Matsu Uzumaki:- Elite Jonin. Chief Medical Officer of the Kiri. Commander of the northwestern Front for Kiri
Juzo Biwa:- One of the Seven Swordsmen and wielder of Kubikiribocho blade.
Kori Yuki:- Clan leader of the Yuki clan and the shinobi angling to step up as Mizukage when Gengetsu dies! Was gifted a Byakugan by Gengetsu to embolden him. Due to failing his attempt to have Gengetsu killed fighting Mu he was traumatised when Gengetsu ordered Matsu to extract the eye only to stop partway through the process.
Sasori:- Jonin of Suna, ANBU, and member of the Puppetry Brigade.
Orochimaru:- Sannin of Konoha. Jonin. Commander of the Northeastern front. Snake Summoner.
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There is a classic riddle known to most people.
The animals involved varied, but the theme is the same.
A predator, prey, and some form of seed are on one side of the river and must not be left alone with the item they will devour.
Only in this case, I had a traitor looking to undermine and kill me and mine, an enemy at the gates, and my own forces.
Thankfully, like most riddles, they break down in the face of planning ahead. Well, that and Shadow Clones.
I reached the centre of the camp and took charge even as I conjured up five clones.
“Orochimaru is coming in! Prepare to engage!” My voice sparked people into moving faster and I turned. “Kori! Take a scouting force south and make sure that we’re not going to be hit from the flank while we’re next to the mountains!”
Kori stiffened at the order, and I could see he was about to argue only to think better of it. I made sure to give him a lingering look that conveyed I knew what he was thinking.
It was a look I’d seen many times before with Gengetsu smiling at me.
Kori didn’t so much as blink, but his chakra fluttered, which didn’t tell me everything, but it was enough to know he was unsettled.
While he was distracted with me, both slipping another genjutsu into his coils and my ominous threats, some of my clones transformed into random shinobi and kunoichi of Kirigakure.
They’d spread themselves around the force, some going with Kori, while others observed Juzo and Sasori discreetly. Kori would have another… one he’d never see coming.
It always paid to have a bit of insurance and watch your own back.
In this case, literally.
So many people to watch out for.
I just had to hope that Sasori didn’t get too free with any poison clouds or raining senbon.
“Suna! You’re going to be given a piece of attacking force; don’t get captured or get in our way!” If you do, I’ll let Juzo do as he wishes with you!” I warned, turning away from Kori as he collected the shinobi that moved to him for scouting.
Juzo chuckled, drawing his blade from his back and limbering up. “How many are coming our way?” he asked.
“A hundred or so,” I replied with a narrowed gaze. “Roughly fifteen Jonin signatures, the rest are Genin or Chunin.”
“Feh, Genin? In a fight like this? That’s gonna be a liability! Not that it matters. We knock Orochimaru off, and the rest will scurry back where they came from.”
“Don’t discount the weaker nin. A blade is still sharp if wielded by a genin.”
“Feh! I only worry about those with skill,” Juzo replied, waving a hand at me.
An idiom from my past life that I had read somewhere came to mind. Masters didn’t fear other masters or trained combatants.
They feared rookies, because rookies sometimes acted in ways they shouldn’t or others couldn’t just because they didn’t know enough to judge what was impossible.
Considering how Hot Water had already adapted for this war, I felt it important to have everyone on guard.
“Form up some illusions in the mist; let’s blunt their attack and let them spend their strength on shadows,” I ordered. “Watch out for poisons!” I called out.
Looking to Sasori, who hadn’t moved at all, I raised an eyebrow. “Yes?” I asked leadingly.
Sasori, still with his ANBU mask on for plausible deniability, unravelled a scroll and unsealed the contents. From within, a dozen puppets appeared.
My other eyebrow rose in surprise.
Each of the puppets was wearing what appeared to be perfect attire for various different Villages.
There were Iwa, Kiri, Konoha, Kumo, Nadeshiko, Beast, and even Lock on display.
“I believe sowing confusion would be to our benefit,” Sasori offered. “I thought it best to inform you ahead of time,” he stated blandly.
“Hmmm, good thinking. I look forward to seeing your results,” I offered.
“You won’t… because we’re ANBU,” Sasori replied, causing me to shake my head.
He was just doing that on purpose now. He needed a new line.
As he departed, small twitches of his fingers coinciding with a vast network of chakra strings that resulted in his puppets moving into position around him. For a moment I almost thought he was showing off after all the other uses of chakra strings we’d used in the last day.
But that would be ridiculous.
Turning to the Chinoike trio, I jerked a thumb towards the back. “Best to get you in an observatory position. You have any sensory abilities to let you navigate or parse the Mist?” I asked.
The trio shifted and shared a look that told me of their answer long before they said anything.
“No,” offered up Kazetora, the sole kunoichi of their group.
“Hmmm, your doujutsu won’t assist?” I asked with a tilt of my head, only for them to bristle.
I raised my hands. “Alright, alright, I won’t pry.”
That being said, I didn’t need to. Their shtick was illusions and the ability to manipulate iron-rich liquids they’d infused with their chakra in advance.
Which did make me think of blood in truth, but again, the limiting factor was injecting their chakra into the liquid.
Not something that was useful in low-visibility situations. I added it to my list of things that the Chinoike as a whole needed to learn. At this point, the clan would need to sit through remedial training to be able to fulfil even a fraction of their role as guardians of Octocity.
Snapping my fingers, two shinobi fell in next to them. “Guard them and give them a heads up on what’s going on. If the fighting moves within two hundred metres of them, pull back further,” I commanded.
The shinobi grunted and gestured for the trio to follow them.
With that handled, I turned my attention to the oncoming Konoha nin.
They’d slowed down when they spotted the roiling mist. I drifted to get behind a tree, because if I was a betting man, their response to the Mist Jutsu would be to—
“Great Breakthrough!” whispered a sibilant tone that, despite being a long way off, still carried to me.
It was carried upon gale-force winds much like that which I’d stepped out of within the Valley of Hell.
I felt the moisture tearing itself out of the air along with leaves and sticks, causing a scattering of debris that would be mildly painful to be caught within.
More annoyingly, I heard a few explosions ring out, heralding that some of the traps our forces had set up had no doubt misfired due to the wind.
Ah well, you couldn’t always bet on who you were going to encounter.
Orochimaru, I thought to myself. Ostensibly the more dangerous of the trio in this time period, but I suspected that Jiraiya was the hidden threat of the group.
Orochimaru in the future would be a nightmare to deal with if you didn’t have some special plot armour, with his body modifications having piled up over the years to make him into a giant white snake made up of many hundreds of smaller snakes.
Snakes, whose very blood being spilled resulted in an aerolised poison filling the air.
Thankfully, that was a long way away.
Which didn’t mean this would be anything approaching an even fight.
It would, however, be highly informative.
Orochimaru was one of the shinobi who was currently held up as a benchmark for strength. I would need to at least meet his level if I wanted to be taken seriously.
However, merely meeting a recurring villain of the show was never my goal. I needed to aim much higher.
And so before the winds had even died, I began moulding my chakra into another unique jutsu that I’d developed while playing around with a ball and chakra strings.
