It took roughly half an hour before the Iwa-nin finally broke through the blockade of the "living corpses" and continued their pursuit in the direction where the Kumo-nin had retreated.
Yet not long after they left, the entire village behind them suddenly dissolved into drifting ash.
Earth Style: Summoning: Soil of the Dead.
This was an S-rank jutsu Hanzō had taken from the feudal lord's mansion in the Land of Earth.
It transformed corpses—and the very space around them—into a summoning contract, storing them in a separate dimension. Any corpses buried in that area would be altered into "living dead," ready to be summoned whenever needed.
"Good thing that space still had plenty of resources stored inside. Otherwise, this operation would've been a nightmare."
"But the timing of Iwa's pursuit is perfect… Now Kumogakure really won't be able to explain themselves."
A while back, Danzō had stormed deep into the Land of Earth with three thousand men.
So today, Hanzō would show he could march three thousand men all the way to Iwagakure itself.
Suna's offensive, Amegakure's harassment, Konoha's unresolved messes, and now the loss of the Five-Tails… and to top it all off, the Fourth Tsuchikage was only at elite jōnin strength, still unable to perfectly control the Four-Tails within him.
Without question—right now, Iwagakure was at its weakest.
And even so… Iwagakure still had twenty thousand troops remaining.
"If they actually try some mindless human-wave tactic, that's just sending themselves to die in the blast of my explosive tags. As long as they've gathered even a few reports about my recent battles, they won't be that stupid."
"What worries me is whether Iwa has anything like Edo Tensei hidden away… Of the Five Great Nations, the only one whose background I really understand is Konoha. I've had far too little contact with the other four to know their cards."
"…Surely they don't have anything too ridiculous tucked away, right?"
"…Maybe I should probe them with a clone first…"
At this moment, all Hanzō hoped for was that Kumo would move faster, hurry up, and take the "gift" back home.
Ame-nin had been operating inside the Land of Earth for a while now; Iwa's counterattack would begin at any moment…
The brutes from Kumogakure better not mess this up!
---
Iwagakure – Council
"What?! The tailed beast was stolen?!"
Rōshi slammed the report shut and exploded in fury.
"What were you people doing? The sealing unit had nearly a thousand guards! And they just stood there and watched?!"
"And how did they even know the exact location of the sealing team? It was a massive military camp—how did they pinpoint them so accurately?!"
The Fourth Tsuchikage, Rōshi, fired question after question, leaving the trembling Iwa-nin drenched in sweat.
"Explain the situation from the beginning. Every detail."
"Yes, sir."
The Iwa-nin swallowed hard. "A group of over ten Kumo-nin suddenly charged the encampment. The outer sentries sounded the alarm immediately, and reinforcements quickly surrounded them."
"But every one of those Kumo-nin was at least jōnin-level. We couldn't subdue them quickly. Their battle with our perimeter forces rapidly spilled inward toward the sealing team."
"More than half our forces rushed out to fight. Since the sealing team was guarding a tailed beast, we couldn't gamble on their safety. The situation was spiraling out of control—so even though the seal was unstable, we had no choice but to relocate toward Iwagakure."
"But… we never expected their outer assault was just a feint. Their real target was the tailed beast all along. They were watching the sealing team's movements the entire time. They'd already planned everything—leaving traps along the route back toward the village."
"The sealing unit dropped their guard for a moment… and the entire unit was wiped out. He also took the container used to seal the beast."
Rōshi narrowed his eyes sharply. "…He?"
"Yes. The one who infiltrated the camp and ambushed the sealing team was just one man."
"With that many of you present, and none of you could stop him?"
"I… I'm sorry, Lord Tsuchikage. His strength was overwhelming—at least elite jōnin level. And he'd already set traps along his escape route."
"Since that area was deep in our territory, we thought it was safe… And also… all the jōnin stationed in the camp had already been summoned away… by you, sir. We… couldn't catch up."
"...Hmph."
Rōshi smashed a fist onto the table, making the Iwa-nin flinch hard, heart practically jumping out of his chest.
"S–Sorry, Lord Tsuchikage!"
"That damned Ōnoki! Dies and leaves me with this disaster!"
Just thinking about Ōnoki infuriated him. Back then, when they competed for the position of Third Tsuchikage, there was no reason the title should've gone to Ōnoki.
But while Rōshi was away on a mission, Ōnoki schemed behind his back. Forced into becoming the Four-Tails' jinchūriki, Rōshi lost all qualifications to run for Tsuchikage.
Any other promising talents in the village were quietly eliminated by Ōnoki, along with clans who opposed him.
He was ruthless to his own people—but when faced with a minor nation, he got himself killed outright. Fucking useless!
