Chapter 120: Ambushed on the Road Home
Once Ohnoki and the Hidden Stone threw themselves into the fray with murderous intent—and with Konoha content to sit on the sidelines and watch the show—the ragtag alliance of Rain and Grass stood no chance.
Even though Hanzo fought like a man possessed, slaying three sealing ninjas in his desperation, Roushi eventually managed to suppress the volatile Four-Tails with the assistance of the remaining Sealing Corps.
With their rear secured, the Iwa shinobi immediately launched a savage counterattack against the alliance that had dared to pluck the tiger's whiskers.
If Hanzo hadn't been ruthless enough to tear off his respirator and leave the Hidden Grass to rot as his rearguard, he and the few surviving Rain shinobi would likely have shared the Grass's fate: buried forever in the soil by the vengeful Hidden Stone.
Yet, even if he managed to crawl back to the Land of Rain, Hanzo would likely spend the next twenty years cowering within the walls of Amegakure, too terrified to move.
The Hidden Grass was annihilated, and the Hidden Rain was crippled, but the Hidden Stone was hardly in a state to celebrate.
The loss of over a thousand shinobi to Hanzo's lethal Salamander Toxin and the subsequent clash with the alliance was actually the least of their concerns. In the grand, bloody scheme of things, only the loss of nearly two hundred Chunin—especially the three specialists from the Sealing Corps—carried any real weight.
To a village like Iwa, the Genin were merely expendable fodder.
Iwa's true catastrophe was the loss of the Five-Tails.
To a Hidden Village, a Tailed Beast was a nuclear deterrent. A Jinchuriki—especially one carefully selected and trained over decades to master that power—was the key to the silo.
Now, not only was Han gone—a Jinchuriki who could achieve Full Tailed Beast transformation and exert over ninety percent of the beast's power—but the nuclear weapon itself had grown legs and vanished.
Iwa would now have to organize a professional tracking team of nearly a hundred elites and risk dozens of lives just to relocate, recapture, and reseal the Five-Tails. That was only the beginning. Afterward, they would have to undergo an agonizingly strict selection process to find a compatible child, transplant the beast, and begin the decades-long process of cultivation all over again.
Even if everything went perfectly, it would take at least fifteen years for a new Jinchuriki to reach Han's level of proficiency.
This was the dilemma staring Ohnoki in the face: Should he continue the war, or should he sue for peace with Konoha to focus every available resource on the Five-Tails?
A Tailed Beast outside the village's control was "unclaimed property." Every other Great Village would be more than interested in adding another beast to their own arsenal.
But after such heavy losses, would the Stone accept a peace treaty without any spoils? Would Ohnoki's own pride allow it?
Yet, if they stayed to fight and the Five-Tails was secretly captured by another village in the meantime, the loss would be irreparable. Even if Konoha were defeated, they weren't going to hand over a Tailed Beast as war reparations. And what other compensation could possibly match the value of a Tailed Beast?
Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't know the specifics of Ohnoki's internal struggle. Of course, even if he did, his only response would have been a cold, "Serves you right."
The war had been nearing its end. Hiruzen had already started planning for postwar recovery, even intending to use Hatani's genius to dominate the upcoming Chunin Exams and intimidate the other villages. Then that big-nosed brat Ohnoki had insisted on an offensive. This current disaster was entirely of Iwa's own making.
Unfortunately, it had dragged Konoha down with them. Now, they had to deal with the shameless Hidden Sand's second sneak attack and keep a paranoid eye on the Hidden Mist's movements.
It was a massive headache.
Thinking of it made Hiruzen's temples throb. To face the Stone, he had mobilized every available body. Even the Uchiha clan—who had been kept under tight surveillance within the village since the death of his master, Tobirama Senju—had been dispatched to the southern coast to watch the Mist.
Now, as he rushed back to the village, he realized that aside from acting as a stabilizing presence for the people's morale, he had no idea where he was going to find more reinforcements.
Damn that Hidden Sand!
"Stop!"
Just as Hiruzen was cursing the Sand in his head, a voice cut through his thoughts, forcing the high-speed column to a screeching halt.
Hiruzen suppressed his irritation and turned toward the source of the command, his eyes flickering with doubt. "Hatani, what is it?"
Minato, who knew his brother better than anyone, had already leapt down from the branches. He crouched, pressing his fingers to the soil and closing his eyes to focus his senses.
"There's an ambush ahead!" Hatani said without a hint of hesitation.
Seeing Minato's reaction, Hiruzen realized the boy wasn't joking. He followed suit, dropping to the ground and pressing his own fingers to the earth, extending his sensory range.
His brow furrowed instantly.
There really was an ambush ahead.
Fury flared in his chest. How did they know he was returning to the village? How did they know his exact route? The implications of such a leak were infuriating.
"Only three people?" Hiruzen asked, his brow twitching as he sensed the numbers.
His Hokage Guard consisted of three elites, plus Sakumo Hatake, the Namikaze brothers, and himself. Who would be arrogant enough to ambush a group like this with only three people?
The situation felt fundamentally wrong.
"There are indeed only three people ahead," Hatani said, his expression grim. "But there are far more than three things capable of taking a life."
"Puppeteers?" Hiruzen realized immediately.
Everyone present was sharp; they caught the implication instantly. While Sakumo and Minato had long since grown used to Hatani's eerie, hyper-accurate sensory abilities, Hiruzen couldn't hide his astonishment. He had seen reports about Hatani's sensory talents, but he hadn't expected them to be this refined—it was almost on par with the Byakugan.
"Lord Third," Sakumo Hatake said, stepping forward as Hiruzen remained silent. "The enemy is likely here just to stall your return. Let Minato, Hatani, and me handle the ambush. You should continue to the village with the Hokage Guard. Every minute counts."
They had just come off a grueling battlefield and had been traveling at top speed; their condition was far from peak. Facing fresh enemies—especially the notoriously tricky puppeteers—demanded a specialized response. Sakumo's suggestion was the most logical tactical choice.
"Fine. Be careful!"
Hiruzen didn't insist on staying to fight. He knew that time was his most precious resource. The sooner he stood in the heart of Konoha, the sooner the situation would stabilize.
Besides, he wasn't worried about the trio's safety. After all, Sakumo Hatake's legendary reputation had been forged in the blood of the Sand's puppet brigade.
A year had passed. It was time for the Hidden Sand to relive their worst nightmare.
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