Chakra strings truly were underrated. They could lift huge loads, fulfil multiple functions of utility and be extremely thin.
Deceptively so.
Plucking a small metal dart from my kunai pouch, I set the dart upon a string of chakra that hummed vibrantly. At roughly the size of my little finger, it didn’t look like much, it was more than meets the eye, though, with the small dart being made of chakra metal.
With the dart in hand, I drew my arm back while holding a small attachment that I’d affixed to the metal rod I’d received in Vegetables.
Heh, Hiroshi would probably be spewing if he knew the first thing I did with the staff he gave me was use it as part of a ranged weapon.
With a smile fixed in place, I twisted wind-aligned chakra into the thin metal dart.
Unlike small children’s slingshots, mine had five bands of threads loaded up with the payload.
It was no kabuto slingshot like another famed sniper would wield against a tyrannical government, but it worked wonders with chakra strings and wind chakra.
Sighting in on the distant chakra source that I knew to be Orochimaru, I held my breath before releasing in one slow, controlled manner.
Then, with a flex of my will, I snapped the chakra strings taut while releasing my grip upon the thin metal dart.
The dart punched through the assailing wind towards its target.
A moment later I clicked my tongue in annoyance.
He’d dodged.
The chakra signature slightly behind him vanished from my senses. Orochimaru’s chakra signature dimmed, becoming harder to sense, like attempting to search for a candle that was moving about through a dense forest.
Others within his detachment copied his actions, causing me to narrow my eyes. Hmmm, fifteen Jonin level shinobi with no one holding back any tricks?
With that in mind, I reached for another dart. “Reform the mist,” I ordered to those close by, and they dutifully began to let the mist build up once more.
I didn’t have many darts, as while I was quite rich, having healed more than a few nobles of some questionable conditions in the last few years, money wasn’t the issue so much as access to the metal.
The Land of Iron only released small amounts of the miracle metal each year, and considering the demand for it, there were always shortages.
I shifted my target towards another and released. This time my target didn’t dodge, and I was gratified with the chakra signature going dark, like someone had reached out and snuffed the fire out.
A whistling noise caught my attention, and I shunshined to the side. “Projectiles incoming!” I called, and other kiri nin vanished or got themselves into cover as a veritable storm of shuriken descended upon the position I’d been firing from.
It took a few seconds for the storm to stop.
People peered out from their positions, eyeing the glinting shuriken that had filled the forest around them like leaves falling in autumn. A few people shifted nervously only to cry out in surprise a moment later as a large puff of chakra smoke erupted from the shurikens.
It took a moment for the smoke to clear, but once it had, it revealed a landscape covered in cuts, slashes, and gouges, while there were, in truth, only ten shurikens scattered across the area.
Huh, the Shuriken Shadow Clone jutsu? I hadn’t worked that jutsu out yet, actually.
Also, had Orochimaru seriously determined my position from two shots?
"Scary," I murmured as I drew back my slingshot for another shot.
“Oh shit! The boss got a weird look in his eyes! Everyone get clear he’s trying to bait Orochimaru out!” called one of the civilian nin.
They promptly got themselves away from me, and I held back a snort. In truth, it had been my own clone giving the warning, but appearances needed to be kept.
“Come on, snake face, let’s see what you’ve got,” I muttered as I deliberately sighted in on him once more before firing.
He dodged again, but this time I honed my chakra senses in on him, watching for his response.
His chakra shifted in a terrifyingly fast sequence that actually reminded me of strobe lights. Damn, he was good.
This time I didn’t even hear the whistle of the shuriken descending upon me. I moved, knowing they were coming, however, and was glad I did, as the area I’d set up to fire from was hewn from Orochimaru’s response.
Hmmm, Ox, Dog, Dragon, Rat, Dog, Boar, Snake, and Tiger to finish off, eh?
I toyed with another dart, only to pack it and the slingshot attachment away. Best he didn’t know I’d just stolen a jutsu from him.
Tilting my head, I found myself pausing as a stray idea occurred to me.
Wasn’t facing Orochimaru actually perfect for me?
The man who wanted to learn every jutsu in the world as his stated goal must have a lot of jutsu.
All of which I should hopefully be able to copy.
I found myself smiling and humming as I began to saunter towards Orochimaru, any lingering unease I’d had when I’d first sensed him vanishing.
Was it wrong that I suddenly didn’t want to kill him purely so I could farm jutsu from him?
Then I considered all the shinobi around me. My friends and supporters who’d already been with me through so much.
Pinching myself so I didn’t lose sight of what was important, I settled into a position that would see me able to react to any issues.
Alright then, Orochimaru, come feed your men into this blender.
_____________________________
Orochimaru surveyed the mist while trying and sadly failing to ignore the incessant whining of the Hot Water ‘Jonin’ that had attached themselves to his command.
“We should fall back; that was…” the man swallowed loudly. “A long-range jutsu like that could see us all picked off one at a time!”
“Be silent,” Orochimaru hissed. “You will not be able to detect the dart if you continue your bleating.”
The four Jonin fell silent, only to shift their feet and cause scuffing and groaning noises to ring out like klaxon calls. Behind them were the ‘chunin’ and genin that had been brought along from Hot Water.
Orochimaru pursed his lips. Any skilled Jonin would have been able to detect those noises, although Orochimaru suspected that another method was being used to choose their targets.
Regardless, after his second reply, the darts had stopped.
“You must have gotten them,” praised the Hot Water nin, causing Orochimaru to exhale through his nose in annoyance.
Did these fools truly not understand the need for silence? Lackwits and imbeciles, the lot of them!
He was already mentally assigning them the task of forward scouts to act as buffers for his own forces when he felt it.
It was only the lightest of touches, but it was there. A chakra source had touched his coils, and before he could stop it, the illusion activated.
A child’s manic giggling drifted across the forest only to fall silent as Orochimaru broke the illusion.
So, Matsu could perform illusions outside of visual range; Orochimaru slotted this new information into place with his previous understanding.
Around him, Hot Water and Leaf nin shifted, their eyes darting around, revealing that it wasn’t just him that Matsu had targeted. At first Orochimaru had thought it nothing more than a taunt to show that he could, but as his troops reacted with agitation and even fright, he reconsidered.
The child’s laughter was not expected.
That, coupled with the poor visibility and the smell of blood in the air from the two that had been hit by the darts, created a jarring effect that made lesser minds falter.
He was targeting their spirit before the fight had even been joined, making some second-guess themselves.
How very like his mentor.
This was to be expected, however. The latest intel had given a brief update on Matsu, his skills, and tactics.
He was not averse to mind games and posturing when it suited him.
There were, however, some potential weaknesses that could be exploited.
“Ahem… Lord Orochimaru? Can you refrain from using that shuriken jutsu again?” whined one of the Jonin.
Orochimaru slowly turned and gave the man a flat look. “And why pray tell should I refrain from using it?”
“This land is part of the Daimyo’s hunting preserve. He is rather fond of it, and there will be… issues… if…” the man’s argument slowly petered out as Orochimaru’s glare intensified.
