Chapter 89: The Empty City Ruse
Cold rain mixed with mud clung tightly to the pants of the Allied Forces Ninjas; every step felt like their legs were filled with lead.
"Damn this weather."
Nara Shikaku wiped the rain from his face and looked at the soaked map in his hand, his brows furrowing into a deep 'river' shape.
According to the original plan, five miles ahead should be a Village in the Land of Rain. It was also the first scheduled supply point and rest station for the Allied Forces.
Although the Daimyo had cut funding, as the commander, Shikaku still hoped to "sustain the war through war," commonly known as—looting.
But when the army dragged their heavy steps and saw the outline of the Village, their hearts sank halfway.
No signs of life, no cooking smoke, not even a stray dog left behind.
The entire Village was like a skeleton stripped of its flesh, lying quietly in the rain, deathly still.
"Go in and search!"
Chiyo gave the order with a grim face. Behind her, the Sunagakure Puppeteers immediately manipulated their Puppets to burst through the doors.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The wooden doors were roughly kicked open, but the news that came back sent everyone's hearts to the bottom.
"Report! This place is empty!"
"The residential houses on my side are empty too! Even the bedboards have been taken away!"
"Elder Chiyo... the well has been filled. Not only is the water source cut off, but rotting animal carcasses were thrown inside, making it completely undrinkable."
Chiyo looked at the foul-smelling well, her withered fingers crushing the wooden staff in her hand.
"Scorched earth..." she gritted her teeth, her voice tinged with the irritation of being toyed with. "That brat named Yahiko actually moved this fast? He intends to starve us to death on the road!"
The wealthy Uchiha might just miss a hot meal, but for the Sunagakure troops who were already dirt-poor and had to split their soldier pills, this was a fatal blow.
Commotion began to break out in the ranks.
"This is the Land of Rain?" A young Konoha Chunin kicked a broken clay pot by his feet and cursed under his breath. "Don't they need to live? Moving their homes so clean, they must be crazy."
"Maybe they were scared away," a companion nearby comforted himself. "After all, we are the Allied Forces of the great nations."
Were they really scared away?
Nara Shikaku looked at the houses that hadn't been destroyed but were merely emptied, and the sense of unease in his heart grew stronger.
This retreat was too orderly, so orderly it felt like a pre-arranged conspiracy.
The army continued to advance.
After two more Villages, they were still empty towns.
That oppressive silence was more soul-crushing than an enemy's trap. Marching through hunger and cold, the Allied Forces' morale was being washed away by the relentless rain at a visible rate.
Finally, in a dilapidated house in the third Village, the scouts made a discovery.
"Caught them!"
Several Konoha Anbu members escorted out a few trembling figures.
They were three elderly people and two children who hadn't had time to evacuate. They were gaunt, wearing old straw raincoats, their eyes cloudy.
"Don't be rough." Shikaku immediately stepped forward, stopping the Sunagakure Ninja who was about to use force.
He crouched down, trying to make himself look as kind as possible, even though his Killing Intent and the Konoha symbol on his forehead protector still appeared menacing to them.
"Elders, we are... the Allied Forces maintaining peace." Shikaku weighed his words, trying to use official rhetoric to soothe them. "The leader of the Hidden Rain Village is an extremely dangerous terrorist. We have come to rescue you. I want to know, where has everyone from your Village gone?"
"Rescue?"
The old man who had been silent suddenly looked up.
In those cloudy old eyes, there was no fear or gratitude as Shikaku had expected, only a naked hatred that made his spine chill.
"Cough, cough..." The old man coughed violently, sounding like a broken bellows. He pointed at the swirl symbol on Shikaku's forehead protector, his voice hoarse like sandpaper:
"You are from Konoha?"
"Yes." Shikaku nodded.
"Then they must be from Sunagakure?" The old man pointed to the Ninjas nearby controlling Puppets.
"That's right."
"Heh heh..."
The old man suddenly laughed, his tears mixing with the rain and flowing into his wrinkled mouth.
"Three years ago, my eldest son was poisoned to death at the Village entrance by Sunagakure's poison gas when he returned. Two years ago, my youngest son just went out to trade for some grain, but his leg was blown off by a Konoha exploding tag, and he died in pain at home."
The old man's voice suddenly rose, becoming sharp and piercing: "Where were you then? Why didn't you come to 'rescue' us then?"
Shikaku's smile froze on his face.
The surrounding Allied Ninjas also instinctively avoided the old man's gaze.
"Now, Lord Rain Shadow has come." The old man stared intently at Shikaku, his gaze like a knife scraping across the face of every Allied Ninja. "He said the Land of Rain is a neutral country. As long as he doesn't die, no one is allowed to fight here! We had just started to have a few days where we could eat our fill..."
"And then you came!"
The old man suddenly broke free from the Anbu's support. A heart-pounding strength erupted from that withered body as he pointed at the thousands of fully armed elites before him and let out a deafening question:
"Robbers! You bunch of robbers! Why did you come to destroy our lives?!"
"Get out!"
The little boy who had been hiding behind the old man suddenly rushed out.
He tightly gripped a sharp stone and, with all his strength, threw it hard at a nearby Sunagakure Puppet.
Clang!
The stone struck the hard black iron Puppet, making a crisp sound before bouncing weakly into the mud.
For a Ninja, such an attack didn't even count as an itch.
But at that moment, all the Allied Ninjas present, who claimed to be an "army of justice," felt as if they had been slapped hard across the face, a burning pain.
The Puppeteer who was hit moved his fingers, but he was glared back by Chiyo's icy stare.
"Let's go."
Shikaku stood up and took a deep breath, his voice somewhat strained.
"Release them. The whole army will bypass this place."
No one argued.
This army, which was originally aggressive and imposing, now seemed like a group of thieves who had done something wrong. With their heads bowed, they silently bypassed these few unarmed civilians and quickly disappeared into the rain.
The so-called "banner of justice" was broken at this moment.
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