Naruto: Wooing Tsunade from Day One!-Chapter 345: The Great Battle in the Land of Rain

"The intelligence is very accurate."

At night, atop a mountain peak, Yahiko observed the large group of wandering ninja slowly closing in on the base camp of the remnants of the Land of Rain. His excitement was barely concealed in his words. After so many days of waiting, the opportunity had finally arrived.

"This is also thanks to their loose organization," Nonō added.

"Wandering ninja are always just wandering ninja," Nonō said, her tone far from pleased. In a proper ninja village, such confidential combat deployments would never have been so easily exposed.

"Anyway, this is all thanks to you." Yahiko kept a close eye on the wandering ninja's every move, his focus unwavering.

"Since this is such a big achievement, what are you going to reward us with?" Konan asked casually, twirling a paper flower in her hands. She was the most carefree of the group.

As the leader, Yahiko had the final say, and no one questioned him. The only one who might have objected, Kakuzu, simply kept his thoughts to himself.

"What do you think about me giving Nagato the prize?" Yahiko turned to Nagato with a mischievous grin.

"I'm all for it," Konan chimed in immediately, living up to her role as the group's number one troublemaker.

"Have you even asked me if I want it?" Nagato muttered, rolling his eyes in annoyance. This hardly felt like the time for jokes.

"What, are you unhappy about it?" Nonō's face darkened at the comment. If Nagato dared to say he wasn't happy, he might face her wrath.

"No, I agree wholeheartedly," Nagato said quickly, conceding defeat. Dealing with women and children, he thought, was always tricky.

"That's more like it." Nonō nodded with satisfaction, a faint smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"Don't ramble on," Kakuzu interjected, clearly uninterested in their banter. "When are we going to act? If we go too late, there might be no one left."

"Wait a while," Yahiko replied. "We'll leave in a quarter of an hour."

"What's the point of having them if they can't even last a quarter of an hour?" Yahiko added, his tone sharp. He had no interest in recruiting weaklings; only elites would do.

"Okay," Nagato said with a nod. The group fell silent, watching events unfold below.

It wasn't long before the wandering ninja successfully dismantled the remnants of the Land of Rain's ambushes. The night air erupted with the sound of an explosion, followed by shouts and clashing weapons. The two sides had officially engaged.

"It's started," Yahiko murmured, his expression growing serious. He hoped the remnants could hold out long enough for them to intervene.

"The gap in strength is obvious, and they are losing ground," Nagato observed. He could sense the flow of battle clearly. The remnants of the Land of Rain were being overwhelmed. Already weaker in strength, the ambush had only worsened their predicament.

"There's nothing we can do about it."

"The Land of Rain lost many of its elite during the civil war. It's rare that they've managed to hold off an outside force for so long." Nonō, who had spent years as a spy, was well-informed about the outside world.

"That's good. The ones that remain are at least somewhat capable," Kakuzu said, his green pupils gleaming ominously in the darkness. The eerie glow made him particularly unsettling. He hoped to add to his collection of good hearts tonight.

A quarter of an hour passed swiftly, the sounds of shouting and clashing blades still echoing through the night.

"Let's go," Yahiko commanded, waving his hand before leaping off the peak, heading straight into the fray.

Kakuzu followed closely behind, his eagerness apparent. He was brimming with frustration and ready to vent it on his enemies. If he could take out a few ninjas with bounties on their heads, it would be even more satisfying.

"Wait for me," Konan said, unfurling her paper wings. With a graceful leap, she took to the air and followed.

"Let's go too," Nonō nodded, and she and Nagato began their descent.

The journey to the battlefield was not brief, but Konan's ability to fly allowed her to arrive first. As she approached, she saw several Ame Ninja surrounded by wandering ninja. Their eyes were filled with despair, convinced they had reached their end.

Just as the cold steel of a kunai was about to slit their throats, a sharp female voice rang out from above.

"Spilling the blood of my people in the Land of Rain? You're asking for death."

Konan's words were dramatic, and her anger visibly flushed her face red. Without hesitation, she flapped her wings, unleashing a torrent of paper senbon that rained down on the wandering ninja.

