Chapter 75: Faster, Faster, Faster!
The Cloud's Special Attack Force quickly unsealed the various sealing scrolls and began to set up camp. Green scrolls contained food, red scrolls contained weapons, yellow scrolls contained medical supplies, and white scrolls contained daily necessities.
It was worth noting that special items like explosive tags and Healing Talismans, which themselves contained sealing jutsu, still could not be stored in a sealing scroll. However, the problem of the Healing Talismans interfering with each other had been solved. The second-generation version was now a mature technology, and every member of the Special Attack Force carried a good number of them.
That night, the Third Raikage held a war council in the central tent. No outsider knew what was said, only that there had been a heated argument. The Cloud ninja who were not qualified to attend were consumed with curiosity.
That same night, both the Stone and Konoha forces in the Land of Rain received a sternly worded declaration of war. But neither Onoki nor Hiruzen were overly concerned. In their view, though the Cloud's movements were suspicious, what could a small force of three hundred men do? It was likely just an advance team.
As the war dragged on, the various forces in the Land of Rain were drawn closer and closer together. The main camps of the Stone and Konoha were both located around a region called Mount Tenmoku, separated by only about twenty kilometers. They had been in a standoff for months. Considering the mobility and reconnaissance capabilities of ninja, this was practically face-to-face.
In the forested plains at the foot of the mountain, countless battles were fought every day. Every tree had been nourished by the blood of ninja. The land, under the constant rain, had been stained a dark brown.
In the forest, a small squad was taking shelter from the rain in a hollow tree. A girl with face paint was running her hands through her hair, a look of extreme annoyance on her face.
"Dammit!" she grumbled. "The weather in this country is so annoying! I'd rather be fighting Stone ninja than sitting in this rain!"
"Tsume Inuzuka," a stiff voice said, "we are on a mission. If you're so loud, you'll be discovered. Control your emotions."
"What's the big deal? You've got your Byakugan. You can see them from a mile away. This is so miserable. Even Kuromaru is depressed." The little black dog by her side whined in agreement.
Hizashi Hyuga felt a headache coming on. He had no idea how to handle this feisty girl.
This was a standard Konoha reconnaissance squad, led by a Chunin, Hizashi Hyuga, and two Genin. The two Genin had just graduated from the Academy and had been unlucky enough to be sent straight to the battlefield. One of them, an Aburame, had been killed on a mission, and they hadn't been assigned a replacement. So, for now, they were a two-man squad.
Though Hizashi was a few years older and her superior, he had no control over the fiery Tsume. Fortunately, she was still a competent ninja and hadn't completely lost her mind. She just complained. A lot.
"When do you think this war will end?" she asked, her mood suddenly turning somber.
Hizashi understood. Complaining was just her way of relieving stress.
"I don't know," he said. "I've been here for six months."
Tsume chewed on a blade of grass. "When we were fighting the Sand," she said, her thoughts drifting, "they all smelled so bad. I heard it's because it's so dry in the Land of Wind, and water is precious, so they don't like to bathe."
Hizashi wanted to say that he had never smelled the Sand ninja, but that she always smelled like a dog. But he didn't dare.
"I wonder where everyone else is. It feels like the whole village is on the battlefield. And that sissy got first place in the graduation exam. It's so annoying."
"I heard the Hyuga main family is afraid of dying and never goes to the battlefield. Is that true?"
A vein throbbed on Hizashi's forehead. "Shut up!" he snapped.
Tsume jumped.
"Someone's coming!"
In his Byakugan's vision, hundreds of figures appeared. The chakra signature of the one in the lead was so strong that it made his eyes sting.
"That ominous chakra! It's a Jinchuriki! Is it the Cloud?"
Unlike an ordinary low-level ninja, Hizashi, though only a Chunin, had a higher security clearance, allowing him to identify the enemy. They had received a report yesterday that the Cloud had arrived in the Land of Rain, but he hadn't expected to see them on the battlefield so soon.
They were still far away, and Tsume and Kuromaru couldn't smell anything, but she trusted the by-the-book Hizashi.
"Report to the main camp immediately!" Hizashi said, his voice almost a shout. "The Cloud has invaded! Numbers: three hundred! There's a Jinchuriki among them! Chakra signature: very strong!"
"Of course a Jinchuriki's chakra is strong," Tsume said, thinking he was stating the obvious.
"No! They're all strong!"
Tsume didn't hesitate. Kuromaru let out a howl and grew to the size of a tiger. She leaped onto his back, grabbed his mane, and they shot off towards the camp. The forest terrain was no obstacle for them. They weaved between the giant trees and boulders as if they were on open ground.
"Hizashi! Don't you die, you bastard!" she shouted as she left.
Their usual tactic was for Hizashi to stay behind and continue to observe with his Byakugan while Tsume and Kuromaru, who were faster in the forest, delivered the intelligence.
Hizashi had no time to reply. He pushed his Byakugan to its limit, hoping to see more details.
But a moment later, a drop of cold sweat trickled down his forehead.
"So fast! How is that possible?!"
Tsume rode on Kuromaru, her hands clenched tight in his fur. Though they often bickered, she didn't want anything to happen to Hizashi. The death of their previous teammate, Mibi Aburame, still weighed on her. She decided that as soon as she delivered the message, she would go back for him. Kuromaru was a strong ninja hound, with enough stamina to carry two.
As she was thinking, Kuromaru let out a whimper. Tsume's face went rigid.
"They're catching up? What does that mean?"
Before she could even process it, she heard a whooshing sound behind her. She turned her head, and her blood ran cold.
Countless Cloud ninja were moving through the trees at an incredible speed. The dense forest was no obstacle for them. In a matter of moments, they had shot past her, overtaking her with ease.
Her pride, her speed in the forest, had been so easily surpassed.
She quickly had Kuromaru stop and hide.
How can they be so fast?! How is that possible?! Are they all Jonin?!
As she was trying to make sense of it, one of the rapidly moving Cloud ninja suddenly stopped and looked in her direction.
He saw me! Her heart leaped into her throat.
Even from a distance, the aura of that single ninja sent a chill down her spine. Kuromaru's fur stood on end.
The Cloud ninja slowly drew the sword from his back, as if preparing to kill her. Just as she was about to make a desperate last stand, another of the Cloud ninja stopped and said something to him. He gave her one last, long look, and then they were gone.
It wasn't until the Cloud's forces had disappeared into the forest that she dared to come out. After a moment of hesitation, she changed her direction and ran for the Konoha camp.
Dammit! That speed! Are all three hundred of them Jonin?! How is that possible?! I have to let the camp know!
But she knew, in her heart, that the Cloud's forces were much, much faster than she was.