At the border of the Land of Grass before dawn, morning mist lingered. The only sound in the silent forest was the rustling of leaves in the wind.
Four thousand Konoha's Ninjas and six thousand Sunagakure's Ninjas moved like ghosts, their footsteps disappearing into the rustling of grass and leaves.
Setsuna walked at the very front of the formation. As they neared the Iwagakure's camp, he suddenly stopped, closed his eyes, and listened to the sounds in the air.
"Two kilometers ahead. Three Iwagakure's sentry posts." Setsuna opened his eyes, his gaze as bright as starlight in the night sky. "Each post has a patrol team of twelve."
Pakura asked in surprise, "You can sense even that?"
Setsuna's tone was calm. "The sound of breathing, the sound of heartbeats, the tremor of muscles. When you train your Taijutsu to the extreme, the whole world whispers its secrets to you."
He was still far from reaching Master Jiro's level, but sensing the airflow for several miles around was no problem.
The Iwagakure's sentry on the front line was yawning when he suddenly felt a chill on his neck.
His eyes widened in terror, but he couldn't make a sound. Setsuna's finger had precisely struck his pressure point.
The sentries at all three posts were neutralized within minutes. No blood, no signs of struggle. It was as if they had suddenly fallen asleep.
"Is this... pure Taijutsu assassination?" A Sunagakure's Anbu swallowed hard in fear, then grew excited.
Such a powerful monster was a nightmare as an enemy, but as an ally, he was incredibly reliable.
The Iwagakure's camp was stationed deep within the Land of Grass. Kitsuchi, the Tsuchikage's son, stood inside a temporarily erected command tent, reviewing the latest reconnaissance reports.
Although most Sensory Ninjas had remained in Iwagakure, the Tsuchikage had still assigned a small number of Sensory Ninjas to this army.
In Kitsuchi's view, Sunagakure's had just suffered a devastating blow, Konoha was dispersing its forces to fight on three fronts, and the two allied forces still needed time to integrate. An active attack in the short term seemed impossible.
'Perhaps I should launch a surprise attack myself,' Kitsuchi pondered his options. 'They are still in the integration phase, a surprise attack might cause them to fall into disarray-'
However, at that very moment.
Boom!
A deafening explosion suddenly erupted from the camp's perimeter. The ground shook. Iwagakure's Ninjas were instantly jolted awake from their sleep.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
The alarm cries from the night watch pierced the night sky, but it was already too late.
The combined forces of Konoha and Sunagakure surged into the Iwagakure's positions like phantoms. Kunai, Wind Release, and Fire Release wove together into a net of death.
The disadvantage of lacking Sensory Ninja was now painfully apparent. The caught-off-guard Iwagakure's Ninjas couldn't even form a proper defensive formation before large numbers fell.
"How is this possible? They dare to attack us?" Kitsuchi roared as he charged out of the tent, only to see a figure already plunging into the heart of the battlefield. It was the man his father had called the new God of Ninja: Chiaki Setsuna.
Faced with the surprise attack, Iwagakure's rout seemed inevitable. Tsuchi immediately ordered a contraction of their formation while shouting, "Roshi! Han! Hold them back!"
Two figures instantly shot out from the rear. The Four-Tails' Jinchuriki, Roshi, was covered in scalding lava, while the Five-Tails' Jinchuriki, Han, entered his Steam Armor State. Both erupted with Tailed Beast's Chakra simultaneously, blocking the advance of the Konoha and Sunagakure's forces.
"Lava Release: Scorching Stream Rock Technique!" Roshi's hands formed seals rapidly. Dozens of blazing magma balls rained down on the allied forces like meteors.
Each magma ball contained terrifying high heat capable of instantly melting steel. If they landed among the troops, the damage would be devastating.
At the same time, Han's Steam Armor erupted with astonishing power. "Boil Release: Unrivalled Strength!"
The ground beneath his feet instantly cracked. His fist, wreathed in high-temperature steam, slammed towards the Sunagakure's Ninja at the forefront.
"Too slow." Setsuna's voice rang out across the battlefield.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Amidst a series of explosive reports, every single magma ball Roshi had released exploded mid-air one after another.
"What?!" Roshi's pupils contracted sharply.
He hadn't seen Setsuna perform any hand seals at all. He had merely thrown high-speed punches, shattering all the magma balls in an instant.
"This power and speed... truly terrifying-" Roshi instinctively looked towards Han. Han, with his Boil Release, was almost second only to the Raikage in terms of strength and speed.
In his line of sight, Han and Setsuna collided.
It was like two meteors crashing together. After a moment of stalemate, the figure shrouded in white steam was sent flying, 'plowing' a long, narrow trench across the battlefield.
"As expected, still not enough." Roshi sighed, then suddenly realized Setsuna had vanished from his sight.
"Above!" Roshi looked up sharply to see Setsuna had leaped high into the air, his right leg descending like a battle axe.
A vacuum slash, created purely by physical power, crashed down. The lava shield Roshi hastily raised was sliced open like paper. He was smashed heavily into the ground.
"Cough, cough…" Roshi climbed out of the deep crater, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth. His eyes finally showed terror, 'This guy... is even less human than us Jinchuriki.'
Han also got up from the sand. His Steam Armor had reformed, but the intense pain in his chest reminded him his injuries were serious. "We have to use that."
The two exchanged a glance and nodded simultaneously.
[Partial Tailed Beast Transformation!]
Blazing lava and boiling steam erupted simultaneously. Roshi and Han's figures began to warp and distort within the rampant Chakra.
A crimson Chakra Cloak enveloped Roshi's entire body, four lava-like tails dancing behind him. Han's Steam Armor partially fused with his flesh, features of Five-Tails appearing on his head, five pure white tails lashing out like steel whips.
The allied Ninjas stepped back one after another. Faced with Chakra pressure of this level, ordinary Ninjas struggled just to stand firm.
"Now this is more like it." Setsuna cracked his neck, the joints making crisp popping sounds.
A flash of anger crossed Roshi's beast-like pupils. He dropped to all fours, lava boiling over his body, and charged like a frenzied beast.
"Lava Release: Lava Impact!"
Han's steam jet propulsion instantly reached its maximum. His five tails stiffened simultaneously, and his entire body transformed into a white lightning bolt.
"Boil Release: Steam Detonation Fist!"
His right fist was completely enveloped in high-temperature steam, the air distorting in its wake.
Facing their pincer attack from front and back, Setsuna didn't even turn his head, merely thrusting his right elbow backward.
"Heart-Piercing Elbow."
The tip of his elbow struck Han's fist with precision. The shockwave generated by the collision of two immense forces lifted and threw the ground within a hundred-meter radius.
Han's Steam Armor groaned under the strain, the armor plates on his right arm shattering piece by piece.
"Impossible!" Han's pupils contracted violently. His Steam Fist was powerful enough to demolish a mountainside, yet it had been completely neutralized by a simple elbow strike.
As Han was sent flying back by the elbow strike, Setsuna used the recoil to surge forward.
A simple, unadorned straight punch was thrown. The fist collided with the lava-covered skull, producing a deafening roar.
Roshi's charge came to an abrupt halt. His lava shell cracked inch by inch.
Setsuna's fist sank deep into his face, denting the features protected by the Chakra Cloak.
"Pfft!"
Roshi spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with lava, flying backward even faster than he had charged.