Battle at the Rearguard Camp

The alarms and screams grew louder and more frequent.

The rain in the Land of Rain poured even harder now.

The entire Konoha camp had descended into chaos.

The wounded screamed, logistics ninja ran about frantically, and shouts of "Retreat!" and "Hold the line!" rang out everywhere.

Tobirama Uchiha stood amid the chaotic crowd, his gaze exceptionally calm.

Memories raced through his mind.

The Second Ninja World War.

Salamander Hanzo, leader of Amegakure, had grown ambitious. He wanted to carve a bloody path through the cracks between the three great nations and elevate Amegakure into one of the Five Great Ninja Villages.

This guy was a true ruthless bastard.

Whether it was his methods, his poisons, or his summoned beast Ibuse, all of them stood at the peak of Kage Level.

In the original story, Konoha suffered devastating casualties in this battle. In the end, only Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru survived, and Hanzo bestowed upon them the title of the "Legendary Sannin."

It was a shameful survival, but also the beginning of their fame.

"The battle that made the Legendary Sannin famous?"

Tobirama touched the hilt of the sword at his waist, a fanatical smile curling across his lips.

In the original history, this had been the Legendary Sannin's stage.

But now, I'm here.

Then I'll take a shot at the center stage too!

The first step to shaking the Ninja World would be using that old bastard Hanzo as a stepping stone!

Outside the command tent.

Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru all wore grim expressions.

The situation was even worse than they had imagined.

"Damn it! The main force has been sent west to hold off the Iwa Ninja!"

Jiraiya scratched at his head anxiously, his white hair practically standing on end.

"The camp is full of wounded and logistics personnel right now. There aren't even two hundred combatants left. How are we supposed to stop Hanzo's army?!"

Orochimaru licked his lips coldly, his eyes flickering.

"We can't stop them."

"The rational choice is to abandon the wounded, take the elite forces, and withdraw immediately."

"No!" Tsunade slammed a fist into a pillar, sending wood chips flying. "They're our comrades! How can we just abandon them?!"

"Then leave some people behind to cover the retreat and buy time."

Orochimaru's voice was cold-blooded, but realistic.

The three fell silent.

A rearguard?

Facing an army led by Hanzo, staying behind meant certain death.

"I'll stay."

Tsunade took a deep breath, her gaze resolute.

"I'm a medical ninja, and I'm also from the Senju Clan. It's my responsibility to protect them."

"I'll stay too!" Jiraiya slapped his chest so hard it thundered. "How can I let a woman stand in front of me?!"

Orochimaru sighed helplessly. "Such foolish hot-bloodedness... Fine. If you all die, I won't be able to answer to the old man either."

Just as the three decided to fight to the death.

A young voice pierced through the rain curtain and cut in clearly.

"Count me in."

The three spun around.

Tobirama Uchiha was walking toward them, step by step, against the flow of retreating people.

Blood from his previous battle still stained his body, and his black eyes shone frighteningly bright in the rainy night.

"Nonsense!"

Jiraiya was the first to blow up.

He strode forward and blocked Tobirama like a wall, nearly spraying his face with spit.

"Kid! This isn't some game of house!"

"This is war! This is Hanzo! That monster known as the 'Demigod'!"

"You're a freshly graduated genin who hasn't even grown all his hair yet. What hero are you trying to play? Get out of here and retreat with the main force!"

Tsunade frowned as well, her tone stern.

"Tobirama, listen to me."

"You're very talented. You're Konoha's future. Precisely because you're a genius, you need to protect yourself even more at a time like this."

"Once you've grown stronger, fight however you want. But not now."

Even Orochimaru let out a hoarse laugh.

"Uchiha brat, throwing your life away isn't a virtue."

Everyone treated him like a child.

Like a fledgling bird that needed protecting.

Tobirama looked at these three future legends and suddenly smiled.

He ignored Jiraiya's booming voice and looked directly at Tsunade.

His gaze met hers without yielding in the slightest.

"Teacher Tsunade."

"On the way to the camp, you saw what I could do."

"Do you think I'm weak?"

That question left Tsunade speechless.

The scenes of slaughter along the way immediately surfaced in her mind.

Instantly killing Chūnin, clashing head-on with jonin, and even possessing a battle instinct that sent chills down her spine.

Weak?

What kind of joke was that?!

If chakra reserves and experience were excluded, this kid's killing efficiency was even higher than that of an ordinary jonin!

Tobirama stepped forward, an intangible aura radiating from him.

"I don't need anyone to protect me."

"Rather than running away like a coward and regretting my weakness tonight for countless nights to come."

"I'd rather stay and kill a few more enemies."

"Uchiha die in battle. Tobirama do not run."

His words struck like a hammer.

Several passing Konoha ninja were stunned into silence. One after another, they stopped in their tracks, their faces filled with shock.

What an arrogant brat!

What a backbone!

Tsunade stared straight into Tobirama's eyes.

There was no fear in them, only a thirst for battle and a... complete confidence.

This kid was serious.

And he had the right to be!

"Tsunade! Don't be stupid!" Jiraiya panicked. "Even if he has some talent, he's still a child! What if—"

"Let him stay."

