as he looked around. This camp gave him an unsafe feeling.

"Lord Kawafune, we have been waiting for the main force to arrive."

"But ninjas from Amegakure have been frequently coming to assassinate and ambush us."

"We are merely the advance force for negotiations, and our combat strength is insufficient. We have already suffered heavy casualties."

Asakawa Ryo was clearly more articulate than Jira, so he explained the situation.

"Who is leading here now?"

Kawafune wanted to speak with the leader again and see how they could resolve their current predicament.

"Lord Aburame Bunseki has already fallen."

Pain showed on Asakawa Ryo's face as he spoke.

"Let's go inside and take a look first."

Sakumo spoke and took the lead into the camp.

Kawafune had no other options at the moment. He would look around first.

Only after entering the camp did they see how tattered the tents were. Some could not even keep out the wind and rain, let alone shelter people.

Wounded men wailed inside some of the tents.

Some of the uninjured ninjas also rose and gathered around them. Someone had finally come.

It was Nawaki and Minato's first time seeing the grim aftermath of war. Their faces turned somewhat pale.

"These are Jonin Hatake Kawafune and Hatake Sakumo."

Asakawa Ryo introduced them to everyone.

"I know them. Lord Kawafune is the genius Jonin of the Hatake Clan."

"Lord Sakumo is the head of the Hatake Clan."

Quite a few of the ninjas had heard of the two brothers' fame, which made it easier for them to issue orders.

"Enough. Quiet."

Kawafune loudly cut off the ninjas' discussion. Now was not the time.

"The main force is still on the way. It will probably take about another week to arrive."

"From now on, follow my command."

"Any objections?"

Kawafune stared at these Chunin and Genin with blazing eyes. No one dared meet his gaze.

"No objections."

"Good."

"Are any of you proficient in Earth Style?"

Kawafune first arranged for ninjas proficient in Earth Style to build earthen houses and settle the wounded.

Then he had the camp's worn-out tents replaced.

He assigned tasks according to each ninja's particular specialties.

He also changed the positions of the sentry posts. From his perspective, they were countless times better than before.

After a round of adjustments, they set up the pots and began cooking. At last, the camp had some life in it.

It was no longer as lifeless as before, and the ninjas no longer lacked all fighting spirit.

They had clearly been frightened out of their wits by the Rain Ninja's assassinations and ambushes.

But they could hardly be blamed. Even a Jonin of the Aburame Clan had died. There was nothing Chunin and Genin like them could do.

Kawafune received some extra consideration as well. Those Earth Style ninjas thoughtfully prepared an earthen house for him too.

Though it was quite crude, it was still better than a tent.

Inside the house, Kawafune's group of five was eating.

The pot contained nothing but noodles. On a battlefield, conditions like this were already decent.

Each person had a small bowl, and they happily ate from the pot.

"What are you planning to do next?"

"Are we just going to keep waiting?"

Sakumo asked his younger brother for his opinion.

"Not fighting back isn't my style."

"If the Rain Ninja dare come, they should be prepared to die."

"If I'm not mistaken, all of this is a smokescreen thrown out by Hanzō the Salamander."

"He is fighting on three fronts. How could he have the time to hold them all off at once?"

"He sends his subordinates to assassinate and harass us, buying time before defeating us one by one."

"That is his real plan."

Sakumo frowned as he considered Kawafune's words. They seemed to make some sense.

He was also an expert at assassination, but when it came to strategy, he was a complete amateur.

The carefree Might Duy had not listened at all. Of everyone there, he was eating the most.

Taijutsu training consumed a great deal of energy, and Kawafune could understand that. But stealing food from children was a bit too much, wasn't it?

Nawaki and Minato looked pitiful. They could not beat him in a fight for it, so they could only look at Kawafune, hoping he would add more noodles.

The children were still growing, and Kawafune could not bear it. He added quite a bit more noodles to the pot.

Might Duy was overjoyed.

Kawafune simply decided that out of sight was out of mind and continued discussing matters with his elder brother.

"The fact that the Rain Ninja are harassing us now means that Hanzō's main target is not Konoha."

"I plan to take the initiative. At the very least, we need to make the Rain Ninja too afraid to come again before the main force arrives."

Kawafune stated his plan, and Sakumo immediately said that this was the kind of work he excelled at.

"Leave it to me. I'll deal with those annoying rats."

"Big Brother, you and Might Duy stay behind to guard the camp."

"I'll take Minato and Nawaki. They need to be baptized in blood."

What Kawafune said was also what he truly thought.

A small squad of elite ninjas was perfectly suited to the two children's growth.

A large-scale battle, on the other hand, would not be of much use. With bad luck, even a Jonin could be taken down by a Genin.

"Isn't that too risky?"

Sakumo felt that Kawafune was being too aggressive. There were gentler ways to teach disciples.

"Don't worry. I've left Flying Thunder God Technique Formulas on both of them."

Kawafune revealed this trump card. It was also his greatest source of confidence in keeping the two children safe.

If they could not win, he could teleport over and save them.

"All right. Then Might Duy and I will stay behind."

As Sakumo spoke, he patted Might Duy on the shoulder.

Only then did Might Duy chime in.

"Don't worry, Kawafune-kun. The camp is in good hands with us here."

Looking at the noodles hanging from Might Duy's mouth, if Kawafune had not read the original work, he would never have believed this guy could be so formidable—or that he would have a son even more formidable than himself.

"Minato, Nawaki, do you have any objections?"

Only after making the arrangements did Kawafune ask the two children what they wanted.

"I am willing."

The two children were still very polite. At the very least, they swallowed the food in their mouths and put down their bowls.

"Eat. Once you're full, come with me."

Kawafune put down his bowl, stood up, and walked outside.

He still had some things to ask.

He found Asakawa Ryo resting in a tent.

"Lord Kawafune."

"Sit. No need to stand on ceremony."

"I have something to ask you."

Kawafune smiled gently and sat beside Asakawa Ryo.

"Which direction do the Rain Ninja usually come from?"

"Do they have any special abilities?"

Kawafune had almost no memories concerning the Rain Ninja, so he could only try to learn from Asakawa Ryo.

"North of the camp. They always come from that direction."

"As for special abilities, we haven't noticed any."

"They can conceal their presence, and most of them use Water Style."

"Combined with Water Clones, they are somewhat elusive on rainy days."

Asakawa Ryo was only a Chunin. Being able to summarize this much intelligence was already quite good.

Kawafune did not make things difficult for him. This intelligence was enough to bluff Minato and Nawaki.

Otherwise, he would look too ignorant. Wouldn't that be embarrassing?

Kawafune patted Asakawa Ryo on the shoulder, thanked him, and left.