Red Moon

"Is what you said... true?!!"

On the border of the Land of Earth, the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, sprang from his seat upon hearing the report, his voice erupting in fury.

The ninja kneeling to deliver the report trembled violently, though not from the Tsuchikage's rage.

Recalling the gruesome scenes of that battlefield, his voice turned raspy to the point of breaking.

"Two thousand one hundred and forty-two ninja... one thousand four hundred dead... and only one person struck."

"Salamander... Hanzo..."

At the mention of that name, he could no longer withstand the immense psychological pressure and actually fainted from terror!

In the main seat, the nearly fifty-year-old Ōnoki breathed heavily; in all his years leading Iwagakure, he had never encountered such a thing.

He had seen Hashirama Senju, the man who quelled the chaotic world with his own strength.

He had even fought against that man who was comparable to the God of Shinobi.

Without a doubt, those two transcended the concept of a ninja; they were myths walking upon the earth of the ninja world.

However...

Even they had no record of killing over a thousand people in a single battle!

Over two thousand ninja...

Even if they were two thousand pigs running amok, they wouldn't be slaughtered down to a few hundred by one person!!

Iwagakure did indeed need war to deplete its surplus of ninja, but it could not afford to be depleted like this!!

Finally calming his emotions, Ōnoki stared fixedly at the intelligence in his hands, his gaze so intense it seemed as if he would burn holes through the paper.

"So that's how it is..."

Salamander Ibuse, a Summoning Beast capable of releasing large-scale lethal toxins...

And it wasn't just the poison.

According to the intelligence, Hanzo possessed a god-like Water Body Flicker Technique; in an environment like the Land of Rain, his speed rivaled the Flying Thunder God technique of the late Second Hokage.

This allowed him to wantonly harvest the ninja paralyzed by his toxins, with no one able to contend with him.

Coupled with large-scale formations of Explosive Tags...

Combining these factors, Hanzo had achieved this feat, a miracle that no one had ever accomplished before.

Ōnoki quickly realized.

To ordinary ninja, Hanzo was an unsolvable existence, an enemy that could absolutely never be defeated by a numerical advantage!

His eyes narrowed, a faint glimmer flickering within them.

Hanzo's poison was not an issue; he was one of the few ninja in the world capable of flight, naturally placing him in an invincible position in most battles.

Moreover, no matter how strong the poison, it was nothing before Dust Release.

If Hanzo were merely relying on poison to run rampant, Ōnoki would immediately strike out personally to slay Hanzo, exact revenge, and restore the prestige of Iwagakure!

To him, the Water Body Flicker mentioned in the report was the real difficulty...

No matter how strong Dust Release was, it was meaningless if it couldn't hit the target.

Of course, Dust Release was not Ōnoki's only ability; his peak-level Earth Release was his most commonly used means of offense and defense.

This presented another problem: to defeat Hanzo in close quarters, one had to face his lethal toxins...

Until the problem of the Salamander's poison was solved, seeking out Hanzo for a fight was not a wise choice.

Having held a high position for many years, Ōnoki would not let anger cloud his judgment.

He slowly sat back down and said in a low voice, "Make preparations..."

"March around Amegakure, target... the Land of Fire!"

--

--

With Iwagakure serving as a cautionary tale, the ninja of Sunagakure and Konoha tacitly retreated to the borders of the Land of Rain, awaiting orders from their headquarters.

In the Konoha camp, the ninja who had been scattered across the Land of Rain were gathered together for the first time.

Everyone was affected by the news from the battlefield, their expressions grim.

Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha existed in legends, but the terror of Hanzo was something they had seen with their own eyes.

This could no longer be called a battle; it was a massacre.

The Konoha ninja had laughed when Hanzo declared war, but now, not a single one could manage a smile.

"Teacher Orochimaru, is that Hanzo... really that terrifying?"

Watching his companions with their funereal, grief-stricken faces, a young boy with two red blushes on his cheeks asked naively.

Nawaki had graduated from the Ninja Academy not long ago, officially becoming Orochimaru's second disciple.