One of the Yamanaka hummed. “Huh, that’s a worrying sign. Matsu might have more sources of intel within the court if he knew that Hot Water Nin would be hesitant to engage him here.”
“You are correct, a… closer examination of the Daimyo’s court will be required,” Orochimaru stated, glad to have an excuse to excise some potential nuisances ahead of his plans. “For now I shall refrain from using the jutsu, but I promise nothing more.”
Orochimaru considered the man for a moment longer, watching the way he fidgeted. “Why was this information not shared prior to this moment?” he demanded
“It… wasn’t relevant until now,” admitted the Jonin.
That was not the answer Orochimaru wanted to hear, and the man demonstrated admirable survival skills by recognising it. “It was assumed that Kiri would withdraw rather than fight here! I mean… you’re one of the Sannin!”
Orochimaru sniffed. “Indeed I am,” he replied. “But it would seem Matsu Uzumaki wishes to test himself against me.”
For a moment no one spoke as they considered that.
“We’ll need to get in close then?” asked one of the Akimichi, the large man cracking his neck left and right.
“Choudi, keep your head, we need to be careful,” warned a Yamanaka to his teammate.
‘Choudai’ Akimichi grunted in annoyance.
“Indeed,” Orochimaru remarked as he considered the new factors. Then he promptly disregarded them as he cared nothing for the Daimyo of Hot Water’s orders about his reserve. He would, however, have to consider his own forces' positions.
He was almost thinking it would be easier to operate like Jiraiya, but then again, if he wanted to take his sensei’s hat, he would need to demonstrate his leadership abilities.
Languidly forming a set of handseals, he unleashed a Mist jutsu of his own that warred with that of the Kiri Mist.
It also helped to spread his chakra signature far and wide, making it nigh impossible to detect him as he took control of any ambient chakra he was releasing once more. It was a crude answer to evading any chakra sensory skills Matsu had, but at the same time, it was effective.
Where precision failed, sometimes it was best to resort to other methods.
A small cut to his thumb followed, and he swiped his fingers across the tattoo on his wrist moments before slamming his palm into the bark beneath him.
“Summoning Jutsu!” he hissed.
A small puff of smoke preceded the snakes he’d summoned. Orochimaru flicked his fingers. “Bite, tear, rip and kill any that get in your way,” he ordered.
The snakes slithered away without a sound.
Turning to his allies, Orochimaru smiled. “I have sent in my summons to destabilise their formation. Attack now.”
When they lingered, he chuffed. “Or let others lead the charge; I’m sure your Daimyo would like to hear that,” he commented, watching as two of them flinched at the rebuke.
They straightened their spines and hissed at the others, causing them to charge forward while others flitted with shunshins.
Orochimaru let them take the lead for a slow ten count before nodding. “Advance,” he ordered his forces. “Rolling detonations.”
One of the benefits of surviving a shinobi war was that you understood and had experience.
Things that Matsu would lack.
Time to educate the boy.
Konoha nin raced forward and quickly caught up with the Hot Water nin.
Orochimaru’s forces drew kunai with explosive tags upon them, and as they ran, the kunai were hurled ahead of them only to detonate and shake the trees and earth. It also blew apart the mist, making it lose its cohesion.
If Kiri nin wanted to strike from the mist, they were going to have to spend their chakra.
“The forest…” gasped another Hot Water nin.
Orochimaru smirked. "You'll notice I didn’t use any jutsu, like you asked,” he taunted.
The man gaped only to slump, knowing that he was stuck with his orders and the reality of the situation.
Explosions rolled ahead of them like a wave, heralding their advance.
In several locations, traps that might have caught his men—both explosive tags and even more basic mechanical traps—were triggered early, resulting in safer passages for his men.
“Contact!” roared a loud voice as shapes moved in the mist.
Kunai were launched, this time without the explosives.
They thunked heavily into the shapes that had been moving, causing Orochimaru to scowl. The noise was all wrong for striking a shinobi’s body.
More traps?
These appeared to be hastily made. “Do you still have them?” Orochimaru asked, not looking to where his scouts were.
Instead of the shinobi, it was a dog who spoke up. “Their scent is all over this forest. They’re still here, lying in wait to strike," growled the beast.
A Yamanaka, half-crouched over with a hand over one eye, nodded. “I can see lots of moving bodies from above. They’ve not yet spotted my crow,” he announced. He hesitated. “There… there appears to be an opening in two parts of their formation.”
“Attack them where they are most clustered, continue the bombardments,” Orochimaru ordered after learning where the gaps were largest.
Close enough to strike if he desired, but such glaring openings meant that Kiri were confident in what, or rather, whoever was in those positions.
That piqued his interest. Two such locations? They would have to be Elite.
Who had Kiri deployed alongside Matsu?
Screams began in front of him, announcing that the Hot Water Nin had made it through to the Kiri forces. The sounds of jutsu being unleashed also began to the north and south of his position, indicating that the flanking forces that both sides had deployed were also engaging each other.
'Too predictable,' Orochimaru chuckled to himself.
As was the trap Orochimaru had allowed his force to step into.
“Choudai? Could you?” Orochimaru waved a negligent hand at the ground as he began forming handseals.
Choudai Akimichi grinned as he formed a handseal and began to grow until he towered at six metres tall. He drew back a fist and hurled it into the ground, causing it to splinter and break.
Shouts and screams erupted from the ground as the revealed Orochimaru ran through handseals at a blistering pace even as he drew back a long breath of air.
“Great Flame Technique!” he declared as he used one of the hidden jutsu of the Sarutobi clan.
Flames were launched forth, causing the forest to catch alight and the very ground to melt.
The shinobi beneath him screamed for a long moment, only to go up in a puff of chakra smoke while others broke apart, revealing themselves to be rock clones and water clones.
“Tch!” Orochimaru clicked his tongue even as he waved a hand for his men to continue to close with another cluster.
He was just turning away when a beam of water tore through the flames. Orochimaru leaned to the side, twirling around the branch he was on as the beam cut sideways.
One of his men wasn’t fast enough and was cut through from the torso. The upper half went flying while the legs fell into the flames.
Choudai turned, just in time to raise a now-enlarged shield.
Normally this would have been a poor decision, but the man possessed enough skill to tilt his shield and cause the beam to merely gouge a line across the shield while splashing off to the side with a high-pressure spray.
Orochimaru smiled. “Are you going to come out? Or are we going to continue to exchange jutsu at range Matsu?” he called.
A moment later, Matsu himself appeared across from Orochimaru. Arrayed loosely around him were other kiri shinobi, but Orochimaru only had eyes for Matsu.
The flames that hadn’t been doused bathed his form in light and shadow. Half his form was obscured while the other stared back at Orochimaru.
Long red hair that was tied back neatly, light blue attire with pants that were tightly bound at the legs. Upon his back, a haori billowed gently behind him. The red swirl of the Uzumaki clan was on display on one shoulder along with the headband of Kiri set on his forehead.
It was delightfully amusing to see such symbols together.
The Uzumaki of the past would be rolling in their graves if they knew that one of theirs bore the symbol of their enemies.
“So I see that—” Orochimaru began, only for Choudai to bark a laugh.
“Ha! This is the runt that’s been giving everyone headaches? He’s tiny!”
