The sun had barely risen when Tobirama's elite strike force of one thousand shinobi moved through the narrow ravine southeast of Kannabi Bridge.
Kannabi Bridge — the largest crossing over the Kusa River and the closest to Iwagakure — was the key to controlling the Land of Grass. Whoever held it controlled the supply lines. Tenchi Bridge, smaller and closer to the Land of Fire, held nowhere near the same strategic weight.
This ravine formed a straight artery from Kannabi Bridge toward the borders of Grass and Waterfall. Last night, while Hiruzen and the others recovered, ANBU scouts had confirmed Iwa's movement along this route.
Mist clung to the rocks, muffling sound and sight — It was a textbook ambush environment.
Tobirama raised his hand as Konoha elites melted into the shadows.
Hiruzen crouched beside Enma, who had transformed into his adamantine staff form. Sekikou perched behind him on a boulder while tightening his grip on his own bo-staff.
Below them, three thousand Iwa shinobi marched in formation, with the Explosion Corps at the center, escorting a convoy of supply carts. Above them floated Onoki, scanning the terrain with several Iwa scouts.
Tobirama lowered his hand.
"Now."
Hiruzen leapt from the ridge.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Four clones burst into existence mid‑air.
All five Hiruzen inhaled deeply.
"Goton: Dairendan no Jutsu! 五遁大連弾の術!"
Five elemental torrents — fire, wind, lightning, earth, and water — spiraled downward in a devastating helix.
The Explosion Corps reacted instantly.
"Protect the convoy! Boulder Formation! Shields up!"
Multiple layers of Earth walls rose, shielded by a Wind barrier. But the Hiruzen's five elemental jutsu countered each other's counters — fire burned wind, lightning pierced earth, water drowned fire.
The front ranks of Iwa were thrown into chaos, though the Explosion Corps and the convoy remained intact.
Onoki's eyes widened.
"It's you! Sarutobi Hiruzen!"
While Iwa and Onoki staggered, Tobirama flicked three marked kunai into the air.
FLASH.
He vanished.
Then reappeared behind Onoki, with his blade already descending down on his head.
Onoki's breath froze, as his already widened eyes expanded further.
'Hiraishin-giri…! Senju Tobirama...'
But before the strike could land, a hand intercepted Tobirama's wrist.
Mu materialized out of thin air. His chakra signature rising from zero to full in an instant.
His voice was calm, almost amused.
"Senju Tobirama. Did you truly think the same trick would work twice in one lifetime?"
Tobirama's eyes narrowed.
Mu continued as his free hand began to amass chakra:
"The world knows how you killed Uchiha Izuna. Did you expect us to stand still and wait for death?"
Onoki exhaled shakily.
"Tsuchikage‑sama…!"
Tobirama quickly twisted his wrist away and kicked Mu away while teleporting back to the ridge.
Mu floated beside Onoki while glaring down at Tobirama. He then ripped off the bandages where Tobirama's foot had touched him — the cloth was now marked with Hiraishin seals.
"Your Overconfidence is your weakness. You rely too much on Hiraishin, Hokage."
Mu raised his hands and called.
"Onoki."
Onoki followed suit forming a triangle seal.
Two small, compact, pristine white cubes formed.
""Jinton: Genkai Hakuri no Jutsu!""
Twin beams of white pillars descended on both ridges enclosing the ravine, erasing rock, earth, and any Konoha shinobi too slow to escape.
Tobirama's eyes widened.
"Hiruzen! Move!"
He teleported instantly, grabbing Hiruzen by the shoulder and pulling him out of the beam's path.
The ground where Hiruzen had stood was erased smooth, leaving behind nothing but dust particles.
Hiruzen's heart pounded.
"Sensei… thank you."
"There's no time for that."
Tobirama shook his head quickly as his voice cut through the battlefield.
"Konoha! Engage! Close the distance."
Konoha jonin surged forward, mixing into Iwa's formation to prevent Dust Release and long‑range bombardment.
However, the Explosion Corps responded with terrifying discipline as Onoki commanded.
"Explosion Corps. Close‑range protocol!"
The chunins retreated while jonins and special jonins stepped forward. Their fists were already glowing with explosive chakra.
