Forty-four: Despicable Lightning

"What happened, Jiraiya?"

Seeing Jiraiya standing before the command tent with such an expression, Uchiha Sakuya frowned and stepped forward to ask, "Why is the camp in such a state?"

"Oh, Sakuya... you've returned?"

Upon seeing Uchiha Sakuya, Jiraiya seemed to find his backbone, his complexion instantly appearing much more spirited. "I heard about your exploits behind Iwagakure lines. Truly impressive, Red Flash."

"It was nothing, just doing what I ought to do."

Sakuya scanned his surroundings and asked in a low voice, "What exactly happened to the camp? Did we lose a battle? How did it end up in this wretched state?"

"We didn't lose, not exactly. With Sakumo-senpai in command, we've been locked in a fierce struggle with Iwagakure, with victories and defeats on both sides."

Jiraiya shook his head.

"Then how..."

"Yesterday morning, Kumogakure's Eight-Tails jinchūriki, Blue B, launched a sneak attack on our camp."

Jiraiya recounted the events of the previous day to Sakuya. "We were caught off guard. Three jōnin were killed, and over twenty others were severely wounded..."

"Huh?"

Sakuya, who had just fought Blue B, revealed a look of surprise. "That guy came to ambush our camp, too?"

"...What do you mean by 'too'?"

Jiraiya looked blank.

"I just had a run-in with that guy over on the Iwagakure front."

Sakuya raised a hand to pat the scroll on his back, his tone casual. "I was originally executing a mission to cut off the Iwa supply lines. After finishing, I was ambushed by that Blue B. But his strength was rather mediocre; I beat him until he severed his tail to escape—look, I sealed the tail he left behind and brought it back."

"Strength... mediocre?"

Jiraiya's expression stiffened.

The wounds wrapped in bandages on his own body were the direct result of that "mediocre" Blue B.

Hearing Sakuya speak of the man who had nearly taken his life in such a tone, Jiraiya's throat bobbed, and for a moment, he didn't know how to respond.

Fortunately, Orochimaru, who walked out from the tent, relieved him of his awkwardness.

"Sakuya-kun has returned?"

"Orochimaru, you're injured too?"

Looking at Orochimaru, who also bore several wounds, Sakuya frowned slightly.

"So, you already know what happened here."

Looking at Jiraiya and then at Sakuya, Orochimaru understood the situation.

"Since that is the case, come into the tent. It is time to see Dan Katō for the last time."

"What did you say!?"

Hearing this, Sakuya's expression shifted in shock. "What happened to Dan Katō?"

"...Yesterday, when Blue B ambushed the camp, Dan was pierced through the chest by his Lariat while trying to save me."

Jiraiya lowered his head as he explained Dan Katō's condition.

"We did our best to save him for the entire day, but..."

Orochimaru sighed. "Sakuya-kun, you are also a friend of Dan-kun. Come with us and see him off on his final journey."

"Dan Katō..."

Sakuya felt a sense of melancholy in his heart.

The original story stated that Dan Katō would die during the Second Great Ninja War, but he never expected it to be at the hands of Blue B's sneak attack.

He followed the two into the tent. On the bed inside, Dan Katō lay with a deathly pale complexion. Beside him, two medical ninja were desperately trying to sustain his life, but looking at his fading vitality, it was clear he was in his final moments.

"Dan..."

Orochimaru looked down at him. "Look who has come."

Hearing this, the weak Dan Katō moved his eyelids, struggling to open a sliver of his eyes. Upon seeing Uchiha Sakuya standing beside Orochimaru, his expression suddenly became agitated.

"Sakuya... Sakuya-kun, you... I..."

"Dan."

Sakuya knelt down and took his hand. "I am here."

"I... I have no family left, Sakuya-kun!"

Dan Katō looked at Uchiha Sakuya and said, "Only... only one... a distant niece who is still very young."

"Rest assured, I will look after her."

Sakuya nodded. "You can rest easy."

"Mm... Sakuya-kun... revenge! Take revenge!"

Dan Katō was severely wounded, now unable to speak a complete sentence, merely gazing at him while struggling to voice his final obsession.

"That Blue B... that Blue B, he... cough, cough! He, he ambushed our camp... Sakuya, take revenge! Avenge... avenge us!"

He recited Blue B's name, his words filled with hatred for this Eight-Tails jinchūriki.

"Ah, I know. I fought him today; I left that guy heavily wounded, and he had to sever his tail to escape. I imagine he won't have the strength to launch another ambush for some time."

Sakuya held Dan Katō's hand to comfort him: "Rest assured, there will be opportunities to retaliate against him in the future."

"Good... good!"

Dan Katō nodded: "Sakuya... Sakuya."

"Hm?"

Sakuya heard his voice growing weaker and hurriedly leaned his ear toward his lips.

"Well... well... done!"

As the final words fell, the Konoha ninja of the Spirit Transformation Technique drew his curtain in this simply constructed tent.

"Katō!"

Jiraiya knelt down, clutching his thigh and weeping bitterly.

Sakuya sighed, patted Jiraiya on the shoulder, and exited the tent with Orochimaru.

"Damnable Kumogakure!"

Orochimaru was filled with resentment: "To pop up for no reason..."

"Speaking of which, Orochimaru, do you know Baishi?"

Sakuya thought for a moment and asked: "A ninja from Iwagakure, likely a jōnin."

"Baishi?"

Orochimaru pondered for a moment before speaking: "Are you talking about Ryōtenbin Baishi?"

"He shares a surname with the Third Tsuchikage?"

Sakuya was startled.

"Mm, that guy is a distant nephew of Ōnoki. Why?"

Sakuya rubbed his chin, contemplating: "I am merely suspicious."

He handed the scroll from his waist to Orochimaru: "Orochimaru, don't you think it's strange? What could Kumogakure possibly gain by suddenly interfering in the war on the Western Continent?"

"They..."

"My mission target this time was Ōnoki's grandson; if I hadn't appeared, he would have been ambushed by Blue B as well. Add that to the Konoha side, where Dan Katō and Jiraiya were also ambushed... is Kumogakure out of its mind, trying to wage war against Iwagakure and Konoha simultaneously?"

"Sakuya, you mean..."

Orochimaru looked toward Sakuya.

"Don't you think there is a sort of coincidence here?"

Sakuya spoke: "A coincidence involving Baishi, Dan Katō, and the other injured ninjas."

"A coincidence... could it be!"

Like a thunderclap, Orochimaru's eyes widened sharply.

"It is exactly what you are thinking."

Sakuya nodded.

"Baishi is Ōnoki's distant nephew, so it is plausible he possesses the Dust Release Kekkei Genkai. Dan Katō has his family's secret Spirit Transformation Technique, and Jiraiya practices the senjutsu of Mount Myoboku; all of these can be viewed as Kekkei Genkai."

"Kumogakure... wants to use the chaos of war to steal the Kekkei Genkai of other villages?"

Orochimaru laughed in fury: "How dare they!?"