Chapter 32: Storm and Shadow
The deaths of the other Second Kages left Shamon, the Second Kazekage, as the sole survivor. This was not just a testament to his power, but to his sheer, dumb luck.
Capitalizing on this perceived fortune, Shamon launched into extensive pre-war mobilization, whipping the ninja of Sunagakure into a frenzy. Morale within the impoverished village soared to unprecedented heights. For the first time in a long while, they felt they had a real chance to claim a better future.
As more and more Suna shinobi gathered on the border of the River Country, the atmosphere grew tense. Mitokado Homura, one of Konoha's border commanders, watched the buildup with deepening concern. His expression was grim as he turned to his longtime comrade, Utatane Koharu.
"It seems Sunagakure is unwilling to remain on the sidelines," Homura stated. "Their numbers are increasing by the hour. We must inform Hiruzen immediately."
Koharu gave a curt nod. Her hands flew through a series of hand seals, and in a small puff of smoke, she summoned a messenger weasel. After tying a scroll to its leg, the creature chirped once and vanished, speeding toward the village.
In the Hokage's office, Sarutobi Hiruzen accepted the scroll. As he read its contents, his face hardened. His worst-case scenario was unfolding. With Suna entering the fray, Konoha would be forced to fight a brutal two-front war. The situation had just become critically serious.
There was no other choice. Hiruzen began mobilizing more clans and dispatching them to the border. Among them, the Senju clan—though their numbers had dwindled—still held a core lineage. Answering the call of their heritage, shinobi bearing the Senju name now appeared on the front lines.
These grand strategic shifts were far from Akatsurugi's immediate concerns. He remained a specter haunting the Land of Hot Water, a blade in the shadows aimed squarely at Kumogakure.
Team after team of Cloud ninja fell to his ambushes. This relentless campaign bolstered his confidence. So, not every Kumo jonin is a monster like Yoshino Kaze, he realized. It was a relief; if every random Cloud ninja possessed that level of power, Kumogakure would have already conquered the entire shinobi world.
In response to his assassinations, the Cloud patrols had adapted. They now moved in a coordinated formation of three teams, each led by a jonin and supported by several chunin and genin. A formidable force, to be sure, but Akatsurugi observed them from the treeline, his Sharingan calmly analyzing their chakra. He did not feel overwhelmed.
At that moment, his focus was on the three jonin at the group's core. They were chatting casually, their guard down. Clearly, they believed that with their combined strength, they were safe from anything short of a full Konoha jonin squad.
"More of our patrols have been ambushed lately," grumbled a dark-skinned man wearing sunglasses. "If I run into them, I'll finish them myself!"
"Haha, with you on the case, Kujō, there's no doubt about the outcome!" one of the older jonin flattered.
"Isn't that right? Just having your team here makes me feel much more secure," the other veteran jonin agreed. Their easy praise spoke volumes about this Kujō's reputation.
"Hahaha!" Kujō laughed, puffing out his chest. He clearly shared their high opinion.
As a shinobi who possessed a Kekkei Genkai, Kujō had every reason to be confident. His power placed him among the elite of Kumogakure.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Dragon Technique!"
Without warning, a massive dragon's head woven from black and red flames descended from the sky, its maw gaping wide as it dove to consume the three jonin.
"Water Release: Water Wall Technique!" One of the veteran jonin reacted instantly, his hands flying through seals. He spewed a torrent of water from his mouth that rose into a protective wall.
The other two, trusting in their comrade's defense, didn't scatter. Instead, they prepared their own assaults. One of them roared, "Lightning Release: Lightning Flash!" Bolts of electricity crackled over his body. The third, Kujō himself, snarled, "Storm Release: Luminous Killing Light!" A thick, dark cumulonimbus cloud materialized around him, and arcs of brilliant, guided light gathered at his fingertips.
But their confidence was misplaced. The black-red fire dragon tore through the water wall as if it were mist. With a snap of its colossal jaws, it swallowed all three jonin whole.
The first to scream was the water-style user. He had no active defense and was instantly incinerated. The other two, protected by their lightning and storm techniques, fared slightly better. They burst from the dragon's maw, their bodies scorched and smoking, but alive. Their teammate had been given no chance at all.
Akatsurugi paid the struggling jonin little mind. He flashed past them, appearing amidst the panicked chunin and genin.
"Konoha-Ryū: Willow Dance!" With his scarlet Sharingan spinning, he cast a paralyzing genjutsu. The lower-ranked ninja froze in place. Akatsurugi's sword became a blur of motion, and in a single, fluid pass, three chunin and two genin fell.
Just as he moved to eliminate the rest, a beam of guided light—Kujō's Storm Release—lanced toward him with impossible speed.
Knowing its homing properties made dodging futile, Akatsurugi let the flames wreath his body, activating his elementalization. The beam of light passed straight through his chest.
Akatsurugi frowned. Unlike physical attacks, this one hadn't been harmless. The Storm Release technique, a fusion of lightning and water nature, had actively dissipated a portion of his fire element, slowing his body's recovery and increasing his chakra consumption significantly.
So Storm Release can counter me, he realized. Its water nature quenches my flames while the lightning nature disrupts my form.
"What?!" Kujō exclaimed, his sunglasses failing to hide his shock. His sure-kill technique had hit its mark, yet his opponent stood utterly unharmed.
"Lightning Release: Thunder Dragon Tornado!" The other surviving jonin had finished his seals. A roaring dragon of pure lightning tore across the ground toward Akatsurugi.
The three tomoe in Akatsurugi's eyes spun wildly, tracking the technique's trajectory and speed. At the last possible second, he sidestepped with a flicker-like motion. The thunder dragon, unable to correct its course, roared past him and slammed directly into the group of terrified Cloud genin huddled behind him.
"No!" the jonin screamed in horror, realizing his fatal error too late.