Encounter
"What happened? Why did you suddenly ask us to retreat?"
Uchiha Mingjing had a look of confusion on his face as he fled behind the camp with his two teammates.
"My insects detected a large number of enemy shinobi approaching. Among them... there's something strange—very strong, but the air is filled with poison. The insects couldn't get too close to investigate further," Aburame Nami explained, extending her hand to recall a soaked insect. She turned to Mingjing with a serious look.
Mingjing nodded grimly.
"Hey, you three—are you Dan's disciples?"
A sudden voice called out.
They turned to see three shinobi standing ahead, the one in the center—a blonde woman—speaking.
Tsunade had heard of Kato Dan's Genin team. She'd even been shown a group photo once. That was how she recognized them now.
"Are you... Tsunade-senpai?" Mingjing asked cautiously.
"Oh? Uchiha brat, you recognize me?"
"Teacher Dan often talks about you," Mingjing said, bowing slightly. "He also told us about Orochimaru-senpai and Jiraiya-senpai."
"Run! Hanzo is coming!"
Mingjing turned sharply. At the edge of their vision, a dense purple mist began to roll in—poisonous gas.
This was the notorious poison mist of Hanzo of the Salamander, laced with the venom of his personal summon.
As the danger loomed closer, Mingjing's eyes widened. He fumbled through his pouch and pulled out three gas masks.
"These were scavenged from fallen Yugakure shinobi during the canyon skirmish," he said, handing one to Tsunade. "It may not fully block the poison, but it'll slow it down. It should reduce the frequency of detoxifying during combat."
Tsunade's eyes lit up.
"Smart thinking," she said, quickly passing the masks to Jiraiya and Orochimaru.
"Be careful not to let Hanzo destroy them in battle!" she warned.
Orochimaru nodded silently.
Jiraiya gave a thumbs-up. "Don't worry, Tsunade. We've got this."
The mist crept ever closer, nearly reaching the edge of the camp.
"Tsunade-senpai, Orochimaru-senpai, Jiraiya-senpai—we'll fall back for now!" Mingjing said quickly, grabbing his two teammates.
He bowed slightly, and with a flicker of chakra, the three vanished using the Body Flicker Technique.
"Alright..." Tsunade muttered, her gaze fixed on the oncoming mist. "Now it's our turn."
---
Three hours later...
Somewhere in the dense forests of the Land of Rain...
Mingjing felt a surge of gratitude. His two teammates were both outstanding trackers.
"Ryo! Nami! What's the situation?"
"Not great," Inuzuka Ryo replied, shaking his head. "The rain is worse than usual. Tetsumaru's sense of smell is all over the place."
Rain muffled all scents—classic terrain advantage for Amegakure.
"Nami?"
"The rain's too heavy. My insects can't fly far. Their detection range is extremely limited," Aburame Nami answered, looking down at a bug crushed by the rainfall.
"Still," she continued, "we've avoided most of the pursuing Amegakure-nin. According to our estimates, we're around a hundred kilometers from the border outpost. Once we reach it, we can regroup with Inuzuka Paladin's squad and await updates on Tsunade-senpai's battle."
Mingjing frowned.
Could this be that battle?
In the original events, Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya faced off against Hanzo here, in the Land of Rain.
Though they lost the fight, Hanzo recognized their strength—declaring them the "Legendary Sannin of Konoha"—and chose to spare them. That moment changed the course of the war, leading to an alliance between Hanzo and Konoha.
"But… what if Tsunade-senpai and the others lose?" Ryo asked anxiously.
Mingjing hesitated.
He couldn't explain the real outcome—no one would believe that the enemy would let them live after losing. So he began calculating.
"If they lose, the village will likely withdraw temporarily from the Rain campaign. But Mr. Dan is on a separate mission. Advisor Mitokado Homura has probably already fallen back with a portion of the forces. They could regroup at border strongholds. Hanzo's primary goal is defending Amegakure. Once Konoha's pushed out, his attention will shift to Sunagakure and Iwagakure."
Mingjing used his fingers to count points off and concluded:
"In any case, we need to reach the border stronghold before any more Amegakure teams catch up."
With that, he stood, brushed off the mud, and gestured for the others to follow.
The sooner they left, the better.
---
Thirty minutes later…
The rain had lightened to a drizzle when Inuzuka Ryo suddenly froze.
"Something's wrong!"
He sniffed again.
"There's someone nearby!"
Mingjing and Nami instantly moved into formation at his sides.
Elsewhere, a small figure crouched low in the shadows—a masked Amegakure shinobi signaling to two companions.
This was an elite pursuit unit—four Chūnin in total. They'd eliminated a Konoha team earlier, though one of their own had fallen.
Luckily, their sensor-type ninja had survived.
The short figure was the team's sensor. Using the vibrations in the wet ground, he located Mingjing's team.
---
Back in the forest clearing…
Inuzuka Ryo crouched beside his ninken, Tetsumaru, tracking scents with difficulty.
Aburame Nami had activated "Secret Technique: Cocoon", rapidly hatching fresh insects to replace the weakened ones. Heavy rain limited their effectiveness, so she compensated by burning chakra to mass-produce more and took a soldier pill to maintain stamina.
Mingjing narrowed his eyes.
A confrontation was inevitable.
And it was coming fast.