Night Raid

"Inoue-senpai, why is Hanzo of the Salamander actively provoking battles with other ninja villages? It's clear that our nation's strength and foundation aren't on the same level as the Five Great Ninja Villages."

A young Amegakure ninja asked the middle-aged ninja in the group who appeared to be the captain. His voice was kept extremely low, his eyes filled with anxiety and confusion.

The number of ninjas and high-end combatants in Amegakure was vastly different from that of the Five Great Ninja Villages.

The middle-aged jonin, addressed as Inoue, wore a gloomy expression. "Kid, you haven't been a genin for long, so there's a lot you don't understand. Do you really think Hanzo of the Salamander is insane for starting a war?"

He paused, reaching out to point at the ground beneath their feet: "Amegakure is located at the intersection of three major nations. It is a transportation hub and a strategic stronghold."

"The Five Great Ninja Villages are at a stalemate on the surface, but behind the scenes, friction has been constant in recent years due to resource issues."

"We in Amegakure are caught between Konoha, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure. In their battles, they don't care at all about the lives of us people in the Land of Rain."

"But isn't it even more dangerous to actively provoke a fight?" the young ninja couldn't help but retort. "If we get targeted by all three major nations at once, Amegakure will truly be finished!"

He reached out and patted the young ninja's shoulder, his tone softening slightly: "Hanzo of the Salamander has already calculated this. Hanzo of the Salamander is known by every village as the 'Demigod.' If we cannot demonstrate the strength of the Land of Rain, our situation will only become more precarious."

"Now that we can show our strength to the other villages, only by displaying power that doesn't lose to other hidden villages in this battle will they fear offending us."

"In the Ninja World, there is no absolute right or wrong, only survival and destruction. Either you live by stepping on the corpses of others, or you are replaced by others stepping on your corpse. What Hanzo of the Salamander is doing is to ensure more Amegakure people survive."

"Hanzo of the Salamander wants to become a ninja village independent of the Five Great Nations, to become the sixth Kage, the Amekage!"

"Then why would Hanzo of the Salamander head to the Land of Iron alone? Given the distance to the Land of Iron, it requires crossing half of the Land of Fire; it wouldn't interfere with our battles against other ninja villages at all."

Inoue-senpai shook his head, indicating he didn't know the reason.

Hiding in the shadows and eavesdropping, Bai Lin summoned a snake and placed the scroll in his hand into its mouth.

Nawaki and Uchiha Mikoto were still not far away, and Bai Lin was worried about them getting involved in this battle.

Even if Bai Lin felt he couldn't defeat this group of Amegakure ninjas, he was confident he could escape.

"That's right, why would Hanzo of the Salamander cross half the Land of Fire to go to the Land of Iron? It's baffling!"

Bai Lin remembered a scene from the anime where Hanzo of the Salamander faced Mifune. After Mifune was poisoned and collapsed, Hanzo of the Salamander recognized his samurai spirit and spared him.

But in the reality of the Ninja World, the distance between the Land of Rain and the Land of Iron shouldn't affect anything. Why would the other party go so far out of his way? Was he intentionally provoking the Land of Iron?

Bai Lin was a bit confused, much like the absurdity of the Uzumaki Clan of Uzushio Village, where members of the Uzumaki Clan ended up in Kusagakure, despite Kusagakure and the Land of Whirlpools being on opposite sides of the Land of Fire.

The sky gradually darkened, and only three ninjas were left on night watch in the Amegakure camp, while the rest slept soundly.

"Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique!"

Bai Lin formed hand seals, using one of his few genjutsu techniques on the night-watch ninjas.

Though he wasn't proficient in genjutsu, with the amplification of the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, it was enough to deal with unsuspecting opponents.

The three Amegakure ninjas stiffened, their eyes instantly turning hollow. Their bodies felt as if they were locked by invisible iron chains, unable to move or even make a sound.

"Lightning Style: Chidori Senbon!"

