Chapter 80: Chapter 80: A Battle on the Brink and Three Kids Appear

Chapter 80: Chapter 80: A Battle on the Brink and Three Kids Appear  "What?" Hanzo shot up, feeling like the sky was falling. The Rain Village was already desperately short on supplies, and now they'd been intercepted and destroyed? "Did you send someone to investigate thoroughly?" As the leader of a village, Hanzo's composure was nothing short of extraordinary. He didn't fly into a rage, didn't start cursing out his subordinates for their failure. He knew that as soon as the enemy got wind of this operation, they'd strike without hesitation. And the attackers were most likely from Konoha! The supply purchase had been kept under wraps, so how did Konoha get the intel? Hanzo didn't know, but it was too late to dwell on that now. "Lord Hanzo," one of the intelligence officers knelt on the ground, head lowered as he reported, "we've already sent scouts to investigate. All of our ninja were killed, and the supplies were completely destroyed. The site shows signs of extensive ninjutsu use." "The battle traces extend into the forest, suggesting that the attackers weren't numerous- probably just a single squad." "I believe Konoha is responsible for this." "Konoha..." Hanzo fell silent. After a long pause, Hanzo suddenly chuckled. "It seems Konoha's intelligence gathering is indeed exceptional." "Lord Hanzo, could it be that the Fire Country's Daimyo betrayed us?" "No," Hanzo responded confidently. "The Daimyo has a reputation to maintain. If Konoha caught wind of this and started questioning the Daimyo's actions, it would create a scandal. So, they wouldn't have broadcasted their own involvement. The only explanation is that Konoha has spies embedded in the Daimyo's court." "They must have been aware of the supply sale from the very start." "It seems I've underestimated Konoha." Hanzo stepped out of the tent, letting the rain drench him. For a moment, he felt a wave of helplessness. The prolonged war had drained him, and now, with the supplies destroyed, the situation was even more dire. "What about the investigation into that earlier incident?" Hanzo asked, seemingly out of nowhere, catching his subordinate off guard. "Lord Hanzo, according to our investigation, the ninjas responsible for slaughtering the civilians included some from the Sand Village, not Konoha." The war between Konoha and the Rain Village had started when Konoha ninja were accused of massacring civilians within the Rain Country. As the war escalated, that issue had been forgotten, but Hanzo had insisted on an investigation. The Rain Village had captured and executed some suspects, and it turned out that some of them were indeed from the Sand Village, while the rest remained unidentified. The answer to who had provoked the war was now clear. The Sand Village had gone to great lengths to ensure a war between Konoha and the Rain Village, manipulating events from behind the scenes. "It seems the Sand Village isn't having an easy time either." If they couldn't find any game, they'd make do with dry rations or some simple flatbread. "Damn!" "Minato, have you got a thing for snakes lately? Or has that toad from Mount Myoboku gotten to you?" When Minato returned with a snake as thick as his leg and several meters long, Nawaki couldn't help but cry out. With Orochimaru's guidance, Nawaki had already started making contracts with the snakes from Ryuchi Cave. At this point, the last thing he wanted to do was eat snake meat. "There wasn't anything else out there; this was all I could find," Minato shrugged, looking a bit helpless. Takuya chuckled as he began prepping the snake, cutting it into small pieces and marinating it before roasting it over the fire. He couldn't resist teasing the two of them. "Nawaki, you can't let this slide. Next time, you should catch a bunch of toads and give them to Minato for dinner." You're good at stirring the pot, Nawaki thought, rolling his eyes. But he didn't dare say it out loud. The last time he'd made a crack about foxes, Shiro had smacked him so hard he flew ten meters. Now, whenever he and Minato mentioned foxes, they did so very carefully, terrified of offending Shiro and getting sent flying again. Rice and snake meat-a weird combo, but it tasted pretty good. Even Nawaki, who'd complained at first, was eating with gusto. As for whether the snakes of Ryuchi Cave would find out, that was a problem for future Nawaki. "We've got company." In the middle of the meal, Takuya put down his bowl and looked outside. Minato and Nawaki immediately grabbed their weapons. "Calm down," Takuya said, resting his hands on theirs to stop them from drawing their weapons. "It's just three kids." This world is so small, Takuya mused, to think we'd run into them here. Kids? Nawaki thought, Are you kidding me? We're still kids ourselves. *********** Note: If you're interested, you can read up to chapter 130+ at patreon.com/Emiko1. Don't forget to give a power stone for many bonus chapters!