Konoha’s Five-Element Ninja

Chapter Three: Rainy Night

The rain kept pouring.

In a half-asleep daze, Hayama felt the steel wire looped around his left middle finger suddenly shake violently. Instantly, he was fully awake, his expression grim. Beside him, Yura Yamanaka woke up as well, and the two exchanged a glance filled with unease and fear. This was their squad's highest alert signal—at least two enemy teams had been detected.

Before Hayama could speak, sharp whooshing sounds filled the air outside the hollowed-out tree trunk. The noise was so dense it drowned out the rain. Instinctively, Hayama sprang to his feet, channeling chakra into his legs. A powerful stomp on the tree sent him shooting diagonally out of their hideout. In mid-air, he reached back and pulled a kunai from his pouch, flinging it backhanded before swiftly forming a hand seal.

Boom!

An explosion shattered the rainy night's stillness. By the light of the blast, Hayama, who had landed on another branch, caught sight of the attackers—and his face turned deathly pale. Licking his lips, he felt a bitter taste in his mouth.

This catch was far too large.

No fewer than ten Iwagakure ninjas, clad in combat vests, stood or crouched on a tree branch opposite them. Their eyes gleamed with mockery. The murderous aura they radiated was unmistakable—these were hardened chūnin, at the very least.

Despair gripped Hayama. If Iwa-nin were known for sparing prisoners, he might have surrendered right then. But he knew all too well the fate that awaited captured shinobi—it was far worse than a quick death. Better to be stabbed once and leave his mother some compensation money than to endure that torment.

That thought doused some of Hayama's despair. Years of surviving on the edge had steeled his nerves. No matter how dire the situation, he could summon his willpower to fight for a sliver of hope. Besides, he had laid a few traps in the distance. They gave him a slightly better chance of escape.

Sure enough, it paid to be cautious.

Hayama quickly signed a few familiar hand signals. His teammates Tatsu Yamashiro and Yura Yamanaka nodded slightly in understanding. Hayama took a deep breath and reached into his tool pouch, flinging a few kunai into the air. Simultaneously, Yura tossed a smoke bomb, and as the smoke billowed up, Tatsu formed a series of hand seals.

"Water Release: Water Collision Wave!"

A surge of water burst through the smoke and surged toward the Iwa-nin. In the rain-soaked Land of Rain, even this C-rank jutsu carried a force close to a B-rank technique.

As the smoke dissipated, Hayama's squad had vanished. The Iwa-nin didn't budge, their eyes all trained on the team's leader. He was a towering man with muscles bulging unnaturally—his forearms as thick as tree trunks. Violence seemed to radiate from his very presence.

"Gray Squad, bring me their heads. The rest, follow me straight to the backlines. If you're going to kill, kill the big fish. Small fry are just appetizers."

The others chuckled darkly, eager to claim a few Konoha ninja heads and stoking their bloodlust.

"Move out."

In an instant, all but four Iwa-nin disappeared from the branch. Those left behind were all chūnin. The one leading them was still a youth, not yet an adult. But the deference the three hulking Iwa-nin showed him spoke volumes about his strength. In the ninja world, strength commanded respect—this scene was nothing unusual.

"Iwato, pursue them," the young leader ordered coolly, narrowing his eyes.

"Yes!"

"Summoning Jutsu!"

Poof!

A small red lizard appeared amidst a puff of smoke. It sniffed the air and bobbed its head before pointing in a direction, letting out a few croaks.

Swish, swish, swish!

The Iwa-nin moved, their movements unmasked, as they followed the lizard's lead.

...

In the rainforest, Hayama was leaping from branch to branch. Now that he had calmed down, his mind began to piece things together. His team wasn't the primary target. He knew Iwa-nin tactics well. Elite squads like this one didn't waste their time on random nobodies. Their targets were either renowned Konoha ninjas or those with significant potential. There was no way his squad of nobodies would be the goal. The real target had to be the more experienced Konoha ninjas stationed at the rear—the ones trying to fish for enemies. Hayama smirked at the irony. The hunters had become the hunted, and no one would know who was what until the very end.

At that moment, Hayama had already mentally signed the death warrants of those "allies" behind them.

Tatsu and Yura likely realized the same thing. Neither of them suggested turning back or offering reinforcements. The Will of Fire might sound good in peacetime, but on the battlefield, those who shouted slogans like "For the village!" or "For our comrades!" were among the first to die. Survival was the only thing that truly mattered.

"Captain, someone's catching up. Trap number six has been triggered," Yura whispered.

Hayama, leaping from a tree branch, quickly calculated the distance in his head and said coldly, "They have tracking methods. Head for trap number one. Use it to wear them down."

"Understood!"

Trap number one was a series of interconnected traps Hayama had painstakingly set up. It had cost him many sleepless nights and a fair share of hair to figure out the placement. But it was worth it—this trap had been the key to eliminating multiple chūnin in the past.

Near trap number one, Hayama's squad finally stopped running. Continuous high-speed movement had drained their stamina. If they kept going, they'd exhaust themselves before reaching the safety of the camp and risk total annihilation.

Hayama popped a ration pill into his mouth and felt a warm current spread from his stomach throughout his body. He knew it was the pill's effect, forcing his fatigued cells to re-energize. While using such stimulants would shorten a ninja's lifespan due to accelerated cell division, the choice was clear: eat now and live a few more years, or don't eat and die immediately. For most, it was a no-brainer.

Before long, Hayama noticed a hidden tripwire tremble slightly. He immediately signaled his team, then pulled out a kunai and cut another wire.

An Iwa-nin on the left side of the pursuing team felt something off when he landed. Before he could warn his comrades, a sharp whistling filled the air.

The leader of the squad looked down and inwardly cursed Konoha's sneaky tactics. Below, a triggered trap unleashed a volley of sharpened stakes that shot toward the airborne Iwa-nin.

Although caught off guard, the team leader stayed calm. He hurled a few kunai and quickly performed a hand seal. The explosive tags on the kunai detonated midair, shattering the stakes into pieces.

Smirking, he landed on a branch. But as he pushed off to jump again, he froze, his expression changing. He had stepped onto a strange, slick liquid.

Before he could attempt an escape, Hayama ruthlessly severed the remaining tripwires. Instantly, a hail of kunai rained down, leaving no room to dodge.

In that critical moment, the Iwa-nin curled up like a shrimp, protecting his head with his arms and presenting his back to the incoming barrage.

Seeing this, Hayama's eyes narrowed. Without hesitation, he formed hand seals, channeling fire chakra into his mouth.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

A large, orange fireball shot toward the trapped Iwa-nin, but it was intercepted by a water-style jutsu and dissipated harmlessly.

Hayama's expression grew serious. These were battlefield elites—quick to react and difficult to kill. But as always, Hayama had a backup plan.

Before the Iwa-nin could regain his composure, his body stiffened, and his gaze turned inward. He was completely paralyzed, his consciousness suddenly slipping away. His teammates' horrified screams echoed in the rain as they watched their leader's head topple from his shoulders, struck down by Hayama's blade.

Within seconds, the tide of battle had shifted dramatically. Those pursuing had become the prey.