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"I'm afraid it won't be that simple. On the contrary, the closer we get to the Hidden Rain Village, the safer we'll be. The convoy is moving at full speed and will arrive within a day. Do they really dare to attack us openly?"
From the fact that the attackers were disguised as ninjas from other countries, it was clear that the Hidden Rain Village did not want to openly antagonize them.
Tsunade analyzed calmly.
Fortunately, the caravans had not stopped in the inn's courtyard; otherwise, the mission would already have failed.
"How about this," Jiraiya suggested. "You use Shadow Clones to continue the mission while your real body heads to the rendezvous point. We'll regroup in two days, then return to the village at full speed."
"No objections."
"Agreed."
That very night, Orochimaru and Jiraiya departed, while Tsunade's team headed directly toward a hidden mountain cave within the Land of Rain.
During this time, Akimichi Genbu kept pondering one question:Where are my dear 'brothers-in-law' hiding?
Not long after they left, Rain Village forces arrived. When Hattori Hanzo saw the devastation on the ground, he was furious. Five jōnin and eight chūnin—gone just like that. These people were the backbone of the Hidden Rain Village!
"Where are those Leaf ninjas?" he roared.
"They're heading toward the village at full speed."
"Those Leaf ninjas really have no idea what they're doing…"
Two days later, Orochimaru and Jiraiya arrived at the agreed meeting point on time.
"So? What did you find?" Tsunade asked.
"We discovered a large number of Sand and Stone Village ninjas inside the Rain Village," Jiraiya reported. "Chiyo of Sunagakure and Aoi of Iwagakure are both there. The three sides are planning an alliance, though we couldn't learn the specific terms."
The news was explosive.
Two great powers forming an alliance with the Rain Village—their target was obvious.
"This information must be delivered to Konoha immediately," Tsunade said."We withdraw at once."
They set off immediately. But as they entered a narrow valley, Genbu suddenly felt a surge of danger.
"Sensei—something's wrong! Stop!"
Before he could finish, countless shuriken loaded with explosive tags came flying toward them.
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"
Genbu and Jiraiya reacted instantly, erecting layered earthen walls around the group. A deafening explosion followed. Without the double-layered defense and constant chakra reinforcement, they wouldn't have held.
Using the smoke as cover, Orochimaru pressed two fingers to the ground.
"We're surrounded. At least forty enemies—sixteen of them have jōnin-level chakra."
"What?! How does the Rain Village have this many jōnin?" Tsunade exclaimed.
"The Sand and Stone Villages are almost certainly involved," Orochimaru said calmly."If we eliminate the Third Hokage's disciples here, Konoha's strength will be severely weakened. And they can also obtain Uchiha blood. The risk is worth it."
"Don't they fear triggering a ninja war?" Jiraiya asked.
Orochimaru sneered."The three nations have already formed a preliminary alliance. If the Land of Fire starts a war now, Hanzo—the so-called demigod—will completely turn against us. Do you think Sarutobi-sensei would take that gamble? Konoha isn't ready to fight two great nations and the Rain Village at once."
Tsunade cracked her knuckles.
"Enough talk. Breaking through comes first. I'll shatter the entire valley. Genbu—don't hesitate. Get out at full speed."
"And you, Sensei?" Genbu asked.
"We'll keep them busy," Tsunade said with a confident grin."It won't be easy to hold the three of us back."
Genbu knew that without the Strength of a Hundred Seal, destroying an entire valley would drain Tsunade's chakra massively—even for a Senju.
He handed her a small box.
"Sensei, this is my improved Cooling Pill. It restores chakra rapidly, but after it wears off, you'll fall into deep sleep—and lose a lot of weight."
Tsunade hesitated, then accepted it, giving Genbu a long look.In such a desperate moment, he handed her a lifesaving item without hesitation.
She swallowed two soldier pills and began gathering chakra.
Through his Sharingan, Genbu clearly saw nearly two-thirds of her chakra condense into her right fist.
"Three… two… one!"
BOOM!
Her punch shattered the valley. Mountains collapsed like paper, terrain completely rewritten. Several enemy ninjas were crushed instantly.
Seizing the moment, Genbu used Dual Transformation, grabbed Nara Shimizu and Yamanaka Yuu, and hurled them like cannonballs out of the encirclement.
Before the enemy could react, the two were already dots in the distance.
"How the hell are we supposed to chase that?!" the enemy shouted in disbelief.
Genbu then unleashed his self-created movement technique, Shave, combining chakra bursts with explosive footwork, sprinting after them at terrifying speed.
At the same time, Jiraiya and Orochimaru launched a combined attack:
"Fire Style: Great Flame Bullet!""Wind Style: Pressure!"
The explosion leveled the battlefield, killing several chūnin instantly.
Yet the enemy regrouped swiftly, surrounding Tsunade and the others once more.
"Hattori," a voice commanded,"Take three jōnin squads and pursue Akimichi Genbu. Leave the rest to us."
The order came from Hanzo Ibuse, son of the Rain Village's demigod leader.
"Yes, sir."
Hattori led three mixed squads from Rain, Wind, and Stone—ten men total—in pursuit.
Meanwhile, Jiraiya stood tall in the shattered valley.
"The kids are gone," he said boldly."Now let's have a real fight."
Tsunade answered with a single word:
"Mm."
Orochimaru merely watched, his snake-like eyes cold and amused.
Thus began the battle later recorded in history as—
The Battle of Broken Valley.