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"How did you all end up here?" Tsunade stared with her round, large eyes, asking in surprise.
Hearing her question, Sosuke's smile slowly faded away. He lowered his head slightly, his eyes showing a hint of melancholy.
A bitter expression crossed his face as he spoke softly, "When I arrived at our ninja squad, the place was already in ruins. It's not unexpected that it was attacked by the Rain Shinobi..."
Sosuke didn't continue his words.
Hearing what Sosuke said, Tsunade recalled some previous events.
She thought of the brutality of the war that Katasuke Marubashi had shown.
So she smiled slightly with relief, her big eyes looking at Sosuke as she comforted him softly.
"It's okay, Sosuke. This isn't your fault."
"This is... war..."
Jiraiya, who was nearby, chimed in at the right time.
He raised an eyebrow and looked at Sosuke with an exaggerated expression of exasperation.
Reaching out, he patted Sosuke's shoulder and said with an air of wisdom.
"This is just the beginning of the war, Sosuke. The ninja world has always been cruel."
"The sacrifice of comrades, the defeat of villages, these are all situations that can happen any day during the war. We should have been prepared for this mentally, shouldn't we..."
Hearing this, Sosuke raised his head to look at him.
Suddenly!
"Bang!"
A delicate fist landed on Jiraiya's head!
"You idiot! If you can't console someone, then don't open your mouth so carelessly!"
"What do you mean by 'the sacrifice of comrades, the defeat of villages'!? You idiot, if you can't express yourself, don't spout nonsense like a big-tailed wolf!"
Tsunade was furious, her pretty face adorned with a large sweatdrop, as she roared at Jiraiya.
With a huge bump on his head, Jiraiya cried after this treatment.
He crouched in a corner, drawing circles silently, feeling wronged.
I just wanted to comfort Sosuke...
"Really, this guy always says something clueless! Sosuke, don't pay any attention to what he says!"
Tsunade placed her hands on her hips, looking at the crouching Jiraiya, and sighed helplessly.
"Pfft..."
Sosuke couldn't help but laugh at this scene.
Hearing Sosuke's laughter, Tsunade suddenly realized that she might have been a little too violent in front of Sosuke!
Her face turned red again, and she became a bit flustered.
It's all because of this idiotic Jiraiya! Will Sosuke dislike me for acting like this?
Just as Tsunade was having these inner thoughts, Sosuke's gentle voice reached her ears.
"Thank you, Tsunade, Jiraiya."
Tsunade looked up and saw Sosuke looking at her with a warm smile on his face.
Her small face turned red again, but she replied softly, "It's okay, after all, we're comrades."
Hearing her words, a glimmer of emotion passed through Sosuke's eyes beneath his glasses.
Comrades, huh... I also consider you all as comrades...
But... I'm really sorry...
...
The sky was overcast.
The fine rain was falling gently.
Inside the borders of the Land of Rain, in a hidden underground cave, there was a secret base of the Rain Village.
"Drip, drip"... A slender figure walked slowly in the cave's passage.
"Drip, drip"... Occasionally, rainwater dripped from his black hair.
He was drenched, and his pale face was covered in rainwater, but his lips curled into a sinister smile.
He arrived in a spacious area that was shrouded in darkness.
Suddenly!
A hoarse voice echoed in this pitch-black cave.
"Jinnaro, how come you're the only one who came back? What about that guy, Kaeto!?"
Hearing the hoarse voice, Jinnaro lifted his head slightly.
As he gazed into the darkness, his eyes shimmered with an eerie light, and he spoke casually, a touch of arrogance in his tone.
"Who knows? That guy who always blabbers about 'adults' probably met his end."
His extravagant words echoed in the cave.
Hearing the peculiar tone in his voice, the hoarse voice turned dark.
"Remember your place! How dare you defy superiors like this!"
"Although your abilities have some use, you should know that the Rain Village doesn't lack people like you!"
"You should be grateful to Lord Gengo for bringing you into this ninja world. Otherwise, you'd be as useless as the rest of the commoners in this village!"
The words of the hoarse voice were filled with anger and contempt.
Hearing this, Jinnaro lowered his head slightly, his eyes concealed in darkness.
A low voice emanated from him.
"Commoners... that word suits you well. It's because of people like you that this village has no hope."
"Besides, you mentioned gratitude? Do you want me to express gratitude to someone who personally killed my family!? Is that what you want!?"
Jinnaro suddenly raised his head, his pupils dilated, his eyes filled with madness, and he shouted hysterically.
"Hehehe..."
Then, as if he suddenly regained his composure, he lowered his head and chuckled softly.
In the darkness of the cave, a middle-aged man suddenly appeared.
He was dressed in Rain Ninja combat gear, with a cold expression, and his eyes stared at Jinnaro coldly as he spoke in a deep voice.
"Even so, what do you want to do!? Jinnaro! Do you want to disobey the orders of your superiors!? I'll ask you again, where is Kaeto!?"
Hearing his words, Jinnaro's pale face showed a sinister smile, and his eyes flickered in the darkness.
His voice sounded eerie.
"Kaeto? Don't worry, you'll all be joining him soon."
Hearing his words, the middle-aged ninja's eyes narrowed.
At this moment!
"Sssss..."
A strange sound echoed in the cave!
Hearing this sound, the middle-aged ninja furrowed his brow and looked around!
In the darkness, his eyes emitted an oily green light!
When he saw the source of those sounds, he was slightly surprised!
This is!?
"Do you sense it!? Unfortunately, it's about to end."
Jinnaro said casually.
"Swoosh!" "Swoosh!"...
Several figures suddenly appeared in this dark cave and exclaimed urgently.
"Captain Yukishige! There's strange rainwater flowing in from all the exits around the base! It's very suspicious!"
"The same on our end!"
Hearing their words, the middle-aged ninja's eyes turned cold!
His oily green eyes stared at Jinnaro intently as he asked in a cold voice.
"What do you want to do!? Jinnaro!"
Hearing his words, Jinnaro's lips curled up, and his narrow eyes stared back at him without any weakness, speaking nonchalantly.
"Of course... I want to send you all to meet Kaeto. Goodbye, Gengo's loyal dogs."
He suddenly clasped his hands together!
"You bastard! Do you want to die with us!?"
Seeing his actions, the middle-aged ninja's vision blurred, and he immediately moved closer to kill Jinnaro!
But Jinnaro completely ignored his movements! He grinned.
"Water Style: Super Earthflow Burial!"
With his waist cut off!
"Boom!" "Boom!"...
Rainwater that had flowed into the cave suddenly exploded violently!
"Boom!"
Several pillars in the cave broke apart, and rocks from above came crashing down!
Rumbling...
The deafening noise made creatures within several kilometers scatter!
If one were to look down from the sky, they would see a huge crater forming, collapsing the surface hundreds of meters in diameter!
Rainwater and surface water gushed downward, making a "gushing" sound.
After a while.
Amidst the debris, a water sphere slowly overflowed from the cracks in the rocks!
Slowly!
The water sphere took on the pale form of Jinnaro.
He panted heavily, looking weak, but his eyes were bright.
He looked down at his intact body and thought.
Indeed... this is the power bestowed by Captain Blue Zabuza...
What an exhilarating power...
He looked again at the ruined ground and chuckled softly.
"Don't worry... soon... I'll send Gengo to join you."
"Hehe..."