Hanzo was genuinely taken aback by the Insect Clone. He hadn't expected a target that could take such a beating to be nothing more than a decoy.
Once the clone shattered, the chakra keeping the colony active evaporated. Deprived of protection, the beetles and Kikaichu were instantly overcome by the concentrated toxins, leaving the ground littered with their remains.
The soft tissues of the Kikaichu and other insects were rapidly dissolved by the corrosive mist, leaving behind a carpet of empty beetle shells. To Hanzo's surprise, while the internal organs had been turned to sludge, the carapaces remained perfectly intact.
Curiosity piqued, Hanzo picked up one of the beetles. He was shocked to find that these tiny creatures were what had turned aside his scythe. Even without the reinforcement of a live ninja's chakra, the remaining shells were remarkably durable; cutting through a single one with his blade still required significant effort.
"Exquisite material," Hanzo murmured. He immediately began gathering the shells. Such a sturdy substance could be forged into high-grade ninja tools or armor—treasures the impoverished Land of Rain could never hope to produce.
Delighted with his find, Hanzo failed to notice the minute fissures in the soil beneath him. Deep within the cracks, specialized insects were greedily siphoning up the ambient poison mist and the toxic fluid pooling on the ground.
At the eastern gate, Aburame Tetsumaru was beaming. His buried traps had successfully harvested the Salamander's raw venom. This was a literal gold mine.
He didn't need to recover the bugs immediately. While their toxic resistance had been greatly enhanced, they still couldn't survive a direct infusion of Hanzo's venom. As death approached, the bugs were programmed to burrow exactly one meter underground. Their internal storage organs were essentially man-made glass vials; once full or upon the host's death, they would seal shut to prevent leakage.
As long as Konoha retook this camp within the next six months, Tetsumaru could reclaim a massive stockpile of concentrated Salamander venom and toxin extracts.
Hanzo's poison was exponentially more potent than anything Tetsumaru had bred so far, but its rapid onset usually made it impossible to collect fresh samples. In the village, Salamander venom was a high-value commodity, with standing bounties for its purchase. Beyond selling it, Tetsumaru could use it himself—coating hidden weapons or crafting poison gas bombs to massively increase his lethality.
More importantly, he wanted to analyze the chemical composition. If he could replicate it or, better yet, synthesize a more virulent strain... well, science was all about analysis, replication, and eventually, overwhelming the enemy with superior numbers and chemistry.
Tetsumaru's sprint back was a blur of speed. He soon spotted the silhouettes of the Commander's party, whom Orochimaru had ordered to withdraw immediately.
The eight Chunin squads, including Tetsumaru's, were assigned to harassment duty. The primary holding force consisted of several Jonin squads led by Orochimaru himself. Now that Hanzo was personally on the field, Chunin were no longer suitable for the front lines; they were too easily swiped away by his ambient toxins.
The first wave of attackers was a large group of Ame-nin wielding umbrellas. Seeing that Hanzo wasn't with them, the Konoha ninjas' eyes turned red with bloodlust. It was the only way to describe the mood: after a night of being stifled and suppressed, they had finally found someone they could actually kill.
What followed was a scene of unmitigated slaughter.
Generally speaking, the gap between ninjas from small hidden villages and those from Great Nations was staggering. The sixty-odd Ame-nin relied almost exclusively on Water Style and the Ninja Art: Senbon Shower. A few Ame Chunin managed to launch Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet, only to be instantly drowned out by faster, more powerful Water Release from the Konoha ranks. They couldn't even make a splash.
Before the Konoha ninjas could even begin clearing the field, the earth began to groan and buckle.
Earth Style: Earth Moving Core!
Everyone leaped into the air, avoiding the lethal tremors of the localized earthquake.
"The Stone is here."
Orochimaru and two Konoha Jonin slammed their palms down in a synchronized counter-jutsu.
Earth Style: Earth Flow River!
A torrential mudslide surged into the trembling ground. Within seconds, the bucking earth stilled, and the fissures were packed tight with thick sludge.
Two dozen Iwa-nin appeared at the gates. Their staggered, orderly distribution marked them as eight distinct combat cells. Their positioning alone screamed "Great Nation Ninja"—the basic discipline of elite training. Just like Squad Ueno's old patrol formation, they were spaced so that a B-rank jutsu could only hit one person at a time, while any one of them could be supported by a three-man defensive overlap.
The Konoha force, currently superior in numbers, launched the opening salvo. Wind, Earth, and Water Style jutsu flew toward the gates, interspersed with a single, lonely Great Fireball.
Wait, which idiot used a Fireball? It's literally raining.
The Iwa-nin responded with textbook precision, raising layers of Earth Style: Mud Wall to tank the entire barrage.
"Now! Begin!"
