Naruto Card King

"Yes, all of the Rain Swallows contracted by Inoue Rei were collectively summoned at the same time," the ninja outside reported respectfully.

The Rain Swallows, which were ninja beasts, were usually kept at the hidden base of the Rain Ninja's Anbu. The ninja delivering this report was an Anbu member himself, making it easy for him to verify how many swallows had suddenly disappeared.

Hanzo narrowed his eyes. He immediately realized that something had happened at Shirakawa Mine—something big!

It was Hanzo himself who had ordered Inoue Rei to go to Shirakawa Mine to protect Tanabe Teiji. He had received intelligence that a young rogue ninja from the village, a traitor, was planning an assassination attempt alongside members of the Uchiha clan. While the boy himself was of little concern, the Uchiha involvement made things more complicated, prompting Hanzo to send a high-level ninja like Inoue Rei to handle the situation.

However, even if the Uchiha clan had indeed appeared at Shirakawa Mine and launched an attack, Inoue Rei should not have needed to summon all of his Rain Swallows.

Rain Swallows were not particularly rare, but they were incredibly valuable. They were fragile, had virtually no combat power, and couldn't sustain long flights. Their only real use was for large-scale, short-range reconnaissance, and they were extremely easy to eliminate.

Because of this, they were not used lightly. Every time they were deployed, most of them would end up dead. A single large-scale Wind Release jutsu would be enough to wipe out every Rain Swallow in its effective range.

The entirety of the Rain Ninja Village had less than a thousand of these ninja beasts, divided among more than twenty different sensory ninjas. Inoue Rei had the highest number of Rain Swallows under contract—over one hundred and thirty.

Yet, despite having this many, he had never once summoned them all at once. The most he had ever used at one time was around twenty.

For him to summon every single one now meant that he was tracking someone of extreme importance!

And considering that Inoue Rei himself was an elite jōnin and a sensory ninja, the fact that he was now unable to locate his target through his own abilities meant that whoever he was pursuing was on an entirely different level of power.

Hanzo did not take long to think before shifting slightly and calling out, "Terado!"

A mysterious figure wrapped in a black robe appeared behind him, kneeling on one knee. His voice was cold and emotionless as he bowed his head. "Commander."

"Take your team to Shirakawa Mine. Immediately," Hanzo ordered.

"Understood!" Terado responded and disappeared instantly.

Hanzo's expression remained calm as he closed his eyes and returned to his meditation. Outwardly, he seemed unconcerned about the events at Shirakawa Mine. In reality, he had already given the matter significant attention. While he had not sent members of the elite Anbu corps, he had dispatched someone who held the same rank as the Anbu captain.

Terado was Hanzo's personal guard captain!

Shirakawa Mine.

The continuous drizzle made the bustling encampment below noisy and chaotic. The entire base was in an uproar.

On the mountaintop, standing amidst the treetops hidden from sight, Tsunade and Jiraiya observed the situation below with grim expressions. The worst-case scenario had occurred—Shirakawa Mine had erupted into chaos, with people frantically searching the area. It was clear that Haruto Saito had been exposed!

"Haruto has been discovered!" Jiraiya said, his face dark as he adjusted his spyglass, sweeping the area in search of any sign of him.

"That damn brat!" Tsunade cursed under her breath as she snatched the spyglass from Jiraiya and raised it to her eye.

She scanned the area repeatedly but couldn't find any trace of Haruto. All she could see were thousands of men searching, torches lighting up the camp, and even some trees being set on fire.

"He's finished," Jiraiya muttered grimly.

Tsunade kept looking through the spyglass, trying to find any indication of combat.

"We should leave now," Jiraiya said, turning to Tsunade with a conflicted expression. "Haruto has been exposed. The enemy will conduct an extensive search, whether or not they've already captured him. We can't risk being found."

It wasn't that Jiraiya didn't want to save Haruto. Though they weren't exactly close friends, they were still comrades, both from the Hidden Leaf. If there was a way to save him, Jiraiya would certainly do so.

But in this situation, if he and Tsunade tried to intervene, they would also be exposed. Worse still, Shirakawa Mine was dangerously close to the Rain Ninja Village. While a hundred kilometers might seem far to an ordinary person, to a powerful ninja, it was merely a half-hour journey.

And if Hanzo himself decided to come, moving at full speed, he could be there in just over ten minutes.

If Jiraiya wanted to ensure both his and Tsunade's survival, they needed to retreat now.

Tsunade kept watching through the spyglass, her expression tense.

"Tsunade!" Jiraiya called sharply.

"I shouldn't have provoked him. If I had gone in for reconnaissance instead..." Tsunade slowly lowered the spyglass, her face full of conflict.

If they chose to rescue Haruto, they would be throwing themselves into a life-threatening situation. Whether they could escape Rain Country at that point would be uncertain.

If they chose to abandon him, Haruto would almost certainly die.

Truthfully, Tsunade owed Haruto nothing. But she had never abandoned a comrade before. In all her past missions, she had fought alongside Jiraiya and Orochimaru, always sticking together, always surviving together.

"Are you really thinking of saving him?" Jiraiya clenched his fists tightly, his face more serious than ever.

"That brat... he's kind of interesting. It'd be a shame if he died..." Tsunade murmured, gazing at the torchlit camp in the distance.

"I'll go. You leave!" Jiraiya immediately declared, his eyes resolute.

Tsunade turned to look at him, then back at the camp.

"Shut up and move!" she ordered.

She leapt from the cliffside!

Jiraiya followed right after!

Both figures shot downward, descending rapidly toward the chaos below.

...

Shirakawa Camp, South District.

Haruto Saito sprinted through the darkened woods on the northwest side of the main estate. A large number of soldiers carrying torches had already begun sweeping through the trees. His options for hiding were running out, and worse, he realized that the entire wooded area was being locked down.

It wasn't that they had pinpointed his exact location. Rather, any competent commander would recognize that a forested area was an ideal hiding spot during a night operation. Naturally, they would cut off the exits first.

However, this wasn't enough to trap Haruto.

These were ordinary soldiers—just regular men!

Haruto quickly reached the northwest edge of the forest. He was only thirty meters from escaping the treeline, but in front of him, soldiers stood guard in tight formation, torches illuminating the area. If he advanced, he would be spotted immediately.

Exhaling sharply, Haruto formed a quick sequence of hand seals while running.

With a puff of white smoke, he vanished from the forest.

A moment later, he reappeared inside a storage building behind a row of barracks outside the treeline.

The warehouse was filled with military supplies. No one had searched it yet. Darkness enveloped the space.

For now, he was safe.