Capítulo 43: Relief and Nostalgia
[Year 52, Land of Rain]
Souei moved swiftly through the dense trees, the damp air of Amegakure clinging to him as he left the hidden village behind, giving way to the desolate, rocky landscape of the Land of Rain.
He stopped abruptly as his tremor sense detected a large number of people ahead of him. Cresting over a small hill, his eyes gazed at the sight of an Iwagakure camp sprawled out across a valley. Tents scattered in a loose formation, with shinobi moving about. It was a sizable force, far too large for such an isolated area this deep in Rain Country. Souei narrowed his eyes, his mind working quickly.
'How did they manage to extend this far south?' The answer came to him after a moment of reflection. 'The Battle for the Outpost ended in their victory. They must have extended their patrols and set up camps and bases far within the Land of Rain. They should have easy access to the Land of Wind and Fire now.'
Souei crouched down, obscured by the high grass and boulders that littered the valley. His hand absentmindedly rested on his kunai pouch as he studied the camp. Rows of tents, shinobi using maroon red and brown vests, the symbol of Iwa etched on their headbands could be seen patrolling the perimeter. Memories flashed in his mind, of that dreadful battle that happened only a couple of weeks ago.
'This is it.' That familiar, burning sensation in his chest came alive once more. He could feel it coiling, tightening around his heart. 'I can't just walk away. I can't let them get away with this. Sorry Jiraiya, but it's time for some good old fashioned vengeance.''
There were way too many for Souei to fight by himself. But part of the curriculum in the academy taught them of wartime maneuvers and protocols. Combat strength isn't the only thing that mattered during large scale wars like this. Supplies needed to be maintained, weapons and armory needed to be properly stored and shared among camps.
There were plenty of ways to dismantle an army, all you needed was to know what to look for.
.
.
Nightfall came swiftly, and Souei slipped through the shadows, his steps silent. He had already summoned Tarantaro and several other spiders to spread out into the camp to act as his eyes and ears. They scuttled under tents, up walls, and into crevices, their tiny forms virtually undetectable in the dark.
Tarantaro wasn't that powerful in combat, but he had the unique ability to telepathically connect with other spiders from the clan. So his job was to be the main source of information, as he scurried across Souei's shoulder, whispering updates in his ear.
"There's a lot of them," Tarantaro said, "but nothing we can't handle if we do it sneaky-sneaky."
Souei nodded, his eyes narrowing as Tarantaro told him of a few places of interest that Souei told him to note down if he found.
"There's a tent in the center of the camp, with plenty of crates filled with weapons and scrolls, Souei."
'Sounds like their weapons cache.' He thought with a grin. 'Perfect.'
Moving through the camp unseen was easy with an army of spiders acting as his lookout, not to mention using it in correspondence with his tremor sense made him nigh undetectable. He had long ago learned how to suppress his chakra to not be spotted with sensors. Being on a team with Rukia would make anyone know how to avoid them.
There also doesn't seem to be any Kage level shinobi in the camp, which was good, since he'd probably be found almost immediately.
It didn't take long for him to arrive at a large tent, decently fortified. He slipped inside, dispatching a few guards with swift, silent kills. Entering the tent, Souei found what he was looking for. Crates full of explosive tags, kunai, shuriken, swords, spears, and various other tools for war.
'Well, I'll never say no to some extra explosives and weapons.' He had three storage scrolls left, each capable of taking a full crate of objects. He stashed two boxes of explosive tags while another was filled with kunai and shuriken.
"Tarantaro, have the spiders grab as many explosive tags as they can and plant them throughout the camp." He ordered.
Tarantaro's chittering filled the tent then, and it didn't take long until more spiders, these ones smaller than the size of his palm, took the scrolls and exited the tent.
"What next?"
"Hmm," the white spider thought for a while. "Well there are three places that maybe fit the things of interest you told me about. There's one that has a large map sitting on a table, a bunch of papers strewed around it. Another tent has a person sleeping, but this guy looks more important than the rest. His vest is a little bit thicker than the others. The last place has a lot of people chained up into cells. They're all wearing different clothes."
