The Beginning of Tribulation

There was one week left until Hanzo the Salamander gathered his army to launch an all-out offensive.

Inside the Amegakure training ground:

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

Uchiha Chiba formed hand seals and leaped into the air, his cheeks puffed out. In an instant, a massive fireball radiating intense heat surged toward Katsuzuki of the Salamander on the ground.

"Water Style: Water Tornado!"

A deep blue, swirling vortex of water rose from the earth. The surrounding dust was instantly blown away, and the rain falling from the sky was drawn into the powerful suction of the tornado.

The next second:

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!!!!!!!

Mist filled the air.

"Little Chiba, you still need practice. Call me 'Sister Katsuzuki,' and I might just teach you this impressive Water Style. How about it?" Katsuzuki of the Salamander hummed, seemingly having forgotten that the teenager before her had survived encounters with Kage-level powerhouses.

"No, seriously, how can you say that with a straight face? The Great Fireball Technique I used is a B-rank jutsu, while your Water Tornado is A-rank. Besides, that guy never taught me any ninjutsu; even this scythe technique of mine was just a crash course. How can you compare them?" Uchiha Chiba landed slowly, his black casual attire fluttering in the wind of his descent.

Katsuzuki of the Salamander let out a cold snort.

"My fault? Who told you not to learn it yourself? And what's wrong with my father? He's the one who taught you things, so what's the harm in calling him Master?" Katsuzuki of the Salamander looked at Chiba with annoyance.

Chiba: Where did this stubborn woman come from? Get her out of here!

Chiba paused.

He shook his head and said, "Perhaps I just don't care for that title."

Katsuzuki of the Salamander didn't force the issue. She simply looked up at the sky and said lightly, "I wonder when this war will end. I still want to visit the Land of Iron again. It's so boring here~"

"Why go to the Land of Iron? To fight?"

"None of your business."

"By the way, why hasn't that little girl come yet? It's almost evening." Katsuzuki of the Salamander rubbed her chin, her chest heaving slightly as she asked in confusion.

"I'll go check."

"I'm coming too."

Ever since they returned from the location marked on the Root map, they had been training at the grounds every day. Konan would come every noon to bring Chiba food—partly to ensure he was well-fed, and partly to prevent the "bad woman" from whisking him away. During the first month Chiba met Katsuzuki, the two often stayed out all night, which had scared little Konan so much she nearly turned into a yandere. If she hadn't known they were only out killing people, she probably would have snapped right then and there...

Konoha Ninja: Wait, am I even a person? Am I really just a background character?!!!

About four hours ago, inside Amegakure:

"Give me a steamed bun."

"Coming."

Little Konan took a bun from the steamer, placed it in a paper bag, and handed it to the man in front of her. The man paid and his figure merged into the bustling crowd.

"Konan... it's already noon, you don't have to work so hard, you know." An elderly woman with graying hair stepped out from the house behind Konan. She held an oil-paper umbrella, walked up behind the girl, and patted her head.

"It's okay, Grandma," Konan smiled.

"You children have really helped me a lot. That boy Yahiko always helps me carry heavy things, and Nagato learns to help me knead the dough and such. I'm truly embarrassed," the old woman laughed.

"It's nothing. If it weren't for those buns you gave us back then, we would have starved to death. We wouldn't have days like this where we can actually eat. Oh! That's right, Grandma, can I take a meat bun?" Konan said, seemingly remembering something. Her little canine tooth peeked out, and her smile was sweet.

The old woman nodded, then laughed, "Ho ho ho~ Is this for your brother Chiba again, Konan? It's been quite a while now, hasn't it?"

"Ah! Grandma!" Konan's cheeks turned bright red.

"Ara ara, back in my day, I had a secret crush just like that too~" the grandmother smiled kindly.

At the doorway behind them:

"Nagato, stop sleeping. Didn't we agree that when Chiba returns today, we'd ask him to teach us how to extract chakra? Don't oversleep." Yahiko shook the drowsy Nagato beside him.

"Sorry... I've been having nightmares lately, haven't slept well," Nagato's voice was soft.

"What kind of nightmares?"

"Hmm... I keep seeing Chiba covered in wounds, surrounded by several corpses, looking so heartbroken..."

While the two were talking, Konan took the paper bag and set off.

The Amegakure training ground was not located within the village. Due to the unique nature of Hanzo the Salamander, he had intentionally built the training ground outside the village to prevent his toxins from contaminating Amegakure. One reason was to avoid harming ordinary people—after all, the black salamander toxin was not the common purple variety—and the other was for the convenience of executing traitors...

Konan donned her straw raincoat and stepped out of the village gate.

She had walked this path many, many times.

She remembered exactly which turn led where.

"I hope the bad woman doesn't seduce Chiba today. I hope the bad woman doesn't seduce Chiba today..." Beneath her sweet voice, there was a faint, terrifying obsession.

The rain grew heavier. It was a volume of rainfall unusual even for Amegakure. Even with her raincoat, Konan couldn't avoid being soaked, her purple hair plastered against her forehead.

"Ugh... sopping wet. This is so uncomfortable," Konan sighed, looking ahead.

There was probably another half-hour of travel left.

One had to understand that while ninjas could enhance their speed through the aid of chakra, Konan was just an ordinary person, still a mere child, so her pace was bound to be very slow. Yet, even though each round trip took nearly two hours, she never uttered a single complaint.

For Konan, it was enough just to see the satisfied smile on Chiba's face as he ate.

A sudden commotion erupted in the forest.

"Is it a wild boar or something? I'd better hurry," Konan frowned. Near Amegakure lay a canyon surrounded by dense trees; while it didn't compare to the scale of the great forests in the Land of Rain, it was at least half the size.

Signs of wild boars often appeared in this vicinity.

However, Konan had never actually encountered one.

Konan glanced behind her.

There was nothing there.

Aside from the pattering of rain striking the ground and her straw raincoat, there was no other sound in the surroundings.

"Strange... why is it so quiet? Chiba said that the quieter it gets, the more suspicious it is... Could there be wolves?!" Konan couldn't help but shiver at the thought of those hungry wolves with their grey fur and emerald-green eyes.

The next second.

THUD!!!

Five or six grown men appeared before Konan, surrounding her completely!

"Ah!" Konan let out a sharp scream.

"She's one of the kids that Uchiha brat cares about. What was her name again? Forget it, it doesn't matter," a man wearing a smiling mask spoke up.

"Weren't there three of them in total?"

"The other two didn't come out today. This is the best chance while Hanzo isn't in the village; one is enough, isn't it? Hehehehe."

Konan gradually lost consciousness.

In a puddle of water, a trampled meat bun had turned black and unrecognizable.