Chapter 227: Scattered Petals, Scattered Wounds
While Taichi was leading the convoy back toward Konoha, far away in the easternmost reaches of the Land of Wind, deep within the vast ocean beyond the coastline, a massive sea vessel cut across the waves.
On the deck, groups of people gathered here and there.
Some were playing cards.
Some were sparring.
Others simply lounged lazily in hanging nets, staring blankly at the endless sky above, looking utterly bored.
As far as the eye could see, everyone was desperately trying to find some way to pass the monotonous days at sea.
These were the hundred Cloud ninja from Kumogakure.
After an entire month of ocean travel, the spirited enthusiasm they'd possessed at departure had long since vanished.
The sea voyage was simply too dull.
Every morning they woke to the exact same endless blue ocean stretching beyond the horizon.
Even disciplined ninja could only endure so much before cracking from boredom.
And so, after a month trapped at sea, even they had begun searching for entertainment to preserve their sanity.
Then suddenly—
Amid the constant crashing of waves, a crisp bell rang out from the highest watchtower.
Immediately after came an excited roar that echoed across the entire ship.
"LAND!"
"I SEE LAND!"
"WE'VE REACHED OUR DESTINATION!"
After a momentary silence, the deck exploded into chaos.
The card players threw down their cards.
The sparring pairs instantly stopped fighting.
Even the people lying in the hanging nets flipped over and jumped down.
Everyone rushed toward the bow of the ship, straining their eyes toward the horizon.
Gradually, a thin white line appeared where sea met sky.
The entire deck erupted into cheers.
Finally…
This damned voyage was finally ending.
At this point, they would rather undergo Kumogakure's harshest training regimens than spend another month trapped on a ship.
It had been torture.
Just then, a disturbance rose from the back of the crowd.
"Move aside!"
"Make way!"
"Lord A and Lord Killer B are here!"
The crowd immediately split into two neat lines.
Two powerfully built young ninja stepped forward.
A gazed toward the distant coastline, a blazing light flashing through his eyes.
Unlike the others, however, his excitement wasn't relief from boredom.
It was anticipation.
At long last, the mission could begin.
At long last, they could start plundering resources for the village.
"How long until we reach shore?"
A calmly asked the nearby navigator.
After a quick series of calculations and gestures, the man answered confidently:
"Approximately five hours."
A nodded lightly before pointing toward the scattered islands ahead.
"When we get close, do not dock directly on the mainland."
"Find a hidden island and conceal the ship."
"We'll cross the remaining distance by water-walking."
"Yes, Lord A!"
A then turned toward the gathered Cloud ninja and barked:
"All of you—"
"Go inspect your combat equipment immediately."
"The moment we land, we enter combat."
"I don't have time to wait while you idiots fumble around!"
The crowd dispersed in excitement, rushing toward the lower cabins.
After spending an entire month trapped aboard this ship, they couldn't wait to sprint straight into the Land of Wind.
Soon, only A and Killer B remained on deck.
"Big brother, once we land, what do we do?"
"Attack immediately?"
"Or scout things out first?"
Killer B waved his hands rhythmically while speaking in his bizarre rap-like cadence.
A helpless expression crossed A's face.
He truly didn't understand his younger brother's obsession with rapping.
But there was nothing he could do.
He'd already tried correcting it countless times.
Killer B simply refused to stop.
Thankfully, it didn't interfere with missions.
Otherwise, A would have beaten the habit out of him long ago.
"We attack immediately after confirming our location."
"The point of this operation is to catch Sunagakure completely off guard."
"We'll use our mobility to keep them running in circles."
"And later, intelligence operatives will rendezvous with us as planned."
"Everything's already been arranged."
"I got it, yo!"
"Those Sand losers gonna run in circles, fool!"
"When Killer B arrives, they all scatter like tools!"
Listening to B's nonstop chatter, A kept his gaze fixed on the distant shoreline.
Sunagakure was currently locked in war against Konoha.
Its internal defenses had never been weaker.
This mission would undoubtedly achieve unprecedented success.
Time quickly passed.
By afternoon, the Cloud ninja had hidden their ship within the inner bay of a deserted island.
The waters there were calm, and there was no sign of human activity anywhere nearby.
It was the perfect hiding place.
The only flaw was the distance from the mainland.
Even for ninja capable of running across water, it would still take nearly half an hour to reach shore.
At the island's edge, all the Cloud ninja gathered together as they listened carefully to A's battle plan.
A spread out a crude map and pointed at a location on it.
"This is where we'll land."
"There are four Sand outposts positioned around this stretch of coastline."
