— Somewhere in Amegakure —
Four shinobi darted swiftly from tree to tree through a quiet, deep forest. Birds chirped overhead, undisturbed by the figures moving silently below. After traveling for a while, the group stopped near a tree and looked ahead—there stood a magnificent mansion, heavily guarded.
From their position, they observed the estate carefully. About 20 to 30 guards surrounded the mansion. Most of them had chakra reserves comparable to genin, while a few had chunin-level chakra.
As they crept closer, they used their ninja skills to silently eliminate the guards on the perimeter. Before entering the building, they sealed the bodies into scrolls to avoid detection.
The four masked shinobi entered the mansion through an open window. Inside, they exchanged brief nods, then split up—each heading to a different part of the house to complete their objective.
They moved quickly through each room, silently killing guards. In under two minutes, all guards in the mansion were dead, their bodies sealed away in special scrolls. The group reunited at the point where they had entered.
They made their way into the largest room of the mansion, where a wealthy man sat with his family, enjoying dinner. The family froze in terror at the sight of the intruders.
One of the shinobi stepped forward, drew a kunai, and placed it against the neck of one of the children. He threatened the father: give up all your money—or watch your family die.
Though shaken, the merchant complied and revealed the location of his wealth, begging them not to harm his family.
The masked leader gave a signal, and two of his teammates left to verify the merchant's claim.
— Five Minutes Later —
The two shinobi returned, confirming they had taken all the money and that the man had been telling the truth.
But what the merchant didn't know was that he had a 2 million ryo bounty on his head.
Without a word, the tallest masked shinobi—the leader—raised two fingers. The floor beneath the merchant and his wife morphed into deadly spikes that pierced them instantly, killing them.
At the same time, the children were knocked unconscious and taken far away from the mansion. The shinobi placed them safely at a distant location. Before leaving, they unleashed powerful fire-style jutsu, engulfing the mansion in flames to erase all traces of their presence.
Afterward, the four masked ninja vanished into the trees, eventually arriving at the mouth of a cave.
They walked deep into the cave for about five minutes, then removed their masks.
The leader, Arano, spoke first."We've been stealing from rich Amegakure citizens for a year and two months now. But that ends here. The Tsuchikage is dead, and our forces are being pushed back by Konoha in Amegakure. I heard three Konoha ninja fought Hanzo and survived—he even gave them the title Legendary Sannin."
He continued, "To prevent losing the war, Han and I will work together to defeat the Sannin. If we succeed, it will strengthen our position in the peace talks—and boost my reputation in the village."
The four shinobi talked a bit more before falling asleep. In the morning, Han and Arano set off toward the border between the Land of Earth and the Land of Rain—where the next battles would take place. The other two returned to Iwagakure, their mission complete.
— Several Months into the War —
Iwagakure's forces were pushed back to the border. A river now flowed between them and the Land of Rain. Iwa ninja planned to use it as a natural barrier against Konoha's advance.
After the Tsuchikage's death, Iwagakure fell into disarray. The clans couldn't agree on a strategy, and the leadership was fractured. To bring order, a temporary council was formed, made up of elders and clan leaders. They agreed: the war was likely lost. The plan now was to hold the line and wait for Konoha to propose peace.
However, peace would come at a cost. Onoki informed Arano that before they could negotiate a fair treaty, they needed a symbolic victory against Konoha.
So Arano and Han traveled through the Land of Rain for several days, moving cautiously through the forested terrain, aware of traps and enemy shinobi.
Luckily, their journey was uneventful—until they reached the battleground where the Sannin were last seen. Thanks to their intelligence unit, they knew the Sannin were coordinating their attacks on Iwa's main force.
— Later, in the Forest —
Three shinobi were packing their gear. Tsunade and Jiraiya chatted about the ongoing conflict with Iwa, while Orochimaru stood silently, sensing something nearby.
He suddenly glanced at his teammates, who understood immediately: enemies were near.
Arano and Han emerged from hiding.
"Be careful—the one on the right is a Jinchūriki," Orochimaru warned.
"Yes," Arano responded, "Han, Jinchūriki of the Five-Tails. But he's not your only problem today."
Suddenly, the ground beneath the Sannin sharpened into deadly spikes. Though caught off-guard, the Sannin leaped away just in time.
Han, behind Arano, charged up a Bijuu Dama and fired it toward them. Orochimaru quickly summoned Triple Rashōmon, three massive iron gates. The first two were destroyed by the blast, but the final one held, shielding the Sannin.
Orochimaru summoned a 10-meter snake to strike Han. At the same time, Jiraiya launched a massive fireball and charged at Arano. Tsunade attacked from another angle.
Arano countered by forming a massive earth wall, blocking Tsunade's path.
Jiraiya, now close, hurled the fireball. Arano finished forming a Dust Release cube and threw it at him. Jiraiya narrowly dodged it, having already activated Sage Mode.
Tsunade shattered the wall with a powerful punch. Meanwhile, Orochimaru was struggling—Han had crushed the snake, forcing Orochimaru to use high-level jutsu just to survive.
Arano condensed several metal spheres from the earth and hurled them at Jiraiya. In response, Jiraiya hardened his hair to shield himself.
Tsunade summoned Katsuyu, who began healing her team.
Orochimaru summoned a hundred snakes to overwhelm Han. But Han activated his Version 1 tailed beast form—a cloak of dense chakra that boosted all his abilities. He launched another Bijuu Dama, wiping out the snakes.
The battle dragged on. Both sides grew tired. The Sannin couldn't land a decisive blow. Arano and Han, while unable to defeat them, maintained the upper hand.
Realizing they'd soon be at a disadvantage, the Sannin launched one final coordinated attack, then retreated.
Arano and Han did not pursue.
Arano had succeeded.He had held his ground against the Legendary Sannin—and that was the victory Iwagakure needed.