The gloomy sky always covers the Land of Rain, and the pattering raindrops keep falling, unable to stop. This small country, sandwiched between the three major ninja nations of Fire, Wind, and Earth, seems to be crying. The moist air is filled with a faint smell of blood.
Rustle! Countless footsteps sounded, stepping on the rain-soaked land, making a clear noise.
"Is this the reinforcement force of Konoha Village?" a ninja thought behind a broken tree somewhere. He glanced at the hundreds of figures wearing Konoha forehead protectors, and his heart sank slightly.
Just as he was about to leave and report back, he saw three thin figures at the end of the hundreds. Three little kids who were definitely no older than twelve years old.
"Just filling in the numbers, has Konoha fallen to this point now?" He put on a mocking smile.
Swish! However, the next moment, a white light flashed in his eyes, and the sharpness brought him the fear of approaching death!
Despite this, he was skilled enough to be scouting, so he retreated violently, avoiding the fatal blow. In an instant, he had a sword in his hand to take the attack.
Chi Chi! The blue arc of electricity flashed, wrapped around the chakra short sword, and slashed down with force! When the two came into contact, there was no sound of metal clashing, but the scouting ninja's sword was directly cut off by the chakra short sword, followed by a flash of lightning.
"Ah!" The ninja screamed as the arm holding the sword was severed. At the same time, the owner of the short sword punched him in the chest, but without much force.
"Zi Zi!" But the lightning chakra spread from his chest like a spider web, instantly covering his whole body. The paralysis immediately drained all his fighting power. At this moment, he saw his opponent's face clearly.
The most eye-catching thing about his young, handsome face was his white hair.
"Hatake Sakumo!" He instantly realized who this person was. In the Konoha Ninja Village, the only person with this kind of swordsmanship and white hair was the man named Hatake Sakumo.
"Are you from Iwagakure?" Sakumo said indifferently. Behind him, Tsunade's figure gradually became clear. The Iwagakure Jonin, paralyzed by Sakumo's lightning chakra, struggled to raise his eyes, and then a grim smile appeared on his face. His lips and face quickly turned purple, and after a few seconds, he was dead.
"Did he take poison?" Tsunade asked as she saw the man's death. Sakumo nodded and said, "This guy was really good at hiding himself. Even you and I didn't detect any trace of him." As he said that, Sakumo looked in the direction of the main force. At the front of the team, Suzuka was making a seal with one hand, her eyes closed.
After a few seconds, she opened her eyes, looked at the two of them, and said, "There should be no others. He was alone."
Tsunade nodded. If it weren't for the sensor ninja and Sakumo's skills, even with hundreds of people, the scout could have escaped with his strength and stealth abilities.
"How far are we from Jiraiya's camp now?" Tsunade asked with a sidelong glance. In the team, a Konoha ninja took out a manual, which was actually a small map. After staring at it for a few seconds, he pointed to the southwest and said, "If we go through the mountain ahead, we should be there."
Hundreds of ninjas, including Minato, Nawaki, and Uchiha Yoruki, looked in that direction.
"Got it," Tsunade said, and as the rain, which had just become sparse, began to gather again, her eyebrows furrowed. "It's so annoying!" Although it wasn't her first time in the Land of Rain, this gloomy weather always made her unhappy. But this is the Land of Rain, and the rain never stops.
"Let's go," Tsunade said, and then she flew towards the southwest. Hundreds of ninjas followed her footsteps and crossed the mountain. What they saw was an abandoned village. The roofs of many houses seemed to be pierced by the dense rain.
"They're hiding in the village. What about the villagers?" Nawaki, at the end of the team, frowned slightly. On the side, Minato also frowned slightly and said, "This is the core area of the war. Naturally, the civilians have already fled."
"Why would they just give up their home like this?" Nawaki asked. "If they don't give it up, they die," Uchiha Yoruki, beside him, said, his eyes flickering. During the war between ninjas, civilians weren't even considered livestock to be slaughtered. They were like ants on the ground. When people were fighting, they would be trampled to death inadvertently.
"I'm afraid the villagers of this village didn't run away at all," Sakumo said, hearing the conversation between the three of them. His eyes darkened as he continued, "The village was likely massacred a long time ago. Even now, you can smell the stench of rotting corpses."
"Massacred the village?" Nawaki and Uchiha Yoruki's pupils shrank. After all, they had not experienced war, and Minato frowned. He also noticed this.
"Did our people do it?" Nawaki asked, swallowing his saliva.
Tsunade turned her head and said, "It wasn't a ninja from Konoha, nor Jiraiya."
"During the time of the Second Hokage, Konoha had a rule that in wars between ninjas, civilians were absolutely not to be harmed," Minato explained.
"How do you know?" Orochimaru asked with interest.
Minato had already thought of an excuse and said, "Of course, Jiraiya taught me."
In truth, Jiraiya hadn't taught him these things; they were his memories from the past.
"Oh? Jiraiya taught you these things?" Orochimaru asked with some doubt.
"That's enough. Let's go," Tsunade said angrily, seemingly holding a prejudice against Orochimaru. Orochimaru ignored her, and everyone rushed toward the ruined village.
Swish! As they approached the entrance of the village, dozens of figures rushed out. The tallest figure at the head had a smile on his face and said, "You're finally here, Tsunade."
Next to Jiraiya stood a ninja wearing sunglasses, his hands in his pockets. Tsunade and the others immediately went to meet them. Seeing him, Minato couldn't help but smile. It was Jiraiya, the teacher he hadn't seen since their last separation at Mount Myoboku.
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