The desert wind howled across the dunes, carrying with it the promise of blood and vengeance.
At the head of a vast army of Sunagakure shinobi, Chiyo of the Sand stood tall, her aged frame belying the steel in her spine and the fire in her eyes.
Five years. Five long years since that fateful day when news of her brother's death had reached her. Ebizo, kind and gentle Ebizo, cut down by Hanzo the Salamander. The memory of that moment still burned in her mind, fueling the rage that had driven her every action since.
"Lady Chiyo." a young jōnin approached, bowing respectfully. "The troops are ready. We await your command."
Chiyo nodded, her eyes scanning the horizon where she knew Amegakure lay. "Very good. Tell the men to prepare for a long march. We strike at dawn."
As the jōnin hurried off to relay her orders, Chiyo allowed her mind to wander back to that day five years ago. She had been in her workshop, perfecting a new poison, when a messenger had burst in with the news. Ebizo, sent on a diplomatic mission to Amegakure, had been killed by Hanzo himself.
The shock had nearly broken her. Ebizo, her little brother, her constant companion through the long years. Gone, just like that. But shock had quickly given way to a rage, unlike anything she had ever known.
Make no mistake, she knew that the Kazekage only claimed it was a diplomatic mission in an attempt to both paint Amegakure as the bad guy and to ensure that Konoha would not learn of the true nature of the mission.
But this did not change the fact that her brother was dead. And that was all that mattered in this cruel world.
In the years since, that rage had cooled, hardening into an implacable resolve. She had thrown herself into her work, developing poisons and antidotes with a fervor that alarmed even her closest associates. But her masterpiece, the culmination of five years of grief and hatred, lay hidden within her robes.
A small vial, filled with a liquid so toxic that a single drop could kill a thousand men. And she carried enough to wipe Amegakure off the map entirely.
She would break one of the few Codes of War that the Daimyos agreed on and poison the entire water system of the Land of Rain. She would make an entire country pay for her brother's death.
"Soon, Bizo." Chiyo murmured to herself, her gnarled hand clutching the hidden vial. "Soon, you will be avenged."
As the first rays of dawn began to paint the sky, Chiyo raised her voice, addressing the assembled Suna forces.
"Shinobi of the Sand!" her voice, strengthened by decades of commanding puppets, carried easily over the assembled troops. "Today, we march not just for Sunagakure, but for justice long denied! Hanzo the Salamander has ruled Amegakure with an iron fist for too long, threatening our borders and murdering our diplomats!"
A murmur of agreement ran through the ranks. Chiyo continued, her voice rising with passion.
"We go to punish a tyrant, to avenge our fallen comrades, and to secure a future for our village! Hanzo thinks his rain-soaked fortress is impregnable. We will show him the true power of the desert storm!"
A cheer went up from the troops, their spirits ignited by Chiyo's words. With a gesture from their leader, the Suna army began to move, a sea of tan and brown flowing across the desert like a great sandstorm.
As they marched, Chiyo's mind drifted to the future she hoped to secure. Not just vengeance for Ebizo, but a safer world for her grandson, Sasori. The boy was a prodigy, already showing incredible talent with puppetry at such a young age. He deserved a world free from the threat of men like Hanzo.
Even if she did not return, her son and daughter-in-law would ensure he had a happy childhood.
Hours passed as they crossed the desert, the landscape gradually changing as they neared the borders of the Land of Rain. The air grew heavier, the constant moisture a stark contrast to the dry heat of Suna.
As they entered a narrow valley that would lead them to Amegakure, Chiyo called for a halt. Something felt... off. The air was too still, the usual sounds of forest life conspicuously absent.
"Lady Chiyo." one of her elite jōnin approached, his voice low with concern. "Our scouts haven't returned. And there's no sign of Ame's usual border patrols."
Chiyo's eyes narrowed. Hanzo was many things, but careless was not one of them. This smelled of a trap. But they had come too far to turn back now.
"Proceed with caution." she ordered. "Tell the men to be ready for anything."
As the army began to move forward once more, tension thick in the air, Chiyo's hand drifted to the hidden vial.
'Whatever happens, happens. If this is it, this nation shall fall with me.' Chiyo thought to herself.
They had just entered the densest part of the forest when it happened. A sound like thunder split the air, causing every shinobi to freeze in their tracks. Chiyo's eyes snapped to the sky, widening in shock at what she saw.
There, hovering above the treetops, was a sight that defied explanation. A figure, massive and imposing, with eyes that glowed an unnatural red. It wasn't human, it couldn't be human. Some new secret weapon of Hanzo's?
But before Chiyo could even begin to formulate a response, the world stilled.
Everything froze.
The People.
The Air.
The Chakra
A single phrase was heard from the monster, with it coming down from the air.
The being seemed akin to a God as he fell from the Heavens, with it seeming like his fist carried the very Stars in the Sky.
