Chapter 43: Phantom Rain—Tokiya
Yoru didn't interact further with Konan. This was for her own good.
He didn't know why Orochimaru came to Amegakure, but it certainly wasn't tourism.
If Orochimaru caused any disturbances in Amegakure, Yoru—who came with him—would certainly attract attention, including anyone he'd contacted like Konan.
So Yoru had no intention of growing closer to Konan.
Storing the paper flower in his raincoat pocket, Yoru continued wandering Amegakure, occasionally stopping at rain shelters to purchase local specialty snacks, stuffing his cheeks until they bulged—looking exactly like a carefree child.
...
Hanzo of the Salamander's residence was located in Amegakure's core district, yet wasn't a steel structure but rather a tower resembling traditional architecture.
Though the core district, the tower's surroundings resembled sparsely populated outskirts.
This area's greatest feature was its open field of vision.
Around the tower, over a dozen Ame ninja wearing respirator masks stood guard—and that was only what could be seen outside. Who knew how many were inside the tower?
This demonstrated that even standing at the shinobi world's pinnacle, Hanzo of the Salamander remained extremely cautious.
Inside the tower, on an empty corridor, the tatami mat suddenly bulged upward like a lump.
Then this bulge slowly transformed into human shape, becoming the disguised Orochimaru's appearance.
Immediately upon appearing, Orochimaru formed hand seals and released his sensory technique at full power.
Soon, Orochimaru's expression became extremely grave as he murmured internally: "So it's actually true. This is really going to cause chaos."
To further confirm, Orochimaru was about to burrow underground again and explore the tower.
DRIP. A water droplet suddenly fell from the ceiling, passing before Orochimaru's eyes from top to bottom.
The next second, ripples appeared in the space before Orochimaru's eyes, like a desert mirage.
A figure wielding a blade gradually solidified from the distortion.
"Phantom Rain... Tokiya."
Orochimaru spoke this person's title and name. Then a crack slowly appeared from left shoulder to right hip.
SPLAT. Orochimaru's body—split in two—transformed into mud puddles falling to the ground.
"Earth Clone. An Iwa ninja?" Tokiya murmured. "Could something have happened on Hanzo-sama's end?"
Speaking thus, Tokiya didn't slow his actions—biting his finger and forming hand seals.
"Summoning Technique!"
Crouching and slapping the ground, Tokiya summoned a bizarre-looking rat.
The rat merely sniffed the mud Orochimaru left behind before burrowing underground and vanishing.
Moments later, nine Ame ninja wearing respirator masks—three-person teams—became blurs invisible to the naked eye, flying toward the tower's southwest direction.
"Such fast speed..."
Watching the Ame ninja Body Flickering toward his direction, the real Orochimaru's face showed not a trace of panic but rather relaxation as he muttered: "Still can't sense that chakra signature. Looks like he's truly not in Amegakure."
As long as that great figure standing at the shinobi world's pinnacle wasn't present, Orochimaru had nothing to fear.
Not only that—Orochimaru conceived of using them.
He retrieved a palm-sized scroll from his person, deliberately exposing it to that group of Ame ninja's sight, then used Body Flicker toward Amegakure's central street.
Yoru was currently eating red bean paste when this backward little place—aside from specialty foods—had absolutely nothing worth buying.
Yoru didn't even plan to bring Kushina souvenirs.
He finally understood why every Shinobi World War made Fire Country and Konoha targets for all nations.
The resources were simply too abundant.
Without harsh environments, Fire Country—covered everywhere with trees—had extremely fresh air. People living there, unless dying from warfare or accidents, had much higher average lifespans than other nations' citizens.
Merchants, unless lacking options, would absolutely prioritize doing business in Fire Country and Konoha.
While eating red bean paste and continuing to wander, Yoru felt even more bored than waiting in uninhabited lands.
Waiting in uninhabited lands, he at least had Orochimaru's company and could ask this elite jonin about anything he didn't understand.
Now alone in Amegakure, Yoru didn't even know what to do.
Orochimaru hadn't mentioned whether they'd stay overnight in Amegakure. Yoru wanted to rent an inn room, take a hot bath, drink tea and eat dumplings while appreciating the rain scenery—but couldn't.
Currently, he could only pass time eating, which also fit a child's gluttonous image.
WHOOSH—
Suddenly, a piercing air-breaking sound exploded beside Yoru's ear.
"Go!"
The next second, a hand grabbed Yoru's shoulder. A tremendous force lifted his body, flying him onto a rooftop.
Seeing Orochimaru's grave expression, Yoru's heart jumped.
Holy crap, that expression... don't tell me the demigod is chasing us?
Quickly taking control of his body for leaping, Yoru glanced backward and saw only a group of Ame ninja pursuing them. He secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Just as he turned back, preparing to say something...
A scroll suddenly appeared before his eyes.
Orochimaru's expression was grave: "I'll hold off those behind us. You must deliver this intelligence back to the village at maximum speed. Don't stop for even a moment."
Stuffing the scroll into Yoru's hands, Orochimaru used Body Flicker to land, then immediately turned to face the approaching Ame ninja, forming hand seals: "Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!"
The rain-soaked ground immediately liquefied, forming a massive earth dragon that roared toward that group of Ame ninja.
"Sensei, please be careful. I'll wait for your return."
Watching Orochimaru's moving figure, Yoru didn't stubbornly insist on staying but left those words and used Earth Body Flicker to burrow underground, rapidly leaving Amegakure.
After traveling who knows how many miles underground and consuming half his chakra, Yoru finally emerged from below.
The sky remained covered by heavy clouds, the rain curtain shrouding the earth in white haze. Only various rocky mountains of different heights were visible around him.
Though having left Amegakure, he remained within Rain Country's borders.
Yoru didn't pause at all, continuing to run toward Fire Country's direction while preparing to retrieve a military rations pill from his person to restore stamina.
Suddenly, Yoru's pupils contracted sharply as though seeing something.
No time to consume the pill—Yoru immediately formed seals to disrupt his chakra flow while mobilizing Space-Time chakra throughout his body, ready to enter full-body intangibility at any moment.
SWISH—
The moment his hands formed seals, Yoru saw a cold gleam concealed by the rain curtain slashing toward him.
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