Orochimaru bit his finger and slammed his palm against the ground.
Summoning Jutsu!
With a thunderous explosion of smoke, a giant python—over forty meters long—erupted onto the battlefield, seizing everyone's attention.
"A Ryuchi Cave summon... it's Orochimaru!" an Iwa commander barked. "Prepare the Underworld Swamp!"
The snake's arrival was the signal for the Konoha flank. Blinding flashes of electricity erupted from the north and south.
Lightning Style: Earth Flash!Lightning Style: Lightning Ball!Lightning Style: Thunderbolt!
Streaks of lightning slammed into the Iwa earthen walls. Several lightning orbs rolled over the crest of the fortifications before detonating. Amidst the flashing blue light, the forest echoed with a chorus of agonized screams.
Konoha's greatest advantage was its diversity; you could find a specialist for any jutsu. The downside was a lack of focused lethality. Had this been a Kumo-nin strike, not a single Stone-nin would have walked away.
Orochimaru knew a few Lightning Style spells wouldn't end the fight. Without waiting for the sparks to fade, he commanded the giant snake to charge. The behemoth smashed through the reinforced walls, physically splitting the Iwa formation in two.
The remaining Konoha ninjas followed in the snake's wake, capitalizing on the chaos to cut the Stone-nin down. Against the Iwa, the rule was simple: disrupt their order, throw them into confusion, and their slow reaction times would do the rest.
The two dozen Iwa-nin were slaughtered in the melee.
Orochimaru immediately ordered the force to withdraw to the next defensive line. After that barrage of Earth Style, the current terrain had been terraformed to favor Iwa's combat style; staying would only get them killed.
"Jonin will remain to monitor the situation. All Chunin and Genin, withdraw immediately."
At that moment, a lean, wiry figure stepped forward. "Lord Orochimaru, please let me stay as well."
Maruboshi Kosuke... a living legend.
Tetsumaru recognized the black-haired ninja instantly. The features were unmistakable: a Genin carrying a massive iron wok on his back, yet possessing the audacity to volunteer for a mission that even Jonin found suicidal.
"Senior Kosuke may stay. Everyone else, move out."
Maruboshi Kosuke was a certified elite Jonin in all but name. In terms of raw power, he was on par with Orochimaru himself. The Sannin didn't hesitate to alter his orders.
The command gave several retreating ninjas pause. Some looked conflicted, their expressions a mix of guilt and hesitation. Orochimaru noticed the shift and added, "There is plenty of fighting ahead. Go to the next line and prepare the fortifications."
With the burden of "cowardice" lifted, the ninjas' moods brightened. They turned and retreated without further delay.
Kosuke, a veteran who had seen it all, noted the change and gave Orochimaru a small nod of apology. "Forgive me. My meddling caused you trouble."
"Not at all. It is my responsibility. I'll be counting on your strength in the coming hours, Senior."
"I will not fail you."
The first defensive line was southeast of the camp's eastern gate—a modest hill barely nine meters high.
When Tetsumaru arrived, the Konoha ninjas were already busy applying reinforcement seals to the mound. One couldn't underestimate a nine-meter elevation; against an Iwa Earth Style master, that slight drop was enough to double the lethality of their projectiles.
This was the core of Konoha's current headache: fighting Iwa required a marshy or aquatic environment to neutralize their advantage, but such terrain favored the Ame-nin. While a few Ame squads were easy prey, in large numbers, their elite masters could whip up tidal waves that were just as lethal as falling rocks.
The Sealing Corps was in charge of the work. Among them, Tetsumaru spotted an acquaintance—a specialist who had helped construct the Aburame clan's summoning hall.
The team leader had opted for the Sap-Stake Rock Sealing Method. It involved eighteen sealing pillars to stabilize the local leylines. Within the sealed radius, Earth Style could not manipulate the soil or stone unless the user could seize control of the entire area as a single unit.
The Sealing Corps prepared the stakes and marked the coordinates, but the stakes had to be driven into the ground manually. Using Earth Style to bury them would disrupt the delicate sealing formulas.
The battlefield effectively became a construction site. Groups of ninjas were huffing and puffing as they tried to hammer the stakes. Lacking actual mallets, some were punching them in, some tied rocks to branches to make primitive hammers, and others were trying to dig holes with kunai.
It was grueling work. In the Land of Rain, any high ground was solid rock. Driving a pillar into granite without ninjutsu was an engineering nightmare.
As the progress stalled, the Sealing Corps leader grew frantic. The lives of three hundred ninjas depended on these fortifications.
Squad Aburame was assigned a stake. The sealing ninja pointed to a white 'X' on the ground. "Right here! This has to be buried before dawn!"
Uchiha Akira looked at the pillar, which was taller than he was, then stomped the ground. It was solid bedrock. His face went blank. How are we supposed to do this in time?
