Rain Country.
Ambushes, raids, infiltration, and traps—the battle among the four factions had devolved into total chaos within just a few days. The war in Rain Country was as chaotic as the land itself—rain endlessly drenched the soft earth, leaving everything submerged in mud.
The country had always been small to begin with. Now, with massive forces from three major ninja villages pouring in, the front lines had naturally become tangled and messy.
Add in the locals—Amegakure—and everyone quickly became confused about who was fighting whom, sometimes even ending up attacking indiscriminately.
At this moment, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade were intercepting enemies that had infiltrated Konoha's territory. Perhaps because the battles here were fiercer and faster-paced—or simply because they were much younger than Haseo—the trio adapted far better to this style of warfare than he did.
It might have also been the moment when the "Konoha Sannin" truly started to show their strength.
However, while the trio were swiftly moving through the forest, suddenly, a tiny Katsuyu appeared, peeking out from Tsunade's shoulder.
"Tsunade-sama..."
Whispering something softly into Tsunade's ear, the slug caused the fast-moving Tsunade to abruptly halt her steps.
"Tsunade, what's wrong?"
After moving forward over ten meters, Jiraiya and Orochimaru noticed Tsunade's sudden change and immediately stopped, turning back to ask.
"Nothing... Keep going with the mission."
Tsunade didn't explain further and quickly caught up with Jiraiya and Orochimaru again.
Yet Orochimaru could sense something off about her—more than just slightly agitated, she seemed...
"Tsunade, watch your chakra consumption carefully. We still need to clear this area; we don't know how long the mission will last, so we must conserve energy."
Orochimaru hadn't fallen into his withdrawn state yet, so he could communicate normally with his teammates and reminded them accordingly when necessary—at this moment, Tsunade's chakra expenditure was spiking dramatically.
"I know."
While responding to Orochimaru, Tsunade reached behind to her ninja tool pouch, taking out and swallowing a secret pill of unknown properties—yes, she knew she should have conserved chakra, yet at this precise moment, she chose not to.
People are emotional by nature; they don't always act based on the most rational or correct decisions. Especially where emotions run deeper for women.
Meanwhile, on another battlefield in the Land of Whirlpools.
Haseo stared blankly at the young Konoha ninja standing before him, who was currently locked in combat against six or seven enemy Mist shinobi. This man fought using high-speed taijutsu, and the intensity of his chakra was abnormally strong.
And that intensity was still rising rapidly.
"Just who... is this guy?" Though vaguely familiar, Haseo couldn't place exactly where he'd seen him before.
"Ask me? He was just a Genin in the squad, pretty low-key and quiet," Nagisa Nara replied somewhat confused. The team had been assembled temporarily for this mission, and even though Nagisa had been assigned as the leader, he hadn't had time to get to know every member of the team yet.
"A Genin? A Genin who chased after multiple elite Mist shinobi and beat them up? Now that I think about it..."
Although it was phrased as a question, Haseo wasn't expressing doubt or making accusations—he seemed to understand something instead.
You just never knew what kind of surprises Hidden Leaf Genin had up their sleeves... After all, the village's strongest ninjas were always Genin.
There did seem to be some kind of hidden boost associated with this rank. Back when Haseo was a Genin himself, he'd also been quite powerful; but what difference did it make now? He'd almost ended up flat on his face just now.
"Lord Haseo, he's a Genin from my squad. His name... is Might Duy."
One of the ninja behind Haseo identified the frontline fighter.
Might Duy—the Eight Gates Might Duy! Now things made sense!
In theory, this person should've been about the same age as—or slightly older than—Hatake Sakumo. Previously, he hadn't been someone Haseo paid attention to, nor had he noticed that this individual was serving under him. That was why this man could make such an unexpectedly dramatic "entrance."
If allies were so astonished, then the enemy was equally shocked. Weren't they supposed to be here targeting Haseo? Why had there appeared such an annoying stumbling block? And this guy definitely didn't look like the commonly known ninja often seen beside Haseo—Flag Bearer Sakumo Hatake. Their fighting styles couldn't have been more different.
No matter how puzzled the enemy became, one thing had already become clear—they'd stumbled upon a particularly tough obstacle.
"But before this I've never heard of him using Fire Release techniques, and..."
The young squad leader wanted to explain further, but Haseo interrupted him. "What are you waiting for? Get in there and engage the enemy!"
Prompted by Haseo's reminder, the Konoha ninja finally snapped back into reality—this wasn't the time to admire unexpected rising stars. Even with this sudden powerful ally, they were still at a disadvantage. To the extent that combat-focused ninjas momentarily forgot about battle itself, that alone showed just how shocking Might Duy's appearance had been.
After seeing everyone rushing forward, Haseo silently mused inwardly: "As if Might Duy knows fire release techniques. Although his move looked a bit like Phoenix Sage Fire just now, it actually should've been Morning Peacock."
In other words, what Might Duy had now activated was a technique made possible by opening the sixth gate — the 'View Gate' (Jōmon) — of the Eight Gates.
This unique form of Taijutsu required extremely rigorous training; the process was nothing short of self-inflicted torment. In many ways, mastering this technique wasn't any easier than learning techniques like Flying Thunder God.
Precisely because of this difficulty, the technique possessed incredible destructive power.
However, someone capable of using such Taijutsu had been a Genin in Konoha for thirty or forty years—it was honestly absurd.
Fortunately, Might Duy right now seemed to be only around twenty years old.
As Konoha's ninjas rushed to support Might Duy, Haseo started forming Hand Seals. He'd need more Chakra to take on the Mizukage next.
But when Haseo called forth Katsuyu, only one should've appeared. Yet there were two—an obvious stowaway.
Yet as soon as this slug latched onto his shoulder, Haseo instantly figured out what happened.
No big deal. Even if Haseo had three Katsuyus tagging along, they wouldn't slow him down at all.
At this moment, the Third Mizukage naturally noticed Might Duy's situation. He wasn't blind; he clearly saw that due to that Taijutsu user's interference, the Mist ninja's attack momentum had been halted.
With no choice, the Mizukage himself could only charge directly toward Might Duy.
However, just at this moment, a figure brimming with lightning raced swiftly across the water surface, leaving behind towering waves rising nearly a hundred meters high, layer upon layer.
[Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave.]
"Lord Mizukage, shouldn't I be your opponent?"
Under the roaring cover of surging water, Haseo's words were drowned out—hell, even he could barely make out his own words.
But his meaning was already fully expressed through his Jutsu...
Bring it on. Let's go wild. The one who runs out first is the pussy.
P.S.
The Nightmare Before Christmas.
I suddenly realized today that my book count went from four to five.
I never got a heads-up when it was taken down, and not even a peep when it came back online.
If it's back up now, does that mean whatever justified the ban doesn't hold anymore?
What's the point of letting me back out now anyway?
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