The Land of Rain lived up to its name; continuous curtains of rain watered the earth.
Causing rivers to swell and land to become barren. A footstep down resulted in nothing but mud, simply the opposite extreme of the Land of Wind.
No wonder this wretched place had been chaotic for decades. A large population unable to engage in agricultural activities, wasn't it inevitable they'd fight like dogs every day?
Coupled with its extremely important strategic location, bordering the Lands of Fire, Wind, and Earth simultaneously, every great war would burn its way here.
Important location, harsh weather, made it difficult for the local ninja village to not only develop and grow but even to monitor its borders. Fortunately, Hanzo of the Salamander had emerged these years; otherwise, like in the last great war, the entire country would have been destroyed.
The pattering raindrops hit the cloak, water droplets flowing down the mask. Otonashi and another colleague lay prone in the mud, taking turns monitoring the distant village.
They had been in the Land of Rain for several days now, accompanied daily by mud and rainwater. When hungry, they gnawed on dry rations; when tired, they rested their heads on their arms and took a nap. It was countless times harsher than being on the front lines.
'Looks like this unlimited supply and triple pay aren't so easy to get.' Otonashi pushed his mask up slightly, stuffing softened biscuits into his mouth.
He finally understood. ANBU members were all this gloomy type. Working like this year after year, it would be strange not to become withdrawn.
The village ahead loomed indistinctly in the rain curtain. Intelligence said those three were guarding it here without payment. So the eight arriving ANBU split into two teams; the main force went to search for that 'necrophiliac', leaving only two people here.
A companion with a Fox mask lay prone beside him, but after monitoring for several days, the two had exchanged less than fifty sentences.
Tedious, harsh, cold, and lonely. No wonder ANBU only recruited experienced hands. If someone else stayed in this ghostly place for a few days, they'd probably get sick.
Otonashi shifted his butt slightly and whispered, "I'm going to the toilet."
"Five minutes." The dozing ANBU member raised his head slightly, taking over the surveillance.
Otonashi hid in a cave, lit a bonfire in the center to warm his body, and stared at the flickering flames, his mood uncertain for a moment.
Joining ANBU had its benefits, not just monetary ones, but also uncovering some secrets these past few days.
For example, ANBU ostensibly had four departments, but he discovered another department operating outside the official structure under the name 'Training Division'. He had accidentally encountered those people at headquarters and recognized the masks.
'That bastard Danzo really has another unit within ANBU. They were the ones messing with me last time, right?'
Otonashi frowned. He had already decided to deal with Danzo and definitely needed to know how many trump cards the other party held. Now it seemed the waters of Konoha were indeed very deep.
The ANBU directly under the Hokage actually had another unit accepting Danzo's leadership. Wasn't this a black glove within a black glove? Probably some missions that even ANBU didn't dare to accept would all be handed over to them.
Undoubtedly, Danzo's influence was great. But on second thought, if not for this vast influence, how would he be qualified to bear the blame for this world?
"Fortunately, they gave me an opportunity." Otonashi touched the other mask behind his back and muttered to himself.
The Third couldn't be relied upon. Whether to achieve the ultimate goal or to deal with Danzo, he needed a force independent of Konoha.
Having mixed in this village for over ten years, everything about him was tied to the great tree of Konoha. Besides the 'Will of Fire', you wanted to have your own ideas?
Everything in the world is constructed from benefits. When Otonashi's interests aligned with Konoha's interests, it was fine; he could even sit in the successor's position. But what if the interests of the two conflicted?
Sorry, even the Hokage would have to be ousted.
Otonashi felt he didn't have the talk-no-jutsu ability to change the minds of so many large and small families. When he decided on his future path before Obito's grave, he quietly began to separate from Konoha, preparing for rainy days.
"Otherwise, why would I run to ANBU to suffer, having nothing better to do." Cursing with a laugh, he picked up his conical hat, put it on, extinguished the fire, and drilled into the rain curtain.
