Konoha front‑line main camp.
Inside the core command tent the oil lamp flickered dimly. The atmosphere was heavier than usual. Danzō sat frozen at the head seat, like a stone carving. A root division shinobi knelt at one knee before him, like a shadow, delivering the final briefing.
"...In the direction of Hanzō's residence. The intensity of the battle is still escalating. Our undercover operatives have detected violent spatial fluctuations, massive summoned beast chakra and large‑scale earth‑release, water‑release, poison‑release responses, all matching the ability profiles of the four targets."
Danzō's finger tapped unconsciously on the armrest, producing light clicks.
"Understood." His hoarse voice sounded. "Fish, it's time to bite‑hook."
He looked up. His gaze seemed to pierce the heavy oil‑cloth of the tent and fix on Sunagakure's camp in the distance. Deep in his eyes was cold calculation and a hint of desperate recklessness. That old hag Chiyo... she'd underestimated him.
"Send the order." Danzō's voice carried the iron‑blood of unchallengeable command. "Activate Plan A‑7. The entire force — go to highest battle readiness! All defence barriers open! All peripheral posts and hidden stakes, pull in to the inner lines! Abandon all forward strong‑points! Every shinobi, move to your pre‑assigned positions, hold fast! Defend to the death!"
"Yes!" The messenger shinobi saluted and departed.
The order raced through the entire Konoha camp. The ninja who had been dispersed, trying to rest, were jolted like a startled hive, instantly mobilising and dashing to their defence positions. One after another pale‑blue chakra fields rose around the camp's perimeter, forming multiple layers of protective barriers. Traps were reset, trenches deepened and reinforced. The atmosphere grew as if laden with lead.
"Danzō‑sama!" A jōnin staff officer burst into the command tent, face lined with worry. "The defence lines are pulled in too tightly, that means we've bound our own hands and feet! If Suna launches a large‑scale push, our room to manoeuvre will shrink greatly! Casualties…."
"Shut up!" Danzō cut him off sharply, his hawk‑like eyes sweeping coldly. "Do I need you to teach me how to wage war? Pulling in the lines, concentrating our strength, is the only way to counter a superior enemy force's surprise assault! As long as we hold the core camp, wait for the assassination team to complete the rescue, Suna will be defeated! This is strategy! Some sacrifice, necessary!"
He rose to his feet, his voice carried near‑obsessive confidence. "With me personally seated at the central command and given my skill and experience, together with the camp's defences, we can hold until victory! Execute the order!"
The staff officer was cowed by Danzō's presence, his lips twitching before he dared not speak further, head bowed and retreating.
Danzō stood alone before the large map, his finger pressing hard on the marker for the Konoha camp. His knuckles whitened with force. He muttered under his breath in a low, frenzied tone, "Chiyo... come on! I'll be right here waiting! Use your blood to pave the stairway for me up to the Hokage seat!"
In the tent only the flicker‑pop of the oil lamp and the increasing blare of mobilisation orders and wind‑rain outside remained. A storm deciding thousands of lives was brewing madly above this muddy field.
Woo —! Woo —!
The piercing, shrill alarm tore through the heavy rain curtain, echoing madly through the Konoha camp like the trumpet of death.
"Enemy attack! Major offensive by Suna village!"
"Northeast sector! Barrier under impact!"
"Southwest corner! Sensing numerous puppet chakra traces!"
Boom! Boom boom boom!!!
The earth‑shaking explosion thundered at the camp's perimeter. Suna's explosive‑tag traps triggered, or Wind‑Release jutsu slammed the defence barriers with giant roars. The pale‑blue barrier fields shimmered like water disturbed by dropped stones, veering wildly. Each boom made the hearts of the Konoha shinobi tremble.
"Hold! Strengthen the barrier squads!" An upper‑level shinobi yelled in the mud, guiding the few barrier‑operators left to push out chakra.
Lii lii lii —!
Next came a shrieking like locusts swarming the sky!
Countless darts plunged: poisoned senbon, spinning shuriken, kunai burning with explosive tags… like a rainstorm from the darkness outside the camp, they slammed into the quivering barrier! Clink‑clang of metal striking the barrier sounded like ice falling. The barrier instantly exploded with hair‑cracks, its light rapidly dimming!
"Wind‑release ninja! Blow away those damn ranged attacks!" Nara Shikashin's voice remained cold but rapid in the chaos. Beside him, several Wind‑Release jōnin sealed their hands.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Streams of strong wind gathered into greater gusts, roaring outward to send the flying ninja‑weapons off course. But Suna's ranged assault was too dense; still many shots leaked through the barrier cracks, inside the camp!
"Ugh —!"
"Psst!"
Screams erupted instantly in every corner of the camp. Caught unprepared, Konoha shinobi were struck and fell. The poison accelerated, their skin turning black in moments. Explosive fireballs shot up between tents, igniting supplies and painting fear‑despair across shocked faces!
"Don't panic! Medical teams! Get to the casualties! Others, face the enemy!"
"Damn it! Suna's zombie‑puppet units are on us!"
