The Cloud-nin squad had already reached a dilapidated village.
"Something's wrong. It's too quiet. Everyone, halt."
The squad leader of the Cloud-nin narrowed his eyes.
"There's blood in the air."
The village had clearly been raided—either by Konoha or the Ame. Burned ruins were everywhere, bodies strewn across the ground, flies buzzing over the corpses.
The entire settlement reeked of death.
"This isn't the stench of old corpses… this scent of blood is fresh. Someone tried to mask their trail with the bodies."
"The technique is impressive, but it seems we interrupted him before he finished. The target should still be nearby."
"Stay sharp. Whoever this is—he's skilled. And we're in Land of Earth. Assume everything here is hostile. Prepare to eliminate him."
The Cloud-nin moved into battle-ready formation, cautiously sweeping the ruins.
They pushed open one of the few half-collapsed doors still standing.
Creak—
The rotten door groaned, then gave way entirely and fell apart along with its frame.
"Not here…" the squad leader muttered, turning toward another pile of rubble.
"Gale Style: Laser Circus!"
Lightning-infused vapor erupted into countless focused beams, piercing straight through the ruins opposite them. The rubble crackled with residual electricity.
"Good. Let's go check—"
But just as they turned around, the ground beneath their feet tore open like sheets of paper.
Flames erupted upward, wrapping around two Cloud-nin.
"Paper bombs! Jump!"
They reacted instantly—as expected from an elite Cloud squad. Even ambushed, they avoided the killing blow.
"Windcutter! Lightning Flame! Are you okay?"
"Burned, but nothing serious. We dodged the main blast," the two replied. "Eyes up. Enemy's close."
"Wait—where's the captain?!"
As the smoke cleared from the explosion, they finally saw three figures inside the mist—
"Captain!" One Cloud-nin moved to rush forward but was yanked back.
"Stop! Something's wrong!"
When the dust settled, they finally saw it clearly.
Two masked Cloud ANBU had their blades pressed to the squad leader's neck. Sweat streamed down his face.
"Cloud-nin… Weren't you attacking Konoha in the Land of Hot Water? Why are you in Earth Country?"
Both ANBU were covered in blood—horrific wounds all over them. Even the Cloud-nin felt their scalp tingle at the sight.
But they had no doubt—those blades could sever their captain's head in an instant.
"Answer us. Your reply determines whether this blade falls."
"We're acting under Lord Raikage's command," the Cloud captain said carefully. "With Iwagakure thrown into chaos, we entered Earth Country to seize supplies for our front lines. Judging by your masks… you must be ANBU on a classified mission."
"My apologies. We didn't expect other Cloud operatives here. That was why we struck first."
The two ANBU nodded and lowered their swords.
Feeling the blade withdraw from his throat, the Cloud captain finally exhaled. He never wanted to experience that kind of deathly pressure again.
"You're seriously injured. We have medical supplies—"
"No need."
The ANBU cut him off immediately.
They walked to a fallen doorframe and began forming hand seals. Space rippled, and the entire ruined area warped.
When the distortion settled, a black-brown sealing jar appeared alongside an ANBU lying on the ground—his limbs severed, his body barely intact.
"Form the barrier."
"You—enter," the dying ANBU said weakly. "There's something you must hear."
The Cloud captain shot a look at his team, reassured them, then stepped into the barrier. The two masked ANBU blocked the entrance and sealed the sound inside.
Inside, the ANBU squad leader coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"Hello… I'm the captain… cough cough… of this ANBU unit."
The Cloud captain immediately stepped forward. "You're gravely injured—don't speak. Let one of your men explain—"
The ANBU shook his head.
"No. It has to be me. I must entrust this to you… personally."
"Our unfinished mission… cough"
More blood spilled.
"I've confirmed your identity. Only Cloud-nin can use Gale Style… so you're genuine."
He coughed again. "We mistook you for Iwa reinforcements. Our attack was rash. Apologies."
"Please rest. We will get you all out alive."
"No. There's no time. Listen."
The Cloud captain fell silent. Anything an ANBU captain insisted on with his dying breaths was unquestionably serious.
