Chapter 88: From Assassination to Assault
A few days ago.
Dana's mother, Satomi, had not been happy about him leaving the village again, but she was helpless. Her whole family were ninja. That was just the nature of their profession. Most of them could never have a stable life. Even if you were lucky enough to avoid death or disability, you were still away from your family more often than not. Many of them never even married. But she hoped that with the new division of labor, things would be better for the research-type ninja.
Before he left, however, Dana had locked himself in the research institute for several days, supposedly to participate in the development of some secret weapon.
The "All-World Material Support System" had proven its reliability in the last war, and the entire village was now enthusiastically pursuing research in this direction, pouring a massive amount of manpower and resources into it. Dana, as the resident "idea man," would often participate and offer his suggestions.
After the division of labor, the ninja who had already been engaged in research had responded enthusiastically. Though their work hadn't changed, the reforms had given them a new identity and a path for advancement. Many of them, who had lacked the combat skills to become Jonin, were now able to advance in their own field. Their enthusiasm had, in turn, spurred the development of the village's various research institutions, and many new research projects had been launched.
After a few days in the institute, Dana officially set out for the Land of Hot Water, accompanied by the first batch of ninja who would be stationed at the new liaison office, a total of forty people.
The opening ceremony of the "Hidden Cloud Liaison Office in the Land of Hot Water" was in seven days. They had plenty of time, so on the way, they also visited some of the "United Iron & Steel" personnel in various locations, to see if they had any complaints.
Most of them were Yotsuki clansmen. Though they were a bit unhappy, in just a few years, they hadn't yet been completely transformed into businessmen. Their ninja nature was still intact. This showed that the Third Raikage's decision had been the right one. Without this change, the Yotsuki clan's future might have been completely derailed, and it was not impossible for them to have transformed from a "ninja clan" to a "merchant clan."
After arriving in the capital of the Land of Hot Water, Dana got his men settled and then, with his trusted subordinates, found a deserted spot in the wilderness.
"Scout the area," he ordered. "Make sure no one gets close. Though I doubt anyone will."
"As you command, Lord Dana."
With his growing age and battlefield honors, the way people in the village addressed him had also changed.
Dana took out a large map and, with his two remaining subordinates, squatted on the ground and began to calculate the coordinates.
The success of the supply drop during the war had inspired several new ideas from the research department. The easiest to implement, and the one with the most direct application, was the explosive tag delivery pod.
All they had to do was design a trigger mechanism and then line the inside of the pod with explosive tags. At Dana's suggestion, the trigger was designed to have two modes: impact and timer, allowing for both immediate and delayed explosions. In theory, it could also be detonated in mid-air, but the timing was too difficult to control to be practical.
The two types of pods had already been developed and had undergone initial testing, but they had not yet been tested at long range. Since Dana had the summoning jutsu, he had taken on the task. He would never admit that he was just doing it because it sounded fun.
He studied the surrounding terrain and finally chose a nearby mountaintop as his target.
After calculating the coordinates and double-checking them, he used the Summoning Jutsu. A small, yellowish-brown snake with stripes appeared.
As he handed it the paper with the coordinates, he said, "A new snake? Are you guys on a rotation? Well then, I'll leave it to you, little guy."
He then took out two eggs, cracked them open, and fed them to the snake. "A bonus for today!"
The snake ate them, burped contentedly, and then disappeared in a puff of smoke.
While he waited, Dana found a good vantage point to observe the results.
Will this be the beginning of the "just blow it up" era? he thought excitedly. I can't wait.
The cost of explosive tags, though slightly reduced by assembly line production, was still high. A single pod could contain anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand of them. And unlike the other pods, which could be recovered, this one would explode, its casing becoming deadly shrapnel. It was a one-time use product, and it wasn't cheap.
The one person who could truly allow the Cloud to engage in indiscriminate bombing, a certain "printing press," had not yet matured. But she was already at the Ninja Academy with her friend Yahiko. Dana still didn't know how the Paper Release worked, but he was doing his best to nurture her and guide her in that direction.
For this test, they would first try a 1000-yield pod, containing 1000 explosive tags. It should be quite a show.
As his mind was wandering, he suddenly felt a sense of danger. He looked at the forest in the distance. A tall ninja had emerged from the trees. His cold eyes were fixed on Dana. He was holding a stack of papers.
"Yotsuki Dana," he said, "I've finally found you. Total bounty: 50 million Ryō. Your head, boy, is mine."
Dana stared at the inexplicably brave bounty hunter, stunned. He had known there was a bounty on his head, but he had never thought someone would actually come after him.
Before he could say anything, a clap of thunder echoed from the sky. A metal spindle, moving too fast for the eye to follow, appeared in the sky and slammed into the nearby mountaintop. A cloud of smoke and debris rose into the air.
Kakuzu jumped, but he forced himself not to look back. He couldn't let his prize escape.
But Dana was counting on his fingers.
"Three seconds after impact... three... two... one... boom!"
A earth-shattering explosion ripped through the mountain. The entire peak was blown to pieces. A thick cloud of smoke billowed into the air, and rocks and debris rained down. The animals for miles around fled in terror.
"The penetration was a bit weak," Dana mused. "Probably because the pod material wasn't strong enough. But the power is incredible. At that speed, I wonder if a barrier ninjutsu could even stop it."
He then looked at the green-eyed ninja.
"What was that you were saying?" he asked. "What bounty?"
Kakuzu couldn't help but turn and look at the shattered mountain behind him, a drop of cold sweat on his forehead.
What kind of jutsu was that? He didn't even do any hand seals! And that power... it's insane!
"You have a Hidden Waterfall forehead protector, don't you?" Dana said, a playful tone in his voice, especially when he noticed the man's green eyes. "You wouldn't happen to be Kakuzu, would you?"
Kakuzu slowly regained his composure. "What trick did you just pull, boy?" he said. "But you know my name. Are you afraid I'm going to take your head?"
"I've heard you tried to assassinate the First Hokage. You must be very brave. But I never thought you'd be this brave. There are a lot of us here. Are you planning on turning this assassination into an all-out assault?"
His scattered subordinates had now returned and were surrounding him.
Kakuzu cursed himself for his recklessness. The 50 million had made him careless.
Eleven of them. They might not be that strong. I might still have a chance. I can afford to lose a few hearts.
As he was thinking, Yotsuki Dana said, "I really don't know what you were thinking. But to show our respect..."
The eleven men took out their masks and put them on.
Kakuzu's heart skipped a beat. Those masks... they were so familiar.
He suddenly remembered the group that had turned the tide of the war a year ago, the one that everyone had been looking for, the so-called "strongest mercenary organization in the ninja world"... what were they called again?
He had heard that all eleven of them were powerful Jonin.
Dana adjusted his "One of Circles" mask. "Sealing jutsu, barrier jutsu, get ready!" he ordered. "Get him!"