These ninjas, barely at the level of Chūnin, were no match for Konan. Within moments, they were pierced through, their bodies resembling hedgehogs from the onslaught of her paper weapons.

"Thank you," several surviving Ame Ninja said, their gratitude evident as they looked up at her.

"Follow me. We need to help the others," Konan instructed curtly, wasting no time before leading them toward another hotspot of fighting. Explosions erupted wherever she passed, a clear sign that she had begun to fight seriously.

When Yahiko arrived on the scene, he immediately glanced in Konan's direction. After a moment of thought, he decided to follow her. Despite her capability, he couldn't shake the worry that if something happened to her, he would regret it forever.

After Yahiko joined Konan, the two worked together seamlessly, their coordination as fluid as a fish in water. Konan's paper-based ninja equipment flew in every direction, slicing through enemies with precision, while Yahiko, armed with his water blade, moved like the Grim Reaper among the crowd.

The wandering ninja, mere minions, stood no chance. They existed only to be slaughtered. The rescued Ame Ninja, inspired by their saviors, followed closely behind, their spirits lifted as if energized by adrenaline. They gleefully collected the heads of their enemies in the aftermath of the chaos.

However, the duo's rampage soon attracted the attention of high-ranking wandering ninja. Several Jōnin moved to surround them, managing to slow their momentum. Still, it was only a temporary distraction. The Jōnin couldn't come close to killing either Yahiko or Konan.

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Elsewhere, Kakuzu rampaged with a terrifying display of power. His body, covered in sharp, black lines, exuded an aura of dread. Even the Ame Ninja he had saved trembled in fear at the sight of him. Grateful as they were, they wished for nothing more than to stay far away from Kakuzu's menacing presence.

After slaughtering dozens of wandering ninja, Kakuzu finally spotted a target worthy of his attention—a Jōnin with sufficient strength to pique his interest.

"I'll take your heart," he said coldly, noting that the Jōnin was not of the Water element, making him a suitable candidate for his needs.

It took less than three exchanges for Kakuzu to claim his prize. The Jōnin's heart became his trophy. Without hesitation, Kakuzu unleashed his next attack.

"Fire Release: Searing Migraine," he declared, sending a massive wave of flames toward a group of wandering ninja. The fire spread like a sea, engulfing those unable to escape. Their screams echoed briefly before silence returned.

"This feels good," Kakuzu muttered, satisfaction evident in his tone as he felt his strength partially restored. Without so much as a glance at the Ame Ninja he had saved, he plunged back into the ranks of wandering ninja, reveling in the carnage.

In stark contrast, Nagato and Nonō moved with calm precision. Green chakra shimmered in their hands as they worked. There were no cries of pain, no grotesque displays. Where they passed, quiet fell, and bodies were left lifeless in their wake.

"Charge out with us," Nagato instructed the Ame Ninja they had saved, leading them toward Yahiko's position. Their goal was not wholesale slaughter but to rescue their people and escape. They knew that outright victory in this battle could backfire politically and strategically.

When the five members of the Akatsuki finally regrouped, the pressure on the Jōnin besieging Yahiko and Konan multiplied.

"These people are ridiculously strong," a wandering ninja muttered, staggering backward after being struck by Yahiko.

"Damn it, the raid was going so well, but they've ruined everything," another cursed in frustration.

"Stay focused and destroy them!" a more stubborn wandering ninja barked, oblivious to the worsening situation. If Yahiko and his team hadn't been holding back, they would already have been dead.

Blocking the wandering ninja's attack once more, Yahiko and the others exchanged a glance.

"Retreat quickly, we can't hold them off anymore."

Yahiko was struck in the abdomen by a flying kunai, forcing him to crouch down halfway.

"Go," he said.

Nagato grabbed Yahiko and, shouting at the Rain ninja behind them, began the retreat.

By now, his hand was already pressed against Yahiko's wound.

"I'll hold them off," Kakuzu declared, pretending to release a large-scale Water Release jutsu to create a barrier between the two sides.

By the time the wandering ninja attempted to pursue, the group had vanished. In the end, the night attack failed to completely eliminate the remnants of the Land of Rain.