Undercurrents in the Rain

"Water Release · Water Formation Wall!"

Hanzo a hand Hand Seals with one hand, and the water beneath his feet surged, converging into a thick wall of water around him.

Bang!

The long staff swept out horizontally, shattering the thick wall of water in a single blow.

"Here!"

Hanzo abruptly turned and brandished his sickle, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound that cut through the wind and rain.

He didn't believe that the Water Formation Wall could block the explosive attack of the Torifu Butterfly Mode state. He did this simply to figure out which direction the Torifu would attack from when his vision was obstructed.

If the water curtain behind him hadn't been attacked, he would have had little chance of noticing that Torifu had somehow circled around to the rear.

Despite being overweight, he was incredibly agile, and despite running at such a high speed, he didn't make much noise.

As expected of the bodyguards handpicked by the previous Hokage, isn't that right?

Bite!

The sickle and the long stick clashed against each other, followed by a lightning-fast exchange of blows as both sides brandished their weapons, colliding repeatedly in the rain and scattering sparks and electricity.

It wasn't just the clanging of metal against metal; the Chakra of both sides also clashed and tore at each other through the scythe and the long staff.

Especially with Torifu, every time he swings his long staff, his body unleashes and diffuses a solidified stream of Chakra in all directions.

Each strike creates a shockingly large crater in the ground.

However, Hanzo's attacks were equally fierce, and his Chakra seemed more composed. No matter how Torifu him, he retaliated with equal force and speed.

Torifu's expression turned solemn. He hadn't expected that even after he entered his Butterfly Mode form, Hanzo would be able to directly confront him with Taijutsu attacks.

"Wind Release · Vacuum Great Sphere!"

A giant whirlwind descended from the sky, and in the instant Danzo managed to escape Torifu, his attack precisely struck.

Hanzo seemed to have anticipated this scene. Water surged up from beneath his feet, forming a water wall to block the giant wind ball. He then dodged backward, avoiding the area suppressed by the wind ball.

"Huff... Huff... Unbelievable, I never imagined this guy's Chakra could be this powerful..."

Torifu stood beside Danzo, taking a deep breath.

In his Butterfly Mode form, his Chakra does indeed become stronger than normal, but this is ultimately a temporary burst of power that cannot be sustained for long.

Given his current condition, half an hour would be his limit.

Hanzo's limits are still beyond his comprehension.

"Hold the line here for now, let the main force evacuate first."

Danzo nodded solemnly as well.

No sooner had he finished speaking than a heavy thud sounded behind him and Torifu.

The enormous figure of the Summoning Beast Baku, appeared behind them, letting out a long, weary howl; blood was flowing from many parts of its body.

The giant Ibuse that was confronting it also crawled behind Hanzo, eyeing Danzo and Torifu menacingly.

Despite its disheveled appearance, the Ibuse did not have any obvious injuries.

In the previous duel, the Ibuse clearly had a slight advantage.

"Come on, Ibuse!"

Hanzo jumped backward, Kusarigama in hand, and landed on the head of the Ibuse, calling its name.

The Salamander Ibuse, let out a loud cry, its crawling body shaking the earth. Then it opened its mouth wide again, spewing out a large mouthful of purple poisonous mist that enveloped the surrounding area.

Danzo also jumped onto the Baku's head, urging it to Baku forward.

Torifu no longer held back. He knew that even if he and Danzo forces, they might not be able to defeat the person in front of them, but they had to buy time for the rest of the Konoha Ninja to escape.

Suddenly, Torifu's body swelled and changed dramatically, becoming as large and imposing as a giant Summoning Beast.

The long staff in his hand also grew larger, perfectly fitting his gigantic body.

"Aaaaaaah!"

He let out a loud shout to boost his morale, and charged forward alongside Baku, who was carrying Danzo, to meet Hanzo and Salamander Ibuse, who were charging from the front.

◎

"It's been raining a lot lately, looks like the weather isn't very good..."

Wearing a black raincoat, Aburame Ryoma looked up at the overcast sky, where only silvery raindrops were falling.

Although Land of Rain, it is not common for the country to experience continuous rainy days for one or two months like this.

"You've been following me for so long, aren't you coming out?"

Ryoma turned his head to look at the rocks not far away, which looked wet and shiny after being washed by the heavy rain.

However, it's less about gazing at the rocks and more about watching the pursuers behind them.

After a long silence, footsteps came from behind the rock, and five people emerged from behind it.

They were all dressed in gray-black raincoats, and the leader pulled down his hood to reveal an unusually pale face.

The eyes, with their golden vertical pupils, also appeared sinister and cold, giving off an unsettling feeling. There was also purple eyeshadow extending outwards from the corners of the eyes.

This person is like a snake.

Orochimaru.

A disciple of the Third Hokage, Jonin of the Konoha Anbu.

A person who exudes an indescribable eeriness from the inside out.

"It's you again, Orochimaru. Why aren't you on the battlefield defending against Hidden Rain Village? What are you doing here spying on me?"

Ryoma exhaled, and his eyes behind his sunglasses suddenly sharpened.

Since being transferred to the Land of Rain, he has clashed with Orochimaru several times in secret, but each time he has failed to gain the upper hand.

Of course, he didn't let Orochimaru succeed.

