Rain hung in the air like drifting mist, spreading through the entire Rain Village.
Cold water soaked everyone's clothes.
Akira wiped the rain from his face.
"My fighting style is long-range. I can stay here—why don't you go in first?"
No one answered him.
Because everyone had already charged toward the tower.
The movements of ninja were silent—until combat erupted, and the building filled with violent noise.
Hanzo stood beside Akira, ignoring what he'd said. His eyes never left the tower ahead, where smoke was already rising.
Someone had used Fire Release.
But the flames were quickly extinguished by the falling rain. In the Land of Rain, fire was never much of a concern.
Looks like Akira's idea wasn't happening.
They had gone in—but there was no way he could just stay behind.
"Move," Hanzo said in a low voice.
Akira clicked his tongue in regret.
If he activated the Byakugan here, he could still strike enemies inside from this distance.
But using the Byakugan in front of Hanzo carried too much risk.
He clenched the shuriken in his hand and followed Hanzo into the building.
The moment they stepped inside, a ninja charged at them with a twisted, feral expression.
"Hanzo!!!"
Bang!
Another ninja burst out from the side and kicked the attacker square in the face.
Akira clearly saw the flesh on the man's face deform instantly.
That had to hurt.
The enemy slammed into the wall behind him. One of Hanzo's men moved in to finish him off—
Boom!
A fireball smashed directly into the man's head.
[EXP +1247]
The ninja who had rushed forward stopped in place and turned to look at Akira.
Akira gave him an apologetic smile.
A kill was a kill. Passing up free experience would make him an idiot.
The ninja said nothing. He simply nodded toward Hanzo and vanished in a flicker.
The battle never paused.
Impacts, collisions, screams—one after another.
In the shadows, kunai clashed with ninja blades, sparks flying and briefly illuminating blood-smeared faces.
People who should have been comrades were now hacking at each other without hesitation.
But in the Rain Village, that kind of "coworker bond" didn't really exist anyway.
As long as there was a mission, killing colleagues wasn't a big deal.
Did anyone really expect a bunch of overworked 24/7 shinobi to show mercy? Their resentment was probably worse than ghosts'.
Hanzo's pace was unhurried, like he was taking a casual walk.
They reached the staircase leading upward.
With such an obvious target, ninja constantly tried to rush Hanzo and take him down first.
Figures burst out from both sides of the stairwell, from above and below, trying to close the distance.
Only then did Akira remember—he was supposed to be Hanzo's bodyguard.
The shuriken in his hand ignited into fireballs and shot forward with terrifying force.
Not just one.
Dozens.
With three techniques layered together, and in such a narrow space where dodging was impossible, the attackers were pierced the instant they appeared.
[EXP +1456]
[EXP +1241]
[EXP +457]
[EXP +1478]
…What was that last one?
Why was the EXP so low?
Akira frowned in disgust.
Hanzo didn't need to lift a finger. Anyone who got close was intercepted by Akira.
But only a handful even made it that far.
After all, Hanzo's side had a numerical advantage.
As they advanced, Akira only managed to grab two drops.
[Nen Recovery Potion]
[Exorcist Skill Fragment (1/8)]
This drop rate was insane.
Just two fragments left now—he was that close to resolving the Caged Bird Seal.
Most of the time, he could only collect items on the staircase.
The corpses inside each floor were off-limits—Hanzo was right beside him.
Running off to loot side rooms would look far too suspicious.
They reached the third floor.
Only two more floors stood between them and Shōzō.
Hanzo's forces slaughtered their way upward.
But at the entrance to the fourth floor, the number of enemy ninja suddenly spiked.
A dense mass of shinobi formed a human wall, blocking the path.
The fourth and fifth floor defenders had realized something was wrong and chose to intercept here.
"So many…" Akira's eyes lit up with excitement.
His kunai flew instantly.
A storm of shuriken turned into blazing fireballs, filling the corridor with light.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Technique!"
A massive water dragon formed out of nowhere, swallowing every single fireball.
Seriously—Water Dragon again?!
It was missing one word, but don't think Akira couldn't recognize it. This was Kirigakure's signature technique.
Doesn't Mist Village want to say something about everyone stealing their trademark jutsu?
Then again, the Second Hokage used it too—so who even owned the copyright anymore?
"Earth Release: Earth Rampart!"
A shout came from behind Akira.
The walls on both sides flipped outward, forming a barrier in front of them.
BOOM!
The water dragon smashed into the wall, shattering it—but dissipated as well.
Figures appeared behind Akira and Hanzo.
All of them were Hanzo's people.
Their presence meant the lower floors had already been cleared.
"Hanzo! Do you even know what you're doing?!"
Someone in the opposing group shouted furiously.
Hanzo raised a hand, stopping his subordinates for the moment, and looked at the speaker.
"I remember you," Hanzo said. "Harubi."
Harubi's angry expression wavered. He hadn't expected Hanzo to remember someone like him.
Hanzo spoke as if recalling the past.
"I was the one who gave you your forehead protector."
Harubi's lips trembled.
"Yes—you gave it to me. Back then, you were the hero who protected the Rain Village. So what are you doing now?! This is rebellion!"
Hanzo fell silent for a moment, then spoke heavily:
"Me? Rebellion? Haven't you seen what Shōzō has done?"
"He's stubborn, power-hungry—and he even ordered us to stop resisting those who trample our homeland!"
"The traitor isn't me—it's Shōzō!"
"Everything I do is for the Rain Village, for the Land of Rain! The Land of Rain is crying. The Rain Village cannot abandon its home!"
"I am justice!"
The next instant, all the ninja behind him surged forward.
The battle exploded once more.
Hanzo's men charged, blades flashing.
Two of Shōzō's ninja tried to cut down the lead attacker from both sides—but before their blades fell, their eyes rolled back and they collapsed. Bees burst out from their clothing.
Murakami Hana followed closely behind.
An enemy ninja—clearly a jōnin—locked onto Murakami and charged.
The two clashed immediately.
All around them, shinobi poured in, colliding with the defenders.
Clang! Clang!
Weapons rang out endlessly.
Akira hesitated.
A single Fire Release: Great Fire Dragon Technique here would rake in a massive amount of experience.
But after a brief pause, he chose not to act.
From this angle, he'd almost certainly hit allies too.
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on P@treon if you're interested:
http://patreon.com/KuroTL