NOVEL WEB Chapter 104: Chapter 104: Preparation
The next morning, at the main gate of the Hidden Hot Spring Village.
Several tall, dark-skinned figures entered through the gate. Their clothing and the symbols on their forehead protectors clearly indicated their identities.
They were ninja from Kumogakure in the Land of Lightning.
Led by a Hidden Hot Spring Village ninja, the Cloud Ninja made their way through the bustling streets. Though the Land of Hot Springs was small, it had become economically prosperous thanks to its abundance of hot springs, making the Hidden Hot Spring Village especially lively.
The appearance of foreigners naturally drew many curious gazes—perhaps even more attention than when Minato and the other Konoha ninja arrived the day before.
Among the Five Great Ninja Nations, people from the Land of Lightning differed most visibly from those of other countries.
Under the guidance of the Hidden Hot Spring Village ninja, the group entered a large building located in the center of the village.
Moments later, the several individuals exchanged glances and formed hand seals.
"Poof!" "Poof!" "Poof!"
Sounds of techniques dispelling rang out, revealing that these supposed Cloud Ninja were actually Minato's team of four, plus two transformed Hidden Hot Spring Village ninja.
"Minato, are you feeling okay?" Sakumo asked with concern. He originally wanted Minato to rest first, but the boy insisted on joining the mission.
Although he was usually gentle by nature, once Minato set his mind to something, no one could talk him out of it.
Junko Watanabe also asked worriedly. Since Minato's injury two days ago, her personality had changed significantly.
Perhaps Junko herself hadn't even noticed this shift yet.
"It was just a Transformation Technique; it didn't have any real impact," Minato smiled lightly as he waved his left arm, already dressed in clean clothes.
"And like what that doctor said, my wounds seem to have started scabbing over."
He looked full of energy now—even better than he was before he got injured.
"What a monster-like kid," Sakumo chuckled, finally feeling reassured as he watched Minato's lively demeanor.
"When we return to the village, I'll have Tsunade-sama check you properly."
Minato felt a bit excited. Meeting Nawaki's older sister—the legendary Senju warrior and apprentice of the Third Hokage alongside Jiraiya—Tsunade-sama.
If he got to see her back in the village, that would likely mean he'd also get to meet Teacher Jiraiya.
"Next time, we'll transform into ninja from Iwagakure, like this," Sakumo explained, forming hand seals and transforming into an average-looking man whose appearance wasn't as distinct as those from the Land of Lightning.
His skin tone was slightly yellower compared to people from the Fire or Hot Spring Lands. Most notably, he had an unusually large nose.
The symbol engraved onto his forehead protector resembled three small mountains. The Land of Earth contained vast rocky terrain, including natural rock barriers along its borders.
That's why it became known as the Hidden Rock Village.
And the current leader of this Hidden Rock Village, Third Tsuchikage Onoki of the Two Scales, was the eldest among all current Kage—and extremely powerful.
Then, Sakumo demonstrated the Transformation Jutsu to them before saying, "There's one more thing I must emphasize. Among the followers of the Evil Cult, there are not only civilians but also many rogue ninjas from various countries. They're not especially strong, but don't underestimate them either."
Sakumo explained that the upcoming battle would certainly be a chaotic free-for-all across the entire Hidden Hot Spring Village. He couldn't guarantee he'd always be around to protect Minato and Yan Uchiha.
"You two were brought out of the Hidden Hot Spring Village by me, so it's my responsibility to bring you back alive and unharmed. Don't let your carelessness cost you your lives."
These two kids were just Genin-in-Training who had barely faced enemies once before—yet certain things needed to be clearly stated in advance.
Sakumo had seen far too many people die on missions simply because they weren't careful enough.
Minato and Yan Uchiha both nodded firmly. The battle two nights ago had been enough to show them how deadly real ninja combat could truly be.
They were finally starting to understand why Nawaki and Sarutobi Ao had treated the Chakra Aptitude Test like a life-or-death battle.
While most others saw that match as nothing more than a competition, those two had already treated it as an actual fight.
Smart individuals didn't need constant reminders, and Minato and Yan Uchiha clearly belonged to that group.
Precisely because of this, he couldn't allow these two budding pillars of the village to fall here.
"Alright, rest for now. The chances of Tachiyama Shinsaburo arriving today are slim. It's no easy task to control so many heretic cultists gathered on short notice."
Sakumo even suspected there might be spies within the Hidden Hot Spring Village itself. Otherwise, even if they had gathered forces to invade, without locating the Bloodthirsty Sickle of Three Moons required for the Ritual, the whole operation would be meaningless—but Sakumo didn't say this in front of Fuu Akimoto. After all, this was an internal matter of another village, and interfering wouldn't be appropriate—especially not in front of Fuu Akimoto.
It might even cause the Hidden Hot Spring Village to become distrustful of them.
...
Shortly after, nearly the entire force of the Hidden Hot Spring Village mobilized and went door-to-door to explain the invasion drill.
For most civilians of the Hidden Hot Spring Village, this was completely unprecedented—in a land where war had long faded into memory, such a large-scale evacuation had never been necessary before.
Yet after witnessing foreign ninjas from different lands walking the streets themselves, many gradually accepted the reality of the situation.
Many others showed clear reluctance, especially when told their homes might suffer damage from ninja battles.
Thus, the leadership of the Hidden Hot Spring Village and the Daimyo of the Land of Hot Springs reached an agreement: any losses villagers suffered would be compensated at double value by both the country and the village. Eventually, this silenced most protests.
The residents of the Hidden Hot Spring Village had no choice but to leave their homes behind and head toward the designated shelters.
Since the exact timing of Tachiyama Shinsaburo and others' attack remained unknown, it was naturally better for civilians to evacuate as quickly as possible. These people, who had never known the suffering of war, were now stuck eating bland ration bars in cramped quarters.
As dusk approached, the evacuation of civilians in the Hidden Hot Spring Village was basically completed. Along the once-bustling streets, only a few shadows remained.
Yet in this empty street, both visible and hidden spots were filled with Hidden Hot Spring ninjas lying in ambush.
Minato and his team of four Konoha ninjas stayed hidden not far from the main gate of the Hot Spring Village. Junko Watanabe had set up a small sensing barrier there. Unlike Konoha, the Hidden Hot Spring Village lacked the resources to set up a protective barrier covering the entire village.
In the shadows, the ninjas waited in high alert...
...
...
I was gonna post five chapters today, but I got stuck taking care of the kid all day and didn't get a break until around six. When I finally sat down to write five chapters last night, an old classmate called and asked me to come to his birthday party at nine.
So today I can only manage two or three updates. I've also checked the review section—thanks everyone for your support. I won't be messing with Minato's memories like some Korean drama protagonist would. After all, the enemies waiting for him ahead are truly terrifying.
Thanks again for sticking with me, everyone!
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