Matsu, rather than grow angry, merely gave Choudai a quick look before dismissing him as a threat. He lazily flicked his hand and a storm of senbon shot forth, causing Orochimaru and his fellows to weave through them while Choudai snorted and allowed the tiny needles to hit him, barely doing anything to the giant.
“Feh! That didn’t even sting!” he declared.
Orochimaru sighed. Fools surrounded him. Senbon were not weapons meant to kill or cause great harm except in certain cases. “Fall back, Choudai. You’re poisoned.”
“Eh?” replied the giant, only to blanch a moment later. His expression morphed into a snarl. “I’m not going down like that!” he roared, throwing another punch with a mighty step.
“Deal with him,” Matsu ordered with a casual flick of his wrist. A moment later, a sheet of ice formed right where Choudai was about to step, causing him to slip and tumble.
Ah, Matsu had a Yuki with him? Interesting, the intel had stated that there was friction between Matsu and the Yuki. Perhaps that could be used?
Choudai’s fall caused a small earthquake around them and signalled the trigger for people’s restraint.
Jutsu began to fly, and kunai filled the air. The snarl of an Inuzuka hound heralded a pair of whirling bodies that charged forward into the Kiri nin only for them to scatter and flank.
Orochimaru and Matsu held their positions, neither being forced to move despite the battle raging around them.
By some unspoken understanding, everyone understood that these two were to fight each other, and attempting to interfere would see them slain quickly.
“You’ve certainly grown,” Orochimaru said calmly. “It would seem I was right to try and kill you as a child.”
Again, Matsu didn’t reply; instead, he began to form hand seals.
In response, Orochimaru formed his own, a smirk sliding into place as some of the snakes he’d summoned earlier struck from their hiding places to interrupt Matsu.
Matsu spasmed as the snakes bit down on him, only for Orochimaru to narrow his eyes and flex his chakra.
A moment later, the world resolved itself to reveal snakes falling away from where Matsu had been while the boy himself was lunging at him with a whirling ball of chakra in his hand.
The Rasengan.
An original jutsu that Matsu had created and shared around with his students, according to the intel. Orochimaru looked forward to dissecting the jutsu and learning it himself.
Instinct took hold as Matsu closed in on him.
Orochimaru wrenched his chakra into compliance, making it form into a replacement jutsu even as he fluctuated his chakra again. He reappeared on the forest floor that smoked lightly.
He looked up to find Matsu knocking away the stump he’d replaced himself with.
Then Matsu turned and looked down upon him.
Orochimaru hated being looked down on, and Matsu’s lips twitched as if he knew.
The nerve of this boy… He’d underestimated him!
Orochimaru vowed he would show this boy the error of his ways!
With a snarl, he formed a single seal and spat a blast of mud at Matsu, only for the boy to twist around the branch he’d landed on like a monkey and reposition around the tree.
For all of a second he broke line of sight with Orochimaru, and that was enough to have Orochimaru slip into the ground while a mud clone took his place.
Where the mud had splattered from his earlier jutsu, another Orochimaru began to congeal.
“Kukuku!” Orochimaru’s clones chuckled together as they closed in on Matsu as he swept around the base of the tree, only to shoot past the clones and directly at Orochimaru’s true location.
Rather than wait, Orochimaru shot out of the earth and met him.
Both threw blows at each other only to be nullified as they twisted and countered. Then they snapped kicks at each other.
Matsu attempted to form another rasengan while in close only for Orochimaru to strike like a snake.
His head snapped forward and drove into Matsu’s jugular.
He tasted nothing as another puff of smoke heralded a shadow clone.
Orochimaru once more twitched his chakra into a replacement.
Only for there to be no follow-up.
For a long moment, Orochimaru observed his immediate surroundings. He even went as far as to spike his chakra and press upon the small cut he’d made in his thumb earlier to register both methods of breaking genjutsu.
Neither made any difference to his surroundings.
Then he heard it.
The spinning, whirling rasengan.
Only it wasn’t anywhere close by.
In fact, it was…
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes and glared as a dog’s pained howl rang out, only to be cut short.
Matsu had abandoned their fight and instead moved to attack his men.
How tactically minded.
Well, if that was how Matsu wanted to fight…
Orochimaru blurred across the destroyed forest. He arrived in time to watch Matsu intercept a blow that would have slain a Kiri Chunin only to kick the Kiri nin away.
For a single moment, the Kiri nin had a look of disbelief, only to gape as Matsu himself continued with the kick, twisting and avoiding a strike from a hidden Hot Water nin that would have killed the other nin.
Ah, so Matsu wanted to play hero, did he?
Matsu spun, snapping the Konoha nin’s arm that he’d been grappling with, causing the small area to fill with a resounding crack.
Orochimaru formed a single handseal and sighted on a suitable target.
There, just far enough away to not have noticed Orochimaru while also being close enough for Matsu.
A spray of poison shot forth, only for Matsu to suddenly be there, hip-checking the nin out of the way while raising a scroll to intercept the attack.
Orochimaru snorted in amusement as Matsu sealed the poison into the scroll. “Hmmm shall we see if you can repeat that?” Orochimaru taunted while holding the tiger seal and firing gout after gout at the assembled nin.
“Evasive pattern!” Matsu called even as he began moving, throwing kunai, blocks of wood and other items where he had to to either intercept the poison or to knock his own men out of the way.
Right as he landed, Orochimaru struck again, flexing his chakra and making Matsu see a giant snake appearing above him.
Matsu scoffed, tilting his head to the side as Orochimaru once more appeared next to him and knifed where his neck would have been.
Matsu struck back with a blistering reply.
Orochimaru watched closely. The boy had few tells but those existed for anyone that trained seriously. Most notably he wasn't activating the gates to attempt to win this fight.
Instead of activating his own equaliser to win, Orochimaru held back, knowing that the first to blink as it were might be the first to find themselves at a true disadvantage.
They traded blows, this time with Orochimaru speeding up and twisting like he would in a proper fight. Snake-style flexibility made him more unpredictable, and this forced Matsu to concede ground.
Matsu started back up, twisting and dancing along the branch, only to throw himself down to the ground where he stared up at Orochimaru.
From his higher position, Orochimaru smirked.
“You ran away,” Orochimaru teased even as annoyance simmered in his chest.
“I had more important things to see to,” Matsu replied blandly, only to bat away a flurry of kunai as Orochimaru followed up.
So far Matsu had shown issues with taijutsu. His genjutsu was without fault, and his ninjutsu was extremely threatening with his Rasengan and Shadow Clones alone.
Best to stay close.
Matsu stepped back, only to stumble as the ground gave underneath him.
Orochimaru flexed his chakra instead of launching forward.
The illusion shattered, revealing Matsu in a steady guard position and ready for him.
“Tch,” Matsu clicked his tongue, and Orochimaru chuckled. He was starting to understand Matsu.
He was a dangerous shinobi who could make you believe the fight was going the way you wanted, right up until it wasn’t and you were bleeding out or already dead.
Orochimaru closed once more, not willing to give Matsu any space or time to take the initiative for this fight.
When they closed this time, however, something changed.
