Naruto: Echoes of a Distant Home

The operations targeting the Akatsuki and the Rain Village are a mixture of suppression and cleansing.

The peace treaty covered the five great villages but excluded the Rain Village. For years, the Rain Village had been developing in isolation. Sand and Leaf only recently became aware that the Akatsuki operated out of Rain Village, clarifying the situation.

Over the years, Rain Village shinobi began moving around more frequently for missions. Currently, neither Sand nor Leaf could afford to launch a full assault on another village. Even with a reason like bitter revenge, acting against another village without clear benefit was out of the question. Instead, they focused on long-term retaliation and suppression.

With the strength of a major village, it's not hard to slowly wear down a smaller one by disrupting missions and assassinating shinobi. However, it depends on whether the larger village is willing to commit resources and take certain risks. In this case, Sand and Leaf decided to cooperate and send an elite team to weaken Rain Village.

Unlike the Mist, whose goal had been to retrieve the Mizukage and who had been wiped out by Nagato's power, Sand and Leaf sought to suppress Rain's growth and dismantle the Akatsuki. Cleansing Rain Village was merely the first step.

Since their deployment, this joint team had already killed many Rain shinobi, but for them, it wasn't nearly enough.

"Yes, just a bunch of weaklings. Not enough!"

Among the many shadows darting through the trees, one figure surged forward, appearing in the midst of three Rain shinobi who had taken up a defensive formation. It was Pakura from the Sand, surrounded by three high-temperature fireballs.

"These mere weaklings are nothing to calm the fury of that night."

Her beautiful face was filled with a cold, murderous intent that clashed sharply with the blazing fireballs surrounding her.

Hiss…

The Rain shinobi, slow to react, felt an intense heat spreading through their bodies, followed by a wave of searing pain engulfing them.

Their screams were caught in their dry throats as the moisture and even blood within their bodies evaporated instantly. Not even a trace of their expressions remained as they turned into mummified corpses before crumbling to ash.

Standing amid the ashes, Pakura wore a terrifying expression.

Revenge only begets more hatred. The night Shukaku was released had brought Sand Village tremendous pain.

The Sand shinobi, carrying this pure hatred, came to exact vengeance.

Taking lives wasn't enough; burning them to ash was the only way to satisfy her rage.

Leaving behind the three piles of unrecognizable ash, Pakura leaped onto a tree and continued forward.

The Sand shinobi following her looked pleased.

The team of nearly sixty had encountered a group of twenty-six Rain shinobi within the Land of Fire.

They wasted no time, immediately drawing their blades.

During the initial clash, the Leaf's White Fang cut through the air with a flash of his blade, instantly felling three Jōnin and scattering the Rain shinobi in retreat.

Without a moment's hesitation, the Rain shinobi turned and fled upon seeing the iconic white hair and short blade, making the smart choice.

However, despite their efforts to escape, they were one by one caught and slain.

The chase lasted only ten minutes, ending the Rain shinobi's lives mercilessly.

The Leaf forces killed efficiently, leaving bodies behind as they continued their pursuit.

In contrast, the Sand forces, led by Pakura, took extra time to cremate the Rain shinobi after killing them, a testament to their extraordinary hatred.

"Captain Sakumo, that woman from the Sand is terrifying," said a young man with painted markings on his face.

This was Gaku Inuzuka, an elite of the Inuzuka clan and a trusted subordinate of Minato, assigned to this mission.

Hearing this, Sakumo glanced to the left, where he could glimpse Pakura moving among the trees. The Sand and Leaf forces advanced in parallel but kept a certain distance between them.

The initial intent of their cooperation was good, but reconciling old grudges between the two sides was not easy, hence the distance.

From a cooperative standpoint, this approach was not ideal, but Sakumo couldn't dictate the Sand's choices and accepted it.

"She's venting her hatred in the wrong way. It's meaningless," Sakumo said flatly.

Killing the enemy should be enough; wasting time on the corpses was pointless. In a battle, every second counts and could mean one more enemy down, potentially sparing one's own side from harm.

Since he first took up his sword, Sakumo had one aim in battle: to kill as efficiently as possible.

While he understood Pakura's actions, he didn't agree with them, even if Sand had endured a nightmare that night.

Sakumo led the team in a V-shaped formation with wings extending to both sides, positioning members of the Hyūga clan in the center and on both flanks.

Near the center, close to Sakumo, was Hizashi Hyūga, who maintained his Byakugan as they moved forward.

Listening to the conversation between Sakumo and Gaku Inuzuka, Hizashi remained silent.

Most of the Leaf shinobi present were prominent Jōnin, with many from notable clans, including familiar faces to Ye Zi: Ninashi and Kōri Uchiha.

If Ye Zi were here, he'd easily notice the changes in these two siblings, especially Kōri, whose temperament had clearly improved—calmer and less prone to rashness.

Her older brother, Ninashi, had always been calm and composed, now even more so.

As Uchiha elites, Fugaku placed high expectations on these siblings and hoped they would showcase the Uchiha clan's strength in this operation.

"I think it's foolish," Kōri said coldly.

Ninzoku shook his head slightly without replying.

"Hey, Shikuro, what do you think of that woman?" asked Shiozumi Nara, a young man with dark circles under his eyes, with a curious grin.

Shikuro Aburame, silent as ever, made no reply.

His reserved nature seemed to be a family trait of the Aburame clan. From the start of the mission, Shikuro hadn't spoken a single word, despite Shiozumi's continued attempts to engage him.

Shiozumi frowned in frustration, trying another approach. "Come on, Shikuro, say something. What do you think of that Sand woman?"

Shikuro remained silent.

"I mean, with a figure like hers, you have no opinion at all?"

Shikuro: "…"

Shiozumi's face darkened. "You think saying one word would kill you?"

Finally, Shikuro turned to look at Shiozumi briefly before looking away again in silence.

Shiozumi's face twitched as he rubbed his head in frustration.

"Focus," Sakumo's calm voice called out.

The first step was to clear out the Rain forces. The second would be to face the inevitable counterattack from either Rain or the Akatsuki.

The Rain shinobi they had encountered thus far were not particularly strong. According to Jiraiya's intelligence, the core members of Akatsuki were highly skilled individuals.

Sakumo doubted that their actions would go unanswered.

When they come, we'll kill them.

That was the other part of the mission.

Weakening and wearing down the enemy, that was the strategy.

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