Capítulo 8: Chapter 8
"Hmph, damn Konoha! Just wait until our Lord Hanzō returns; you'll get what's coming to you!"
Three Ame ninja tried to bolster their spirits with words, dispelling the fear they felt toward the Konoha shinobi.
"Snap!"
A soft sound startled the three Ame ninja, who immediately jumped up and drew their kunai, scanning the surroundings warily.
"Who's there?! Show yourself!" yelled the middle-aged Ame ninja, jumping to his feet and gathering chakra in preparation for a jutsu.
This area was far from the front lines, so encountering an enemy was unexpected.
"Ribbit."
Under their watchful gaze, a red toad hopped out of the bushes and stopped in front of them.
"Phew—just a stupid toad," the middle-aged Ame ninja sighed, putting his kunai back into his pouch.
Not wanting to appear embarrassed in front of the two chunin, the jōnin grumbled as he stomped over to the toad, raising his foot to kick it.
"Damn toad, you scared me. Get lost."
Before his foot made contact, however, the three Ame ninja witnessed a horrifying sight: a hand emerged from the toad's mouth, grabbing the jōnin's leg firmly.
"My, my, I seem to have overheard some interesting information," came a voice from within the toad.
The two younger Ame ninja screamed, "The toad can talk! Run!"
"Idiots! It's not the toad; there's someone inside it!" the jōnin corrected them, realizing that this technique required a shinobi of at least jōnin level, leaving him no chance against such an opponent.
Swiftly gathering chakra to his feet, he broke free from the hand's grip, abandoning his comrades to make a quick escape.
"Oh? Trying to run, are you?"
Emerging from the toad was a man with spiky white hair and red face paint—none other than Jiraiya, on an intelligence-gathering mission behind enemy lines.
"Ninpo: Needle Jizo!" Jiraiya dispatched the two young Ame ninja with ease, then turned to the fleeing jōnin.
"Foolish. I'm the Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku. Do you really think you can escape?"
He formed hand seals, pressing his palms to the ground.
"Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"
The ground transformed into a vast swamp, trapping the fleeing Ame ninja, who couldn't react in time.
"No, no, no! What is this?"
As the jōnin sank into the swamp, Jiraiya waited a while before releasing the jutsu. After checking his pulse to confirm he'd only fainted, Jiraiya sealed the jōnin's chakra and summoned a toad.
"I need to report this intel to Tsunade and the others quickly."
After stowing the Ame ninja in the toad's mouth, Jiraiya cleaned up the area and, after a few careful checks, left with confidence.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Land of Rain, two Konoha jōnin, who had lost contact with the main force due to pursuing scattered Ame ninja, decided to raid a civilian house for food, their stomachs growling.
"Tch, this rainy weather in the Land of Rain is endless."
Feeling the rain on his back, Danzo, leaning on his cane, scowled.
Traveling alone made for faster progress, and he reached Amegakure in half the time of the main force, eliminating several Ame ninja who had intended to infiltrate the Land of Fire along the way.
"Foolish Ame ninja, daring to stir up trouble in Konoha," he scoffed internally, ignoring that he was engaged in the same activities.
Now he only needed to wait patiently and observe for the three children.
In Konoha's temporary base camp, Homura Mitokado convened yet another meeting.
Standing by his side were Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya, followed by several of Konoha's top jōnin, mostly from prominent families, with only a few from civilian backgrounds.
"Jiraiya, you did well this time."
Homura began by complimenting Jiraiya, whose reputation had previously seemed less than reliable, but recent accomplishments had changed that impression.
Especially this infiltration mission, which had provided critical information for Konoha. If not for his carefree demeanor, he could easily lead the Anbu.
"I've had our ninja use Mind Reading Jutsu to extract memories from the captured jōnin."
"It's confirmed—Hanzō has indeed ended combat with the Sand Village and may soon appear on our battlefield."
Upon hearing this, the crowd murmured uneasily. While none wanted to admit it, they all knew that Konoha's success so far was due, in part, to Hanzō's absence.
"Moving forward, we need to consolidate our forces. Make sure everyone stays alert."
"And if anyone spots Hanzō, avoid any confrontation and report back to me immediately!"
With a wave of his hand, Homura dismissed the meeting.
"Orochimaru, stay behind," he called as the shinobi filed out.
Soon, the room was empty, save for Homura and Orochimaru.
"I heard your team recently added a new jōnin?"
"Hehehe, you must mean Uchiha Kōyō."
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