"Bastard!"
Kamakura watched his last companion die in battle, and in a fit of rage, he punched the ground, splattering mud mixed with rainwater onto himself: "Yet another idiot wanting to challenge Lord Hanzo..."
Decades ago, Hanzo of the Salamander was hailed in the Ninja World as a Ninja Demigod, becoming the ninja closest to the God of Ninja, the First Hokage. As a result, he faced many assassinations and challenges.
The ninjas of The Hidden Rain Village were accustomed to this.
Kamakura had seen many young upstarts before, thinking they had mastered a few Ninjutsu techniques and were invincible, attempting to enter The Hidden Rain Village to take Hanzo's head. Most of them were killed by Lord Heiji, the right hand of Lord Hanzo.
Kamakura immediately assumed that the boy with the bamboo umbrella before him was another ignorant fool wanting to make his name by defeating Lord Hanzo.
Uehara Naraku didn't deny it at all; instead, he walked towards the Chunin Kamakura, chuckling lightly: "You only guessed half right. I want to take Hanzo's head to honor those he killed... That old man has lived long enough, hasn't he?"
"Bastard! How dare you insult Lord Hanzo!"
Kamakura gritted his teeth. As a Hidden Rain Ninja, he absolutely could not tolerate anyone insulting the ninja demigod they saw as their pride.
Just as Uehara Naraku thought this guy was going to risk his life, Kamakura quickly threw the Kunai in his hand and sealed his hands: "Hidden Rain Jutsu!"
A puff of smoke rose from the rain...
As a ninja hailing from The Hidden Rain Village, they were well-versed in how to fight and escape in torrential rain!
This guy wants to escape!
Facing a formidable enemy who had slain all the stationed ninjas at the Hidden Rain outpost, Kamakura knew well his own strength.
That kid easily took down six Genin and a Chunin, even without letting go of the bamboo umbrella in his hand during the fight!
"I must get the information back to the village..."
Kamakura's figure flipped, utilizing the rising smoke to block Uehara's sight, while he himself flew into a crack between the rocks, a spot he had already scouted.
As an ordinary ninja, when encountering an enemy that can't be overcome, it's essential to send intel about the enemy to the village's upper levels.
That's the rule for ordinary ninjas.
The rain poured down even harder.
Kamakura, the Hidden Rain Chunin, dared not breathe heavily, cautiously hiding in the crevice of the rocks, listening as the sound of raindrops hitting the bamboo umbrella gradually abated.
Has that boy left?
Kamakura slowly let out a sigh of relief. After waiting a little longer, only confirming that the boy had left, did he cautiously peek out to observe the surrounding environment.
Besides the splashes from the torrential rain hitting the ground, there were no traces of anyone on the surface.
The Hidden Rain Chunin Captain Kamakura finally relaxed, slowly emerging from the rock crevice, realizing that the rain seemed to have lessened.
The sound of the rain hitting the bamboo umbrella entered his ears once more...
He's still here!
That boy was still here!
Kamakura suddenly raised his head, looking towards the sky!
In the sky was a dark silhouette, holding a bamboo umbrella and floating, causing Kamakura's pupils to involuntarily contract...
That kid, he can fly in the air?
Uehara Naraku descended with the bamboo umbrella, leveling his eyes with Kamakura's, and tilted his head, questioning: "Hey, even if you want to run away, you should at least ask my opinion, right?"
"..."
Kamakura, unable to contain his shock, widened his eyes, looking at the bamboo umbrella boy in front of him, stammering, "You... sensed my position a long time ago..."
"Yeah."
Uehara Naraku nodded, pinched a card in his hand, and inserted it into the Hidden Rain Ninja Forehead Protector on Kamakura's forehead.
The card, appearing thin as it was, sharply sliced through the iron ninja headband, slowly embedding itself in.
Kamakura trembled all over, watching his movements. Facing an enemy that defied common sense, he dared not move a muscle.
Kamakura could clearly feel a thin, shallow cut opened on his forehead, with blood seeping through the gap of the headband.
Just as Kamakura thought he was about to be killed, Uehara Naraku stopped, softly saying, "Alright, go back and tell Hanzo of the Salamander, twelve years ago, he got away; this time, he won't get away."
Kamakura woodenly mumbled, "Wh-why... why didn't you kill me... who are you really..."
"Hmm..."
Uehara Naraku pondered for a moment, raised a finger, and earnestly explained, "Maybe... I'm a kind person?"
If it were more than a month ago, when Uehara Naraku just arrived in the Ninja World, perhaps he truly was a kind person; but after living in the Land of Rain, a kind person couldn't survive in the Ninja World, so he could only be an alternative kind of person.
Once someone personally witnesses a crumbling world, the flower of evil begins to bloom, and the malice lurking within human nature drives them to become a person indistinguishable between good and evil.
"...Kind...kind?"
Kamakura couldn't help but lower his head, looking at the rain ninja corpses lying all around him. What kind of kindness is this!
Uehara Naraku waved his bamboo umbrella, landing on the ground, and walked step by step into the pouring rain. When he was halfway through, he suddenly stopped, turned his head and chuckled, "Instead of killing all of you, it's better to leave you to spread our fear to Hanzo of the Salamander; the effect should be better, right?"
"You!"
Kamakura was still unsettled from his fright.
Uehara Naraku, however, waved his hand instead: "Go, return and tell Hanzo of the Salamander, the Avengers from twelve years ago are coming back to take his life!"
With that, the boy holding the bamboo umbrella gradually vanished from Kamakura's sight, leaving a scene of chaos.
"The matter from twelve years ago..."
Kamakura dejectedly knelt in the rain, recalling an old incident in The Hidden Rain Village.
Twelve years ago, Hanzo of the Salamander had led many loyal Hidden Rain Ninjas on an unknown mission.
However, apart from Hanzo, none of the other Hidden Rain Ninjas ever returned; from then on, Hanzo also issued a command to hunt down the Akatsuki; but the Hidden Rain Ninjas never found any trace of Akatsuki, and the matter was ultimately left unresolved.
Now, have the Akatsuki members come for revenge?
The rain, grew heavier...
Just after Uehara Naraku completed his task, he saw soaked papers being carried by the rain, converging into a woman with light blue hair, her sideburns wet from the rain, clinging tightly to her face.
It was his Teacher.
Konan reached out, taking the bamboo umbrella from Uehara Naraku's hand, drawing him close to her side, so the two of them shared the umbrella against the rain.
"I saw everything just now."
Konan glanced down at Uehara Naraku, holding his shoulder, softly praising the young man beside her, "Naraku, well done."
"Not at all, it's all thanks to Teacher Konan's guidance."
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