Matsu’s strikes came faster, and he twisted in tighter arcs before unleashing punches and kicks that caused the wind to howl in protest from his strikes.
Orochimaru found himself having to apply himself to the fight. This was no longer a battle between a boy attempting to establish himself, but one against a true threat.
A kick cut in at lightning speed only for Matsu to block the blow and step forward with a powerful stomp. The ground shook and kicked up dust and loose water that had come from an earlier jutsu as Orochimaru retracted his leg.
The water shot up into Orochimaru and stabbed him in the thigh, causing a hiss to escape him.
Matsu was in his space instantly, and instead of a rasengan Matsu had his hand openly reaching for Orochimaru’s face.
Instinct born from the previous war screeched to life, and Orochimaru didn’t question it.
He acted.
Clenching his throat muscles, the snake that was living against the back of his throat like a symbiote reacted.
It came up out of his mouth in an instant and launched a brace of kunai even as Orochimaru hurled himself backwards.
The blades struck Matsu in the palm and another in the shoulder, knocking Matsu back.
The boy skipped back, making room as he inspected the kunai. Without even batting an eye Matsu ripped them out, only for his flesh to knit itself closed before Orochimaru’s eyes.
Matsu shifted, opening and shutting his hand while rolling his shoulder as he watched Orochimaru carefully.
Orochimaru glared back at him while assessing the situation.
Healing jutsu without seals? Not even Tsunade could do that…
That spoke of a high degree of control over the specific jutsu, or worse.
That Matsu had some of the best chakra control Orochimaru had ever encountered.
Which merely supported his hypothesis.
Matsu had almost killed him. There could be no question of that. His instincts were too finely honed to not understand what had almost happened.
From a touch?
Poison? Or something else?
Matsu didn’t allow him the space to consider what might have been, as suddenly Matsu was on the offensive. Instinct took hold, demanding that Orochimaru not allow Matsu to touch him or have any meaningful contact even as he fluctuated his chakra through a handful of patterns while brushing the cut on his thumb.
Within seconds, Orochimaru found himself retreating, despite having the superior taijutsu experience and style.
Matsu had created restrictions and was dictating terms.
Orochimaru could not allow that.
He stepped back hard and kicked backwards before replacing himself, then repeated the action to gain a touch more room than before.
This time, when he and Matsu locked eyes, Matsu smirked, and Orochimaru found himself seething.
He would kill this boy!
Orochimaru didn’t bother going through all the handseals as he had previously while he’d been holding back.
Now he ran through the eight handseals for a jutsu others would require twenty for at a blistering pace, only to disgorge a huge flame that roared to life and ignited the trees around them.
When Orochimaru spotted Kiri nin, he intensified the jutsu, seeking to claim their lives.
Matsu attempted to stop him with a brace of kunai, only for Orochimaru to cackle as he repositioned and resumed his assault upon the nearby Kiri nin.
They scattered like rats before him, and Orochimaru felt his confidence returning as he was suddenly forcing Matsu to act. He knew it wouldn’t last, but it would allow for the conditions that had favoured Matsu to shift in Orochimaru’s favour.
Matsu landed before the flames, caught and threw one of his men out of the way, only to duck down into a Konoha nin.
He struck quickly, and rather than try and stop him, Orochimaru used the distraction to encircle Matsu in fire.
He grinned as items that Matsu could use to replace himself with were stripped of their ambient chakra through the fires and—
Matsu swept his arm up towards Orochimaru, and once more Orochimaru’s instincts flared, forcing him to fall to the ground bonelessly to evade a torrent of water that came from nothing.
No, not nothing.
Matsu had ripped it from the air.
It was a paltry enough strike with the limited water and the fire, but still.
A lesser nin would have fallen a dozen times over now. Twice was still too close for Orochimaru’s comfort.
Orochimaru retreated, not liking how often Matsu was pulling surprising threats from empty hands.
A shinobi raced towards him with a distraught expression. “Lord Orochimaru! The forest!? The Daimyo will have our—”
The man’s neck blossomed with blood as he attempted to confront Orochimaru without any witnesses.
His body hit the ground, and Orochimaru didn’t break stride as he pulled out a flare and fired it high into the air.
Within moments, the surviving Konoha force was on him. Eyes drifted towards the fallen Hot Water nin.
“Matsu slew him and escaped me. He has prepared the field. Burn the forest and flush him and Kiri out of the land of Hot Water!” he ordered.
The survivors nodded grimly and began setting to work with explosive, wind, or fire jutsu to blow an inferno towards Matsu and his men.
Orochimaru watched on silently with a blank expression, then smiled as he plotted the only route Matsu and his nin would have available to them.
Across the Valley of Hell, a geographical location that was extremely hazardous and would be highly intensive for chakra and stamina. That should allow Orochimaru to re-engage at a more advantageous location with more reinforcements.
“Lord Orochimaru!” called the Yamanaka. “Matsu is doing something with a few clones and… it looks like some sort of rasengan?”
Orochimaru frowned. “What can you—”
A second later, he didn’t need to be told; he simply knew Matsu had thrown the jutsu.
It didn’t screech so much as whirred through the air, and Orochimaru tracked something moving towards the fires that had swept around to the south of the cordon.
The jutsu hit the flames and vanished.
Then a moment later, water detonated outwards. It was like watching something highly pressurised being released all at once.
The water blew outwards, destroying everything that it touched, with even the droplets cutting into the forest.
A small wave followed, pouring through the trees like a tidal wave and even from his position hundreds of metres away, Orochimaru had to jump to a high branch to avoid the water touching him.
What new jutsu was this?
“He’s leading the shinobi out of the fire cordon! They’re escaping!” shouted the Yamanaka, causing Orochimaru to narrow his eyes with annoyance.
“We will pursue!”
“Lord Orochimaru! We took a lot of casualties!” another man called.
“Leave them!” Orochimaru snapped. “Long range jutsu only; we will not close with them! Kill any that you can but do not let them turn upon us! Delaying them suits us! Another force is to our south and will move up to close them off if we give them time! Otherwise we chase them out of Hot Water!” Orochimaru ordered, and this earned a shout of approval.
Inwardly, however, Orochimaru seethed. Several strong jutsu, hidden aces, a dangerous ability with genjutsu, and even his survival when he should have been trapped. Matsu was truly an annoying opponent to face.
Clenching his fists, Orochimaru vowed to either kill Matsu or make his men bleed for what had occurred today.
Grabbing his thumb, Orochimaru clenched hard, drawing a splash of his blood on his palm that he slapped across his wrist before slamming his palm down.
“Summoning jutsu!” he declared.
__________________________
“How many?” I asked as we raced away, a lingering ache within my chakra coils letting me know that I’d pushed them greatly in the past few hours.
It was nothing compared to the pain that came from activating the gates, but still, it was notable. Thankfully that Rasentsungan hadn’t taken up as much chakra as the great wind variant had, but that was to be expected.
“Eight dead,” informed one of the Kiri nin. “We got three of their bodies back and have sealed them up, but the others fell into fires or… died where we couldn’t reach them. Sorry Matsu.”
“No, it’s not your fault. You did wonderfully, Gintama,” I offered back.
