Chapter 64: No Rice for You to Carry
In the early days of Konoha's year 38, Konoha launched a counter-attack against the Hidden Stone within the Land of Fire. After two days of hard-fought battles, they successfully pushed the Stone back out of their country.
During those two days, Dana had been on the battlefield, collecting a large amount of blood and tissue samples from fallen ninja with Kekkei Genkai and secret jutsu. These samples were escorted back to the Hidden Cloud and given to the research team led by old man Yoshitoki. These things, which were normally scattered across the ninja world and difficult to find, were plentiful on a large-scale battlefield, where fallen ninja were often left behind by their comrades.
Unfortunately, the really good stuff, like the Byakugan and the Sharingan, was impossible to get. The Uchiha would destroy their eyes immediately upon death, and the Byakugan users on the battlefield were all from the branch family. Dana, not wanting to reveal himself, had to steer clear of them.
But he had not been so polite with the members of the Inuzuka, Nara, and Aburame clans. He had "helped" them by collecting their remains from the brutal battlefield and storing them in sealing scrolls. What a noble gesture. The body of a ninja was a treasure trove of value.
Konoha had paid a heavy price to push the Stone back into the Land of Rain. The most displeased, besides Onoki, was probably Hanzo of the Salamander. The Land of Rain was now destined to become a brutal battlefield, a sacrifice to the wars of the great nations.
To make matters worse, the Hidden Sand, after a long standoff with Koharu Utatane's western forces in the Land of Rivers, had given up on that hard nut to crack and had instead looped around into the Land of Rain. This time, without Hanzo to stop them, they had successfully pushed deep into the country.
Though the Sand and the Stone had not officially formed an alliance, it was an unspoken agreement. Besides the necessary precautions against each other, they both turned their attention to Konoha.
And Hanzo of the Salamander, with years of secret support from the Cloud, was not content to just sit back and watch his country be turned into a battlefield. He was starting to make his move.
At the same time, with the armies of multiple nations now in the Land of Rain, the country descended into even greater chaos.
In the Land of Rain, two Konoha ninja had just escaped a Stone pursuit. Their original four-man squad was now down to two Genin. They had been trudging through the cold spring rain all day and were starving. They had lost all their supplies and, out of desperation, decided to break into a civilian house to find food.
Inside, a family of three heard a noise. With the entire country in turmoil, they were naturally on high alert. They hid in their bedroom, holding their breath, hoping the ninja would just take what they wanted and leave.
But the noise they made was heard.
"What was that?!"
The Konoha ninja drew their kunai and began to search the house. In the darkness, they saw a few figures and tensed up.
"Who's there?! Dammit! Are you the enemy?!"
Seeing the weapons, the man of the house, in a fit of desperation, charged forward, hoping to buy his wife and child a chance to escape. He grappled with one of the ninja.
"Now! Run!"
But even with all his strength, he could only hold one of them. The other ninja charged forward, kunai in hand. The woman, to protect her son, threw her body in front of him.
"Nagato! Run!"
Time seemed to slow down.
If nothing unexpected happened, this boy would witness the tragic murder of his parents, feel the pain, and spend the rest of his life carrying bags of rice.
But there were no "if's" today.
A size 12 boot shot out, inserting itself between the woman and the ninja. With a single kick, it sent the ninja flying. Then, before anyone could react, the newcomer chopped the other ninja on the back of the neck, knocking him out.
A tall man in a straw raincoat and hat had appeared in their home.
"Don't you Konoha ninja have any manners?" he said. "If you're hungry, why not just ask to buy some food? You have to sneak in and steal? Or rob?"
The family stared, dumbfounded, as the man in the raincoat took down the two ninja. The atmosphere of impending tragedy was gone.
"Sorry for the intrusion," the man said. "I'm a mercenary. I've run out of supplies and was hoping to buy some food from you. I saw these two causing trouble and thought I'd help you out. Hope you don't mind."
"Uh... this..."
The mercenary then had Nagato's mother make him a pot of porridge, which he ate with some side dishes. The two unconscious Konoha ninja were lying on the floor next to the table. The family felt so uncomfortable they just stood there, watching him eat. Today had been a surreal experience. It was as if their house had some kind of ninja-attracting barrier.
The mercenary finished his simple meal and wiped his mouth.
"Thank you for the meal," he said. "You probably don't have much to spare in these war-torn times. But don't worry, I'm a mercenary, but I have my principles. I won't eat for free."
The family just nodded numbly.
The mercenary threw a heavy coin purse onto the table. The clinking sound it made was far more than the value of a single meal.
"The Stone Village is offering a bounty for Konoha ninja. I'll be taking these two with me."
The family nodded vigorously. Please, just take them and go.
"I was just looking for some food," the mercenary said. "This is a nice little bonus. Where I'm from, we believe in sharing good fortune. The extra money in this purse is for you. But take my advice. Use it to get out of the Land of Rain. Things are only going to get worse here."
With that, he slung one of the unconscious ninja over each shoulder.
As he was about to leave, he turned back.
"Hey, kid," he said. "Let me give you a piece of advice. Don't walk around with a long face all the time. It doesn't help. Laugh your way to strength! Haha!"
With a hearty laugh, he disappeared into the rainy night.
The family stood there, bewildered, as if they had just woken from a dream. But the image of the man's back was surprisingly reassuring. In his absence, the world suddenly felt much less safe.
That night, they decided to leave the Land of Rain.
In another corner of the Land of Rain, in a dilapidated-looking restaurant, Dana sat at the only table, tapping his fingers as he counted the time.
"By now, the Nagato situation should be resolved."
Yes, the tall mercenary had been sent by him.
The moment the "Special Strategy Division" was formed and had made contact with Hanzo, they had located Nagato's family. Not because they knew of his future potential, but simply because he and his mother were Uzumaki, a key target of the "Fire Thief Initiative." They had been on their radar from the very beginning.