Chapter 56: Reinforcements
The Hidden Sand had launched a surprise attack on the Hidden Rain Village. Now, the village was on the brink of collapse. They had sent an urgent message to Hanzo, begging him to return as soon as possible.
The village was his life's work. He could not let it fall. But of all the times for this to happen...
He looked at the two carts filled with Healing Talismans. He had to get back immediately. It was impossible to travel at top speed with two carts of books. After a moment of agonizing indecision, he turned to the Cloud ninja, his face grim. "There's been a change of plans," he said. "The Sand has attacked my village while I was away. I must return at once. Darui, my young friend Mada, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to wait here for me for two days. No, one day. Please, watch over these supplies. I will be back as soon as I can."
With that, he was about to leave with his men. To say he was frantic would be an understatement.
But the boy, Mada, stopped him. He handed Hanzo a stack of Healing Talismans.
"This journey may be dangerous, my lord," he said. "Please, take some of these with you. They may be of some help. But be sure to store them separately and use them separately, to prevent them from becoming ineffective."
For a moment, Hanzo thought that this boy, Mada, though clueless about social graces, was a truly good person. A rare, good person in the ninja world, with the heart of a child.
"Then I wish you good fortune in battle, my lord," the boy said with a slight bow. "We will await your return."
As Hanzo's hurried figure disappeared from sight, Darui stepped up beside the boy.
"Lord Dana," he said, "do you think the plan will work?"
Dana removed his mask. "Plan?" he said with a playful smile. "What plan? Did I say a single untrue word just now? Besides my name, of course."
Darui just sighed. That was what made it so terrifying.
Hidden Rain Village
Flames licked at the cliffside buildings of the Hidden Rain. Dozens of Sand ninja were laying siege to the village.
The Hidden Rain had few ninja to begin with. With men assigned to border patrol and missions, the village's defenses were thin, especially with Hanzo away.
A group of Rain ninja were cornered in a building, fighting for their lives.
"Prioritize casualties! Don't push too far! End it quickly!"
"Puppet masters! Poison needles!"
Several puppet masters released their grotesque creations, which fired a hail of poison needles into the building. A few moments later, confident that everyone inside was dead, they moved on to find their next target.
In another part of the village, the former dean and a certain homeroom teacher from the Hidden Cloud Ninja Academy were protecting the Academy's students in a shelter.
"Sensei," a young boy said, his voice trembling, "when is Lord Hanzo coming back?" He had just been selected to join the Academy, and he was already starting to regret his decision.
The former dean shook his head.
Just then, they heard a noise. Three Sand ninja had stumbled upon their hiding place.
"So this is where you were hiding," one of them sneered. "Two adult ninja and a bunch of kids. Looks like I'll be adding to my kill count today." He summoned his puppet, a monstrous creation that sent a few of the younger children screaming and crying.
"Be careful," another said. "It's two against three. Don't be reckless."
"What's the big deal?" the first one replied. "In a small village like this, even a Jonin is nothing special. The captain took out that Rain Jonin in one hit."
The dean remained silent in the face of their taunts. He just exchanged a look with the homeroom teacher.
Meanwhile, Hanzo was racing back to his village, his heart filled with a burning rage. He had been running all day, and on the return journey, he had pushed himself to his absolute limit, leaving his deputies far behind. By the time he arrived, he was alone.
The sight of his village in flames sent a rush of blood to his head.
"Good. Very good," he growled. "You were looking for death. I will be happy to oblige."
The Sand ninja on the outskirts didn't even have time to react. A chain-scythe flashed through the air, and their heads were separated from their bodies. Hanzo moved with incredible speed, cutting them down one by one like a farmer harvesting wheat.
"Dammit! How did Hanzo get back so fast?! The intel was wrong! Retreat!"
"Retreat? Do you really think you can?"
Hanzo tore the mask from his face. A cloud of purple poison billowed from his mouth and nose, spreading through the air in a matter of seconds. The Sand ninja nearby immediately began to choke.
"Dammit! What is this poison?!"
Hanzo threw his chain-scythe into the air and quickly formed a series of hand seals. "Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
A massive torrent of water erupted from his mouth, so vast it seemed to blot out the sky.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!" Several of the Sand ninja combined their efforts to create a defensive wall, but it was easily shattered by the massive wave of water, and they were washed away along with it.
After clearing out the perimeter, Hanzo found a group of captured Rain ninja. They were overjoyed to see him.
"Lord Hanzo! You're finally back!"
"Those damn Sand ninja! They attacked us while you were away! Our losses are heavy!"
Many of the prisoners were seriously injured and on the verge of collapse.
Hanzo quickly took out the stack of Healing Talismans he had so carefully protected and distributed them to the wounded. "These are Healing Talismans," he said. "Infuse them with chakra, just like an explosive tag."
He then noticed that on two of the talismans he was holding, the "heal" character had already disappeared. He remembered the boy Mada's words: "Store them separately and use them separately, or they might become ineffective."
He hesitated for a moment, then kept three for himself and gave the rest to a Rain ninja who could still move. "Distribute these to the wounded," he ordered. "Quickly!"
With Hanzo's return, the remaining Sand ninja were gradually mopped up. It is worth noting that the two ninja instructors from the Cloud fought valiantly to protect the Academy students. After receiving the Healing Talismans, they fought with a renewed ferocity, slapping the talismans on their own wounds and trading injuries with the Sand ninja, driving many of them away. But in the chaos of the night, this small act of bravery went largely unnoticed, remembered only by a few of the students who thought their teachers were incredibly brave.