After Orochimaru made his move, Yamaru had already led the Ame-nin forces to block Konoha's front advance.
At that moment, he even felt a faint sense of relief.
He finally knew what the Konoha shinobi intended to do.
"Lord Yamaru, the Konoha shinobi are numerous and powerful. Shouldn't we avoid confronting them head-on for now?"Jiichirō asked cautiously from his side. He still believed direct combat was the last thing they should attempt.
"Hanzo-sama's orders were clear—stop the Konoha shinobi at all costs."
"Hide? You want to hide? Are you planning to let the Konoha ninja pass?"
"To let them trample our land and our people?"
At that moment, Yamaru completely lost control of his emotions. He refused to listen to any advice.
He had only one thought left:
Kill Orochimaru.
Make Orochimaru taste real suffering.
"…"
Jiichirō had no better plan. Seeing Yamaru angry, he could only shut his mouth.
After all, Yamaru was appointed personally by Hanzo-sama.
"Lord Yamaru, I've spotted the Konoha forces!"
A scout rushed over to report.
"Prepare for battle. Ready your water-escape formations."
"Let those Konoha brats drown in our floods."
Yamaru wasn't entirely stupid—he knew that using their superiority in Water Release was the best way to disrupt Konoha's formation.
The weaker ones might even be killed outright.
"Suiton: Water Dragon Bullet!"
"Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique!"
"Water Release: Water Explosion!"
…
The shinobi of the Rain Country relied almost entirely on Water Release. Nearly every ninja unleashed their strongest water-style technique.
In an instant, the attacks merged into a massive, terrifying tidal wave, surging toward the Konoha forces.
Orochimaru watched the incoming flood without a trace of panic.
A faint, disdainful smirk curled on his lips.
This was exactly what he had been waiting for.
"Prepare the earth-style defensive formation."
"Yes!"
In an instant, hundreds of earth-style shinobi formed hand seals.
"Spiritual Summoning—Triple Rashōmon!"
Orochimaru slammed a single hand to the ground.
Three monstrous, gate-shaped structures tore out of the earth, each baring fanged, grotesque maws. One after another, they devoured and weakened the force of the incoming torrent.
By the time the water struck the earthen walls before the Konoha troops, it had become gentle—harmless.
"Nicely done, Orochimaru-kun."
Seeing the Rashōmon's ultimate defensive power with his own eyes, Kawafuu was excited.He had thought even his Sage Mode could only withstand a few such attacks.
"Impressive."
Orochimaru nodded lightly at Kawafuu, then gave the order to advance. He rushed forward with the Konoha forces at his heels.
Kawafuu naturally didn't want to lag behind, but the two kids with him weren't fast enough. They stayed near the middle ranks.
With no need to stay alert anymore, Shuo Mao drew his short blade and dove into the Ame-nin ranks like an eagle swooping into a flock of chickens.
Once steel made contact, he took lives without hesitation.
"Eight Gates—Kyoumon: Open!"
Dai opened the Sixth Gate and plunged into the Ame-nin formation like a green hurricane.
Wherever he passed, ninjas were sent flying like rag dolls hit by cannon fire.
It was Might Dai's first time displaying his terrifying power on a large battlefield.
Orochimaru, with his lethal ninjutsu and formidable taijutsu, cut through the Ame-nin ranks like a scythe. Poisonous snakes emerged at unexpected moments, delivering deadly strikes.
Kawafuu could only watch as the two kids rampaged, occasionally cleaning up stragglers.
Led by these elite vanguards, Konoha's morale soared—they fought at 150% of their strength.
Already outnumbered, the Rain-nin were crushed in the very first attack.
Yamaru could not believe Konoha had so many top-tier fighters. At this point, he had no intention of fighting Orochimaru at all.
His heart was filled with fear. Even killing all his subordinates would not stop Konoha's advance.
After slaying several mid-level Konoha shinobi, Yamaru suddenly sensed Jiichirō's presence vanish entirely—sent flying by Dai, and utterly lifeless.
"Retreat! Retreat!"
Yamaru shouted the order and gathered around a dozen shinobi to cover his withdrawal.
Once a leader loses the will to fight, the army becomes helpless sheep awaiting slaughter.
The Ame-nin were massacred without mercy.
No one on a battlefield was colder than a shinobi. Lives disappeared one after another.
Under Kawafuu's protection, even the two youngsters killed several chūnin.
Any high-ranking ninja trying to prey on the weak was effortlessly cut down by Kawafuu.
By now, the remaining Rain-nin had lost all will to resist. Yamaru escaped with fewer than a hundred men.
The battlefield was too large; Orochimaru couldn't pursue. He simply continued slaughtering the Ame-nin who remained.
His pale face was now splattered with blood, but his movements were as elegant as ever, the serpents in his sleeves still vicious and hungry.
The battle ended in under two hours.
Not a single Ame-nin remained alive.
"How was it?"
Kawafuu stood spotless—no trace of blood—looking as though he hadn't fought at all.
A stark contrast to the mangled corpses and pools of blood at his feet.
"Ugh—!"
"Ugh—!"
Nawaki vomited first; Minato couldn't hold it either.
It was their first time witnessing such a gruesome battlefield.
"This is war. Either you die, or I die."
"You must become stronger. I don't want you ending up like these people."
Kawafuu spoke grimly, kicking aside a severed hand—
—causing the two kids to vomit again.
He believed they would remember this lesson for the rest of their lives.
Only talent and relentless effort could create a true shinobi.
"I understand… sensei."
Minato was the first to recover. He wiped his mouth, already beginning to adapt to the scene.
Nawaki, pale and empty, could no longer throw up, but he nodded at Kawafuu.
A sign he understood as well.
"Let's go see what Orochimaru is planning next."
Kawafuu led them toward Orochimaru, who was surrounded by many shinobi.
When they saw Kawafuu approaching, they cleared the way so he could speak with Orochimaru face-to-face.
"Orochimaru-kun, a few Rain-nin escaped."
"I think we still need to be cautious."
"You worry too much, Kawafuu-kun. Fewer than a hundred escaped, all seriously injured."
"Even if they make it back to the village, it's a dead end for them."
Orochimaru smiled faintly. It made sense.
"Then should we rest before advancing further?"
"I'll send people back to report and bring more supplies."
"If Salamander Hanzo doesn't return, we likely won't face any real resistance on the way."
After counting the fallen Ame-nin, Orochimaru estimated about 800 Rain-nin had been present—confirming Kawafuu's judgment.
Hanzo's deployment strategy meant he was the sharpest blade among the Rain-nin.
Altogether, Amegakure had only about three thousand shinobi.Spreading their forces only delayed the inevitable.
Now that the Rain-nin here were annihilated, unless Hanzo returned, the country had no troops left to deploy.
But Kawafuu felt something was off.
If the Rain Country was truly this easy to conquer…
Then how, in the original timeline, did Hanzo have time to defeat Sunagakure and the Iron Country first—then return to fight Konoha?
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All the fanfiction is 30-chapter ahead but this "Naruto: Tsunade the Fugitive Healer" is 30 chapters ahead there