The aftermath of the previous battle weighed heavily on the clan, but Raizen didn't feel much pressure guarding the two mineral veins. Each day, he delegated the main defensive duties to Miyame and Amamiya Jane while training on the side.
Raizen's focus was split between physical conditioning and ninjutsu practice. His ultimate goal was to unlock the next level of the Eight Inner Gates, and that required relentless, year-round training. Alongside his stamina drills, he practiced Bing Dun—a powerful but difficult ninjutsu. For now, Raizen could barely control it, and the technique's true potential remained out of reach without constant practice.
While Raizen trained, the Warring States erupted into chaos. The Uchiha, Senju, and Hakata clans clashed openly, while the Hyuga and Shimura clans skirmished at multiple borders. Smaller clans weren't safe either—Amamiya and Ueshi were locked in a bitter struggle for survival, and Kashiwagi and Jane were preparing for a full-scale confrontation. Even wandering ninjas across the Land of Fire were being recruited by the major clans for constant missions.
What had once been a fragile peace was gone. The flames of war were spreading, threatening to engulf the entire country.
On the frontline, things progressed swiftly after Tiannan Mine. Over ten days, Patriarch Amamiya Gen led an ambush in Baotianman Canyon, striking the Ueshi clan hard and decapitating three of their Jōnin on the spot. For a small family like Ueshi, losing three Jōnin at once was catastrophic—their entire dozen-strong Jōnin corps had been halved in a single stroke.
Naturally, the Ueshi clan retaliated, mounting a ferocious counterattack against the Amamiya. On the fifteenth day, the two clans clashed at Zhushun Mountain—their first head-to-head battle. The fight was brutal, leaving both sides exhausted and yielding no decisive gains. The surviving soldiers retreated, and a tense stalemate settled over the battlefield.
Amamiya's position seemed stable… until disaster struck.
News arrived that Amamiya Aotian, a Jōnin of the family, had overreached during the recent victories. Greedy and overconfident, he fell into an ambush orchestrated by the Ueshi patriarch and died instantly. His death came with a siege of the remaining family ninjas in the valley.
"Ambushed?" Raizen muttered, a cold premonition crawling up his spine. He couldn't pinpoint the danger, only that something very wrong was unfolding.
Miyame, furious at the news, clenched his fists. "That Aotian fool! He ruined our advantage in a single move! Hate him, hate him!"
Amamiya Jane's voice, calm yet icy, cut through the tension. "A new battle is about to begin."
Raizen froze, his pulse quickening. "Wait—what did she just say?"
Jane repeated, her eyes on him. "I said a new battle is about to begin."
No, it wasn't that sentence… Raizen's instincts screamed at him. He pressed further.
Jane continued, still watching him: "It's the last part you should pay attention to: the patriarch has gone to rescue, and he took most of the clan's ninjas with him."
Raizen's heart skipped. Most of their trained ninjas… gone from the home front. The thought alone spread a cold dread through him.
A new storm was coming, and this time, the family's defenses would be perilously thin.
...
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