The Rain Grew Heavier

Bang!

The water prison shattered with the death of the cold Root operative. Uchiha Chiba's limp body hit the ground, and he coughed violently, spitting out several mouthfuls of water.

If this guy hadn't been running low on chakra, my genjutsu wouldn't have worked a second time... Uchiha Chiba clutched his throat. Great, he was already unable to condense chakra in the short term, and now he couldn't even activate his Sharingan.

The Root operative known as Chen coughed up a spray of blood.

His lungs had been pierced through; the only reason he hadn't breathed his last was that the meager amount of chakra remaining in his body was temporarily shielding the damage.

"You're a child of the Uchiha, aren't you... come closer... I don't have much time left..." Blood trickled from the hollow socket of Chen's right eye, and he was already losing the ability to sustain his body's vital functions.

Uchiha Chiba dragged his weakened body over to his side.

"I am truly sorry... you are still just a child... I... I have killed too many of my own people, so many that I have forgotten my original intention for becoming a ninja... what was your name again..." Chen closed his only remaining left eye, his voice trembling.

"Uchiha Chiba."

Chen let out a faint laugh.

He pulled a scroll from his ninja tool pouch.

"This is a summoning scroll we obtained during the purge of a certain clan on the battlefield. I kept it for myself, but before I could ever form a contract with a summoning beast, I... Uchiha Chiba, promise me, do not return to Konoha until you have become strong... Lord Danzo... no... Danzo, he... urgh! The Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal... damn it." Chen's breathing grew ragged, and his body began to go limp.

"In the inner pocket of my clothes, there are two C-rank ninjutsu scrolls, though they aren't Fire Style... plus the few Military Ration Pills and two explosive tags in my pouch... consider it an apology for hunting you down..." Chen's body slumped to the ground. Beneath him, blood flowed uncontrollably, and fragments of his shattered lungs spilled out as bits of gore.

Uchiha Chiba collected the items from Chen's body.

He struggled to his feet.

He felt no pity for people like Chen. They weren't good men; they were simply people who had suddenly awakened at a certain juncture, realizing one tiny, infinitesimal truth amidst countless mistakes. There was nothing to sympathize with here.

Uchiha Chiba dragged Chen's corpse into a corner and covered it with a few pieces of clothing.

"Damn... my chest hurts." Uchiha Chiba clutched his chest as a tearing sensation returned. It seemed he had exerted himself too much, causing one of his internal wounds to reopen.

Uchiha Chiba clutched his chest and approached the corpse of the cold Root operative.

"What's this?" Uchiha Chiba reached out.

It was a blood-stained map.

"This circled area... it seems to be somewhere in Amegakure. Either it's a secret location, or it's hiding something..." Uchiha Chiba tucked the map away. Fighting through a wave of intense dizziness, he also gathered the short blade from the ground and a few chakra-testing papers and kunai from the cold Root operative's body, though he had no idea why he had those on him.

Uchiha Chiba looked around.

The moment he stood up, his vision went black.

Thud!!!!!

Inside Amegakure, Hanzo the Salamander stood at the highest point, gazing silently toward the direction of the Land of Fire. His respirator hummed with a rhythmic vibration.

"Lord Hanzo, Konoha has mobilized. According to intelligence, the White Fang of Konoha and the disciples of the Third Hokage will step into the Land of Rain in a few days." Behind Hanzo the Salamander, a man wearing a similar mask spoke solemnly.

Rainwater slid off Hanzo the Salamander's body.

He reached out his hand.

Within moments, a pool of rainwater gathered in his scarred palm.

"I only have a deal with Danzo. As for the others, I will kill every one that comes. Zozo, go and prepare the ninjas. I, Hanzo the Salamander, can finally stretch my limbs. Those useless fools from Sunagakure didn't even manage to pique my interest." Hanzo the Salamander spoke indifferently, his eyes sweeping across the Land of Rain.

The true war should be ended with absolute power.

Then, Hanzo the Salamander tightened his grip on his kusarigama.

"Zozo, do not hold back. We will not lose this battle. After all, I, Hanzo the Salamander, am greater than the God of Shinobi!" A muffled laugh erupted from beneath Hanzo the Salamander's mask.

"Yes, Lord Hanzo." Uchiha Zozo bowed his head and retreated respectfully.

Time passed, he knew not how long.

Uchiha Chiba slowly opened his eyes.

"Water... water..." Chiba's raspy voice echoed.

"Don't rush, drink slowly." A gentle, melodic voice accompanied the trickle of clear water flowing from her fingertips into his throat.

After a long while.

"Cough, cough."

Uchiha Chiba opened his eyes.

He saw Konan, her purple hair falling around her, holding a small pool of clear water. The water dripped from her fingertips, and her beautiful eyes met his.

"Konan? Why are you here? Where am I?" Uchiha Chiba made to sit up.

Konan gently pressed her hand against Uchiha Chiba's chest, holding him down. Her eyes, which seemed to speak for themselves, stared at him as she spoke softly: "I didn't run away at all. I thought, if... if you were unfortunate enough to die, I would bury you. I buried my own parents myself... but you survived, so I dragged you here. This is my old home. It's quite dilapidated, but at least it doesn't leak."

From a small cloth bag at her side, Konan carefully took out half a piece of bitten bread. The bread had become damp and soggy from the humidity, and it even emitted a faint, rotting odor.

"Here, you need to eat something. Mom and Dad always said that when you're sick, you have to fill your stomach first..." Before Konan could finish her sentence, her own stomach let out an uncontrollable growl.

In an instant, little Konan's face turned beet red, and she lowered her head, lost in her own thoughts.

Only then did Uchiha Chiba recall from his sparse memories that this was already the second year of the Second Shinobi World War. Amegakure had just finished fighting Sunagakure, and next, Konohagakure would deploy its troops to clash with Amegakure... followed by a conflict between Konohagakure and Sunagakure... What an era, where human lives were treated as nothing more than numbers.

Uchiha Chiba reached out his hand.

He patted little Konan on the head.

"You've clearly been hungry for a long time. It must be hard to find food around here... Don't worry about me; I'm a ninja, after all. Going without a meal for a while is nothing." A bright, refreshing smile appeared on Chiba's handsome face.

Konan looked up and caught the boy's smile, her face flushing even deeper. She didn't say a word, simply nodding as she took the bread and began to eat.

Uchiha Chiba felt around his ninja tool pouch.

The sky might as well have collapsed.

The Military Ration Pill inside the pouch had been ruined by moisture, crumbling into a mushy paste... Any hope of using it for a quick energy boost was gone, but fortunately... it was still, technically, food.