Chapter 60: Hidden Sand VS Hidden Rain (Part 1)
Kiyoshi respectfully accepted the scroll, then smoothly removed the Twin Swords, Hiramekarei, from his back, sealed them into the scroll, and put the scroll into his ninja tool pouch.
Kiyoshi had been coveting this ninja sword summoning scroll for a long time. After all, his fighting style wasn't very convenient for carrying a huge ninja sword on his back.
And to be honest, if it weren't for the political significance of the Twin Swords, Hiramekarei, Kiyoshi might not have chosen to use this sword at all. After all, at this stage, besides amplifying his attack power and attack range, this ninja sword had no other obvious uses.
He had also been carrying it on his back before to train in controlling the ninja sword and to be consistent with the other six. Now that he had this scroll, Kiyoshi could be said to be liberated.
Seeing Kiyoshi's impatient actions, Ice smiled knowingly, then turned his gaze to Ken and asked, "What is the current situation? The Raikage has sent several letters urging us to dispatch troops to the Land of Whirlpools as soon as possible."
"Relevant intelligence has already been collected, and preparations have been completed. The Anbu can be dispatched at any time!" Ken replied without hesitation, then paused for a moment and continued, "However, Mizukage-sama, this subordinate does not believe that now is a good opportunity."
"Oh?" Ice said noncommittally, "Explain in detail!"
"Yes, this is the case, Mizukage-sama. According to the intelligence relayed by the Anbu carrying out missions on the mainland, the war between the Hidden Leaf, Hidden Sand, and Hidden Rain has gradually slowed down recently. There haven't been any large-scale battles for a long time," Ken said slowly, organizing his thoughts.
"If we attack the Land of Whirlpools at this time, then the Hidden Leaf, which is not deeply mired in war, may very likely send elite ninjas to rescue the Land of Whirlpools. We cannot place our hopes on the Hidden Leaf's integrity. Although the Hidden Leaf may not fully commit to the rescue, after all, the wife of the still-living First Hokage's surname is Uzumaki, and she is also the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki." Kiyoshi, after listening to Ken's thoughts, also nodded in agreement.
"This subordinate believes that the war will not end in a short time, and the Hidden Rain Village under the leadership of Salamander Hanzo will not be defeated so easily. Therefore, the best opportunity should be when a large-scale war breaks out again between the Hidden Rain and the Hidden Leaf," Ken continued to add.
"Hmm, that makes a lot of sense. Actually, I didn't plan to act so early. After all, our ultimate goal with the Cloud Village is still somewhat different! According to our plan, the Hidden Leaf's performance is of paramount importance. We must wait for the best opportunity when the Hidden Leaf is unable to attend to other matters!" Ice said slowly, then issued an order to Ken.
"Ken! Send a few more squads to the war zone to closely monitor the movements of the Hidden Leaf, Hidden Sand, and Hidden Rain. Report any signs at any time! Then send someone to deliver a letter to the Cloud Village, telling them to wait patiently. Good food is not afraid of being late! Haha!"
"Yes!" Ken replied and then left the Mizukage's office.
After Ken left, Ice slowly got up, walked to the huge French window, put his hands behind his back, and said, "Little Kiyoshi, the Jinchuriki of the Three-Tails and Six-Tails are about to hold out no longer. You need to be ready to move out at any time."
"Mizukage-sama, please rest assured, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen are ready at any moment!" Kiyoshi's words were powerful and resolute, showing Ice his determination.
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Ten days passed quickly, and Hanzo's side had completed all preparations for the decisive battle with the Hidden Sand Village.
Hidden Mist Year 35, October 25th, morning.
The sensory ninjas of the Hidden Sand Village's front-line headquarters were sensing the direction of the Hidden Rain's encampment as usual.
Suddenly, a commotion broke the silence of the Hidden Sand's station. Several sensory ninjas were no longer as calm as usual, cold sweat covered their cheeks, and they shouted anxiously, "Quickly notify Chiyo-sama and Ebizo-sama! The main force of the Hidden Rain Village is attacking! Salamander Hanzo is leading them!"
Hanzo, who had tasted the sweetness of surprise attacks, didn't actually want to engage in a decisive battle with the Hidden Sand Village in such a grand manner. However, in this kind of frontal battlefield confrontation, such a large number of ninja forces couldn't hide their movements at all. Moreover, the Hidden Rain Village, a small ninja village lacking the inheritance of ninjutsu, didn't have the kind of ninjutsu that could conceal or block their own Chakra signatures.
Leading the Hidden Sand's forces were the advisor elders Chiyo and Ebizo, the brother and sister duo. Having received the news, they realized that Hanzo, unable to endure the stalemate any longer, wanted to have a decisive battle with the Hidden Sand. So, they quickly gathered all the ninjas, preparing for a head-on confrontation with the Hidden Rain.
The Hidden Sand's ninjas had long been tired of the small-scale skirmishes with the Hidden Rain. Coming from one of the five great ninja villages, they looked down on the ninjas from a small ninja village like the Hidden Rain from the bottom of their hearts. Moreover, since the Hidden Rain's surprise attack on the border last year, although the battle line had been pushed back into the territory of the Land of Rain, the two sides had never engaged in any large-scale head-on confrontation involving more than ten thousand ninjas.
A drizzle was falling in the sky. On the endless plain, Salamander Hanzo, Chiyo, and the brother and sister duo Ebizo each stood before their own ninja forces.
"Hey! You with the breathing tubes!" Chiyo's poisonous tongue was evident from her first words, directly giving Hanzo a very fitting nickname.
This directly made Hanzo so angry that smoke almost came out of his ears. After all, since he became the leader of the Hidden Rain Village, no one had dared to ridicule him for a long time, and no one had ever called him that before.
"Bringing so many people, it seems you're going to have a decisive battle with our Hidden Sand! The little Hidden Rain, which only dares to carry out surprise attacks, actually dares to confront us head-on now?" Chiyo continued to furiously attack Hanzo verbally from the front lines.
"Enough nonsense! Let's see the truth on the battlefield!" Hanzo interrupted Chiyo's words. Since he had already initiated the war with surprise attacks, he wasn't afraid of others' criticism. History was written by the victors, and once he achieved victory in the war, everything would be up to him.
Moreover, as the leader of the Hidden Rain Village, he definitely had to prioritize the interests of the Hidden Rain. The process was not important at all. After all, he was the hero of the Hidden Rain, the "demigod" Salamander Hanzo.
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