Juzo chose that moment to race towards me with a smirk. At his side, his apprentice followed closely. Both of them had blood splattered across their armour while their blades were clean.
“That was a good fight!” he grinned. “Got a few more nin taken out of the equation. Even saw those Suna nin fighting. Heh! Should have seen the one Yamanaka freak out when he attempted his clan’s jutsu upon one of those puppets! Some snakes also tried poisoning them!”
Turning my head slightly, I found Sasori running along; his appearance hadn’t changed at all. In fact, there was nothing out of place on him. Like he’d just gone for a walk through the markets rather than engage in a frenzied fight.
Juzo grunted to get my attention back on him.
“Heard you got into a tussle with Orochimaru. Did you kill him?”
Straight away, others perked up.
I snorted and made to deny the result only to feel a huge spike of chakra from behind me and a large snake’s head emerged.
“Does that answer your question? I think all I did was piss him off. I kept either evading him or killing his men in front of him, and when he tried the same I was much more successful!”
Shadow clones had helped greatly for that.
The few times I’d gotten close to killing him, he’d shown terrifying skill in reacting to the situation before his head could fly from his body. He also had a much more fluid fighting style than I was used to. I’d have to see if I could get some time against a Hozuki taijutsu user.
From atop the back of his snake summon, Orochimaru launched a jutsu.
“Hard shift left!” I called, and everyone rolled with the motion, allowing us to dodge a lance of water.
I twisted in the air and replied with a Water Geyser Jutsu that shot back only for the snake to twitch and allow it to sail past.
“Don’t get into a jutsu flinging match!” Juzo called. “We want him dead, sure, but unless you’re going to commit to a fight like this in enemy territory with only part of our full force you’re going to be in trouble!”
I snorted. “Not likely. I just want to keep him honest,” I replied.
“Honesty doesn’t mean shit; keep him scared, but you aren’t going to do that. He’s got reinforcements and distance on us, and it seems his restraint is gone. Whoever owns this land is going to be pissed at Konoha for burning the forest and releasing a giant snake like that!”
When I raised a questioning eyebrow at him, Juzo elaborated. “While it might seem like just us out here, I have no doubt some peasants would have seen this and will report it back to their noble.”
That got a thoughtful hum from me. "Well, that’s certainly a consolation for not getting to kill him.”
Some tension between Hot Water and Konoha was good for us. It almost made me wish I’d been able to catch and save that Hot Water nin that had confronted Orochimaru about something.
There was some real potential there. If Orochimaru killed them and I happened to save them, well, I’d look like a saint while also heaping shit on Orochimaru.
Juzo eyed me. “Did you have the chance?” I glanced over to find Juzo was serious. He drew closer. “Did you have a chance to kill him?”
“Twice. His instincts are impressive,” I replied, flexing my hand. “If you end up fighting him, watch out for the snake he keeps in the back of his mouth. He launched kunai into me when I got close.” I was lucky that he must not have found the kusanagi blade yet. But he would in the future.
Nodding slowly, Juzo nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind. Until then, keep an eye out for any of their sword users. I have no problem showing them the error of their claims.”
Perhaps Juzo would be interested in crossing blades with the kusanagi blade? Huh, if I could find it first, actually… Perhaps an eighth swordsman could be found? It had a gimmick and was easily a master-level blade.
“Will do,” I chuckled. “Also, dodge!”
I threw myself to the side and evaded yet another long-range attack.
Juzo moved the other way only to return to my side a minute later. Kori and a cluster of Yuki likewise joined me.
Juzo glanced at them and gave them a once-over. “You see any fighting on the southern side?”
Instead of answering for Kori, I tilted my head slightly towards him, ignoring a shot from Orochimaru as he fired where we might have dodged.
The jutsu hit the land and sent up a great plume of dust and vapour, but otherwise didn’t harm us.
“So, Matsu,” Juzo flashed me a sign and then raced through hand signs that translated to, “The shinobi that slipped into our midst. We’re killing them before we reach the ships, right?” Juzo eyed a nearby shinobi.
It took me a moment to understand what he was referring to, and when I inspected the nearest shinobi through my peripherals, I felt understanding slot into place. “Ah… apologies, those are not spies that slipped in that I’m seeking to punish.” I made a sign, and the nearby clones dropped their henge.
Suddenly there were another three clones within sight.
Kori didn’t react, but some of his clansmen did. “Eh? But that one took out the hound that…”
I smirked. While I’d had to step in for all the shinobi that Orochimaru had targeted himself, before that I’d been busy saving a few of my men that had gotten caught out. One of the Yuki had gotten a bit too bold in their charge and had needed a save.
Juzo blinked in surprise. “Huh, and here I thought Konoha were up to their little tricks once more.”
“Second Shinobi war?” I clarified, amusing myself as the Yuki nin I’d saved earlier had a small meltdown over the fact that I’d apparently pulled him out of the reapers' embrace.
I didn’t like hurting dogs, but dogs and Inuzuka ninken were almost different animals.
It was more like fighting a rabid wolf; only when you put down the wolf, you then had to deal with its enraged human partner.
Still, I hadn’t been about to reveal that trick of mine. Kori Yuki would have known of some of the clones due to my not hiding all of them, but that was to keep him honest. The Yuki I’d saved seemed to understand that, and if anything, it made it all the more meaningful.
They gazed at me like I’d broken some fundamental law of society. Which, considering the state of Kiri, wasn’t that hard.
You mostly just had to show restraint and help your allies.
Juzo, by bringing it up, had worked as a wonderful accidental ally to me. I’d have to do something nice, like line him up against a known Konoha or Kumo bladesmaster, perhaps.
He’d like that.
“What are we doing with the snake?” Kori demanded as we dodged yet another strike; this time he gave a signal that allowed most people to dodge. The others I had to rip out of danger, either by sacrificing a clone or wrapping them in chakra threads and performing the action myself.
“We’re not going to fight him on land. Konoha must have reinforcements en route.”
I actually didn’t even need to guess. I could feel them within the edges of my chakra sensory range. They were slowly closing the gap, revealing their fresher status, or, potentially their more elite status.
I wasn’t too concerned as yet, as we had enough time to escape them.
But would Kori—
“There is another force,” Kori announced. “I can see them.”
“Huh, so that eye is worth something then,” Juzo muttered. “We going to be able to get on the boats though?”
“When we reach the boats. I’ll hold Orochimaru off, then catch up,” I stated.
That caused everyone within earshot to glance towards me.
“Ain’t going to be like in the forest Matsu,” Juzo warned. “He’s going to be mad and letting loose. He also won’t have to worry about any of his men getting caught in the crossfire.”
I snorted as we were forced to dodge again. “Like now you mean?” I asked rhetorically. “Don’t worry, just run. I have the answers to any questions he might ask.”
Well, not all of them, but I doubted that Orochimaru was going to unveil his white snake form.
From there on, we didn’t speak, instead choosing to run for another half hour only to pour out onto the beach and sprint across the sands and straight over the shallows. Far out in the depths, boats sat at anchor, right where I’d asked them to be.
Perfect.