"You know about tailed beasts. Cloud has the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails."
"Yes."
"Then this will be simple." The ANBU swallowed blood. "Lord A assigned us a mission. A mission about a tailed beast."
"What?!"
The Cloud captain's eyes widened. Such a task was far beyond what a small squad like his could normally handle.
The ANBU captain continued.
"We intercepted intelligence from Iwagakure… and seized a one-in-a-million opportunity. We attacked and stole their Five-Tails. It's sealed inside this jar."
"For this… we already lost one comrade."
The Cloud captain was stunned. To steal a tailed beast from Iwa and lose only one ANBU—how terrifying was this squad?
Thinking back to the blades that touched his neck moments ago… he finally understood.
"But as you can see—we're in no shape to transport the beast."
"Yet fate smiled on Cloud. We encountered you here of all places."
"Our mission was to bring the Five-Tails to the battlefield in the Land of Hot Water and strike Konoha from behind. But clearly… we cannot continue."
He retrieved a scroll from his pouch.
"Give these to the commanding officer there. He'll know how to proceed."
"I know it seems unreasonable… but I must ask you to complete this mission for us. The entire future of the Hidden Cloud may hinge on this."
The Cloud captain nodded.
"I swear… we'll complete your mission."
"And we'll bring you and your men home."
"No." The ANBU captain shook his head.
"You should have sensed it—our chakra is unstable."
"All of us used a forbidden technique earlier… and we used it again when we attacked you."
"The backlash is coming. None of us will make it far."
The Cloud captain fell silent.
"Please," the ANBU whispered. "Take this treasure… back to the village."
With his last remaining arm, he shoved the Five-Tails sealing jar into the Cloud captain's hands. Blood dripped freely.
The captain accepted the jar solemnly.
"Rest assured. Your mission will be fulfilled."
"Good… that's… enough."
Blue fire ignited around the ANBU captain's body—chakra combustion.
In moments, he was reduced to ash.
ANBU—leave no corpse behind.
"I feel your resolve," the Cloud captain whispered, bowing to the ashes. Then he lifted the jar and stepped outside.
Everyone saw it.
The barrier blocked sound, not sight. All Cloud-nin and ANBU watched the ANBU captain burn himself away.
"We'll take over from here," the Cloud captain said to the two remaining ANBU. "We'll finish the mission."
The ANBU nodded. They turned toward the approaching smoke on the horizon.
Iwa reinforcements—real ones—had arrived.
"We'll hold them off," the ANBU said. "This should have been our job."
"Go. We won't last long."
The Cloud captain started to leave, then hesitated.
"Your names?"
The two ANBU looked at each other.
"Thunder."
"Lightning."
"I'll remember you both," the Cloud captain said, before rallying his squad. They rushed toward the Land of Hot Water.
Eventually, their silhouettes disappeared.
"They're Cloud-nin. And they have backup," one Iwa-nin murmured, spying them from afar.
"Be careful. I've been here before. This place was never a village—this could be a trap."
Suddenly—
"Earth Style: Summoning: Soil of the Dead, Open!"
Bodies throughout the ruins jerked upright, becoming undead puppets lunging toward the Iwa-nin.
"What a pain… but I can't let you catch up to them."
Hanzō rose from underground, glancing at the pile of ashes.
"This Dead Soul Jutsu is pretty handy… maybe I should craft more flesh puppets with it."
He looked toward the horizon, though the Cloud-nin were already long gone.
"I'll leave the rest to you all. Don't disappoint me."
…
Listening to the clashes between Iwa-nin and the undead behind him, Hanzō sank into thought.
"Rōshi, the Four-Tails' jinchūriki, can't transform right now… and the Five-Tails was taken by Cloud."
"In other words… heh. Plans never keep up with the battlefield. War truly is unpredictable."
He summoned a swarm of small salamanders to spread his orders.
Hanzō looked toward the distant battlefront.
"It's time to end this. The golden era of Amegakure begins now."
"Six months. I'll bring the Land of Earth front to a close."
"Mobilize. Advance!"
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