Chapter 55: The Epoch-Making Bait
Hanzo of the Salamander and his three deputies made their way cautiously to the rendezvous point.
In the past, the Cloud's secret aid had always been delivered directly to the Hidden Rain Village and handed to him personally. But in the last two months, with the growing tension, ninja from the Wind, Fire, and Earth had been detected in the Land of Rain. Hanzo, with his limited manpower, was unable to clear them out. For security reasons, three months ago, the Cloud had moved the drop-off point to the Grass-Rain border, on the eastern side.
Hanzo was frustrated. The Hidden Rain was simply too small to prevent the great villages from infiltrating their country. He had personally dealt with a few groups of spies, but he couldn't be everywhere at once. Now, even the Cloud's aid couldn't get through to them. It was a humiliating situation, and he worried that his only ally would look down on him. A fire of resentment burned in his heart.
But his old friend, whom he had never met, was still very supportive. Not only did he not blame him, but this time, he was sending something that exceeded all his expectations.
In his last letter, his friend had said that the Cloud had recently developed a new type of talisman. The concept was similar to an explosive tag, but it combined medical ninjutsu and sealing jutsu to create a brand-new healing talisman. Like an explosive tag, it could be activated by infusing it with chakra, releasing the sealed medical ninjutsu within. It could heal most external wounds... though not the particularly severe ones.
But for a ninja, this was a second life. This was far more valuable than an explosive tag. A single one of these would be enough to cause a frenzy. It was a life-saving trump card. And the Cloud was providing a whole batch of them.
Hanzo hadn't even seen the finished product yet, but he had already decided that if it was effective, he would carry three of them with him at all times. No, five!
The Hidden Rain's biggest weakness was its small numbers. (Well, that and their general lack of skill.) They had no hope of going head-to-head with a great village. When Hanzo wasn't present, their casualty rate skyrocketed. This was why he couldn't completely eliminate the spies in his country; they were scattered everywhere. If he were to commit all his forces to a single battle, he would exhaust his entire village just to take out a single enemy advance team.
If he could get his hands on these healing talismans, it would go a long way towards solving their casualty problem. The Hidden Rain would finally have the ability to "fight." This was something that could change the very rules of ninja combat.
The reason the Cloud was being so generous this time was that this new healing talisman was still in its development phase and was not yet stable. They needed the Hidden Rain to help test it. The first phase of testing had been completed internally. This second phase was to test the talisman's effectiveness in different weather conditions, on different people, and with different types of injuries, in preparation for mass production.
The reason was a bit flimsy, but his old friend had told him the truth. This batch of talismans was actually the defective first-run products, which were supposed to be destroyed. His friend had argued against the other Cloud leaders, convincing them to give the talismans to the Hidden Rain for "testing" because he had a premonition that the ninja world was on the verge of a major change. He didn't want to see the Hidden Rain, which they had supported for so many years, be crushed between the great nations at the very beginning of the war.
The Cloud needed a resilient Hidden Rain. Or rather, a resilient Hanzo of the Salamander.
Hanzo's heart burned with a new fire, and he quickened his pace. The Land of Rain was not large. In half a day, he reached the rendezvous point. Following the marks on the trees, he found the Cloud ninja in a hidden cave.
This time, the Cloud's team was much larger than before, about ten people. Several horse-drawn carts, loaded with goods, were crammed into the cave.
"Lord Hanzo," the leader of the group said, "we've been waiting for you."
To Hanzo's surprise, the familiar face of Darui was not in charge. The leader was a masked youth who looked to be no older than fourteen or fifteen. He was introduced as a young genius from the Cloud's research division, named Mad--a, who was in charge of this delivery.
Though he was wearing a mask, with Darui by his side, Hanzo didn't suspect anything. The others were unmasked, and he recognized several of them. It was likely a way to protect the boy. Hanzo noticed that the others, including Darui, were positioned in a way that subtly protected him. He must be a very important prodigy.
"I'm afraid we'll have to trouble you, Lord Hanzo," the boy, Mada, said. "This delivery was a bit... complicated. Because the 'Healing Talisman' itself contains a sealing jutsu, it cannot be transported using a sealing scroll. And at this stage of development... well, in its current state, if two talismans are kept too close for too long, there's a risk of them activating and becoming useless. So, we had to hide them in books and disguise ourselves as booksellers. Each of these books contains one talisman. But even so, many of them were damaged in transit. There are about a thousand left."
Hanzo nodded. The Cloud ninja were always polite, and he would return the courtesy. "If you don't mind," he said, "I'd like to see the effect of this 'Healing Talisman' for myself."
The boy, Mada, nodded and had someone bring him a talisman. It looked very similar to an explosive tag, a long strip of special paper with a complex sealing formula written on it. In the center was a circle with the character for "heal."
"The method of use is the same as an explosive tag. Just infuse it with chakra," Mada explained, handing the talisman to Hanzo.
One of Hanzo's deputies took it and, without hesitation, cut a deep gash in his own forearm with a kunai. He then infused the talisman with chakra. After a brief flash of light, the "heal" character on the talisman began to fade, and the wound on his arm began to close at a visible rate. Before the character had completely disappeared, the wound had already healed, leaving only a faint scar.
A sharp glint appeared in Hanzo's eyes.
"An excellent item!"
Carrying a healing talisman was probably more reliable than having a medical-nin. A medic could be delayed, or become a target themselves. A healing talisman was much more in line with a ninja's style. As long as you were conscious and could move, you could use it. The resources it took to train a medical-nin were something a small village couldn't even dream of. And even if you had one, it would lower the squad's combat ability, and you'd have to constantly protect them.
In Hanzo's eyes, this was an epoch-making invention.
This is the power of a great village, he thought. This was probably the reason he was so obsessed with making the Hidden Rain the sixth great village.
"The Healing Talisman also has a suppressive effect on common poisons," the boy, Mada, explained. "It can't cure them, but it can buy you some extra time. By the way, Lord Hanzo, I have a very impolite request. Would it be possible for you to provide me with a sample of your salamander's poison for my research?" The boy's voice was filled with a researcher's fervor.
Hanzo froze. The boy was clearly clueless about social etiquette. His poison was one of his greatest trump cards. You couldn't just ask for it like that. It was a very impolite request.
Darui quickly stepped in. "This is a matter that requires careful consideration. Let's not trouble Lord Hanzo."
But Hanzo didn't take offense. It was probably a common trait among geniuses. They were a bit... simple. Compared to these Healing Talismans, it was a minor issue. This boy was likely a key figure in their invention. It would be beneficial to have a good relationship with him.
"It's no matter," he said. "I didn't bring any with me today, but we can discuss it later."
He looked at the Healing Talisman in his hand, then at the carts filled with books. A fire burned in his heart. Every book was a healing talisman. Though the transport was a bit troublesome, he would gladly take another ten cartloads.
Just as he was basking in the glow of his newfound power, a ninja hawk circled above him. Hanzo's expression changed. He beckoned the hawk to his arm, took the note tied to its leg, and read it. His face instantly contorted with rage. He crushed the paper in his fist.
"Damn it! The Sand has gone too far! Do they really think I'm a pushover?!"
The spies in the Land of Rain had discovered that he had left the village. The Hidden Sand had launched a surprise attack. The Hidden Rain was barely holding on. They were calling for his help.