I ran out halfway to the ships, then slowed to a stop before slowly turning and watching the shoreline.
As I stood, something flew overhead, drawing my attention.
A mountain hawk? Over the ocea— a kunai was launched and speared it through the neck, ending the bird’s life.
Damn. It hadn’t had much chakra to speak of, so I’d ignored it, thinking it a simple bird during the fight, but with it coming this far it could be nothing else but a Yamanaka controlling it.
Guess that answered an old question of mine about chakra in animals and if the Yamanaka jutsu affected that.
My men boarded the ships right as the giant snake crossed above the treetops overlooking the beach.
Hmmm, how much had it seen previously? It wouldn’t have seen too much thanks to the mist, but a hawk’s vision was much greater than a human's, so there might have been a few tricks that they picked up on.
With that in mind, I unsealed my slingshot once more and powered up another shot.
Right as Orochimaru and his giant snake summons appeared over the last treetops, I released.
The dart rocketed out, causing a wave to ripple from my position.
Orochimaru’s chakra spiked, and he launched down from his summons.
The snake took the hit through the mouth, and a mist of blood exploded out the back of its skull.
It toppled to the side, and rather than feel glad at its demise, I instead felt a wave of disgust.
Orochimaru appeared on the beach, glaring at me.
“You didn’t shield it,” I called, choosing to talk to see if I could delay him.
He tilted his head even as his chakra cycled, showing that he wasn’t just allowing my stall. “It served its purpose,” he hissed. “You could have been much more effective if you weren’t doing the same for your weaker shinobi.”
Without any visual signs, his mouth opened, and he fired a burst of water bullets, only for me to counter rather than step aside.
Clinically, I noted that he’d aimed such that if I had, the ships might have been damaged.
The sails unfurled and began to sail away, my men staring back at me as I began to intercept jutsu after jutsu.
Blasts of water slammed into each other only for kunai to slip through the mist. I matched the speed, moving and blocking everything. At this point all visual on Orochimaru was gone and I was relying purely on chakra senses.
Orochimaru shifted positions, changing things up by flashing through an array of seals only to sweep his arm out and hurl a barrage of shuriken and kunai.
For a second, ten dots flitted across the sky, only for it to suddenly darken as the sky was blotted out in favour of what seemed like thousands of kunai.
Rather than tweak his nose by matching him jutsu for jutsu, I instead commanded my chakra into a different pattern before stomping forward and sweeping my hand. “GREAT BREAKTHROUGH!” I roared as I called forth a powerful wind to knock away the weapons.
If it worked for Temari against Tenten I didn’t see a need to change it.
Orochimaru attempted to flash forward to close the distance with me, only for his shunshin to be pushed back by my wind jutsu.
With a wind jutsu roaring forth I formed up my chakra again, ending with a tiger seal before my mouth.
Orochimaru’s eyes bulged, and he had a moment to react as I called forth a Great Fireball jutsu.
The fireball caught on the wind and roared into a mighty conflagration that swept over the ocean and scorched the sands. The trees along the beach began to burn, but that didn’t interest me.
Instead, I snapped my head down and glared as Orochimaru tried to ghost past me by swimming underwater.
I clicked my tongue and let the vibration tell me precisely where he was and where he was aiming to be, then I exploded into action.
Normal orcas can move at up to fifty-six kilometres an hour in short bursts.
That’s without chakra running through their bodies.
They had methods of enhancing this further by cutting the water in front while propelling themselves.
So Orochimaru had a single moment to realise that he fucked up before I torpedoed into his ribs and drove him deeper into the water, where he’d be at my mercy.
Air exploded out of him, and I reached for his neck to finish this fight for good, only for his hand to swipe his wrist and pour chakra out in a frantic last ditch effort.
Instead of hitting the ground, he hit me to summon his snake, his hand lashed out and slammed into me. I felt a spike of pain and was pushed back only for the summons to activate.
Chakra exploded between us as something massive answered the call and rose up out of the water.
I pinwheeled through the water before taking hold of it and righting myself.
Clicking my tongue, I got a very good idea of just how much bigger this summon was. From the amount of chakra, this either had to be Manda, or Orochimaru’s hidden summons.
The eight-headed hydra that he used against Itachi only to be no-sold straight away. Weird day to be hoping for the purple nope-rope, but... well, Manda was a bit of a paper tiger in this situation.
“I DEMAND A THOUSAND—” Manda began to boom out, only for Orochimaru’s shout to cut him off.
“Kill the ships and you will have as many sacrifices as you could need!”
Oh hell no.
Reaching into my flagging reserves while flicking my thumb I lashed with an open hand into the water.
Rather than one-up him with a bigger summon, I went for the strongest summon I had. I pushed my intent for her through the jutsu, knowing she’d feel it and understand my need in this moment.
Shimotaki, the matriarch of the orca clan, answered my call and exploded into the world only to twist and sweep her tail in a mighty slap that caused a tidal wave to roar into existence.
The ships carrying my nin were pushed further out to sea and out of range.
The wave, however, served its purpose wonderfully. The blast of poisons that were part liquid and part gas hit the wave and spread rather than slamming into the fleet.
Holding Shimotaki’s dorsal fin, I drew in some deep breaths as we both locked eyes with Orochimaru and Manda.
A twinge of pain made me look down and notice a small senbon sticking out of my ribs.
“Fucker got me,” I growled, pulsing my chakra through me and feeling a poison starting to aggressively spread. I swept my chakra against it only to growl as it tried to fight against even that.
The wave fell away, revealing Orochimaru and Manda.
Rather than remain in the water however, Manda was slithering back quickly.
Shimotaki lowered herself into the water, and if you didn’t know how Orca hunted, you’d think she was backing down as well.
In truth, she was preparing for a strike, one that I sadly had to call her back from.
“We…” I winced as I rasped out the word. Fucking Orochimaru’s poison!
One chance and he got me? Fucking bullshit! I’d almost had him so many times throughout the fight!
“We need to fall back. His reinforcements are about to arrive. We’ve done enough pulling Konoha out of position,” I growled. “Fall back for me, Shimotaki.”
She clicked her tongue, and her attention shifted to me. “You will need to call forth Kurogane.”
“Will do,” I replied. “Can you guard the water?”
“If they dare draw too close, I will punish their hubris greatly!” she replied gleefully.
I chuckled only to grind my teeth together. If there was any consolation, I was pretty sure I’d broken most of Orochimaru’s ribs with my hit.
Orochimaru glared at my summon, and I slipped beneath the waves, behind us the fleet was distantly visible, but any daring to go after them would have an aquatic apex predator to deal with.
Shimotaki pulled her chakra in and began to blend it with the water around us, making it all the harder to detect her.
“Sorry for the hassle,” I projected through the water.
“Think nothing of it. I am more than happy to assist in the endeavour of protecting the greater pack!” she declared. “Now, stop delaying, and summon Kurogane!” she ordered.
I slipped off her back and pulled at the last parts of my chakra, grimacing as the poison slipped past my control and further into my body. My vision blackened a little but it didn’t knock me out. It said a bit too much of the fights I’d put myself in that I was used to this and recognised the signs of chakra exhaustion.