"Galaxy Impact"
A blast of pure force erupted from the figure, and headed to the ground beneath.
The terrain around them imploded as a massive explosion occurred, one so powerful that it shattered trees, stone, sand, debris and sent shinobi flying like leaves in a gale. Chiyo barely had time to anchor herself with chakra strings before the shockwave hit her, yet it didn't stop her from being knocked away by the attck.
As the dust began to settle, Chiyo stared in horror at the devastation around her. Where once stood a proud Suna army, now lay a field of broken bodies and shattered earth. Those few shinobi still alive were crippled Shinobi who could not even hold a weapon, their formations in total chaos.
And there, descending from the sky like some avenging God, was the source of this impossible power. As it neared, Chiyo could make out more details - a massive frame clad in a white coat, fists that seemed to radiate barely contained energy.
Chiyo was a part of the first class of graduates from Sunagakure, and she was an elite Kunoichi trained to be the best of the best. She idolized the First Kazekage and served under the Second as a student.
Yet, right now, her body, the one thing that had made her so sharp as a Shinobi, could only give her a single signal, one that she had never experienced before.
DEATH
For the first time in decades, Chiyo felt a chill of true fear run down her spine. This was no mere shinobi, no simple weapon of Hanzo's. This was something else entirely, something that shouldn't exist in their world.
As the dust cleared further, revealing more of the devastation wrought by a single attack, Chiyo's mind raced. All her carefully laid plans, her years of preparation and training to destroy this nation in the name of revenge, seemed suddenly inadequate in the face of this monstrous power.
But as the figure touched down on the broken earth, its red eyes fixed squarely on her, Chiyo steeled herself. She had come too far, sacrificed too much, to falter now. She bit her tongue, tasting her own blood just for the hope to escape the trance that this cruel monster put onto her.
Whatever this being was, she would face it. For Ebizo, for Sasori, for the future of Sunagakure.
With trembling hands, she reached for the vial of poison. If this was to be her end, she would ensure it was an end that would echo through history. Hanzo, this monster, all of Amegakure if necessary - they would fall with her.
As she prepared to make her final stand, Chiyo of the Sand, the legendary puppet master, faced the impossible entity before her. The fate of an entire nation rested in her robe.
The air crackled with tension as shinobi and monster faced each other, neither moving, neither speaking. It was as if the whole world held its breath, waiting to see what would happen next.
And then, just as Chiyo was about to reach for her deadly poison, the monster spoke. Its voice was like thunder, shaking the very ground beneath their feet and making her instincts flare once again with that same feeling.
DEATH
"Chiyo of the Sand." it boomed, each word heavy with power and authority, with it seemingly laced with power that made her head scream as she heard. "Your invasion ends here. Surrender now, or face the full might of Amegakure's Justice."
Chiyo's eyes widened in shock. What manner of creature was this? This thing was not human. No normal human could emit power like that on their own, without the aid of a Jutsu.
"I will never surrender." she spat, her voice filled with venom as she could barely stand, the being still emitting some type of aura that seemed to be yelling at her to kneel. "Not to Hanzo, not to you, not to anyone! The Rain shall pay for its actions!!"
The monster's red eyes narrowed, a flicker of... sadness? ... passing through them. "So be it." it rumbled. "You have chosen your path, Chiyo of the Sand. Now face the consequences."
The being raised its fist, with a deep red lightning beginning to spark from it as he stared at her.
Yet, in the next moment, the color around the fist changed, showing that the monster was about to eviscerate them from the Shinobi World.
It turned white.
He then threw the punch directly in front of him, and in a scene that Chiyo would have assumed was a Genjutsu, the space in front of him cracked.
Time stood still. But then...
The world trembled.
Chiyo felt herself being lifted off her feet, the vial of poison slipping from her grasp as she was hurled backward.
In that moment, as oblivion rushed to meet her, Chiyo of the Sand had one final, crystal clear thought:
'Ebizo... Sasori... I'm sorry. I've failed you both.'
Then darkness claimed her, and she knew no more.
As the dust began to settle, revealing the full extent of the devastation, the monster stood alone, looking at the area that had just faced his attack.
Not a single living soul could be seen from the side of the Sand.
Garp looked at the devastation, yet he showed nothing but an unwavering fire at the current scene.
"Let this be a lesson. There will always be losers and winners, even in this world."
Garp then turned, with him picking up the small vial that Chiyo had prior and putting it in his pocket.
~
On this day, 2,000 Shinobi from the Land of Wind, a fourth of their total current forces, disappeared due what many assume to be nature's wrath. The Puppet Mistress of Suna was determined to be missing. And this was all due to an
Earthquake.
~
[Author's Corner. Alright, you guys earned this. I hope you enjoy it. This is what happens when Garp takes it serious.
Give me recaps on issues with the book (Outside of just the Marine name lol).
Who wins in a fight, Ichigo or Naruto.]
Read Chapters Ahead on P@treon.com/KillerDJ2023