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The war in the Land of Waterfalls raged on with relentless ferocity. Neither the Stone Village nor the Cloud Village showed any willingness to easily abandon their positions or defensive lines. Compared to the Leaf Village's deliberate foot-dragging and half-hearted efforts, the intensity of the conflict here was on an entirely different level.
On this battlefield, you could witness joint ninja squadrons from the Stone Village mobilizing at any moment. They would unleash earth-style jutsu in waves so massive they blotted out the sky – a spectacle that was, in its own terrifying way, absolutely breathtaking. While the Stone Village focused on these coordinated unit tactics, the Cloud Village hadn't bothered with joint ninja squadrons. Instead, they relied on their natural elemental advantage: lightning style inherently countered earth style. The Cloud Village held the upper hand from the start, their techniques perfectly suited to neutralize their enemy's primary methods.
Among those serving on the front lines was the village's seasoned veteran, Dodai. He remained active in the thick of combat operations, though his role was not that of a battlefield killer. His primary function was far more crucial – he served as a communications relay hub, responsible for transmitting signals and intelligence between the village command and the rear support lines, ensuring vital information flowed to where it was needed most.
Once they had confirmed that Dodai was indeed present on the battlefield, Obito and Hoshigaki Kisame set foot into the war-torn Land of Waterfalls. The once-prosperous and tranquil country had been reduced to utter chaos. Great numbers of its citizens had fled their homes, scattering in all directions to escape the spreading devastation of war. Adding to the misery, the Stone Village's deliberate campaigns of plunder and seizure had left the Land of Waterfalls in an even more pitiable state than the Land of Rain had once suffered. Even though Takigakure, the Village Hidden in the Waterfalls, was considered one of the strongest among the minor ninja villages, their strength meant nothing against such overwhelming force. Faced with the colossal might of the Stone Village, Takigakure simply lacked the power to mount any meaningful resistance.
Then the Cloud Village had declared war, and the flames of conflict had spread across the entire country. The whole territory of the Land of Waterfalls had become one vast battlefield. The Stone Village showed Takigakure no mercy whatsoever – quite the opposite, their brutality was merciless. Had the Cloud Village not launched their offensive with such speed, Takigakure might well have been completely erased from the ninja world map.
"Looks like finding our target won't be too difficult," Obito remarked casually, tossing aside the corpse in his hand and continuing deeper into the battlefield with Kisame at his side.
Where was Dodai hiding? Simple enough to find out. They just needed to ask the Cloud Village's own ninja. As for whether those ninja would be willing to cooperate... Obito wasn't particularly concerned about that. There was always someone afraid to die. Besides, his eyes were hardly just for decoration. Those placed under his genjutsu always obediently revealed whatever information he wanted to know. After killing several Cloud Village ninja in succession, Obito obtained the location of Dodai's hiding place.
Within the relay station base, Dodai stared intently at the map spread across his table, his gaze fixed and unmoving for a long while. He had no idea at this moment that members of the Akatsuki had already marked him as their target and were currently en route to the relay station. The war was grindingly brutal. Both the Stone Village and the Cloud Village had sustained significant losses, but the two villages were like bulls with their horns locked together – neither would relent until the other was thoroughly defeated. The map was marked with numerous red dots, a system Dodai used to facilitate his intelligence analysis work.
Because he required a quiet environment for deep concentration and strategic thinking, Dodai was alone in the interior space of the relay base. No one would descend to disturb him unless the village had critical intelligence that needed to be transmitted out.
Tap...
Tap...
Deep, penetrating footsteps with a heavy resonance approached from a distance. Dodai, interrupted mid-thought, furrowed his brow and spoke with irritation: "Didn't I say not to disturb me?"
Silence. No response came. Dodai, whose mind had still been half-focused on the map, felt a jolt of alarm. He sharply lifted his head and stared toward the interior entrance of the base. He sensed two unfamiliar chakra signatures approaching.
Had the enemy launched an attack? No, that couldn't be it. The Stone Village would have great difficulty discovering this location. Even if they had found it, breaking in wouldn't be this easy – there would have been significant combat disturbances. So the question remained: how had these two unknown chakra signatures arrived here? And who exactly were they, to so brazenly stride into the Cloud Village's intelligence relay base?
Trouble had arrived. Serious trouble.
Dodai understood this clearly in his gut. For enemies to silently eliminate the personnel outside and enter the relay base meant those outside had already been sacrificed, and they had fallen without being able to mount any meaningful resistance. Only a swift, ruthless, and decisive strike could produce such a result. Had the fighting dragged on even slightly, it would have alerted him.
"Akatsuki..."
The distinctive black cloaks adorned with red clouds came into view. Seeing that unmistakable uniform, Dodai's single remaining eye twitched violently several times. Members of the Akatsuki had come all the way to the intelligence relay base? What was their objective?
Without a word, Dodai drew the ninja blade strapped to his back, readying himself for combat.
"Seems we found the right place," Obito observed as he entered the base interior first. He swept his gaze across the sparsely furnished room before his eyes settled on Dodai's face. He studied the man carefully, confirming his identity. He had no intention of making a laughingstock of himself by grabbing the wrong person. The opportunity might only present itself once. If they failed, the Cloud Village would likely hide Dodai away somewhere, making the task of capturing him exponentially more difficult.
"Uchiha Obito..." Dodai's expression darkened as he stared at Obito. His wary gaze flicked to Kisame, and he instantly recognized the rogue ninja who had defected from the Mist Village. The news of Hoshigaki Kisame's betrayal and his classification as an S-rank missing-nin had long since spread across the entire ninja world, with wanted posters circulating everywhere. What no one knew, however, was that he had joined the Akatsuki. Since becoming a member, Kisame had carried out very few missions, and he had never left survivors. Thus, the world remained ignorant of his new affiliation.
"Kisame, he's all yours," Obito said, stepping back several paces and handing the fight over.
"Just what I wanted," Kisame replied with anticipation. With so few missions, he spent his days idle. He'd been eagerly awaiting a satisfying, unrestrained battle to keep his body from rusting. Despite his hulking, brutish appearance and fierce, intimidating look, Kisame wasn't as recklessly violent as he appeared on the surface. On the contrary, he liked to use his mind. This was a primary reason why, in the original timeline, he had grown so close to Itachi and held such deep respect for him.
"An underground base, no other exits... well then..." Kisame surveyed the interior of the base, and a grin spread across his face, revealing a mouthful of razor-sharp, shark-like teeth. "I like this kind of environment."
Environment played a non-negligible role in enhancing or diminishing a ninja's combat effectiveness. For instance, if this underground base were flooded with water, Dodai's abilities would be severely hampered – while Kisame would find himself perfectly at home, like a fish returned to water.
'Shit. This guy's planning to...' Dodai realized immediately upon hearing those words that the situation had taken a dire turn.
Sure enough, in the next second, Kisame raised his hands and began forming hand seals with methodical precision, his speed remarkable.
"Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique!"
The execution was somewhat brutal and heavy-handed. Obito, his masked face betraying no surprise, knew exactly what Kisame intended to do. He decisively withdrew from the room, pulling the door shut behind him. Since Kisame was going to create an environment suited to his own combat style, the least Obito could do was help by closing the door, standing guard outside to prevent Dodai from escaping.