Another orca, much, much smaller than Shimotaki appeared and turned to me. On his head, a small nurse's cap sat primly.
“Hmmm you still suck at dealing with poisons, I see?” he taunted.
“I’ve been a little busy and haven’t perfected it, no,” I bit back weakly.
Kurogane clicked his tongue again and nosed me. “Hmmm, nasty stuff. But it is nothing to the jellyfish or the coral snakes we sometimes deal with. Give me a moment. Please relax,” he murmured, and I did so.
It was rare that I ever had any need of a medic of my own. Thankfully, I had lots of well-trained medics back at base and with us. But for poisons… Well, there could be no better medic than Kurogane, who had to regularly deal with calves and prepubescent orcas poking the wrong beast of the ocean.
“You should work on this,” he continued, unwilling to let the issue settle.
“It’s kind of hard!” I growled. “I need to literally poison myself to internalise the training!” I pointed out waspishly.
Kurogane clicked his tongue again, making sure his nose remained right only towards me. “Skill issue then,” he replied, and I felt my brow twitch. “Don’t talk! I’m about to pull the poison out of you!”
“...” I glared, unable to call fish shit on his claim of my skills being lacking or that he required me to be quiet in this moment, something he knew as his jaw stretched wide and his teeth gleamed in the dark.
Cheeky orca.
When he was done, he nodded his head. “Another perfect healing!” he announced, only to de-summon himself and puff away in a cloud of chakra smoke before I could get in a final word.
Damn, he knew me too well.
Rather than summon another orca, I swam through the water, leaving Shimotaki to guard the rear as I moved to catch up to the fleet. I’d debrief with her later to see if any had tried to come after us, but for now I focused on catching up with my men.
When I shot out of the water and landed on deck, I found myself facing many kunai, and even the kubikiribocho blade pointed at me.
I made the sign for ‘friend’, ignoring how my hand shook rather horribly and instead smiled widely. “Sup?” I greeted everyone.
Straight away, the civilians packed away their blades and grinned back at me.
I chuckled and made the rounds; Juzo hung back, watching me with a thoughtful expression.
Kori lingered, his body tense as he considered his options only to turn and stalk away from me. That was fine, I was more than happy to deal with other people right now.
Would he take the shot with my demonstrated weakness? I still had the gates up my sleeve as well as my hidden observer ready to strike if he acted up.
Part of me hoped he would, while another hoped he’d delay. The longer he did, the longer I got time to work my way into making the Yuki change their view on me.
He didn’t strike, which rather annoyed me as I had to sit back and regather chakra naturally.
“Did anyone collect the body of that Akimichi?” I called.
“Yeah boss! Swung past and sealed it up!” Called one of the civilian nin. I beamed at them.
“E-excellent work,” I stuttered for a second, not having to even feign my fatigue. My knees buckled as I took a step to clap my friend on the shoulder.
An enlarged Akimichi, while not to the full size they could reach, was still useful to look into. And if they happened to have any of the special Akimichi battle pills? Even better. It would take a while but it would speed up our pill research if we could discover how to create battle pills to refill our chakra.
Rather than race home, we sailed away from Hot Water at a relatively leisurely pace.
When we broke out rations for dinner, I lounged against the railing. It was only then that Kori inched closer, his pride not wanting it to seem he was not important enough to sit with the other jonin who sat with me.
Juzo merely swaggered in and nudged one of my friends aside. “I need a seat,” he growled, and the nin eyed him for a moment before I cleared my throat.
“It’s fine Gintama, can you check in on Fumina? I think she hasn’t had anything to eat yet.”
Gintama straightened and brightened up at the prospect of talking with his crush. It was only after a few steps that he paused, glanced at where Juzo was now sitting and then back at me with a degree of understanding.
I nodded and winked before waving him off.
For the next few minutes I continued to eat casually, knowing that Juzo was likewise playing the waiting game. He couldn’t come across as too interested after all.
Not that anyone believed it.
Everyone basically waited with bated breath for him to speak.
He set his chopsticks to the side and grunted. “So second round against Orochimaru. What do you think about the one everyone thinks will be the next Hokage?”
“He won’t be Hokage,” I replied instantly.
Juzo tilted his head. “What makes you say that?”
Everyone within earshot turned their heads towards me, and I tapped my chopsticks on my bowl in thought for a moment, idly drumming out a beat I recalled from my past life without really meaning to. I certainly couldn’t call it future knowledge but there was information I could use.
“He didn’t protect anyone,” I replied after working out how to say what I wanted. If I did it right, then I’d get my message across, alter Kiri’s culture, and help boost my reputation.
“Protect anyone? He was the biggest threat to us all! Had us running hard the whole way to the ocean! That’s what Konoha will spew out for him!” Juzo argued without any heat.
“Yes,” I replied with an easy nod, “but they will also notice the casualties that he took doing so. He drove us off, but we were already moving to evade getting caught by another force.”
A slight movement caused me to notice that Sasori had drawn closer and was in the rigging of the ship above me.
“Leaders, in my opinion? They need to show the way, while also protecting those underneath them. I suspect that Hiruzen Sarutobi is of a similar mindset. But here’s a question for you: who would you put your faith in? A man who works to protect even just one of their followers? Or a man that ignores just one of their followers?”
“You’re pushing something here,” Juzo pointed out. “What is it you want to say?”
I smirked. “Orochimaru could lie, cheat, and kill his way to the hat, and I would rejoice, for Konoha would suffer under him. He would make for a terrible Hokage unless he changed his mindset.”
Juzo rolled his hand in a ‘keep talking’ gesture.
My eyes flicked up to Sasori, then to Juzo before finally coming to Kori.
“Konoha wouldn’t follow him like they would another. To be a good leader, you need to protect your followers, whether it's five hundred or just one or two,” I offered with a smirk. “Then to be a great leader you need to pull it off lots of times.”
Kori scoffed and walked away, while a few of his clansmen lingered, watching me in quiet silence.
Sasori lingered, while Juzo smirked. “Seems like semantics.”
“People care if they’re that one person being saved,” I stated before smiling and looking away, showing that I wasn’t going to say anything more.
My gaze turned to the sun that was starting to rise. Hmmm a few days' work and we’d pulled Konoha and Hot Water out of position, hopefully allowing Kumo to strike deep into the Land of Hot Water while giving Orochimaru a good scare, I had the Chinoike interested, and I’d made some more progress on turning the Yuki to my camp.
Kori was still being resistant, and I wouldn’t show too much weakness to him, but that didn’t surprise me.
If I had to kill him, I would.
This wasn’t Konoha after all, and for all that I tried to emulate him, I was no Naruto.
If he struck me, I’d put him in the ground and not lose a wink of sleep over it.
Perhaps that was just my Kiri upbringing coming to the fore.
Still, with this done, the true opening exchanges for the Third Shinobi War had taken place.
I had to wonder how it would develop from here.
If I were lucky, it might end quickly, but I suspected that in this, I was going to be greatly disappointed.
Time to see if I was a great leader.
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A.N. Thanks go to my patreons for your continued support!
It also goes to Twmmy for proofreading this chapter!
For the Americans, 56 km is 36 miles.