The consequence of Ōnoki's rule: Iwagakure now had pathetically few jōnin, no rising prodigies, and now that the Great Ninja War had begun, even seven- and eight-year-olds were being forced onto the battlefield—giving talent no chance to grow.
His death threw the entire village into chaos right as the war began.
Leaderless, Iwa lost initiative. Konoha seized the chance to strike straight into their heartland, facing almost no real resistance.
They finally repelled Konoha, but then Suna attacked.
They shifted their elites to the Suna front and barely stabilized the situation—only for Amegakure to strike from behind, annihilating thousands of border troops.
And just as they finally prepared a counteroffensive against Amegakure…
Kumogakure stole their tailed beast.
When it rains, it pours. Misfortune just doesn't want to leave them alone.
Rōshi could only sigh. "Did any of the captured Kumo-nin give useful intelligence?"
The newly recovered Iwa-nin instantly started sweating again.
"L–Lord Tsuchikage… after that man succeeded, he fired a signal flare."
"And then all the other Kumo-nin activated something like a forbidden jutsu. Their strength instantly surged, and despite our numbers, they forced their way out."
"We chased them, but… they were gone."
"Hundreds of you couldn't stop a dozen Kumo-nin?! Are you all useless?!"
Rōshi finally lost all composure—screaming insults so vicious he practically included the man's ancestors.
The Iwa-nin completely broke down, crying through his explanation:
"Lord Tsuchikage, we were nothing but expendable fodder! Did you forget who I am? I'm just an elite chūnin—barely! I have no talent for commanding troops!"
"The moment the jōnin left, they dumped command on me!"
"Our forces were all genin and wartime chūnin! We barely had any formally promoted chūnin left! There were originally three jōnin, but all of them were reassigned!"
"They had over ten jōnin using forbidden techniques! How could we chase that?!"
The crushing pressure of the battlefield, fighting desperately with no results, and now the Tsuchikage's rage—It all broke the decades-hardened shinobi. He burst into helpless tears.
Truthfully, even a great village had limited resources.
Iwagakure had the largest number of shinobi among the Great Nations, meaning each individual received fewer resources. Without special opportunities, advancement was nearly impossible.
The Land of Earth was already strained supporting so many ninja.
If this were a smaller nation, it would've collapsed long ago.
Rōshi finally remembered this reality. The man's sobbing only made him feel worse.
He also recalled that the entire feudal clan of the Land of Earth had been wiped out by Hanzō—not only the daimyo but every official who had dealings with Iwagakure… all assassinated.
If the war dragged on without the daimyo or nobles supplying resources, even fighting on home soil would soon become difficult.
And Amegakure was still raiding villages across the Land of Earth—those starving lunatics who even stole civilians' blankets and bedding…
Rōshi's headache intensified.
—
"Report!"
Another Iwa-nin rushed into the office.
Seeing the crying commander, he hesitated before speaking:
"Sir… the pursuit unit you previously dispatched has sent back information."
Both Rōshi and the subordinate straightened immediately.
"What does it say?"
"They report they found traces of the fleeing Kumo-nin joining up with another Kumo squad. They were then obstructed by corpses summoned by the enemy. After eliminating them, they resumed the pursuit."
"The Kumo-nin retreated toward the Land of Lightning, but it seems the Kumogakure is not their final destination."
"After chasing for some time, all traces of them disappeared. The pursuit unit has begun to withdraw."
...
"Damn it… I've underestimated Kumogakure this whole time."
Rōshi clenched his fists.
"I thought they were focused on Konoha and had no interest in us. But they're the craftiest of all."
He sighed and reassured his subordinates:
"This isn't your fault."
It was all that useless Ōnoki's fault—
and that damned Third Raikage.
Rōshi mentally cursed their entire bloodlines.
"We can't keep going like this…"
As he pondered, yet another Iwa-nin burst inside in panic.
"Report!"
"Lord Tsuchikage—bad news!"
"A scout from Takigakure has just sent word. Takigakure has mobilized troops against us—around two thousand soldiers."
"And our border forces there are light. They may break through immediately."
Rōshi's face twisted in fury and humiliation.
"So they think Iwagakure is easy to bully now?!"
"No matter how miserable we look, it's because we've faced Konoha and Suna—two of the strongest villages!"
"A tiny village like them should know their goddamn place! It's not like they have someone like Hanzō backing them!"
"We may lack many things, but we don't lack manpower. Six thousand shinobi remain in the village—send half and wipe them out!"
"W-Wait, Lord Tsuchikage!"
The messenger quickly raised his hands.
"There's more!"
"After we used the tailed beast to crush Konoha's forces last time, Takigakure caught wind of its power."
"Based on intel… Takigakure's Seven-Tails jinchūriki may be entering the battlefield as well."
Rōshi: "?!!!"
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