The next morning
Uchiha Chiba's figure appeared in an abandoned village outside Amegakure.
"Chiba... are you going to war?" Yahiko's voice was quiet. He had seen war before: limbs flying, flesh and blood mangled. Only hell could describe it.
Nagato stood beside Yahiko, while Konan was behind Chiba.
Uchiha Chiba stood with his back to the Three Orphans. Although there wasn't much difference in their ages, they still weren't ninja. Chiba nodded.
"War is cruel, isn't it? Maybe I'll die out there. If that happens, will you cry for me?" Uchiha Chiba only smiled faintly. Hanzō wasn't someone to take lightly. Since he was being trained as Hanzō's personal disciple, he was unlikely to die. As for why he was saying all this... Didn't they think getting sentimental before a major battle could strengthen their bond?
Konan bit her lip. "You'll be fine, Chiba."
"Come home safe."
The rain lashed down in the strong wind. As Hanzō approached, Chiba gradually stopped teasing the Three Orphans. In his original body's memories, he had been part of a vanguard squad secretly sent to Amegakure by Konoha. "Vanguard squad" was the flattering name; less politely, they were a unit of Death Warriors. His original self had endured two months of secret warfare, reduced to chewing on tree roots and grass roots. That gave some idea of just how terrifying war was.
After a long while
Uchiha Chiba lifted his head from his memories.
"Done daydreaming? We're almost at the main battlefield. Put on your mask. I hear the ones attacking the Land of Rain this time are the students of the Third, Hiruzen Sarutobi. Hmph... They really do look down on us. Still, they've been trapped by the Salamander Toxin for over a week. If we hold out another five days, victory will be ours." Hanzō stepped past a tree, his voice low and heavy.
Hanzō was unhappy that Konoha had only sent Hiruzen Sarutobi's squad, which still had no reputation of its own. To put it in Hanzō's words, it was as if the Demigod of the Ninja World had been looked down on: they'd sent three young men to lead the fight against Amegakure.
"Tsunade isn't someone to take lightly," Uchiha Chiba said calmly. In the original story he knew, Chiyo, the legendary puppeteer of Sunagakure, had been the one to counter the Salamander Toxin. Now that he had appeared, would the world's original course change?
"Of course. Our spies say they started making an antidote a week ago. You know Chiyo, that troublesome puppeteer from Sunagakure who commands the Chikamatsu Ten Puppets. She's an expert in poison, and even she took a whole month to counter my Salamander Toxin. Does Tsunade think she can break my poison in just two weeks because she's the granddaughter of Hashirama Senju, the God of Shinobi? What a joke." Hanzō rested his sickle on his right shoulder. He clearly didn't take them seriously.
After that, they didn't speak again.
Hanzō led Uchiha Chiba and the five-thousand-strong army behind him toward the border of the Land of Rain.
Meanwhile
"Has the antidote been distributed?" Tsunade rubbed her temples, dark circles beneath her eyes.
"It's all been distributed. The scouts say Hanzō is bringing a force of five thousand here. By convention, we have to win the first battle. Given Hanzō's personality, he won't join the fight himself. We can't afford to wait—we need a victory soon." Orochimaru spoke quickly, a capsule of antidote tucked beneath his tongue in case of emergency.
Jiraiya tightened the armor on his hands. His hair was a mass of white spikes. They said he'd grown it long to make it easier to perform a certain jutsu.
"I just didn't expect Chiyo, that puppeteer from Sunagakure, to help us," Jiraiya said.
Tsunade shook her head, a stubborn glint in her eyes. "I have to admit, she did help us. But give me another three days and I could have figured out the antidote to the Salamander Toxin myself."
"But... Tsunade, the teacher can't wait three days. The confidential report he sent says people in the village have started spreading rumors that he's an incompetent Hokage." Orochimaru's hoarse voice rang out as he stared across the plain.
Tsunade was about to say something else
Suddenly
"Wait, Orochimaru. They're here!" Jiraiya stared sharply toward the horizon.
Then
A black line appeared on the horizon. It grew longer, then rose higher. The overwhelming pressure felt especially murderous beneath the rain, where faint rays of sunlight broke through.
A few breaths later
Hanzō's voice carried over. "Enough talking. I won't fight. Don't waste any more time."
Before Orochimaru could say anything
The Amegakure ninja charged.
Vmmmm!!!!
The ground trembled.
"Engage!" Orochimaru formed Hand Seals first, and a giant snake cage surged up from the ground.
"Water Style: Water Gun!"
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
"Earth Style: Earth Wall!"
Countless jutsu exploded across the battlefield.
Blood flew through the rain, staining the ground red in an instant!!!!
"Strength of a Hundred!!"
On the western battlefield, Tsunade's punch landed. The Rain Ninja around her were torn apart.
"Fire Style: Toad Oil Bullet!"
On the eastern battlefield, Jiraiya unleashed a stream of fire, cutting a path through the Konoha Ninja!
Orochimaru, by contrast, stood on a low cliff, watching every movement on the distant battlefield. He had nearly been ambushed by a Rain Ninja concealed in the rain just after using a jutsu. As the battlefield's brains, Orochimaru had to stay ready to respond to every change in the fighting.
In the distance
Hanzō spoke slowly. "Go on, kid. Give them hell."
"...All right." Uchiha Chiba adjusted the mask on his face. He knew perfectly well that killing was the only way to gain experience. In this world, if you didn't become powerful, you'd become a stepping stone on someone else's path to power. If he could awaken his Two-Tomoe Sharingan during this war, that would be ideal.
The next second
Uchiha Chiba pulled the Kusarigama from beneath his rain cape.
"I don't know why... I'm getting a little excited. Is it my original self's hatred of Konoha? Or do I simply crave killing..." Uchiha Chiba's figure vanished in a flash.
A Chunin was nothing special on the battlefield. Most of the time, they were just there to pad the kill count for the Jonin. But was a Chunin personally trained by Hanzō for three days still just a Chunin?
Chiba was confident he could manage to kill an ordinary Jonin. Against a stronger one, he'd have to avoid revealing his Sharingan. As for a Kage Level opponent... If they got serious, he definitely couldn't win.
Whoosh!!!
The sickle flew out.
Several Konoha Chunin's heads soared into the air.
Blood splattered across Chiba's mask.
The cute Little Fox Mask looked especially gruesome now.
Meanwhile
At the edge of the central battlefield
A long-haired ninja suddenly fixed his gaze on Uchiha Chiba, who wore a Fox Mask.
"No mistake. That guy... has traces of leftover chakra from Root's dead. At least two kinds of chakra... The map must be on him... How lucky." The long-haired ninja swung his blade, cutting off the head of the Rain Ninja in front of him. Then he gave a strange smile.
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