"Don't worry," Tetsumaru said, glancing at the lightening sky. "When it comes to labor, the Aburame always have a way. We'll make the deadline."
He summoned a Tool Hive and released over a hundred Mole Crickets.
The crickets, now the size of an infant's arm, swarmed the 'X'. Using the modified appendages on the back of their heads, they began a rhythmic, high-velocity hammering. Stone chips flew in every direction.
The limb structure, modeled after a mantis shrimp, carried terrifying destructive power. The strikes were so violent that some crickets, hitting at the wrong angle, accidentally launched themselves ten meters into the air from the recoil. A waiting cricket from the perimeter would immediately hop in to take its place.
Cracks soon appeared in the rock. The crickets began spitting acid into the fissures while continuing the barrage. Amidst the white mist of dissolving stone, they rapidly hollowed out a shaft, diving deeper by the second.
Kurama Yun, who detested large, grotesque insects, had retreated to a safe distance the moment they appeared. But seeing the sheer speed of the work, even she couldn't help but crack a smile.
Akira was even happier. Usually, because the Captain was a monster and Yun was a weakling, all the manual labor was dumped on him. The Captain's excuse was always: "A guy who's afraid to die shouldn't mind doing a little extra work, right?"
Akira lived under a constant shadow of being threatened with "suicide missions" if he slacked off. The worst part was that the threats worked. He'd even developed a reflex: the moment the Sealing Corps approached, he'd automatically grab the stake and start assessing the soil.
Seeing the Captain's bugs do the heavy lifting made Akira's heart soar. He even started finding the hideous crickets quite charming.
Once the hole was deep enough, Akira and Tetsumaru dropped the stake in and called the Sealing Corps for the final calibration.
The speed of the task caught the team leader's attention. He rushed over, took one look at the result, and immediately dragged Tetsumaru away to help other squads. He left behind a snickering Akira and Yun.
"Go get 'em, Captain!" "Hard work, Captain!" "Hahahaha—!"
After a while, Akira noticed the sun was coming up. His stomach growled. "Yun, you have anything to eat?"
"Nope. The Captain is the quartermaster."
"Ah. Well, at least he left his rucksack here."
Akira didn't hesitate to raid Tetsumaru's pack. He found a hoard of food. Seeing several of her favorite snacks in the pile, Yun abandoned her ladylike poise, propped up an umbrella against the drizzle, and joined the feast.
The first time Tetsumaru passed by on his "consulting tour," he chuckled. My subordinates really know how to take a break.
The second time he passed, he was closer. He recognized the wrappers. His expression darkened instantly. He let out a thunderous "HMPH!"
The sheer weight of his authority made Akira's hand shake. Yun instantly "swapped" to her mature big-sister persona. They didn't stop, though—they just started eating faster, determined to finish the good stuff before he could stop them.
By the third pass, the food was gone and the umbrella was folded. The two were nowhere to be found, hiding to avoid a face-to-face confrontation with their leader. Tetsumaru began seriously plotting his revenge.
Work finally finished at daybreak. Tetsumaru returned to his pack and confirmed his suspicions: every scrap of food was gone, leaving behind only two lonely boxes of bland soldier pills.
He let out a cold, sharp laugh. He summoned a Hive and sent the exhausted crickets back.
Then, Tetsumaru summoned his Supply Hive.
The Hive was a two-meter-tall, 1.5-meter-wide cabinet—essentially a walk-in pantry compared to a measly rucksack. The variety of supplies inside was staggering.
It was enough to start a fire and boil a massive pot of Beef Hotpot.
As the savory broth bubbled, a rich, mouth-watering aroma wafted across the clearing. Combined with freshly steamed white rice, it was a culinary miracle. His two subordinates soon followed their noses back to the site, standing at a distance and drooling.
Tetsumaru, blinded by a petty thirst for vengeance, had forgotten that while his subordinates were full, the rest of the Konoha ninjas were not. The nearby shinobi, all exhausted and famished from the night's work, smelled the hotpot and nearly lost their minds.
Most only had cold rice balls. The "minimalists" had nothing but soldier pills. Smelling the rich beef broth, they began staring at Tetsumaru's pot with eyes that glowed with a predatory, desperate hunger.
Feeling the collective gaze of three hundred ninjas on his back, Tetsumaru suddenly snapped out of his pettiness. Choosing the lesser of two evils, he "magnanimously" invited everyone to share.
The tension vanished instantly, replaced by a festive, boisterous heat.
In the end, Tetsumaru's massive pot of beef hotpot received a standing ovation. Not a single drop of broth was wasted. The only problem was that, as the host, Tetsumaru didn't get enough to eat.
You two are going to pay for this, he thought, glaring at the empty pot.