Early the next morning.
Uchiha Tobirama arrived right on time.
His two teammates who had been knocked unconscious the day before—Tanaka Jiro and Suzuki Ai—were already there. Each of them was carrying a pack nearly as large as their own body, their legs trembling from nerves.
After all, this was a shinobi war.
And they were heading to the Land of Rain—a place said to rain every day, a land soaked in blood and littered with corpses.
"Is everyone here?"
Tsunade's voice came from above.
She leapt down from the top of the gate, landing without a sound.
Today, she wore a lightweight mesh combat outfit that made her look sharp and capable—though the overwhelming presence of her chest remained just as eye-catching as ever.
Besides Team 7, there were two other squads present.
Six genin and two jonin leading them.
Twelve people in total.
"This mission is B-rank," Tsunade said, scanning the group. Her gaze lingered briefly on Tobirama before she waved her hand decisively.
"You'll be assisting in the transport of Explosive Tags and medical supplies to the front-line camp."
"Enough talking. Move out!"
…
Beyond Konoha's gates stretched a vast forest.
To save time, everyone used chakra to travel, leaping through the trees in rapid succession.
Tsunade deliberately slowed her pace to accommodate the newly graduated genin.
Tobirama, however, looked completely relaxed, following half a step behind her without the slightest change in his breathing.
"Catch."
Without warning, Tsunade flicked her wrist, sending a scroll flying toward him.
Tobirama raised his hand and caught it cleanly.
Opening it, he saw the words:
[Wind Release: Vacuum Wave]
"The Old Man gave that to you," Tsunade said without turning her head, her voice carried by the wind.
"He said it's a reward for graduating first in your class. An A-rank jutsu developed by the Second Hokage."
Tobirama rolled the scroll lightly between his fingers, a playful smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
The old monkey moves fast.
Already setting bait?
High-level jutsu, goodwill, rewards—clearly worried he'd be dragged off by those lunatics in the Uchiha clan.
Still, when it comes to sugar-coated bullets, you eat the sugar and shoot the bullet back.
"Please thank Hokage-sama for me."
He slipped the scroll into his ninja pouch and quickened his pace until he was walking beside Tsunade.
"Tsunade-sensei, there's something I want to ask."
"Speak," Tsunade replied curtly.
"I want to learn Medical Ninjutsu."
Tsunade nearly stumbled mid-run.
She stopped on a tree branch and turned to stare at him as if she'd just seen a ghost.
"You? Medical Ninjutsu?"
"You're an Uchiha—a born combat maniac. Instead of focusing on ninjutsu and genjutsu, you want to learn medical techniques?"
In her understanding, the Uchiha poured everything into offense. Asking them to heal others was harder than teaching a pig to climb a tree.
Tobirama wiped the smirk from his face, his expression turning unusually serious.
"Even a combat maniac needs to stay alive to keep fighting."
He glanced back at Tanaka and Suzuki, who were panting as they struggled to keep up.
"And besides, Sensei—you're the strongest medical ninja in the shinobi world."
"If I'm your disciple but can't even use Medical Ninjutsu, wouldn't that disgrace you?"
He paused, his voice dropping.
"More importantly… blades don't have eyes on the battlefield. If you're injured, or if these two idiots are about to die, I'd rather be able to help than just stand there watching."
The wind rustled through the trees.
Tsunade looked at the twelve-year-old boy before her.
In those dark eyes, there was none of the usual Uchiha arrogance or cold detachment—only a sincerity that unexpectedly struck her heart.
This kid…
Is his tongue coated in honey?
She felt something soft stir in her chest, reminded of her younger brother Nawaki, who once said he wanted to protect his big sister with that same foolishly earnest look.
"Hmph."
Tsunade turned her head away, hiding the emotion in her eyes.
"Medical Ninjutsu is far harder than killing people. It demands extremely precise chakra control."
"If you can't learn it, don't blame me for hitting you."
Tobirama grinned, teeth gleaming white.
"Don't worry. I'm thick-skinned—I can take it."
"Fine. Keep moving. Once we reach the camp, I'll teach you the Chakra Scalpel."
Despite herself, the corners of Tsunade's lips lifted slightly.
This disciple…
Taking him in might not be such a bad thing after all.
…
Two days later.
The scenery changed.
Lush forests gave way to withered, muddy land. The air was damp and heavy, and the sky looked as if it had been torn open, endless rain pouring down.
They had entered the Land of Rain.
Raindrops drummed endlessly against their bamboo hats, a sound that gnawed at the nerves.
The excitement the genin felt when leaving the village had long since vanished. Now they trudged through the mud, faces pale and spirits crushed.
"Stay alert!"
Tsunade suddenly shouted.
Before the words had fully left her mouth—
The muddy ground around them exploded.
"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"
More than a dozen high-pressure water jets burst out from all directions like white pythons, ripping through the rain curtain.
"Enemy attack!"
The other two jonin reacted instantly, forming hand seals.
"Earth Release: Mud Wall!"
Boom! Boom!
Earthen walls rose, blocking the first wave.
