The mission was not a siege. It was an extraction of a "dead" asset.
Konoha intelligence had received a coded signal from a deep-cover operative in the Land of Rain. The operative had stolen a map of Hanzo's hidden poison-manufacturing facilities. If they could get that map, they could develop an antitoxin and turn the tide of the war.
"The asset is pinned in a derelict temple near the Valley of the Screaming Pipes," Special Jonin Sora explained as they moved through the rain. "The problem? The Hidden Stone found him first. They've surrounded the temple with a specialized Earth-Wall unit."
"So we're fighting the Stone while the Rain watches?" Renza asked, his Stone trench knives clicking against his thighs.
"Worse," Jonin Kaji said, his single eye scanning the canopy. "The Stone is using the asset as bait. They want to draw out a high-ranking Leaf unit. They don't know they're getting four ghosts instead."
The valley was a geological nightmare. Natural stone pillars rose like chimneys, and the wind blowing through the holes in the rocks created a constant, mournful wail that masked all sound.
"Renju, find the moisture signatures," Sora commanded.
Renju closed his eyes, his Total Concentration picking up the "Weight" of the area. "Fourteen signatures. Twelve are stationary—the Earth Wall unit. Two are moving inside the temple. One is weak... likely the asset. The other is... heavy."
"An Elite Chunin or a Jonin," Renza whispered. "I'll take the roof. I'll clear the air so the pipes stop screaming. It'll give us the silence we need."
"Do it," Kaji said.
Renza vanished. Using Wind Step, he scaled the jagged cliffs. He reached the top of a hollow pillar and looked down at the temple. The Stone ninjas were massive, armored men, their hands pressed to the ground to maintain the Earth Prison jutsu.
Renza exhaled. "Wind Release: Vacuum Blade - Barrage!"
He didn't jump down. He flicked his trench knives repeatedly. A dozen crescent blades of wind rained down on the Stone unit. They didn't kill—Stone armor was too thick—but they broke the concentration of the jutsu. The Earth Walls began to crumble.
"GO!"
Renju, Sora, and Kaji moved like a flood.
Renju reached the first Stone ninja. "Water Breathing, Second Form: Water Wheel!" He didn't slice; he used the weight of the water-coated blade to crush the man's reinforced shoulder.
Inside the temple, the "heavy" signature moved. A man with a Stone headband and a scarred face stepped out, holding the operative—a bloodied Konoha Chunin—by the throat.
"You Leaf dogs are persistent," the Stone Ninja growled. He began to weave signs. "Earth Release: Tearing Earth—"
He never finished.
Renju's Hidden Ripple made his dash silent. He was a shadow in the mist. He used Wild Water Wave to blast the operative out of the man's grip, and in the same motion, delivered a Striking Tide slash across the man's hamstrings.
The Stone ninja fell to his knees. Before he could roar, Renza dropped from the ceiling, his trench knives crossing over the man's chest.
"The Gale..." Renza hissed. "...and the Abyss," Renju finished, his blade at the man's throat.
They didn't interrogate him. This was war. Renza's knives finished the job.
They grabbed the operative and the map. But as they turned to leave, the screaming pipes of the valley suddenly went silent.
A new scent filled the air. Not earth. Not water. Gas.
"Hold your breath!" Kaji roared.
From the mist, a figure appeared, wearing a respirator mask and carrying a kusarigama. It wasn't Hanzo... but it was one of his Right Hands.
"Leaving so soon?" the Rain Ninja hissed. "The Salamander hasn't tasted your blood yet."
Renza and Renju stood back-to-back, their chests rising and falling in perfect unison. They were 11 years old, and they were finally facing a master of the Land of Rain.