Kawaki and Sakumo took the lead. As soon as they entered the Land of Rain, their faces showed vigilant expressions.
As soon as they entered this hidden camp, some ninjas wearing Konoha forehead protectors and holding kunai blocked their way.
They were all within Kawaki's Sensor range.
"Who are you?"
These were two ninjas wearing Konoha's green ninja vests. They were at least Chunin level.
"I'm Jonin Kawaki Hatake of the Hatake family."
"This is my aniki, Sakumo Hatake."
As Kawaki said, he took out his credentials to prove his identity.
One of the ninjas carefully took it. Throughout the process, they never put down their kunai.
After repeated confirmations, they finally felt relieved.
"Chunin Machiro, pleased to meet you, Lord Kawaki."
"Chunin Kira, pleased to meet you, Lord Kawaki."
Kawaki took back his credentials and faintly felt that something was wrong with the camp.
"Has something happened?"
Sakumo also frowned and looked around. This camp gave him an unsafe feeling.
"Lord Kawaki, we've been waiting for the large troop to arrive."
"However, Rain ninjas from the Rain Ninja Village often come to assassinate and launch sneak attacks."
"We're just the vanguard of the negotiation team. Our combat power is insufficient, and now we've suffered heavy casualties."
Machiro obviously had better expressiveness than Kira. Now he was the one to describe what had happened.
"Who's leading you here now?"
Kawaki wanted to communicate with the leading ninja to see how to solve the current dilemma.
"Lord Aburame Fumiishi has sacrificed."
As Machiro said, there was still a painful expression on his face.
"Let's go in and take a look first."
Sakumo spoke up and took the lead to walk into the camp.
Kawaki had no other way at this time. He thought he might as well take a look first.
After entering the camp, they saw that the tents here were in a mess. Some were so shabby that they couldn't even provide shelter from the wind and rain, let alone accommodate people to sleep.
Some wounded were wailing in the tents.
Some intact ninjas also stood up and surrounded them at this time. Finally, someone had come.
Nawaki and Minato saw the tragic aftermath of the war for the first time. Their faces were a little pale.
"This is Jonin Kawaki Hatake and Sakumo Hatake."
Machiro spoke up to introduce them to everyone.
"I know. Lord Kawaki is a genius Jonin of the Hatake clan."
"Lord Sakumo is the head of the Hatake family."
...
Many ninjas inside had heard of the two brothers' great reputation. This also made it convenient for them to give orders.
"Alright, be quiet."
Kawaki loudly interrupted the ninjas' discussion. This was not the time.
"Now the large troop is still on the way. It will probably take about a week to arrive."
"Next, follow my command."
"Any objections?"
Kawaki stared at these Genin and Chunin with burning eyes. No one dared to meet his gaze.
"No objections."
"Good."
"Do any of you excel in Earth Release?"
...
Kawaki first arranged for the ninjas proficient in Earth Release to build earth - houses and take care of the wounded.
Then he replaced the shabby tents in the camp.
He assigned tasks according to the different areas each ninja was good at.
He changed the positions of the sentry posts. In his view, the new positions were far better than the old ones.
After some adjustments, the cooking started, and the camp finally showed some signs of life.
It was no longer as dull as before, and the ninjas had lost all their fighting spirit.
Apparently, they were scared witless by the assassinations and sneak attacks of the Rain ninjas.
But it's no wonder they were so afraid. Even a Jonin from the Aburame clan was dead. What could these Genin and Chunin do?
Kawaki also received extra care. Those Earth Release ninjas thoughtfully prepared an earthen house for him.
Although it was rather shabby, it was still better than a tent.
Inside the house, Kawaki and his four companions were having a meal.
There were only noodles in the pot. Under the circumstances of a battlefield, this was already considered pretty good.
They happily ate right from the pot with their small bowls.
"So, what's the plan next?"
"Just keep waiting around?"
Sakumo asked for his younger brother's opinion.
"Taking beatings without fighting back isn't my style."
"If the Rain ninjas dare to come, they should be ready to die."
"If I'm not wrong, all this is just a [Smoke Bomb] thrown by Hanzō of the Salamander."
"With battles on three fronts, he doesn't have the time to defend against all of them simultaneously."
"Sending his subordinates to assassinate and harass us is just to stall for time and then defeat us one by one."
"That's his real plan."
Sakumo frowned as he thought about what Kawaki said. It seemed to make some sense.
He was also an expert in assassination, but when it came to strategy, he was a complete novice.
Dai, who was carefree, didn't even listen. Among them, he ate the most.
Taijutsu training consumed a lot of energy, and Kawaki could understand that. But it was a bit too much for him to steal food from the kids.
Nawaki and Minato looked so pitiful. They couldn't compete with Dai, so they could only look at Kawaki, hoping that he would add more noodles to the pot.
The kids were still growing, and Kawaki couldn't bear it. So he added a lot more noodles.
It made Dai extremely happy.
Kawaki decided to ignore it and continued discussing with his older brother.
"Now that the Rain ninjas are harassing us, it means that Hanzō's main target isn't our Konoha right now."
"I plan to take the initiative and attack. At least, we should make the Rain ninjas dare not come again before our large troop arrives."
Kawaki stated his plan, and Sakumo immediately said that he was good at this kind of thing.
"Leave it to me. I'll take care of these annoying rats."
"Aniki, you and Dai stay here to guard the camp."
"I'll take Minato and Nawaki with me. They need the baptism of blood."
Kawaki was speaking from his heart.
A small group of elite ninjas was exactly what the two kids needed for their growth.
Large-scale battles wouldn't be of much help. In fact, even a Jonin could be killed by a Genin if they were unlucky.
"Isn't it too risky?"
Sakumo thought Kawaki was being a bit too aggressive and that he should teach his disciples in a milder way.
"Don't worry. I've left the Flying Thunder God Technique on them."
Kawaki revealed his trump card, which was also his greatest confidence in protecting the two kids.
If they couldn't handle it, he would go to save them.
"Okay, then I'll stay here with Dai."
Sakumo said as he patted Dai on the shoulder.
Only then did Dai chime in.
"Don't worry, Kawaki-kun. We'll guard the camp."
Looking at the noodles dangling from Dai's mouth, if he hadn't read the original plot, Kawaki wouldn't have believed that this guy could be so powerful and that his son would be even more powerful.
"Minato, Nawaki, do you have any questions?"
Lord Kawaki made arrangements before asking the two young ones for their willingness.
"I'm willing."
The two young ones were still very polite. At least they finished the food in their mouths and put down their bowls.
"Eat up. Come with me when you're full."
Lord Kawaki put down his bowl, got up, and walked out of the door.
He still had some questions to ask.
He found Machiro resting in the tent.
"Lord Kawaki."
"Have a seat. Make yourself at home."
"I've got something to ask you."
Lord Kawaki smiled gently and sat beside Machiro.
"Which direction do the Rain ninjas usually come from?"
"Do they have any special abilities?"
Lord Kawaki had almost no memory of the Rain ninjas and could only try to learn something from Machiro.
"From the north of the camp. It's always that way."
"No special abilities have been discovered so far."
"They can hide their auras and mostly use Water Release."
"Combined with their water clones, they're like ghosts in the rain."
Machiro was just a Chunin, and it was quite good that he could summarize this information.
Lord Kawaki didn't make things difficult for him. This information can deceive Minato and Nawaki.
Otherwise, it would be embarrassing to look so ignorant.
Patting Machiro on the shoulder, Lord Kawaki thanked him and left.
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