A few days later, Sasori and his group entered the Land of Rice.
Although the Land of Rice now had a hidden village, the Hidden Sound Village had only recently been established and clearly did not yet have a large number of ninja. Along the border areas there were almost no Hidden Sound formations or defensive perimeters to speak of.
Theoretically, although the Hidden Sound Village existed, this country's military capabilities were still extremely weak. It was simply a village in the most basic sense of the word.
This was the fundamental difference between a small hidden village and a major one, not only in terms of top-tier combat power but also in terms of overall personnel numbers. And for a small hidden village to develop into a major one was extraordinarily difficult.
Looking at the history of ninja wars, many small hidden villages had ultimately met their end, being completely destroyed. This was also why the ninja world had always considered the Five Great Hidden Villages as the dominant forces. Their positions were very difficult to shake.
After the war ended, with the economic and cultural recovery of the ninja world, the Land of Rice had restored its quiet countryside scenery, showing no trace of having been a strategic zone during the Third Great Ninja War.
However, the Hidden Sound Village had been built in a secluded location deep within the mountains and forests, somewhat remote and not easily found. The village bore none of the distinctive characteristics of the surrounding country. This also suited Orochimaru's operational style. Calling it a hidden village was more accurate to say it was Orochimaru's research base.
Under Black Zetsu's guidance, Sasori and his subordinate entered a vast forest.
"Be careful," the subordinate said quietly not long after. Sasori had sensed enemies lurking nearby. A warning would have been ideal.
But Sasori remained completely unmoved.
As they drew closer to the Hidden Sound Village, being detected by enemy ninja was entirely expected. Sasori had no intention of concealing his whereabouts. He simply wanted to proceed directly and meet Orochimaru.
Swoosh.
Several dark figures flashed through the tree shadows above. Hiruko continued advancing without changing pace.
A moment later, one figure dropped from above to strike. Before it could land, a cold glint shot from beneath Hiruko's mask and struck the attacker dead. The figure hit the ground with a thud, convulsing, blood pouring from every orifice.
Poison.
Two more assassins closed in from behind, also caught by the poison cloud, their abdomens then skewered by Hiruko's segmented tail before they could reach their targets.
"So this is what he prepared as a welcoming party," Sasori said with open disdain, flicking its tail and sending the bodies flying.
"This is exactly why now is the best time to strike the Hidden Sound Village," Black Zetsu said with a thin smile. "Look at the quality of fighters he has managed to find."
"My lord, something feels off," the Sand Village puppet user said, frowning.
Hiruko glanced at him.
"The Hidden Sound Village is newly established and has no declared enemies. Even on routine patrol, their ninja would not attack unidentified visitors on sight without first demanding identification. They should have questioned us first."
The observation was sound.
"Orochimaru is not ordinary. He may have already anticipated something. We are close to the village now. Should we not prepare more carefully?" Black Zetsu offered, watching Sasori.
"No need. Keep moving. If he runs away again this time, I will truly have nothing left to say about him."
"He does not even take Konoha seriously. I think his reputation as one of the Three Legendary Sannin is nothing but an empty title," Sasori said coldly.
Black Zetsu's eyes lit up internally at hearing this.
This was exactly what it had counted on. Sasori was straightforward and single-minded in a way the Fourth Kazekage never was. His mind was entirely on fighting Orochimaru. Whatever trap might be waiting ahead, he simply did not care. His entire approach was to deal with whatever came.
The three pressed deeper.
The number of attackers increased steadily. But under the absolute gap in strength, every Hidden Sound ninja who came at them was simply throwing their life away. Hiruko's segmented tail, hidden weapons, and poison traps dispatched them almost without effort.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh.
After a sustained barrage of thousands of poisonous needles rained down like a curtain, Hiruko's mouth slowly closed.
The hidden squad ahead had been wiped out instantly.
Hiruko retracted one arm along its chain mechanism. The other arm extended into a sharp blade configuration.
A Hidden Sound ninja was pinned against a large tree, bleeding heavily and dying.
At that moment, several explosive tags came flying toward Hiruko.
Beneath Hiruko's cloak, another mechanism instantly activated. In a flash it transformed and rebuilt itself, forming a sturdy wooden shield that absorbed the incoming attack.
A second later the explosion rang out, smoke and fire billowing outward. The explosive tags' combined force failed to shatter the wooden shield, leaving only minor burn marks on its surface. The Sand Village ninja sheltered behind it were completely unharmed.
As for Black Zetsu, it had already concealed itself somewhere in the shadows. Exactly where, even Sasori could not sense.
In practical terms, only Sasori and the puppet user beside him were present as far as anyone watching could tell.
"Step back," Hiruko said in a low voice.
The Sand Village puppet user silently withdrew without a word.
At this moment, a group of shadowy figures emerged from the forest ahead. Several dozen of them.
From everything observed so far, these Hidden Sound members were not particularly skilled, mostly Chunin and Genin level. Nothing that had required any real effort to deal with.
"Are you Akasuna no Sasori of the Sand Village?"
"You Sand Village people come to our village, attack us without a word, and kill our people. What exactly is your intention?"
On the Hidden Sound side, a team leader stood on a tree branch, his eyes carrying visible apprehension as he looked down at Hiruko on the ground below. He swallowed before speaking.
"It was clearly your people who attacked us first, without any warning or attempt at identification. We were forced to defend ourselves. How does that become us attacking your village?" the Sand Village puppet user replied.
"The Sand Village may be formidable, but do not think the Hidden Sound Village is easy to bully."
The Hidden Sound captain appeared to have no interest in a genuine exchange of views and moved directly to his prepared conclusion.
"My lord," the puppet user murmured, eyes fixed on Hiruko.
The moment the opposing group had appeared, they had immediately called out Sasori's name. There had been no normal questioning process, no attempt to identify the intruders first. It was far too deliberate.
"So this is Orochimaru's plan. That snake. Truly naive," Hiruko said with a cold sneer.
"Go to hell."
After saying this, several panels of the wooden shield suddenly fell away, revealing what had been concealed within.
Barrels, lined up in neat rows, black as ink. They resembled cannon barrels.
The mechanism activated instantly. The wooden shield that had been a defensive barrier transformed in a single moment into a platform of terrifying firepower and killing intent.
First it fired large volleys of smoke bombs that exploded throughout the forest, filling the air with thick choking smoke.
Then came the explosive projectiles, each packed with detonating seals, raining down from above and adjusting their angles before firing indiscriminately in every direction.
A complete and overwhelming barrage.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
For a long moment, deafening explosions echoed through the deep mountain forests, the sound reverberating across the sky.