Meanwhile, Sekikou spearheaded forward, ignoring the small cuts and burns as he hurled his bo-staff. Each strike savagely crushed the bones of Iwa shinobis, venting his anger and frustration from the loss of his partner. It did not take long for him to reach the core of Iwa forces, the Explosion corps.
His bo-staff swung towards an explosion corps jonin.
"Bakuton: Shōgeki Ken!"
The jonin met the bo-staff head on with a fist coated in explosion chakra.
BOOM!!!
Sekikou's body flew back, covered in smoke.
"SEKIKOU!" Hiruzen shouted as he pole vaulted toward him. "They can also detonate in close range—!"
Sekikou roared, as he rose back on his hand.
"GURAAAAHHH!! Then don't come into direct contact with their fist!"
Sekikou dropped the broken bo-staff as it fragmented into particles and pinched a hair out of his body. With a puff of smoke, the hair transformed into a new bo-staff. Without hesitation, he charged again, not carrying about the injuries that formed from his recklessness.
Hiruzen tried to stop him but an Iwa jonin intercepted him. He swung his staff with crushing force, smashing the jonin away.
Enma's voice echoed in his mind. "Hiruzen, let Sekikou go. If you stop him now... he won't be himself anymore even if he survives. He'll never recover"
Hiruzen creased his brows and clenched his teeth — then nodded. He too, held unresolved grudge to settle. He quickly searched and moved to takedown his next target.
"Hiruzen! Left!"
"Got it!"
Hiruzen and Enma fought like a single organism, covering each other's blind sights. A blur of acrobatic taijutsu and elemental jutsu continued bloomed as Hiruzen figure skipped from one target to another.
Explosion Corps shinobi detonated on impact, but Enma's adamantine body tanked the blasts, and Hiruzen's acrobatics minimized contact.
Tobirama, too, was a menace on the battlefield.
He knew that the flying targets, Mu and Onoki, were not an ideal target for Hiraishin. His kunai's reach was limited and they had better field of vision than him. So he decided to dismantle the army instead of taking down the generals.
His blue armor flickered across the battlefield, teleporting between kunai, cutting down Iwa shinobis before they could react. Every flash of Blue light left another Iwa shinobi collapsing.
Onoki gritted his teeth, as he grew hesitant of casting the dust release.
"He's too fast! We can't pin him down"
Mu answered in a cold voice as he formed a triangle seal.
"Then we repay the favor."
Mu formed a tiny Dust Release shape — no larger than a fist. And fired.
A thin beam sliced through the battlefield, erasing a boulder, a tree, and nearly a Konoha jonin.
Tobirama teleported the jonin away at the last second. He kept his eyes on Mu all the while taking action against the Iwa shinobis.
Hiruzen's breath caught as he too retreated.
"He can use Dust Release at that scale…?"
Tobirama's expression hardened.
"Precision Dust Release. He's controlling it better than expected."
Mu floated higher locking eyes with Tobirama. Their stare down continued for a minute until Onoki approached.
"Sensei, the Explosion Corps is down to seventy members. We should withdraw."
Mu didn't break contact with Tobirama. Though he did not show it. Mu spent more than half of his chakra reserves from deploying multiple dust release jutsu. He knew that extending the battle will do more damage than good for Iwa.
"Iwagakure! Fall back!"
Tobirama exhaled and signaled Konoha to stand down.
"Pull back! We've pushed them enough."
Hiruzen looked back at him with burning eyes.
"Sensei… we could pursue. We could—"
"No."
Tobirama coldly interrupted Hiruzen.
"Mu is waiting for us to overextend. And I will not waste lives."
Hiruzen frowned for a moment but quickly recovered his composure and bowed.
"Yes, Hokage‑sama."
Sekikou, battered and bloodied, only standing through the support of Enma, slammed his staff into the ground.
"Next time… I'll crush them."
Tobirama briefly glanced at him before turning away towards the retreating Iwa army.
The ambush ended in a stalemate with no clear victor. But Tobirama knew. KKonoha still had one reserve he had not yet deployed. And he still had one jutsu he had never used in war. The one that he's so hesitant on using that he did not even deploy during the Senju-Uchiha war. Now, he was considering its use.
A far bloodier phase of the war was about to begin.