Ambushed

"The Rain Ninja really were up to something. There are over a thousand ninjas hidden here. I just don't know whether their target is us, the Konoha Ninja, or the Sand Ninja." Hatake Sakumo put away a scroll and led Senju Genma out of town.

Don't underestimate a thousand ninjas. That was already quite a force.

Though the forces of the ninja villages were stronger than ordinary people, they were never very numerous.

Of the Five Great Nations, the Land of Fire was the strongest, with only around twenty-five thousand ninjas. The weakest, the Land of Water, had about fifteen thousand—perhaps even fewer.

The Land of Rain was a small country. Under the leadership of the demigod Hanzo, Amegakure was flourishing and expanding, and its strength was beginning to rival that of the great nations. But even with the entire country's resources, it had only ten thousand ninjas, and it was fighting on three fronts. A thousand reinforcements was no small number.

The Land of Rain had yet to be destroyed not only because Hanzo was powerful, but also because the country wasn't worth much. It wasn't worth committing more troops to conquer it.

War was about weighing the gains against the losses. If fighting meant losing money, there was no point in doing it.

Senju Genma sighed. "I can't believe it's over already. I thought we'd run into the legendary ninja Hanzo!"

Hatake Sakumo brought the edge of his hand down on his head, and Senju Genma could only cover it with a pained grimace.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"Can you stop saying such unlucky things? That man's reputation as an invincible ninja has shaken the world. The ninjas all recognize him as the pinnacle of the Ninja World in this era."

"Don't underestimate him. Even I'm not completely certain I could get away unscathed after fighting him."

Perhaps worried that Senju Genma wouldn't take his words to heart, Hatake Sakumo wore an especially grave expression.

Only then did Senju Genma put aside his contempt.

Watching Hanzo fight in the anime in his previous life, he'd thought Hanzo was only average. Now he realized he'd forgotten something important.

The Hanzo from the Fourth Shinobi World War had been reincarnated with Impure World Reincarnation, and he'd been an old man, too. Weakened in two ways, he was nowhere near as strong as he'd been in his prime!

A reputation like his was well earned. How could someone who'd single-handedly defeated the Sannin and a Konoha Ninja force, led the small Land of Rain in challenging three great nations at once, and been recognized by the ninjas of his era as a powerful warrior be anything but formidable?

Thinking about it that way, Senju Genma couldn't help feeling nervous. He didn't want to die before he'd had the chance to grow up.

Seeing Senju Genma's expression, Hatake Sakumo couldn't help laughing in exasperation.

This kid really knew how to pick on the weak and fear the strong!

But that was a good thing. Only those who were cautious could live a long life. A genius who died young was worth nothing!

Hatake Sakumo smiled. "All right, stop thinking about it. According to the intelligence, Hanzo's on the front lines right now. We won't run into him."

"I don't care about a mere Hanzo. Let's go!" Senju Genma finally relaxed and returned to his cocky self.

Hatake Sakumo looked at Senju Genma's little face, then reached out and pinched it, gritting his teeth. "You sure change your tune fast! Don't you know how punchable you are?"

Senju Genma wasn't the least bit intimidated by Hatake Sakumo's attack. He immediately threatened him:

"I'd let go if I were you. If you dare bully me today, I'll bully your kids someday. If it's a boy, I'll beat him up. If it's a girl, I'll marry her. Your child's due in two months, right?"

Hatake Sakumo froze. He hadn't expected Senju Genma to be so shameless.

But he didn't have much of a response to the threat.

He knew Senju Genma's talent. Even if he had a son, it was hardly realistic to expect him to surpass Senju Genma.

As for a daughter...

He looked at Senju Genma's handsome face and decided there was a good chance she'd be swept off her feet.

Hatake Sakumo could already picture it: one day in the future, the daughter he'd cherished and protected from the moment she was born would come home and suddenly say she wanted to introduce her boyfriend. And there, right before his eyes, would be Senju Genma's punchable face.

With his arm around Hatake Sakumo's daughter, Senju Genma would ask with a cocky grin, "Old man, is my carriage safe downstairs?"

Hatake Sakumo shuddered. That scene was terrifying.

That wasn't the future he wanted!

Seeing Hatake Sakumo's face grow increasingly contorted, Senju Genma said cautiously, "Let's hurry back. Shin and the others are probably getting impatient!"

Hatake Sakumo stayed silent, simply nodding to himself as he led the way.

Senju Genma could tell Hatake Sakumo was very dangerous right now. There was a lion lurking in his eyes.

The two of them quickly returned to the meeting point.

"I sense someone around us. They're close, right in front of us," Senju Genma suddenly said.

"Cloud!" Shin called softly.

"Got it!" Cloud answered at once. His eyes turned pale blue, veins bulging around them, and black markings appeared in his pupils.

Senju Genma also manipulated his chakra, expanding the range of his perception.

"West. Seventeen people, four squads, six hundred meters away," Cloud reported quickly. "There's another four-person squad to the northwest, heading toward us. They're almost here."

Hatake Sakumo spoke up. "A group of seventeen means there may be an Elite Jonin among them?"

"We can't avoid them. Get ready to fight!"

"Mountain, give it to me," Senju Genma said gravely.

Mountain took the large scroll off his back and handed it to Senju Genma.

Uzumaki Mito had given the scroll to Senju Genma. It held ninja tools collected by the Senju Clan, and supposedly Senju Hashirama had used this very scroll.

Senju Genma took the scroll and strapped it to his back. The others scattered and hid behind trees.

Soon, the four-person squad arrived first. Their leader was a teenage girl with short, shoulder-length, sandy-brown hair.

It was clear that the other three ninjas listened to her.

They looked around, apparently scouting the area.

"Those look like Sand Ninja," Senju Genma said when he saw their Forehead Protectors, which bore an hourglass symbol that looked like an "i" drawn in lines.

"Sunagakure is fighting the Rain Ninja southwest of here, in the Land of Rain. They're probably worried the force stationed here might threaten them, so they sent people to scout," Hatake Sakumo said quietly.

As the two spoke, several Shuriken flew toward them.

They leaped out of the bushes and onto the trees.

The girl raised her Kunai and shouted, "Who's there?!"

Hatake Sakumo sighed and glanced at the grains of sand stuck to his sandals.

"Was it because of that sand on the ground? I knew something was wrong!"

"Karura, they look like Konoha Ninja!" one of the Sand Ninja beside her whispered as he recognized the Forehead Protectors worn by Senju Genma and Hatake Sakumo.

The Sand Ninja was about to say more when Rain Ninja surrounded them from all sides.

"Let's deal with those guys first," Hatake Sakumo said to Karura. He'd already realized that the girl was the heart of the Sand Ninja squad.

The Land of Fire and the Land of Wind hadn't gone to war yet. With the Rain Ninja as their common enemy, a temporary alliance was acceptable.