A fine rain, like unending silver threads, silently fell upon the forest bordering the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain. Unlike the cold rain of the Land of Rain, here there was only a damp, continuous drizzle. The air was viscous and heavy, mixing the distinct scents of moist earth and water vapor.
A thin, persistent white mist permeated the forest, limiting visibility to a few dozen meters. Shadows flickered all around, and the silence was broken only by the rustling of rain on leaves.
A patrol team consisting of three Konoha chunin and one jonin was conducting their routine patrol along the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain. Because Hanzo resided in Amegakure, and there was no precedent for him initiating war, the leader of the squad, Jonin Yamada, was fairly relaxed, laughing and discussing the newly opened dumpling shop in the village with the three behind him.
But as they passed through a wooded area, Jonin Yamada suddenly stopped, frowning, and looked towards the shadow of a large oak tree.
"Captain, it seems like there's someone over there!" a chunin also sensed an anomaly.
Jonin Yamada immediately became alert, his right hand resting on his kunai pouch. The other two instantly sobered, swiftly spreading out into a semi-encirclement formation. The sound of dripping rain masked their subtle footsteps. As Jonin Yamada cautiously approached, he finally discerned the figure.
Nestled in a hollow formed by thick, coiled tree roots, a tiny figure was cowering and curled up. Tattered, thin clothes, stained with mud, clung to the small body. The body was trembling violently, not from cold, but more like a deep, uncontrollable sorrow. The tiny figure wore mud-stained clothes, their ill-fitting size making them appear even smaller and more pathetic.
"W-why... why me..."
He buried his face between his knees, fragmented sobs cutting through the rain and mist, exceptionally clear in the silent forest, filling the ears of the four with helplessness and grief.
A lost child? Or a refugee separated from their parents? Occasional wanderers crossed from the Land of Rain into the Land of Fire's border. Jonin Yamada slightly relaxed, but his jonin training kept him vigilant. He gestured to two of his team members to guard their surroundings, while he himself lightened his footsteps, approaching slowly with a gentle tone: "Child, why are you here alone? Where are your family? Which direction did you come from?"
There was no response, only the suppressed crying intensifying, his small shoulders shaking violently.
"Don't be afraid, we are Konoha ninja, not bad people."
Jonin Yamada slowly crouched down, his gaze flickering slightly, trying to get a clear look at the child's face, saying, "What's your name? Tell uncle, uncle will help you find..."
He finally saw the child's messy, damp, dark red hair.
Dark red hair? A sudden, inexplicable sense of unease flashed through Yamada's mind. And just as he slightly frowned due to this odd feeling, the crying child, seemingly more terrified by his approach, abruptly lifted his head.
A tear-streaked, childish face was exposed in the sparse sunlight. Around his red-rimmed eyes were unusually prominent dark circles. But most striking was an utterly unmistakable mark on his sad, yet numb and hollow, little face: a red character etched onto the skin of his forehead.
—"Love"!
A chilling cold instantly surged, racing madly up his spine to his head, freezing Jonin Yamada's blood and instantly turning his face as pale as paper. A name exploded in his mind like lightning!
Wind Country, Sunagakure, One-Tails Jinchuriki! Gaara!
"Retreat!!"
A shriek filled with shock and fury burst from his throat, his body reacting faster than his voice, springing backward like a tightly coiled spring released to its limit!
But it was no use.
"Heh... heheheh..."
A low, hoarse, malicious cackle, like countless grains of sand rubbing against metal, squeezed out of Gaara's throat. The sound was bone-chilling, instantly overpowering Jonin Yamada's shriek, freezing the very air! Gaara's formerly hollow, sad eyes vanished, replaced by a pure, inhuman bestiality, brimming with savagery and a desire for destruction!
Boom!!
A tangible wave of terrifying malice and raging chakra erupted from him like a tsunami, instantly sending rain, rotting leaves, and stones flying! Viscous, yellowish-brown quicksand gushed out, instantly engulfing the three chunin who were still stunned!
"No!"
"Help..."
They only managed to let out half a short, sharp scream. Like gnats being swallowed, their forms were crushed the moment they touched the sand current! Dazzling crimson had no time to bloom on the surface of the sand before it was roughly erased by the endless yellow sand, leaving not even a fragment of bone behind!
The explosive sound wave visibly spread out, snapping surrounding trees in half and pulverizing branches and leaves!
Thud!!
Even Jonin Yamada, who had instantly moved away, was struck hard by an irresistible force from behind. He was sent flying like a leaf caught in a gale, carrying splashing blood and the groans of shattered bones, slamming into a distant slippery mud bog and thicket of thorns.
"Cough! Cough!"
Yamada's ears were filled with a chaotic ringing. He struggled against the intense pain, barely managing to lift his head. The next moment, through his eyes, blurry and distorted from the agony, he saw a scene he would never forget, like the apocalypse descending.
An endless torrent of gushing yellow sand began to furiously coalesce, deform, and expand. A gigantic, hill-like silhouette rapidly formed within the billowing sand.
True terror had arrived!
One-Tails: Shukaku!
"ROAR!!"
Two sharp claws waved ferociously in the air. It tilted its head back and let out a deafening roar, filled with the wild ecstasy and savagery of being released after a long confinement.
"Hahahaha! I'm finally out!!"
It greedily absorbed the surrounding rain and moisture. The swirling yellow sand formed its massive head, its eyes gleaming with cruel light, its voice like a booming bell. Its enormous, searchlight-like eyes instantly locked onto Yamada, who lay in the mud bog, his face contorted with fear and despair. It slowly parted its enormous mouth.
"Not Sunagakure, but that stinky fox's Konoha? Fine, it doesn't matter!"
"Foolish humans, welcome my arrival!!"
With that, Shukaku opened its massive mouth. Invisible ripples, carried by the air current, spread outwards. Yang and Yin nature chakra surged within its body. Large quantities of light blue and purplish-black particles seemed to respond to a call, mixing in an eight-to-two ratio, converging and compressing into a deep purple orb before its wide-open, fanged maw.
The next moment, it unleashed the attack towards the densest concentration of people it sensed—the Konoha outpost at the Land of Fire border...
BOOM!!
I only share the most exquisite and beautiful novels. Don't forget to check out my other novels!
p@treon DaoistWujinzi