"Don't worry about the battlefield; those two seniors will handle it. I'm more curious about your actions in the Land of Rain. From what I've observed lately, you're planning to search for something here, aren't you? And... you should be close to completing your targets."

Orochimaru spoke in a hoarse voice, his snake-like golden vertical pupils staring at Ryoma, a slight smirk playing on his lips, giving off a subtle, sinister feeling.

"I cannot comment on this matter."

Ryoma remained tight-lipped, his expression and tone unchanged.

However, he was secretly alarmed, not expecting Orochimaru to have investigated the matter to this extent.

Orochimaru may have noticed something unusual because of the frequent activities of the investigation team.

He just hadn't expected that even at a time like this, Konoha would still allow Orochimaru to continue his mission of monitoring the Land of Night.

It is clear that Konoha is more concerned with the true purpose of the Land of Night's military presence in the Land of Rain than with Hidden Rain Village.

"It's alright, I'll let you speak this time."

Orochimaru chuckled.

"With you and the few Anbu behind you?"

Ryoma raised an eyebrow. He could tell that the four Konoha Ninja following Orochimaru were all highly skilled members of the Konoha Anbu.

Orochimaru didn't speak, but simply raised an arm, and from inside the long sleeve covering his palm, a snake emerged, flicking its tongue at Ryoma.

"... never mind."

Ryoma did not make a move, and there was no unusual movement in his Chakra.

Orochimaru, who was about to make a move, paused slightly.

"What, are you going to tell me the answer now?"

"No, I just wanted to say that the appointed time has arrived."

As soon as Ryoma finished speaking, Orochimaru heard the sound of a blade slicing through flesh suddenly coming from behind him.

Before they could even scream, the two Konoha Anbu fell into pools of blood.

Orochimaru and the other two Anbu were startled and quickly tried to dodge to the side.

Orochimaru reacted the fastest, raising his arm.

"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"

Several enormous snakes, each as thick as an adult's thigh, swiftly emerged from Orochimaru's sleeve and began to coil and bite at the attacker's body.

The newcomer turned and swung his sword, severing the heads of several coiled snakes. The snakes lay limp on the Rain Fields, blood gushing out.

"Summoning Technique?"

The newcomer glanced at Orochimaru's bottomless sleeves and immediately recognized that a summoning circle for the Summoning Jutsu should have been inscribed inside beforehand.

It seems that this disciple of the Third Hokage must have reached a very high level of proficiency in using Space-Time Ninjutsu such as Summoning Jutsu.

"Who are you..."

Orochimaru looked at the newcomer, who was standing next to the corpses of two Konoha Anbu, holding a Chakra Short Sword that was shorter than a regular Ninja Blade and dripping with blood.

He was neither too fat nor too thin, but rather fit and muscular, with his silver-white hair tied in a ponytail at the back of his head.

He wore a gray-white raincoat, and his face was covered by a specially made Chakra Metal mask painted with golden Red Spider Lily, obscuring his features.

But the hair color, the stance, and that terrifying Body Flicker Technique, just like Hanzo's, all unmistakably pointed to the other party's identity—

The White Fang of the Night - Oda (Hatake) Sakumo!

Orochimaru broke out in a cold sweat, his composure and calmness from when he faced Ryoma completely gone.

"If this is my opponent, I'm not entirely confident of victory. Let's go!"

Without a second thought, Orochimaru left with the remaining two Anbu Anbu, no longer caring about recovering their corpses.

Seeing Orochimaru leave with two Anbu, Sakumo didn't give chase. He simply wiped the blood off his Chakra Short Sword and put it back in its sheath.

"Wow, that's impressive. As expected of Konoha's Anbu. I was planning to take out the remaining two Anbu in one go."

Sakumo glanced at the two Konoha Anbu lying on the ground and sighed.

"..."

Ryoma was at a loss for words.

Are you alone?

Ryoma remained silent for a moment before asking a question.

"Minister Sakura Hime has arrived as well, and is currently in talks with Minister Flying Kite. She told the two of us to go ahead first, and they will arrive shortly after."

Sakumo answered truthfully.

"I see, I understand now."

Ryoma nodded.

After cleaning up the bodies of the two Konoha Anbu, he looked at Sakumo:

"Speaking of which, did you receive the gift I gave you when you got married?"

"Ah, I received it, thank you."

Sakumo was clearly pleased with the gift he had carefully chosen. Ryoma's face remained expressionless, but he was secretly pleased.

Because he always lacked presence, he didn't have many people in the Land of Night who he could call friends.

Sakumo was one of them.

"But you've been on a mission less than a month after getting married, you must be really tired."

Excluding the Heavenly Dao Palace, Ryoma knew that with Hidden Cloud Village under surveillance, the Land of Night's ability to temporarily mobilize high-level combat power was already significantly insufficient.

"Well, that's why I want to finish this mission quickly. So, what are the specifics? All I know is that you're looking for 'something' here."

Sakumo wanted to obtain more information.

"Let's head to the designated location first. I'll explain things to you on the way. I don't know the specifics, but it's clear that the higher-ups are taking this operation very seriously."

Ryoma gave a shout and led the way, running in a certain direction from the Land of Rain.

Sakumo followed closely behind Ryoma, about half a step behind.

A rushing sound came from beside me; the rain was getting heavier.