Naruto: Kushina's Redemption, My Revenge

The Leader of the Hot Water Ninja stared at Chinya in disbelief.

He had clearly hurled kunai straight at Chinya, and they appeared to strike true. But Chinya's body turned illusory and reappeared on the other side.

It seemed he had already been trapped in a genjutsu.

But... When exactly had he fallen into this illusion?

The Leader shuddered slightly as he remembered how Chinya activated [Sword Slash] during [Kazekami Raijin] — when he clearly saw the swirling Sharingan in Chinya's eyes.

His face darkened. "I see... That was when I fell under the Sharingan's dojutsu."

Chinya nodded. "Ah, that's right. Seems you've finally realized when it happened. I said I couldn't kill you, so naturally I needed to prepare some backup plans for myself.

Though I'm not fond of using illusions — I prefer a straightforward fight. To be honest, this is actually the first time I've ever used genjutsu against someone."

The Leader's face grew grim. "Impressive indeed. If your chakra weren't insufficient, perhaps I — an elite jonin — would truly fall into your hands. But your own chakra reserves aren't high either; your genjutsu has lost much of its potency.

Normally, only disrupting chakra flow through another person can break such dojutsu-based illusions. However, there's now another way to escape!"

A kunai appeared in the Leader's hand, which he plunged fiercely into his own thigh.

The pain helped him break free from the illusion.

Pulling the kunai from his thigh, he glared coldly at Chinya. "This time, you should have no tricks left, right?"

Chinya's smile grew even brighter as he looked at the ninja leader and said, "No tricks left? It's you who has run out of options."

From behind the leader, a voice called out: "Tatsuji Kuroiwa, you've already lost to my disciple."

Appearing behind the Hot Water Ninja Leader was none other than Orochimaru.

Tatsuji Kuroiwa did not attack Orochimaru. Instead, he let out a heavy sigh. With Orochimaru's appearance, he'd already lost any chance of resistance.

Tatsuji gave a bitter smile. "Truly formidable are the hidden strengths of the great ninja villages — the Konoha Sannin, the Legend of the White Fang, wielders of bloodline limits, masters of secret techniques — and now even newcomers have reached such strength...

Since you haven't taken my life, it seems that Chinya wasn't lying to me after all. I still have value in your plans, but I can't help you much. Small ninja villages like ours simply have no power to speak of."

Orochimaru spoke calmly. "There won't be anything we ask that will put you in a difficult position. In fact, if you follow my instructions, even if Konoha and Kumo go to war, the flames won't reach your Hidden Hot Water Village."

Suddenly, a spark lit in Tatsuji's otherwise dull eyes. "What exactly does our Hidden Hot Water Village need to do?"

Orochimaru answered, "We'll withdraw shortly. After we retreat, you must get the Cloud Ninja to leave your village and restore its neutrality."

Tatsuji frowned tightly. "I just told you — we small villages have no say. The Cloud Ninja have already occupied our village. It will be extremely difficult for me to make them leave."

Orochimaru said coldly, "Konoha has come here specifically to attack the Cloud Ninja. Your Hidden Hot Water Village was merely incidental. Shouldn't this justification — that your village can no longer endure further attacks and must recover — be enough for the Cloud Ninja to withdraw? If even a single Cloud ninja remains in Hidden Hot Water afterward, our Konoha ninja will continue striking."

Tatsuji Kuroiwa immediately grasped what Orochimaru meant.

Given the heavy losses the Konoha ninjas had just inflicted on Hidden Hot Water, it was reasonable for them to claim they couldn't withstand more attacks and needed time to recover — a valid reason to ask the Cloud Ninja to leave.

After all, the Cloud Ninja hadn't fulfilled their initial promise to protect both villagers and shinobi.

The moral high ground lies with Hidden Hot Water Village.

Still, bitterness and anger surged within Tatsuji Kuroiwa.

He had already figured out Konoha's true plan.

Their real objective wasn't the Cloud Ninja at all — it was Hidden Hot Water Village itself.

Because Hidden Hot Water had allied with Kumo, Konoha launched its attack.

Seeing Tatsuji Kuroiwa's expression, Orochimaru guessed he must have misunderstood Konoha's purpose in attacking Hidden Hot Water.

However, Orochimaru didn't bother to clarify, since their goal had already been achieved.

For the sake of his village, Tatsuji Kuroiwa would certainly restore neutrality and make the Cloud Ninja withdraw.

Moreover, Orochimaru had already arrived in the Land of Hot Water as reinforcement — soon all Cloud Ninja in the country would know about it.

Then he could immediately begin advancing the front line.

By attacking Hidden Hot Water and then immediately pushing forward their frontline, it would appear to the Cloud Ninja that Konoha had sent major reinforcements led by Orochimaru to the Land of Hot Water — enough to make them think twice before acting rashly.

Orochimaru said to the toad on his shoulder, "Go inform everyone to gather at the entrance of Hidden Hot Water Village. The plan has succeeded. We'll prepare to retreat."

Minato Namikaze stood still for a moment, casting a complex, lingering gaze at Chinya before heading off to aid other ninja.

Orochimaru walked up to Chinya and extended his hand toward him.

Chinya grasped Orochimaru's hand and used the support to stand back up.

"Can you still move?"

Chinya shook his head. "My body's completely drained. I can barely move anymore."

Orochimaru squatted down with his back facing Chinya. "Climb on. I'll carry you."

Chinya stared at Orochimaru's back in surprise — he hadn't expected Orochimaru to offer a ride.

Without pretense, Chinya climbed straight onto Orochimaru's back.

As Orochimaru stood and started walking, he praised, "You did exceptionally well during this mission, especially when fighting Tatsuji Kuroiwa. Even though he's the leader of a relatively minor ninja village, he's still an elite Jonin.

If not for your chakra depletion, you might actually have won this battle. Still, what you've done today is already excellent. The battlefield is the best place for enhancing strength. Everyone fights for survival out there. Having made such significant progress from your very first combat experience is quite impressive."

"Thank you, Teacher Orochimaru. By the way, do you think Tatsuji Kuroiwa belongs to the weaker category among elite Jonin?" Chinya asked.

Orochimaru replied with a nod, "Exactly. The main reason is that the Hidden Hot Water Village lacks historical strength. They can't be compared to elite jonin like myself and Jiraiya.

Once we've ascended to this level, the actual gap between individuals becomes minimal. What truly creates differences are abilities such as advanced ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu, Secret Techniques, and Kekkei Genkai.

What Kuroiwa possesses are merely some common jutsu circulating within the Shinobi World, which are relatively easy to counter. That's why you were able to fight him evenly."

Chinya let out a sigh. "I see. But Tatsuji Kuroiwa really does deserve to be called an elite jonin. His battle experience is vast. I was very confident that my [Fire Thunder God] technique could even kill a jonin, but I never expected he'd find a way to evade it."

Orochimaru warned, "Chinya, remember this—in the Shinobi World, no opponent should ever be underestimated. You must treat every battle with utmost caution!"

"Yes! Understood, Master Orochimaru!"

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