The meeting point was a narrow canyon surrounded by towering cliffs on both sides. The terrain was treacherous, a natural cage where an army could easily ambush a smaller force.
As the Akatsuki delegation walked into the valley, Uehara Naraku scanned the cliffs. The rain was heavier here, drumming loudly against the rocky ground.
"We are here," the Deva Path (Yahiko) said, his voice emotionless.
Ahead of them, a large group of Amegakure ninja stood waiting. In the center, sitting atop a massive summoning beast—a giant Salamander—was the demigod of the ninja world, Hanzō.
Hanzō wore a breathing mask and held a Kusarigama (chain sickle). He looked down at the Akatsuki members with a gaze that was both arrogant and cautious.
"Yahiko," Hanzō's voice boomed through the canyon, amplified by chakra. "You have brought fewer men than I expected. Is this your sincerity?"
"We are here for peace, not for war," the Deva Path replied calmly. "There is no need for an army if we are to shake hands."
Hanzō sneered behind his mask. "Peace... a naive dream of children."
Uehara, standing behind Konan, felt the shift in the air instantly. The chakra signatures around them were spiking.
Here it comes.
Suddenly, Hanzō raised his hand.
"Do it!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The ground beneath the Akatsuki members erupted. Hundreds of explosive tags, buried shallowly under the mud, detonated simultaneously. A massive cloud of fire and debris engulfed the negotiation team.
At the same moment, dozens of figures flickered into existence on the cliffs above. They wore white porcelain masks with animal markings.
"Konoha Anbu?" Konan's voice rang out from the smoke.
"No," Uehara narrowed his eyes. "That's Root."
The smoke cleared.
Konan hovered in the air, her paper wings spread wide. She had reacted instantly, shielding herself and Uehara with a thick wall of paper. The Deva Path stood unharmed in the center of a crater, having used Shinra Tensei to repel the blast, though no one noticed the subtle distortion of gravity yet.
However, the other ordinary Akatsuki members who had accompanied them were not so lucky. They lay scattered on the ground, dead or dying.
"Kill them all!" a cold voice ordered from the cliffs. It wasn't Hanzō, but a man with a bandaged right eye and an X shaped scar on his chin. Shimura Danzō.
"An ambush!" Konan shouted, her face pale with rage. "Hanzō, you betrayed us!"
"This organization is a cancer to the stability of the Rain," Hanzō declared. "Today, the Akatsuki ends here."
Dozens of Root ninja and Hanzō's subordinates leaped down into the valley, drawing their swords and kunai. They rushed toward the three survivors like a tidal wave.
Uehara took a deep breath. To others, this was a desperate situation. To him, it was a buffet.
[Side Mission Progress: 0/10 Enemies Killed]
"Teacher Konan, protect the Leader!" Uehara shouted heroically. "I will handle the small fry!"
Before Konan could stop him, Uehara charged forward.
"Naraku, come back!" Konan cried out. A Genin charging into an army of Chunin and Jonin was suicide.
But Uehara was already weaving his hand signs. Or rather, he was activating his skill.
Destiny.
The three colored cards shuffled above his head.
"Red Card!"
He locked the crimson card and whipped it at the densest cluster of approaching enemies.
The Root ninja saw the glowing card but didn't think much of it. A piece of paper? They prepared to deflect it with their swords.
The card hit the ground in the middle of three ninjas.
BOOM!
A violent explosion of magical energy erupted. Unlike a standard explosive tag which relied on fire and shrapnel, this was pure force and a slowing magical field.
The three ninja were blasted backward, their chests caved in by the impact.
[System Alert: Enemy Killed. +30 Gold.] [System Alert: Enemy Killed. +30 Gold.] [System Alert: Enemy Killed. +30 Gold.]
"That's three," Uehara grinned.
He didn't stop. His chakra reserves were massive. He didn't need to conserve energy.
Destiny.
Blue Card!
He threw a blue card at a ninja rushing him from the side. The card sliced through the man's neck like a guillotine and returned to Uehara, refilling the small amount of mana he had spent.
Destiny.
Red Card!
Another explosion. Two more Hanzō loyalists were turned into mist.
The battlefield fell into chaos. The enemy ninja were confused. Who was this kid? He wasn't using hand signs. He was just throwing glowing cards that hit like S Rank ninjutsu.
"Target the brat!" a Root captain ordered. "He's dangerous!"
Five Root ninja broke away from the main group and surrounded Uehara. They moved with the synchronized precision of killing machines.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
A combination of wind and fire roared toward Uehara.
Uehara didn't panic. He glanced at his cooldown. Destiny was ready.
Gold Card.
He didn't throw it. He held the Gold Card in his hand, letting its energy hum.
"I need a defensive skill," he muttered as the fire approached. "But for now..."
He stomped on the ground.
"Substitute!"
He used a standard Body Replacement Jutsu, swapping places with a log he had kicked earlier. The fire engulfed the log, burning it to ash.
Uehara appeared behind the Root captain.
The captain spun around, his reactions lightning fast. He thrust his tantō (short sword) at Uehara's heart.
Uehara didn't dodge. He slammed the Gold Card into the captain's chest.
Ding!
The captain froze mid-strike. The stun took effect instantly.
Uehara drew a kunai and slashed the man's throat in one fluid motion.
[Enemy Killed. +50 Gold.]
"Seven down," Uehara wiped the blood from his cheek.
He looked up. Konan was fighting fiercely in the sky, her paper wings raining down spears on the enemy. The Deva Path was walking slowly toward Hanzō, repelling anyone who got close with invisible force.
But there were too many enemies.
"I need three more," Uehara calculated.
He saw three Root ninja trying to flank Konan from her blind spot while she was focused on Hanzō's salamander.
"Hey!" Uehara shouted, waving his hand. "Look over here!"
He threw a Red Card at their feet.
The ninja leaped away to avoid the explosion, but the Red Card's secondary effect—the slow—caught them. Their movements became sluggish, as if they were moving through mud.
"Gotcha."
Uehara pulled three shuriken from his pouch. He wasn't a master of shurikenjutsu, but against slowed targets who couldn't dodge, it was target practice.
Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.
The shuriken embedded into their vitals.
[Side Mission Complete: Kill 10 Enemy Ninja.] [Reward: 150 Gold Coins.]
"Nice," Uehara breathed out. "Now, for the big prize."
He looked at Hanzō, who was currently engaging the Deva Path. Hanzō was fast, his teleportation technique (Body Flicker) making him look like a ghost. But the Deva Path was immovable.
"System," Uehara thought. "Buy Boots of Speed."
[Item Purchased: Boots of Speed.] Effect: Increases Movement Speed by 25.
Uehara felt his legs become lighter. The mud no longer felt like it was dragging him down.
"Time to help the Boss fight the raid boss," Uehara muttered. He began to sprint toward Hanzō, weaving through the chaos of the battlefield.