With a scream of fear a figure pierced through: from the northeast sector of the camp, through the short corridor opened by Suna wind‑ninja for the front line, countless puppet‑units of varying forms, joints cracking kak‑kak, crawled out like army of the dead from hell, trudging through the mud, shrugging off sparse arrow rain, smashing through the final weak point of the barrier!
These puppet‑units were mostly made of hardened wood and metal mixture, painted in bizarre colours, some holding blades, some spitting poisonous gas, some with arms transformed into rotary chainsaws! They advanced without fear of death, no sensation of pain, and were remotely controlled by Suna's puppet‑masters, crazily lunging at the nearest Konoha shinobi! In an instant the vast northeastern defence formation was torn open in a huge gash!
"Damn it! Stop them!"
"Fire‑release! Use fire‑release!"
"Earth‑release: Earth Wall! Block them!"
The Konoha shinobi rushed to respond, roaring and casting jutsu. Fireballs hit the puppet‑units, igniting the wood. Earth‑walls rose to block the puppet horde. But Suna's puppet‑units were far too many, and they advanced unrelentingly despite casualties! The sharp puppet blades cut through earth‑walls, slashed open Konoha shinobi bodies, the poison‑smoke spread, bodies kept falling.
The battle entered its most brutal slaughter in an instant!
And all this happened within mere minutes of Suna launching their full assault! Chiyo's opening move was thunderous and direct!
Near the camp's core area, close to the medical tent and the supply storage zone: Nawaki and Mikoto were with a small guard‐team protecting the supplies. The moment battle broke out, the explosive alarm startled them all.
"Here it comes!" Nawaki's face went pale, he gripped his kunai tightly, his leg still not fully healed. He positioned himself in front of Mikoto, anxiously watching the northeast direction where the shouts of battle grew fiercest.
Mikoto's expression was equally grave. Her crimson two‐tomoe Sharingan spun rapidly in the dim light, clearly picking up the distant scenes of barrier cracks, puppet horde assault, comrades falling. Her finger instinctively pressed the Flying Thunder God seal at the back of her neck. Ryo... must succeed...
However the situation deteriorated far faster than imagined!
"Not good! The northeast defence has been breached! The puppet‑units are inside!" A lookout chūnin rolled his way toward them, voice trembling with fear. "A shinobi brigade is pressing straight for the rear!"
"What?!" Nawaki was shocked. The northeast corner wasn't far from them! If it fell the enemy could reach the core zone quickly!
Almost at that instant a series of bone‑chilling "kak‑kak" and high‑pitched whistling rang from near to far.
Several sleek puppet‑units, joints cracking, painted purple, charged like sharks smelling blood—circled past the front battle zone, burst from flanking shadows and collapsed tents! Their target was the rear area that looked defensively thin, and had the medical tent and supplies!
"Damn it! They are infiltration‑type puppet‑units!" Nawaki recognised them at once: Suna's sinister type used to strike the rear and create chaos. He yanked Mikoto behind him. "No!"
At the same time he formed seals rapidly with both hands. "Earth Release: Earth Wall!"
Boom! A not very thick earth wall shot up, blocking the two puppet‑units ahead!
However the wall only lasted a moment. The two puppets' arms shot out into high‑speed chain‑saws, tearing the wall apart as if slicing tofu! The other two units skirted around the wall and swung their poison‑scythe arms toward Nawaki and Mikoto!
Too fast!
Nawaki's old injury hadn't healed fully; his movement was a beat slower! The poison‑scythe was about to slash his shoulder!
"Nawaki‑senpai!" Mikoto cried. Her Sharingan tracked the attack path. Her body instinctively moved to push him away... At the same time her finger pressed the seal behind her neck!
But Nawaki acted even faster!
"Don't worry about me! Inject chakra!" He roared like a beast, his eyes exploding with resolution! He completely ignored the poison‑scythe that was about to strike him, instead he used every ounce of his strength to slam Mikoto backwards a few steps, out of the flanking range! Simultaneously, he swung his remaining right arm up with the kunai in hand, forcefully parrying the poison‑scythe aimed at him!
Clang—!
The clash of metal and iron rang. Nawaki's arm shook violently, his palm instantly bursting open, blood gushing! The tremendous force sent him flying backwards! Though the poison‑scythe was deflected, the blade still scored a long slash across his left shoulder to his chest! Deep enough to reach bone! The skin around the wound blackened in an instant!
"Ugh—!" Nawaki screamed, collapsing into the mud. Pain and toxin made his vision go dark.
"Nawaki‑senpai!" Mikoto's heart clenched. She watched him in shock, his wound blackening, life draining away.
Her crimson Sharingan stared mercilessly at the advancing puppet‑units. The two‑tomoe in her pupils spun wildly! Ryo's words exploded in her mind: "...No matter how bad things look, first inject chakra into the seal at the back of your neck, full power injection!"
Without a shred of hesitation, as she pushed Nawaki aside and steadied herself, Mikoto's finger pressed the Flying Thunder God seal behind her neck! Inside her body, the chakra surged like an open dam, flooding in without reservation!
(To be continued.)