The last bit stunned Souei. "What clothes are they wearing?"
"Well, some have turbans on their heads with cream vests. Some with green vests and blue clothes, others with grey vests and black clothes. They all look really tired and injured too."
Suna, Konoha, and Ame attire. It seems Iwa had a whole lot of shinobi captured. Now that just won't do. Looks like this sabotaging mission just changed to a rescue.
"Bring me to the first place, then we'll see what we can do for the prisoners."
Tarantaro led him to a war tent, where he once more silently incapacitated the shinobi standing guard and used his puppetry to make it look like he was still conscious. Inside, he found missives and scrolls detailing troop movements and plans, crucial information that could shift the tide of the war.
'Now this is useful.' He grabbed the most important-looking ones and tucked them away before making his exit.
Finally, he arrived at the tent holding the prisoners. The sight made his stomach twist. There were hundreds of shinobi from Suna, Konoha, and even a few from Amegakure, all chained and battered. Some were injured beyond healing, merely waiting for death. While others kept in defiance, hoping for freedom one way or another.
Among the Suna ninja were a few of whom he recognized. The moment he stepped into the dimly lit tent, gasps of shock and disbelief rippled through the crowd.
"Souei Matsuri…?" one of the Suna jonin whispered, his eyes wide. "But you… we heard you died with Chiyo-sama…"
Souei smiled grimly, slashing through the chains of the nearest prisoner with his strings. "Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated. Aunt Chiyo protected me."Even now, his heart still clenched when saying those words.
He freed the Suna shinobi first, stitching their injuries as best he could with his strings. "We're making a break for it." He then looked to the Konoha and Ame shinobi, his face expressionless. " Let's have a truce for now, get out while you can." He sliced their chains as well.
They all looked at him with shock and a bit of suspicion, but a majority were of relief and gratitude. The Suna Jonin even wanted to warn him, but a single look from Souei had him stop.
Souei had to stifle a snort. He wasn't being nice nor altruistic. His original plan was to sneak in, plant explosives, steal important documents, then sneak out. But that plan had to quickly leave the window now that he had to escort roughly forty injured Suna ninja. Leaving quietly was no longer an option and they were laughably outnumbered.
The Konoha and Ame prisoners would serve as a diversion, a bait to cover his escape with the Suna contingent. He gave them the chance to flee, but in the back of his mind, he wasn't counting on their survival.
They would perform their duty as meat shields while killing off a bunch of Iwa nin in the process. Two birds with one stone and all that.
Souei unsealed the weapons he had stored previously, distributing them amongst the shinobi. As the prisoners began to ready and arm themselves for the escape, Souei made his move.
Slightly opening the tent, he used his black strings to take control of several Iwa shinobi, forcing them to turn on their comrades in a bloody, sudden assault. Five shinobi for every finger he possesses.
'Marionette'
"Ha– what are you– Ack!"
"Hey stop tha– Urk!"
With his current abilities, controlling fifty puppets was the maximum that he could do. After awakening his God Thread, his control became much more refined.
The confusion spread like wildfire through the camp, and Souei had Tarantaro give the order to the spiders to ignite the explosive tags they had planted earlier. The ground shook as numerous explosions marred the camp.
Tents and weapon caches were obliterated, sending debris and bodies flying.
'Chaos', Souei thought, watching the flames rise. 'Let them tear each other apart.'
"Go now!"
He led the Suna shinobi through the chaos, using the Konoha and Ame prisoners as a vanguard. The most injured of them stayed in the center. They cut through the cluttered Iwa forces like a hot knife through butter, who couldn't manage to form a proper counter attack, disorganized as they were.
But these were still veteran shinobi of a major hidden village, much to Souei's chagrin, they managed to rally quicker than he expected.
As expected, the Konoha and Ame prisoners were the first to fall, overwhelmed by sheer numbers. But Souei didn't stop. He pushed forward, cutting down any Iwa shinobi who got in their way, his strings slicing through flesh and bone with deadly precision. Tarantaro fought with him in tandem, throwing globs of poison from his mouth or trapping enemies with his web.