But the next moment, over thirty shinobi wearing respirators erupted from the mud.
Amegakure's assassination unit.
"Konoha trash," the leading Rain jonin sneered, the scythe in his hand flashing coldly.
"Leave the supplies behind, and we might let you die quickly."
"Is this… the battlefield?"
Tanaka Jiro's legs went weak, his kunai shaking so badly he could barely hold it.
"M-Mom… I want to go home…" Suzuki Ai burst into tears.
"Shut up!" Tsunade roared as she charged forward.
"If you don't want to die, stand back-to-back!"
"Heavenly Spear Foot!"
Boom!
The ground shattered, forcing the Amegakure leader to retreat repeatedly.
But there were simply too many enemies.
Over thirty elite Rain ninja—three jonin, the rest chunin and veteran genin.
Tsunade and the two Konoha jonin were instantly pinned down by five experts, unable to protect the rookies.
The remaining twenty-plus Rain ninja pounced on the six genin like wolves.
It was a massacre.
"Ah—!"
A piercing scream rang out.
A genin from the neighboring squad had just thrown a shuriken when a Rain ninja closed the distance in an instant.
A blade flashed.
The young genin's head flew off.
Blood sprayed everywhere, splashing across Tanaka Jiro's face.
Warm.
Sticky.
Metallic.
He froze.
Blankly, he wiped the blood away and watched the headless corpse collapse.
A companion who'd been complaining about the rain only moments ago was now split in two.
"H-help me…"
Another genin had been stabbed through the stomach. He twitched in the mud, intestines spilling out.
Despair.
Crushing, endless despair enveloped these greenhouse flowers.
The sparring routines they'd learned in school were as laughable as a baby's dance in the face of these murderous Rain ninja.
"So this is Konoha's new generation?"
A Rain ninja licked the blood from his blade, sneering at Uchiha Tobirama.
"So fragile."
"Kid, you've got a pretty face. I'll use your head as a side dish with my sake."
His figure blurred as he used the Body Flicker Technique, his tachi slashing straight toward Tobirama's throat.
Fast.
Precise.
Ruthless.
He didn't take this twelve-year-old seriously at all.
Tobirama didn't move.
Rain slid down the tips of his hair.
Reflected in his pupils were the approaching blade—and the sight of his companions being slaughtered around him.
This was war.
No referees. No stopping at first blood. Only life and death.
The "passion" he once watched through a screen had become the nauseating stench of blood.
And yet—
He wasn't repulsed.
On the contrary, the blood in his veins boiled.
A thirst for slaughter surged from deep within his Uchiha bloodline.
He stood at the peak of the shinobi world. There were very few people left who could truly fight him.
This war was meant to be an opportunity—to earn merit, to build prestige. As for exposing his strength or worrying about the schemes of the village elders…
Sorry.
In the face of absolute power, all conspiracies were nothing but jokes.
In a world where might made right, strength could crush everything.
"A side dish?"
Tobirama suddenly looked up.
His black eyes turned crimson in an instant—the Three-Tomoe Sharingan spinning violently.
That fleeting, terrifying pressure made the charging Rain ninja's heart skip a beat.
"Wha—"
Before he could react—
Tobirama's hand moved.
No one saw him draw his blade.
Only a crisp clang echoed through the rain.
The Rain ninja dashed past Tobirama.
Then—
His upper and lower body separated.
Blood erupted like a fountain, drenching Tobirama until he looked like a man carved from gore.
"The first one."
His voice was soft, swallowed by the rain—yet cold enough to freeze the soul.
He flicked the blood from his tachi and smiled brightly.
A demon's smile.
"Stop spacing out."
He turned and roared at the terrified Konoha genin.
"If you don't want to die, hide behind me!"
"Next…"
Tobirama slowly turned to face the twenty-plus Rain ninja staring at him like hungry beasts.
His aura had completely changed.
He was no longer a well-behaved genius hiding his edge.
He was a demonic blade freshly drawn.
Since he'd stepped onto this meat grinder of a battlefield, there was no need to keep playing the good kid. He no longer needed a disguise.
His current strength was enough to shatter every scheme.
One kill or a hundred—it was all the same.
If they wanted to gamble with their lives…
Then he'd play a big game with them.
"You… you killed Yamashita?"
The Rain ninja froze for a split second—then erupted in rage.
"Kill him! All of you!"
Seven or eight of them charged at once, shuriken, kunai, and Water Release techniques blanketing the area.
Tobirama inhaled deeply.
The chakra in his body surged like a burst dam.
The combat experience of a fully healthy Itachi awakened instantly within his mind.
If you're looking for death—
Then I'll show you the true power of the Uchiha.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson!"
Without forming a single hand seal, Tobirama spat out more than a dozen blazing flames wrapped around shuriken.
In the next instant, his figure vanished.
When he reappeared, he was already behind a Rain ninja.
"Too slow."
Puchi.
The kunai pierced straight through the heart, twisted, and was pulled free.
The motion was as graceful as a dance.
In that moment, the roles of hunter and prey were completely reversed.
Who was hunting whom—
Was painfully obvious.