Exactly five minutes later, the prone ANBU member sensed the heat from Otonashi's body and couldn't help asking coldly, "Didn't you say you were going to the toilet?"
"Sorry, pissed a bit hot."
The person paused, then immediately reprimanded, "In ANBU, orders are absolute! Also, why are you wearing a conical hat? Don't you know it affects vision?"
Psychopath.
Otonashi cursed inwardly. These ANBU were all paranoid and masochistic. Damn it, what's wrong with wearing a conical hat hundreds of meters away? Did they have to roll in the mud to feel good?
He knew ANBU had a unique sense of superiority, like the eunuchs of the Eastern Depot, coupled with brainwashing to exhibit iron-blooded ruthlessness.
Unfortunately, his psychological age was long past adulthood. It was good enough he didn't brainwash them in return.
Seeing the newcomer remain silent, the person secretly noted it down in his little book, planning to report back to the Squad Captain to give him some hardship. Just at this moment, a skylark pierced through the rain curtain.
The skylark stood on his shoulder, chirping non-stop, serving as ANBU's unique method of information transmission.
"What's wrong?" Sensing the change in atmosphere, Otonashi frowned and asked.
"The Squad Captain and the others have found the target."
"That necrophiliac?"
This was their main mission. Preliminary reconnaissance of merely three teenagers didn't require two squads.
"Yes, an old man. The Squad Captain has already decided to launch the attack."
"Old man? What abilities does he have?"
"Seems like a puppet master. Don't worry, with six ANBU attacking together, he's definitely dead."
The Fox mask said no more. ANBU was professional in anti-personnel combat; killing was much quicker than ordinary ninjas. He just shared the same doubt as Otonashi.
Puppet masters are a specialty of the Land of Wind. Why would one come to the Land of Rain? Could it be that Hidden Sand is disregarding the treaty and starting trouble secretly again?
.....
Rain fell pitter-patter. The puddles accumulating on the muddy ground turned blackish-red. The 'old man' from the intelligence turned out to be a red-haired teenager.
Red hair stuck tightly to his forehead. The teenager glanced at the corpses and shattered weapons scattered around, a cold smile involuntarily appearing on his face.
"Using poison in front of me?"
Sasori sneered. Just now, this ANBU squad had split into two teams and suddenly attacked.
First, an ambush with explosive tag traps, followed by a covering of poison needles, and finally, before the explosion smoke even dispersed, several ninja swords stabbed from all directions.
The entire assassination process was smooth as flowing water. If it were an ordinary elite Jonin, they would have died on the spot.
"What a pity. Your dirty tricks are useless against me." The teenager moved his index finger, and a humanoid puppet walked over, lifted the Tanuki mask, revealing a shocked and desperate middle-aged face.
ANBU had killed many puppet masters, but none could hide themselves inside a puppet. Those poison needles were completely ineffective.
"The others are trash. Only you are qualified to attain eternity."
The puppet swallowed the corpse. The 'necrophiliac' in others' eyes was merely material for creating eternal art.
The surrounding puppets quickly stripped the ANBU corpses bare. For a moment, naked bodies lay scattered in the rain-soaked ground.
No ninja headbands, no identification documents. This ambush force had an extraordinary origin. But the teenager noticed a tattoo on someone's thigh, identical to a ninja from a previous art creation, likely relatives from the same family.
Sasori tilted his head, thinking for a moment, the smile on his face suddenly fading.
"Konoha ninjas? Why do you always come to disturb me."
Since leaving Hidden Sand Village, he had wandered the edges of battlefields searching for materials. But the war ended too quickly; he barely made a few moves. This forced him to come to the neighboring Land of Rain. As a result, he hadn't found many materials and was assassinated by Konoha again.
"Just right, let's settle new and old grudges together."
Glancing at the skylark returning through the rain curtain, he drilled into a somewhat damaged puppet and chased in that direction.