The lightning-natured chakra condensed at Bai Lin's fingertips instantly split, transforming into dozens of blue lightning needles as thin as cow hair. Under the precise lock of the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, he threw them at the three genjutsu-controlled Amegakure ninjas.

"Not good, it's a genjutsu! Release!" The older man among the three Amegakure ninjas reacted quickly and broke the genjutsu.

"Is he a jonin? As expected!"

As Bai Lin threw the Lightning Style: Chidori Senbon, he had already retrieved the Kusanagi Sword from the system space and used the Body Flicker Technique to appear in front of his opponent.

The jonin's pupils shrank. He instinctively pulled a young comrade in front of him while forming hand seals: "Water Style: Water Wild Dance!"

A torrent of water gushed from his mouth, sweeping toward Bai Lin like a high-pressure water gun, attempting to force back the approaching enemy with the impact of the water style.

Bai Lin's Kusanagi Sword easily sliced through the neck of the young Amegakure ninja being used as a shield, and his head flew into the air.

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for killing a genin. You have obtained 50,000 ryo.]

The system notification sounded again, but Bai Lin had no time to pay attention. Having succeeded in one strike, he swung his blade against the incoming ninjutsu.

The water flow was split in two, splashing into a sky full of mist.

His figure pierced through the mist, the Kusanagi Sword pointing straight at the jonin's chest, aiming to take this opportunity to quickly eliminate a jonin from the team.

"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"

A voice came from behind, and an earth wall appeared in front of the jonin Bai Lin was attacking, providing protection.

"Chidori Blade!"

Bai Lin injected lightning-natured chakra into the Kusanagi Sword. Blue-green electricity instantly enveloped the blade, emitting a sharp buzzing sound, and the sharpness of the blade surged.

Facing the suddenly rising earth wall, he didn't hesitate. With a flick of his wrist, the lightning-charged sword slashed straight down.

"Screech!"

Lightning Style chakra specifically countered Earth Style; the earth wall was instantly sliced through like fragile cardboard, leaving a hideous gap.

The Kusanagi Sword didn't lose momentum, continuing to thrust toward the Amegakure jonin's chest.

"Oh no!" The jonin's expression changed drastically; he hadn't expected Bai Lin's Lightning Style to so easily break his comrade's Earth Style defense.

He rolled to the side in a panic, avoiding the fatal blow, but the lightning arc still grazed his ribs, leaving a charred wound. A violent sensation of numbness instantly spread throughout his entire body.

"What a pity!" To have only killed a genin during a sneak attack—he felt it was a shame.

Bai Lin didn't let up, his footsteps following like a ghost as he swept the Kusanagi Sword horizontally, aiming straight for the jonin's neck.

At that very moment, all the Amegakure ninjas regained their senses the instant they clashed with Bai Lin.

They launched their attacks one after another, halting Bai Lin's surprise assault.

"Damn it!"

Dozens of ninjas surrounded Bai Lin, forming a combat formation.

The jonin who had been wounded by him earlier seized the chance to retreat into the crowd, supported by two companions; his face was deathly pale, yet his gaze remained fierce as he glared at him.

"Who are you to dare intrude upon our Amegakure camp alone? Today, you shall be buried here!"

Inoue's voice rang out from the crowd, filled with fury.

"Remember, the one who kills you is a Konoha genin, the future master of the Ninja World, Bai Lin."

Bai Lin looked at the Amegakure ninjas surrounding him and declared his name.

He gripped the Kusanagi Sword, blue-green lightning dancing wildly along the blade, his eyes as defiant as a hawk's.

He truly disliked wearing that slightly cumbersome forehead protector, so he had stashed it in his system space.

At this moment, his long hair was bound by a wooden hairpin, revealing the Three-Tomoe Sharingan that shimmered with a scarlet glow in the night; coupled with the biting killing intent radiating from his entire body, it caused the surrounding Amegakure ninjas to instinctively take half a step back.

"Arrogant brat!" Inoue roared.

"You are indeed too young. Even Konoha's genius ninjas Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru would not have dared to face so many of us alone at your age."