Tsunade suddenly spoke, cutting Jiraiya off.

Jiraiya's eyes nearly popped out. "Huh?! Are you crazy?!"

"He's not an ordinary child."

Tsunade turned toward the camp entrance, her voice hard and cold. Yet only those familiar with her could hear the trust hidden within it.

"He's strong enough to survive on the battlefield."

"And..."

Tsunade turned back and gave Tobirama a deep look.

"I believe in him."

Four simple words.

Yet they weighed a thousand tons.

Orochimaru raised a brow in surprise, seemingly reassessing the value of this Uchiha boy.

Tsunade walked over to Tobirama and bent down, her brown eyes full of seriousness.

"Only one condition."

"If things become impossible, run immediately."

"Don't throw your life away for pride, understand?"

Tobirama grinned, revealing a row of white teeth that seemed especially bright in the grim rainy night.

"Yes, Teacher."

Jiraiya was still losing his mind. "Crazy! You're all crazy! Are the Senju Clan and Uchiha Clan really wired wrong in the head?!"

Just then.

"BOOM—!!!"

The camp's wooden gates, along with the defensive towers on both sides, were reduced to dust in an instant.

A purple poisonous mist surged in like a tsunami.

Even from far away, its nauseatingly fishy-sweet stench could be smelled.

Then.

Countless Rain Ninja clad in raincoats and breathing masks flooded over the defensive line like a black tide.

"Vermin of Konoha!"

"Receive the judgment of God!"

An aged yet domineering voice seemed to descend from the heavens, carrying a terrifying chakra pressure that made the chests of every genin present tighten, nearly forcing them to their knees.

Salamander Hanzo!

He stood atop the head of a giant salamander, looking down from above with the indifferent gaze of a god.

"Kill!!!"

At Hanzo's command, the Rain Ninja army launched its full assault.

The pressure was suffocating.

There had already been few ninja left to defend Konoha's side. At the sight of such a force, their morale instantly collapsed.

"W-We can't stop them..."

"That's Hanzo, the Demigod of the Ninja World..."

Despair spread through the camp.

The defensive line crumbled at the first touch.

The moment the sides clashed, more than a dozen Konoha ninja fell into pools of blood.

"Get the hell back on your feet!"

Jiraiya roared and summoned Gamabunta, charging straight into the enemy ranks.

"Wild Lion's Mane Technique!"

Orochimaru summoned Manda as well, rampaging across the battlefield.

Tsunade activated her Strength of a Hundred, sending one enemy flying with every punch.

The Legendary Sannin began to unleash their strength.

But at another section of the defensive line.

A group of Rain Ninja Chūnin rushed toward several isolated wounded Konoha ninja with cruel grins.

"So this is Konoha? Pathetic!"

"Die!"

Their blades were about to fall.

Just then.

A fierce bolt of lightning tore through the darkness.

"Lightning Release: Chidori Blade!"

The Rain Ninja charging at the front did not even see what had happened.

Their bodies froze.

Then, a thin line appeared across each of their necks.

Splurt—!

Blood erupted in perfectly aligned streams, like some bizarre ritual.

Tobirama stood among the corpses, a long sword in hand.

His Three-Tomoe Sharingan slowly turned in the darkness like two red lanterns.

He wore no raincoat.

He let the icy rain beat against his body, but it could not extinguish his boiling battle intent.

"No passage beyond this point."

Tobirama spoke coldly.

The surrounding Rain Ninja froze for a moment, then flew into a rage.

"A little brat thinks he can block our path?"

"Kill him!"

More than a dozen Rain Ninja swarmed forward.

Shuriken, kunai, and ninjutsu came crashing down in a dense barrage.

In the eyes of ordinary people, this was certain death.

But in Tobirama's eyes, with his Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

It was too slow.

It was practically moving in slow motion.

"Since you're all so eager to die..."

Tobirama shifted slightly, instantly turning into an afterimage as he charged into the crowd.

There were no flashy hand seals.

Only the purest, most refined taijutsu and swordsmanship.

Whenever his blade flashed, a head fell.

Sidestep, slash, reverse thrust, spinning kick.

Every movement was precise to the millisecond, every attack aimed straight for a vital point.

This was Uchiha Style killing technique!

"Ahhh!"

"What the hell is this brat?!"

"My hand! My eye!"

The Rain Ninja who had been so menacing moments ago were sprawled across the ground in the blink of an eye.

Blood mixed with rainwater, pooling into a small river beneath Tobirama's feet.

Alone, with a single blade.

He had driven a nail into the collapsing defensive line through sheer force!

Even against enemies several times his number, even on this despair-inducing battlefield.

That twelve-year-old figure stood like an insurmountable mountain.

In the distance, Tsunade punched an enemy flying and took a moment to glance over.

When she saw Tobirama moving through the enemy ranks as though no one was there, slaughtering them until they trembled in fear.

The corners of her lips curled upward despite herself.

"Jiraiya, did you see that?"

"This is the disciple I chose."

"The future Ninja World will definitely have a place for him!"