Konan

In the Hidden Sand Village, inside the Kazekage's office.

The Third Kazekage took the latest battlefield intelligence from an Anbu operative.

The Third generation of Kage was a legendary one; the Kage who held the title of "strongest" all hailed from this era, such as the strongest Hokage, the strongest Raikage, and the strongest Kazekage.

The Third Kazekage carefully reviewed the intelligence, most of which came from field ninjas participating in the war, with a small portion coming from the Hidden Sand's own Anbu.

With every report he finished reading, the Third Kazekage's expression grew a shade darker.

Seeing this, the Kazekage's advisors, the siblings Chiyo and Ebizo, knew that nothing good had come of it.

Chiyo spoke up, asking, "It seems the situation on the battlefield is quite dire?"

"That damned Hanzo! He's actually targeting our Sand ninjas. Even though Konoha's forces are the strongest, he appeared on the battlefield where we are fighting instead! Our frontline troops have already begun to crumble!"

After finishing the report, the Third Kazekage slammed his hand heavily onto the desk, iron sand visibly flowing from his fingertips.

Despite the Hidden Sand Village being located in a desert, it was the second-ranked village among the Five Great Nations. The Land of Wind possessed the largest territory, and in terms of ninja numbers and economic strength, it was second only to Konoha in the Land of Fire.

Yet, Hanzo ignored Konoha—the strongest force and the greatest threat to the Hidden Rain—and he didn't bother with the Hidden Stone, the easiest of the three to deal with. Instead, he chose to attack the Hidden Sand. This was clearly a targeted strike against them.

In his view, while Hanzo's strength was formidable, the Hidden Sand's overall power was far greater than that of the Hidden Rain.

Since Hanzo dared to target the Hidden Sand like this, he had to be made to realize the village's might, or else no one would fear them anymore.

"Chiyo, what do you think?" The Third Kazekage turned to look at his advisor.

He was not a man who acted unilaterally; in matters concerning the state, he preferred to consult his advisors and pool their wisdom.

Chiyo replied, "Let me go to support the front lines."

"The current situation on the battlefield is actually due to the weakness of the troops we sent, which is why we've been targeted by Hanzo."

"Konoha has sent Hiruzen Sarutobi's three disciples to hold the line, and the Stone ninjas have dispatched an old-school Kage-level powerhouse, Huangshi."

"Our forces are only being held up by two children, Rasa and Karura. While they have talent, they are ultimately only an elite Jonin and a Jonin; they are still far from the Kage level!"

"Furthermore, Hanzo's poison is lethal, and they have no way to counter it. I have some research into poisons myself, so it is the perfect time to go and meet him!"

The Third Kazekage nodded, pondered for a moment, and said, "In that case, the battlefield in the Land of Rain is yours."

"Since the losses against Salamander Hanzo have been heavy, I can pull another thousand troops from those protecting the village for you to take to the front."

Ebizo hesitated for a moment before speaking, "But what about the Stone ninjas? They have been eyeing us covetously, and they are dirty. They love playing underhanded tricks. Will pulling away a thousand ninjas allow them to take advantage of our vulnerability?"

The Third Kazekage waved his hand, replying, "You need not worry. The Stone ninjas are not only fighting the Rain ninjas, but they have also started a war with the Cloud. With their current troop levels, they cannot threaten us!"

On the battlefield of the Land of Rain, amidst the ruins of a town.

Senju Genma led his Anbu squad as they wove through the streets.

Their mission this time was to clear out the Rain ninjas hiding within the town.

As the saying goes, if you don't pull out the weeds by the roots, they will grow back with the spring breeze.

If these stragglers were not cleaned up, they might cause trouble in the rear once the main force pushed deeper into the Land of Rain.

The four of them sprinted through the town, passing many refugees who had lost their homes.

"Squad leader, there are Rain ninjas active 300 meters to the north, four of them!" The veins around Cloud's eyes bulged as he spoke quickly.

Senju Genma nodded and led his squad toward the three Rain ninjas.

Before long, the four of them arrived at their destination.

They stood atop a building and looked down.

It was one Chunin and three Genin. They were emerging from a civilian house, their hands filled with money and various gold and silver jewelry.

Senju Genma was already accustomed to this; he had seen too many such people on the battlefield.

When war breaks out, some choose to protect their homes and country, while others choose to be like them—profiteering from the war and earning money off the dead. Such people were even more detestable than the enemy.

However, Senju Genma soon witnessed a scene that struck him as strange.

A Genin emerged from an alleyway, dragging a small child behind him.

Although the child was in rags, he wore a helmet that resembled a diving mask.

It was clear that this was likely a local child from the Land of Rain, dressed in the traditional attire of the region.

The two were tugging at each other, and it was obvious that the child did not want to go with the Hidden Rain Genin.

"You lot don't seem to be doing anything good!" Senju Genma leaped down in front of the four.

The four Rain ninjas were startled by the voice, and Shin and the others emerged from the shadows.

The Anbu's strength was far superior to these four Rain ninjas; before Senju Genma spoke, they hadn't even detected their presence.

The four Rain ninjas tensed up, guarding themselves nervously.

They did not underestimate Senju Genma just because he was a child, as they hadn't even sensed his presence moments ago.

"No need to wait, move!"

At Senju Genma's command, he used the Body Flicker Technique to close the distance instantly, then used his Strength of a Hundred to crush the neck of the Genin who was holding the child.

Shin, Cloud, and Mountain threw their ninja tools in unison, striking down the remaining three ninjas.

As he took the child's hand, Senju Genma knew that she was likely a girl, though of course, there was also the possibility that she was simply a delicate and adorable boy.

Senju Genma removed his cat-faced mask, hoping to make himself appear more approachable.

"Little one, what is your name?"

Seeing Senju Genma's face, the child, who had been stunned by the slaughter, finally regained her senses. She did not answer immediately, choosing instead to remove her own mask first.

What came into view was a girl with light lavender hair styled in a bun, light orange eyes, and delicate, refined features.

Senju Genma felt a sense of familiarity, but given the bizarre hair colors and styles in the world of the Hokage, such an appearance was not particularly rare, and he failed to recognize who she was.

"My name is Konan."

A flash of surprise crossed his mind; Senju Genma had not expected that his very first mission leading a team would lead him to encounter "White Tiger" Konan of the Akatsuki.

Furthermore, judging by the situation, she had yet to meet Yahiko and Nagato.

Konan felt a bit frightened, unable to understand why this handsome older brother before her was staring at her so intently.

"Gurgle, gurgle!"

The sound of a stomach growling broke the silence between them.

Konan's face flushed red with embarrassment, and she lowered her head, saying, "I'm sorry, I'm just too hungry!"

Senju Genma patted her little head, signaling that he meant her no harm.

Konan calmed down as well.

Senju Genma looked at her scarred hands—marks left behind from searching for food in the ruins—and hurriedly took two pieces of dry bread from his waist pouch.

Konan was indeed famished; disregarding her image entirely, she took the dry bread and began to wolf it down.

A gentle smile appeared on Senju Genma's face, and while she was busy eating the bread, he took the opportunity to tidy her hair and clothes.