A day later.
Team 11, 41 and 42 were set in place. Their ambush prepared for hours. And the Western Silver Drop Union convoy? A small dot in the horizon, slowly making its way from the lands of River to the lands of Rain.
"Target sighted. Eight Tanigakure shinobi. They will arrive anytime between twenty and thirty minutes," Goto murmured into the rock formation.
"Understood," Yumi's voice crackled back.
Ryugo's mind was cold, clear. This wasn't his first ambush, but it was his first command. The lives of eight other allied NPCs were, in part, his responsibility. He pushed the weight of that aside, focusing on the tactical variables. They were, after all, mere NPCs.
The convoy came into view: four sturdy wagons laden with crates, each pulled by a pair of oxen. The guards were alert, their eyes scanning the tree line. They wore the Tanigakure crest.
'Bold move...Tanigakure...bold move', Ryugo thought inwardly
Hiring shinobi from other countries was not exactly forbidden. The lands of fire noble often hired suna or iwa shinobi for miscellaneous tasks, for they were cheaper. However, that was only because Konohagakure had limited manpower, and nearly a third of the continent as land.
The lands of Rain were incomparable. There was such a small territory, and it was quite poor. In addition to that, Amegakure held an isolationist policy. Trying to enter the shinobi market under those circumstances was begging for conflict.
"Tetsu" Ryugo whispered.
"Ready"
The lead wagon reached the narrowest point of the bend. Ryugo's hand formed a single seal. "Mark"
From the rock formation below, Tetsu's hands moved in a complex pattern. No flashy light, just a subtle distortion in the falling mist.
Genjutsu: Murmuring Currents (C)
To the Tanigakure shinobi, the sound of the rushing river suddenly swelled, becoming a roaring, disorienting cacophony that seemed to come from all sides.
It was a simple illusion, but perfectly timed. Their heads jerked, their formation loosening for a critical second.
"Now!"
Team 41 struck first. Goto Haribako stood on the outcrop, his umbrella-weapon snapping open and going up in the sky. With a whirl, he unleashed a storm.
Hidden Senbon Art: Needle Downpour (C).
Hundreds of glinting senbon, each guided by a thread of chakra, rained down on the convoy's rear. They weren't aimed to kill outright, but to cripple—pinning cloaks to wagons, piercing oxen's harnesses, stitching a guard's foot to the wagon bed, piercing arteries...
Chaos erupted as beasts bellowed and men shouted.
The mercenary guards, who did not know how to wield chakra, could not defend against this massive hidden art of the Haribako clan.
Simultaneously, Sora from Team 41 formed seals.
Suiton: Water Fang Bullet (D).
A pressurized jet of river water shot forth, slamming into the lead oxen and knocking them sideways, blocking the road forward.
The trap was sprung.
"Enemies! Ambush! Earth Wall!" a Tanigakure guard bellowed, slamming his hands to the ground. A slab of rock and soil erupted from the road, deflecting a wave of senbon.
Ryugo didn't wait. He dropped from the tree like a stone, his Storm-Sever Katana already humming with the Storm-Cage Blade (C) technique. Lightning sheathed the dark blade as he landed between two shinobi who were turning to face the senbon assault.
His first strike was a horizontal arc, enhanced by the Raikōgan's perception. He didn't aim for armor; he aimed for the electrical nexus in their elbows—the point where nerve met muscle.
The lightning-wreathed blade passed through with a sizzle. Two screams were cut short as arms went limp, weapons clattering to the ground.
*SPLASH*
[You have killed a Lv. 12 Tanigakure Genin. You have gained +6 Reputation with Amegakure. -12 Reputation with Tanigakure. You have gained 24 EXP]
[You have killed a Lv. 15 Tanigakure Genin. You have gained +6 Reputation with Amegakure. -12 Reputation with Tanigakure. You have gained 30 EXP]
In a flash, he had taken down two genins.
"Ameruyi, the principal!" Ryugo shouted, already spinning to parry a spear thrust from a third guard.
Ameruyi was a streak of grey. She bypassed the struggling guards, her Takeda katana a blur of silent death. A guard moved to intercept her, raising an earth-reinforced shield.
Kenjutsu: Silent Rain Wave Slash (D)
Her blade didn't clang against the shield. It seemed to vibrate, piercing through the earth chakra's weakest point—a flaw only a master of the Silent Rain style could perceive. The fifth heiress of the Takeda clan was not a mere title. She had trained like her life depended on it to live up to expectations.
The point emerged from the back of the guard's neck before he could gasp. She flowed past the falling body like the rain itself, her eyes fixed on the merchant cowering behind the second wagon.
Then, the air changed.
A sweet, cloying scent, like overripe fruit and damp soil, washed over the battlefield from the woods. Team 42 entered the battlefield, not from the front, but from the back. Yumi Hakkō had released her spores.
Hakkō Art: Bloom of the Weeping Mold (C).
Puffballs growing on her gourd erupted, releasing a cloud of ocre-coloured spores that drifted on the wind. Where they landed on the wet ground or the wagons, they writhed and expanded into patches of luminous, rapidly growing fungus.
A Tanigakure guard inhaled a cloud and immediately began coughing violently, his skin blotching with vivid yellow patches. He stumbled, his chakra control faltering.
"Poison! Gas masks!" another shinobi yelled, but it was too late for some.
Kota from Team 42 took advantage, his poisoned shurikens finding gaps in distracted defenses. Makura, the medic, stayed back, ready with antidotes and bandages for any of her teammates who might get caught in the crossfire.
It was a brutal, efficient slaughter. The Tanigakure shinobi, though trained, were being outmaneuvered, outnumbered, and attacked from all sides with unfamiliar, terrifying arts. One by one, they fell.
[Lightning Release: Thunder Clap (D)]
Ryugo dispatched his third kill with a lightning-charged palm strick to the chest, feeling ribs crack under the force.
He glanced around. The convoy was a scene of carnage. Pinned oxen, fungal growths spreading over crates, bodies in the mud.
Ameruyi stood over Merchant Sato, who was on his knees, clutching a slashed purse spilling gold. Her blade was at his throat.
"P-please! I can pay! Double what they're paying you!", Sato babbled, his eyes wide with terror.
"The ledgers," Ameruyi said, her voice cold. "Where are they?"
"In the lead wagon! The red lacquer box! Just don't—"
Her sword moved. A clean, precise cut. Sato slumped, his plea forever unfinished. Ameruyi wiped her blade and moved towards the lead wagon.
Minutes later, a wave of notifications poured down.
[Combat Concluded. EXP Gained: 450]
[Multiple targets eliminated. Amegakure Swordsmanship +5, Strategy +3, Raikōgan Proficiency +2]
[Sub-Objective Complete: Eliminate Merchant Hikaru Sato]
'That's it?', Ryugo thought
It was underwhelming. He had prepared the ambush for hours, choosing the location and making simulations with the other teams to make sure the attack was flawless. He had expected some level of resistance.
But the strongest genin in their ranks? A mere Lv. 19 who fell in a single slash from Ameruyi.
Goto cleaned up the battlefield. Killing all the merchants and witnesses. This had been the order.
No witnesses.
That was the price of betrayal.