This confirmed for many that Orochimaru was the sole candidate for the next Hokage; after all, the grandson of the First Hokage had become his student, and furthermore...

There was another, even more terrifying figure: an Uchiha genius who held the title of "invincible" among his peers.

The Destroyer, Red-Blooded Demon, Crimson Nightmare, Indestructible Vajra Body, Battlefield Tyrant, Ruthless Butcher...

Over the past year, enemies had bestowed too many titles upon that person, leaving Konoha ninjas to select one that was less blood-soaked and slightly more acceptable to the public.

Red Moon.

To see him was like the descent of a blood moon; where he appeared, no life remained.

He stood on equal footing with White Fang, having displayed heart-trembling combat prowess on the battlefield of the Land of Rain!

Orochimaru was just about to answer Nawaki when he sensed something, turning his gaze toward a certain spot along with everyone else.

"There's no need for you to know; someone like you is practically redundant on the battlefield."

A lazy voice rang out as a slender, black-haired youth walked over.

He was about 1.7 meters tall, with soft hair hanging by his ears. He was very handsome, yet lacked the effeminate air common to his clan.

His eyes held a faint sense of detachment, and more than that... a profound indifference.

"Kaminazuki! You're back!!"

Nawaki ran over excitedly, gesturing with his hand before shaking his head in disappointment: "I've been trying so hard to eat, how are you still so much taller than me..."

Kaminazuki picked Nawaki up and tossed him aside, then walked toward the conference table where the jonin were seated, pulling out a chair to sit down.

Not long ago, he had broken the record held by Hatake Sakumo, becoming Konoha's youngest jonin at the age of only twelve.

Tsunade glared at him with dissatisfaction: "Nawaki is practically your younger brother, can't you be a little gentler with him?"

"Don't make it sound like we have some special relationship; I have no interest in old women."

"What did you say!! You bastard!!"

"Old woman, didn't you hear me clearly?"

"Ahhh!! I'm going to kill you!!!"

"It's like this again..."

Jiraiya and Orochimaru each grabbed one of them, blocking the two who were about to erupt into conflict.

Ever since their first meeting at the Ninja Academy years ago, every encounter between Kaminazuki and Tsunade had been filled with tension.

A few months ago, when the two happened to meet without anyone to stop them, they actually fought. The terrifying destructive power they unleashed left no one daring to watch.

No one knew the specific details, but the consumption of medical supplies at the Konoha camp during those few days exceeded even that of wartime.

Since then, Konoha ninjas had made every effort to prevent the two from meeting unless at least five jonin were present.

Tsunade was red-faced and panting, sitting down under the soothing efforts of the others while glaring viciously at Kaminazuki: "Kid, don't let me catch you alone!"

Kaminazuki crossed his legs and sneered: "I wonder who it was that got beaten until they cried last time."

"Damn it! I didn't cry! You shameless bastard were the one who kept targeting my face!"

"Besides! It was clearly you who was more severely injured!"

"Better than some crybaby old woman."

"Bastard!! Say that one more time if you dare!!"

"I have no obligation to repeat myself for a deaf old woman."

"Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!"

When it came to verbal sparring, Kaminazuki was always the victor.

He didn't need to be overly vicious; he only needed to seize upon the one thing his opponent cared about most and strike hard.

Tsunade would be broken within a few sentences, and her upbringing prevented her from launching a counter-offensive involving Kaminazuki's family.

Bastard, shameless, villain...

Kaminazuki didn't even consider these to be insults.

Tsunade's face was so red it looked like it might bleed. If looks could kill... well, the Senju clan didn't have that ability, but the Uchiha did.

"Little Tsunade, calm down."

"And you, kid... never mind."

At the head of the table, a round-faced, kind-looking middle-aged man shook his head with a bitter smile, terrified that saying anything might draw the fire onto himself.

He had heard from his old comrade Danzo just how "eloquent" this descendant of Kagami was.

Torifu Akimichi, head of the Akimichi clan and former member of the Second Hokage's guard unit.

He was the highest authority in Konoha's defense system during peacetime and currently served as the frontline commander for the Land of Rain battlefield.