"The moment we reach shore, we split into two groups."
"I'll lead one squad north and eliminate these two outposts."
"Killer B will lead the other squad south and destroy the remaining two."
"Afterward, we regroup here."
A looked at the gathered ninja, his tone turning solemn.
"Remember this."
"When battle begins, go all out."
"Finish fast."
"The moment the outposts are destroyed, regroup immediately."
"We're competing against Sunagakure's reaction speed."
"As long as we keep them chasing us around, our gains will increase while our own risk decreases."
"Yes, Lord A!"
A rolled up the map, stood upright, and looked toward the distant mainland.
Then he swung his arm forward decisively.
"Move out!"
The instant he finished speaking, he shot forward at the front of the formation.
Killer B followed closely behind.
After them came the hundred Cloud ninja.
The force raced across the ocean at high speed and reached the mainland in less than half an hour.
The moment they landed, the group split in two and charged toward the Sand outposts.
How many defenders could a mere watch post possibly have?
At most, three or four squads.
There was no way such small forces could stop Kumogakure's elite.
The four Sand outposts were wiped out before even a single warning signal could be sent.
When the two Cloud squads regrouped again, every one of them looked invigorated and exhilarated.
Not a single casualty.
After being trapped aboard ship for an entire month, all their pent-up frustration had finally been vented.
"Big brother! Big brother!"
"That was awesome!"
"Those Sand idiots got wrecked!"
Killer B danced wildly while shouting excitedly.
A merely smiled faintly.
Because honestly—
He felt exactly the same way.
"Move."
"We head west immediately."
"One hundred kilometers from here lies a Sand mining facility."
"We're going to clean it out."
A wasted no time with unnecessary speeches.
The command was given, and the entire force instantly dispersed outward, rapidly advancing westward.
Three hours after the Cloud ninja departed—
Near sunset—
Sunagakure's eastern headquarters finally realized something was wrong.
A cluster of four neighboring outposts had failed to report in entirely.
One missing report could perhaps be explained away.
But four adjacent outposts simultaneously going silent?
That could only mean one thing.
Something had happened.
The commander of the Eastern Front, Pakura, immediately issued an emergency alert the moment the reports arrived.
At the same time, she dispatched four reconnaissance squads to investigate the four silent outposts.
Yet even now, Pakura still hadn't realized the true severity of the situation.
In her mind, this was most likely another provocation from Kirigakure.
Just a few days ago, the Mist had finally quieted down, but apparently they were back to stirring up trouble again.
Thinking about how the village had recently transferred three hundred ninja away from the eastern front to reinforce the war against Konoha, Pakura felt increasingly irritated.
Not allowing her to participate in the war against Konoha was one thing.
Pakura wasn't ignorant of politics. She understood perfectly well that the village was trying to consolidate Rasa's authority as the Fourth Kazekage.
Fine.
She could accept that.
But stationing her on the eastern front while continuously stripping away her manpower?
That was excessive.
The eastern coastline wasn't some peaceful paradise.
The moment Sunagakure showed weakness there, Kirigakure would immediately begin probing and provoking them.
Still…
The Mist's reaction this time had been absurdly fast.
The reinforcements had barely departed, and Kirigakure already launched an attack.
How had they gotten the information so quickly?
As Pakura contemplated the worsening state of the Land of Wind, her brows gradually furrowed.
The war against Konoha had dealt Sunagakure devastating losses.
Among the Five Great Nations, Sunagakure already possessed the fewest ninja.
And this year alone—
They had suffered two crushing defeats against Konoha and one surprise attack from Iwagakure.
Each battle had cost them dearly.
Combined, the three disasters had wiped out nearly one-fifth of Sunagakure's total active ninja force.
This was no longer merely "injuring muscles and bones."
Their very foundations were breaking apart.
At this point, Sunagakure barely possessed enough manpower to maintain defensive lines.
Launching another offensive?
Impossible.
Not unless they intended to gamble the village's survival itself.
Lost in thought, two hours quietly slipped by.
Then suddenly—
A frantic series of footsteps echoed from outside.
Immediately followed by a panicked shout.
"Lady Pakura!"
"Something terrible has happened!"
Pakura frowned in annoyance.
"I'm perfectly fine."
"What's with the panic?"
"Isn't it just another Mist ambush?"
"It's not like this is the first time. Why are you making such a fuss?"
The messenger dropped to one knee before her, gasping heavily for breath.
It was obvious he had sprinted the entire way without stopping even once.
"L-Lady Pakura…"
"It's… not Kirigakure!"
"What?!"
