The sky had darkened completely, and instead of peace, the night brought an overwhelming sense of pressure to the ninjas of Rain Shinobi Village. Tension gripped the air, and everyone knew what was about to come.
The three allied forces had been stationed outside the village for the entire day. The time for talk was over—it was time for war.
There was no need for stealth or strategy anymore. The coalition made no effort to hide its intent. Every ninja in Rain Shinobi Village could feel it in their bones: an invasion was imminent.
As expected, the allied forces advanced toward the village in formation, following their pre-arranged plans. But this time, things didn't go as smoothly as before.
Just as the coalition approached the outer barrier, Rain Shinobi ninjas launched a fierce counterattack. However, their resistance, though intense, was ineffective against the seasoned elite shinobi from the Five Great Nations.
No matter how proud Rain Shinobi was of its history—having once produced a demigod like Hanzo—it was still a small nation. And small nations could not stand long against the full force of the Five Great Villages.
"Hmph! Is this the Akatsuki's strength? Pathetic."
Fourth Raikage crushed a Rain ninja with a single punch and continued forward, his Lightning Chakra Mode glowing with menace. Under his leadership, the Cloud-Konoha alliance sliced through enemy ranks like a blade through butter.
Onoki, the old Tsuchikage, was just as efficient. His Dust Release jutsu made numbers irrelevant. To him, this was less of a war and more like a light workout.
Meanwhile, over on the Mist Shinobi side, something was different.
Terumi Mei, having received a critical warning from Andrew, deliberately slowed down her advance. Mist's troops stretched thin as they cautiously approached, their vanguard keeping pace with Raikage's unit, while the rest lagged behind.
"There's something off about the Mist Shinobi's formation," murmured Tiandao, observing from a hidden location. "They're supposed to be attacking with us, yet they're holding back."
He turned to Obito, clearly irritated. "This Mizukage isn't simple. I think she senses something."
Obito nodded grimly. "It's a flaw in my plan," he admitted. "I underestimated her. If the Mist hadn't wandered off course earlier, we wouldn't be in this mess."
Tiandao gave orders to a man standing beside him, a sinister figure known as Scorpion. "It's your turn. We can't let the others grow suspicious."
Scorpion nodded, stepping into the shadows to begin his deadly task.
The counterattack by Rain Shinobi was nothing but a bait, meant to lure the coalition forces deep into the village. Scorpion's trap was now set.
At that moment, Onoki and Raikage were just about to meet up when screams erupted from behind their lines.
They turned around, horrified to see their medical teams being slaughtered by black-robed assailants.
"Bastards!" Raikage roared, blitzing forward with incredible speed. He slammed his fist into one of the attackers, but instead of flesh and blood, he felt something hard and unnatural.
"Puppet? These are Sand Shinobi creations!" he shouted in disbelief.
Raikage tore the black robe off the enemy, revealing a lifeless puppet with Cloud Shinobi armor.
"Raikage-sama! These puppets...they're our own men!" someone shouted in horror.
The soldiers they'd sent earlier to scout the Rain Village had been turned into puppets.
"Akatsuki… YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!" Raikage growled, his body brimming with chakra.
Onoki, who had also lost spies in earlier missions, gritted his teeth. "Those damn puppet masters used our own people against us!"
And it was only getting worse.
"Lord Tsuchikage, these puppets are laced with poison! Without medical ninjas, we're doomed!"
But even as the warning came, the messenger collapsed, foaming at the mouth. Poison had already taken effect.
Onoki's expression hardened. He suddenly realized the full danger of the battlefield.
"Rain Shinobi Village is the perfect place for poison warfare," he said darkly. "The constant moisture in the air...even the mist is poison now."
With their medical ninjas either dead or too far behind, the coalition forces were crumbling. Panic spread. The puppets moved like shadows, their weapons dipped in slow-acting toxins that robbed even the strongest shinobi of their strength.
Only Mist Shinobi's team had held back enough to preserve their medical core. From a distance, Terumi Mei was orchestrating a careful, methodical defense, her ninjas working in sync to neutralize the puppets.
"That Mizukage...she's far more cautious than we thought," Onoki admitted.
"She's brilliant," Raikage muttered grudgingly. "We charged ahead like fools...while she watched and waited."
Mist Shinobi's medics began rushing toward the center of the battlefield to assist the injured. But it was already too late for many.
The poison had spread into the air and water. Scorpion's trap was working flawlessly.
From the shadows, Tiandao turned to Konan, his voice cold. "We don't need to wait any longer. Once they recover, we lose our edge. Begin the next phase."
Konan nodded, vanishing into the mist.
The poison wasn't meant to kill instantly—that would be too easy to detect. It was a slow-acting venom, one that would take effect only after the battlefield was already in chaos. It left the enemy helpless, struggling just to breathe, let alone fight.
Mist's medics were now the only hope. But they were few and far between, and couldn't treat everyone.
The battlefield was breaking down. The coalition was in disarray.
Raikage's fists trembled. "How did we fall into this trap so easily?"
Onoki clenched his jaw. "We were arrogant...overconfident in our own strength."
From behind them, a whisper echoed in the poisoned mist:
"This is only the beginning..."
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