'God Thread: String Vortex Cyclone'
A swirling tornado of razor-sharp, indestructible threads were formed around Souei, devastating the Iwa Shinobi who managed to surround him. The Suna ninja followed after, sending scores of kunai towards the Iwa's position. A few of them got cut down, with others falling quickly due to their state of injuries.
__________________________________
Rasa moved swiftly across the rocky landscape, his auburn-red hair catching the faint moonlight as he, Tsumari, and Karura advanced northward. The terrain of the Land of Rain was littered with jagged stones and steep cliffs, any misstep would find them with a quick death.
But they couldn't afford to slow down. They had been avoiding Iwa patrols for days now, staying one step ahead of their pursuers.
"So what exactly is the plan, Rasa?" Tsumari, the Scorch Release user, questioned.
"We have to reach Amegakure." Rasa replied. "Iwa had gained a lot of traction after their victory in the Battle for the Outpost. In a single move, they crippled both Suna's and Konoha's forces while simultaneously putting pressure on Ame as they pushed more forces into the Land of Rain. Hanzo and the Fence Sitter have clashed numerous times by now. No matter how many times I think about it, the hidden village is the only place Souei could go without being found. With Hanzo being distracted, there should be no one capable of finding him if he decided to hide."
Karura's eyes widened, not hiding the awe in her voice as she kept pace with the two veteran ninja. "Wow, I didn't even think of that. Most training in the academy always tells us to put priority in finding our way back to friendly territory whenever we find ourselves behind enemy lines."
"But all of it is merely speculation." Tsumari, opting to take the stance of devil's advocate, piped up. "For all we know, both Souei-dono and Chiyo-sama perished during the battle. They fought the Tsuchikage and the Yonbi Jinchuuriki after all. If we do this and Souei isn't there, we'd find ourselves deep into foreign territory, behind enemy lines, with no allies for hundreds of miles. What would we do then?"
"He'll be there." Rasa pointed with confidence.
"How do you know?" Tsumari inquired with a raised eyebrow.
"Because we made a promise." He said resolutely. Tsumari merely stared forward before a small smile appeared on her face.
"Very well, onwards we go."
Explosions then appeared in the distance, startling the three shinobi. It didn't take long for distant sounds of battle to reach their ears. Shouting, screams of pain, and the unmistakable clashing of steel.
Tsumari turned to Rasa, his face hard. "What do you think? Iwa?"
"Most likely," Rasa said, his eyes narrowing. "But those explosions… something's off."
Without hesitation, they rushed toward the source. As they neared the valley, the full scale of the chaos came into view. Much to their surprise, various shinobi bearing the symbols of Konoha, Suna, Ame, and Iwa were locked in brutal combat, the ground already littered with bodies of the dead.
And at the center of it all… Souei.
Rasa's breath caught in his throat as he saw his old friend standing amid the carnage, black strings extending from his hands as he tore through the enemy ranks like a force of nature. He looked like a demon on the battlefield, his face emotionless as he cut down Iwa shinobi with deadly precision. A white spider scurried on his shoulder and back, assisting his friend in the massacre.
"Rasa-sama! That's–!!" Karura exclaimed excitedly.
"Souei…" Rasa whispered in disbelief. While he never believed the rumors of Souei's death, the doubt was always there. But here he was now, alive and more powerful than ever.
Without another word, Rasa's hands moved instinctively, summoning a torrent of Gold Dust from the gourds on his belt. The dust surged forward like a tidal wave, swallowing a unit of Iwa and Ame shinobi in one swift motion. Tsumari and Karura followed suit, joining the fray without hesitation.
They fought their way toward Souei, cutting down enemies as they advanced. Amidst the chaos, Rasa couldn't help but feel a surge of relief and nostalgia. Souei was alive and they were fighting together once again.
As the battlefield raged around them, Rasa locked eyes with Souei across the sea of combatants. There was no need for words. They both knew what had to be done, with shared smiles they continued to cut swaths into the ranks of their enemies. Knowing that a long conversation awaited them.
_____________________________
AN: The long awaited reunion. I hope I did this moment justice.
Advanced chapters on my P@treon. Feel free to go there if you're interested. Search up the same name and you should find me.
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