Land of Earth, central region.
Under the moonlight, more than a dozen dark figures moved swiftly through the mountains and forests.
Biwa Jūzō led the way, carrying his kubikiribōchō, followed closely by Kakuzu and over thirty Rōnin.
"How much farther?" Jūzō asked in a low voice.
A Rōnin in charge of reconnaissance replied, "Another five kilometers ahead, and we'll reach the granary."
"Good." Jūzō nodded silently, his hand tightening around the kubikiribōchō's hilt.
"Be careful." Kakuzu suddenly spoke. "Even though the intel says there aren't many guards at the granary, we can't be careless."
"I know." Jūzō nodded.
The group moved forward, deliberately avoiding Iwa's patrols.
Though the central region of the Land of Earth wasn't as heavily guarded as Iwagakure, it wasn't undefended either.
Patrolling squads of Iwa shinobi could be seen from time to time.
"Stop." Kakuzu suddenly raised his hand, and everyone came to a halt.
Up ahead, a patrol team of Iwa shinobi was making rounds.
"Five of them," Kakuzu said in a low voice. "All Chūnin."
"Should we take them out?" Jūzō asked.
"No."
Kakuzu shook his head. "If we act now, it'll alert others."
"Our target is the granary, not these small fry."
"Go around."
Though Jūzō was a bit unwilling, he still followed Kakuzu's judgment.
The group silently bypassed the patrol and continued forward.
About an hour later, they finally saw their target.
In the valley ahead, a compound stood—that was the central granary of the Land of Earth.
Jūzō narrowed his eyes.
The granary was surrounded by walls and sentry towers, but the number of guards was indeed small.
He roughly counted—only about twenty guards.
"The intel was right." Jūzō nodded with satisfaction.
Only twenty people.
For their group, this was nothing.
He was just about to charge in when Kakuzu's voice came again. "Wait."
"Wait for what?" Jūzō asked impatiently.
"Observe the guard rotation and weaknesses in their defense."
Kakuzu spoke calmly. "Charging in recklessly will cause too much noise and bring reinforcements."
"We need to strike quickly and cleanly."
Jūzō frowned. He disliked overthinking, but he knew Kakuzu was right.
"Fine. Then we wait," he said reluctantly.
The group lay in ambush within the forest, silently observing the granary.
Time ticked by.
About half an hour later...
Kakuzu finally spoke.
"I've found a pattern."
He pointed toward the eastern side of the granary. "That side is the weakest, with only three guards."
"They change shifts every two hours."
"While there's no gap in coverage, during the shift change, their alertness will be lowest."
"That's our best chance."
He looked at the sky. "Roughly one hour from now."
Jūzō sat down, visibly irritated. "Such a pain."
Kakuzu ignored him, quietly watching the granary, carefully planning the assault.
Inside that granary, vast quantities of food and supplies were stored—vital for supplying Iwa's front lines.
Destroying it would throw Iwa's army into chaos.
And that was exactly what that man wanted.
"Interesting," Kakuzu muttered. "What exactly is that man planning?"
He had a vague sense that this war wasn't as simple as it appeared on the surface.
But that had nothing to do with him.
He was just a bounty ninja. He worked for whoever paid him.
Time passed slowly.
Finally, the guards on the eastern side began their shift change.
Three guards walked toward the sentry post, preparing to relieve the previous shift.
"Now," Kakuzu said in a low voice.
"Finally!" Jūzō stood up abruptly, lifting his kubikiribōchō. "Follow me!"
With that, he led the Rōnin quietly toward the granary.
At the eastern wall, the shift change had just begun.
"Anything unusual tonight?" one of the incoming guards asked.
"No." The outgoing guard shook his head. "Everything's normal. Just a bit cold."
"Alright, you guys go rest."
"Got it. We'll leave it to you."
The three outgoing guards turned and walked away.
The incoming guards hadn't even taken their positions when suddenly—
Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh!
Three cold glints streaked through the air.
The three incoming guards had their throats slit at the same time by kunai.
They collapsed silently, not even managing a scream.
"Go!" Kakuzu barked.
The other Rōnin scaled the wall and rushed into the granary.
Jūzō led the charge, his kubikiribōchō in hand, heading straight for the main storage building.
"Who's there?!" An Iwa shinobi spotted the intruders and shouted.
But before he could finish, a massive blade shadow swept past.
Pfft!
The Iwa shinobi was cut cleanly in half at the waist, blood spraying like mist and dyeing the ground red.
"Enemy attack!"
"There are intruders!"
The granary guards finally reacted, drawing their weapons and charging at Jūzō.
"Come on, then!" Jūzō laughed, his kubikiribōchō dancing wildly.
Every swing was like the scythe of a Shinigami, taking a life.
"The kubikiribōchō drinks blood, you know." Jūzō grinned, his eyes filled with madness.
As the blade cut through another body, the blood on it was absorbed instantly.
A strange red light began to glow faintly from the blade.
"That... that's the kubikiribōchō! He's Biwa Jūzō, the rogue ninja from Kirigakure!" One of the Iwa shinobi recognized him.
"Not bad. I'll give you a quick death."
In the next instant, the shinobi's voice was silenced.
Elsewhere.
Kakuzu also started to move.
"Fire Release: Searing Migraine!"
A massive fireball erupted from his mouth, shooting straight at the granary's main building.
Boom!
The fireball struck, instantly igniting the piles of grain.
"Oh no! The grain is on fire!"
"Put it out! Quickly!"
The fire spread rapidly, plunging the Iwa guards into panic.
But Kakuzu gave them no time.
His body transformed dramatically.
Moments later, four masked monsters emerged from his back.
Earth Grudge Fear.
Kakuzu's strongest technique.
"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"
"Fire Release: Searing Migraine!"
"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
"Earth Release: Earth Spear!"
The four masked creatures launched attacks simultaneously.
Wind. Fire. Lightning. Earth.
Four-elemental Ninjutsu rained down.
The Iwa shinobi stood no chance.
Some were shredded by wind blades.
Some were burned to ash by fire.
Some were struck through by lightning.
Others had their hearts pierced by earth spears.
In just a few minutes...
The entire granary guard force was annihilated.
"Beautiful work!"
Jūzō laughed, looking at the blazing granary, eyes gleaming with excitement.
"Keep burning! Burn it all to the ground!"
The Rōnin moved swiftly, tossing explosive tags and pouring oil throughout the granary.
The flames surged higher and higher.
The grain stores were fully engulfed in fire.
Thick smoke rose, curling into the night sky.
Its presence was impossible to ignore.
Kakuzu looked at the inferno and nodded in satisfaction. "We're done here. Withdraw."
Mission complete.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)