Pakura's eyes widened.
"If it's not the Mist… then what, Konoha?"
"They looped around and attacked from the east?"
"That makes no sense!"
Her chakra pressure unconsciously burst outward from the shock, instantly crushing the messenger beneath its weight until he could barely breathe.
Only after noticing his pale face did she hurriedly withdraw her aura.
"Speak clearly."
"One report. No omissions."
"Yes!"
The ninja steadied his breathing and spoke quickly.
"We investigated all four outposts."
"Based on the traces left behind, the attackers were definitely Cloud ninja."
"And there were a lot of them."
"Preliminary estimates place their numbers above fifty."
"Cloud ninja?!"
Pakura stood up abruptly.
"Have they lost their minds?!"
Out of every possible answer, Kumogakure was the one she least expected.
In fact, it sounded even more unbelievable than Konoha launching an eastern invasion.
But only for a moment.
Because immediately afterward, Pakura realized the true implication.
If it wasn't Kirigakure—
Then this was catastrophic.
The Mist usually limited itself to small-scale harassment near the coastline.
Annoying, but manageable.
But another Great Village?
Traveling all the way across the ocean to launch a surprise landing assault?
That could only mean one thing.
This was no mere provocation.
These thoughts flashed through Pakura's mind in an instant.
She immediately issued orders to the nearby staff officers.
"Notify every nearby outpost to heighten their alert level immediately."
"If anything unusual appears, send emergency signals at once."
"Release communication hawks and inform the village that Kumogakure has launched a surprise attack."
"The enemy's current objectives remain unknown."
Only after issuing all her commands did she turn back toward the scout.
"Now."
"Tell me every detail you observed."
"And don't leave out a single clue."
The scout immediately began recounting the investigation in detail.
Truthfully speaking, given the overwhelming disparity in strength, it would have been easy for the Cloud ninja to conceal their identities if they truly wished to.
It merely would've required more time and caution.
But A had never intended to hide who they were.
And more importantly—
Time was money.
Their entire strategy revolved around staying one step ahead of Sunagakure.
Only by constantly moving faster than the Sand could they maximize profits.
As a result, the Cloud ninja fought loudly and directly, using their signature techniques without restraint.
The traces left behind clearly identified the attackers as Kumogakure ninja.
While Pakura was still receiving reports—
The Cloud strike force had already continued moving through the night.
Traveling over one hundred kilometers nonstop, they launched an assault on a mining facility before dawn even broke.
Thunder roared.
Lightning flashed.
Under the assault of more than a hundred elite Cloud ninja, the poorly defended mine was wiped clean in moments.
"Big brother! Look!"
"These Sand idiots are sitting on rich ore everywhere!"
Killer B danced excitedly while waving around a massive chunk of emerald-colored metal ore.
A grabbed one of the mineral chunks and examined it closely.
This was one of Sunagakure's monopoly resources.
On the open market, ore of this purity sold for a thousand ryo per kilogram.
And that was before refinement.
One could easily imagine how valuable the finished metal itself must be.
For years, Sunagakure had used these rare minerals to ruthlessly exploit Kumogakure through unequal trade.
An enormous amount of Cloud Village wealth flowed into Sand Village coffers annually.
It was precisely this long-term exploitation that had finally driven the Third Raikage to authorize this operation.
Partly for revenge.
Partly for profit.
"Move quickly!"
"Empty every storage facility!"
"Seal all high-value ore into storage scrolls!"
"We only have thirty minutes!"
"The moment time's up, we retreat immediately!"
A's orders rang across the mining site.
The Cloud ninja instantly scattered in every direction.
Every single one of them carried large quantities of sealing scrolls specifically prepared for this mission.
And before departure, all participants had been promised thirty percent of whatever loot they personally collected.
As a result—
Every Cloud ninja present had gone completely mad with greed.
They tore through the mining facility like starving wolves, determined to extract every possible ounce of value.
Soon, thirty minutes passed.
A sharp whistle pierced through the night sky.
The scattered Cloud ninja instantly regrouped.
When they spread out, they resembled frenzied raiders.
But when recalled, they regrouped with perfect discipline.
Not a single person hesitated because of greed.
One minute later, the entire force had assembled once more.
Looking at the excited smiles on everyone's faces, even A himself couldn't suppress his satisfaction.
Sure enough—
Nothing made people rich faster than plunder.
"Move out!"
"Our next target is approximately one hundred and fifty kilometers away."
"We only rest for three hours during the journey."
"Keep moving!"
A shot forward once again.
The Cloud ninja cheered loudly before charging after him into the darkness.