Coastal Frontline—
Shimura Danzō arrived at the battlefield with a group of men.
"Aburame Shiken, take your people and hold the first defensive line tomorrow. Wipe out every Hidden Mist ninja that attacks. Understood?"
Aburame Shiken didn't say a word. He turned and walked away.
Yeah, sure. Even if I'm a transmigrator with four teammates, we'd all be dead if I listened to you.
He mocked inwardly.
Danzō, however, took his silence as agreement.
After all, the last one—no, the last two—who resisted him, Uchiha Kamito and Hyūga Hiyasu, ended up like that.
Anyone who didn't resist in that way must be agreeing.
Aburame Shiken: Wow… just because I've got a better temper, you assume I agreed? Fine, fine. You don't have many days left anyway—I won't bother arguing with you.
After leaving the tent, Aburame Shiken headed straight to the Aburame camp.
The clan members immediately surrounded him.
"Shiken, what's the plan this time? Still farming resources?"
"Or are we going with a push strategy again?"
"Mining's great, but killing enemies is even better. When we go back this time, we'll probably earn another merit medal!"
"Alright, calm down, everyone."
Shiken stopped the crowd.
Otherwise, with hundreds of people talking at once, they'd never finish.
"This time, we take it slow. One rule: however many Hidden Mist ninjas come, we repel that many—but we must not end the battle in a single decisive fight."
He stated his plan.
"Got it."
"Understood."
No one really understood why something that could be finished quickly had to be dragged out.
But who was Aburame Shiken?
He was the man who led the Aburame clan to prosperity. Even if he told them to kill themselves, they might pause and wonder if they had misheard before refusing.
After briefly assigning positions along the front line…
As for tactics—
The Aburame only had one: swarm them with insects. If one swarm isn't enough, send thousands more. Eventually, the enemy will die.
Shiken then called over Aburame Shikuro and Aburame Shibi.
"These are the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist. Keep a close eye on them. Kill as many as you can."
"Understood."
"Do your best to eliminate them."
He handed over the intelligence.
With clan matters settled…
It was time to deal with that person.
It's been a long time since anyone dared to order me around.
...
Outside the Hidden Cloud Village—
Staring at the village emblem not far ahead, Hyūga Hiyasu's eyes widened.
"Oh my god… how did we end up here? I'm actually going to make history."
The other Hyūga clan members stared at the gates of the Hidden Cloud Village, swallowing nervously.
No way…
We actually snuck all the way into the enemy's headquarters.
What are we supposed to do next?
I have no idea.
"Prepare your ninja tools. Fame and glory await us right here, right now!"
"Yeah!"
Since no one knew what to do anyway…
If the boss says so, just follow.
Hyūga Hizashi, one of the few still thinking rationally, quickly grabbed Hiyasu.
"Hiyasu, you're not seriously planning to do that, are you? Listen—if a hundred of us charge in, we're just cannon fodder! Don't lead everyone to their deaths!"
"Relax. I know what I'm doing."
Come on, at least hide the stars in your eyes…
I don't believe you at all.
Just as Hizashi was about to say more, Namikaze Minato stopped him.
"Hizashi, don't worry. I'm here too. I'll hold Hiyasu back."
The stars in your eyes are even brighter, okay?!
Hizashi felt even more uneasy.
"Alright, everyone—prepare to move out."
Ninja efficiency was no joke.
In the blink of an eye, everything was ready.
Hizashi didn't even get another chance to interrupt.
He could only pray silently—
Sage of Six Paths, please… don't let anything go terribly wrong.
...
"Charge one more time! This time we'll definitely break through Konoha's position!"
"Yeah!"
"Charge!"
Wave after wave of Cloud ninja launched assaults on Konoha's defenses.
"Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld."
Konoha's Earth Release unit turned the land ahead into a massive swamp, greatly slowing the Cloud ninja.
Against the less offensively powerful Hidden Stone Village, sturdy Earth Release defenses worked well.
But against the highly aggressive Hidden Cloud Village, even small slowing techniques were enough to make them miserable.
And on top of that—
"Hyūga Unit One, fire!"
Hyūga Hiashi commanded loudly.
"Yes!"
Rows of precisely timed exploding-tag kunai shot out, embedding themselves among the slowed Cloud ninja.
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—
Massive boulders flew from behind the Cloud forces, smashing toward Konoha's lines.
"Chōza!"
"Super Expansion Technique!"
Akimichi Chōza led a group of clan members as giant figures rose from the ground.
"Super Power Fist!"
Punch after punch, the giants shattered every incoming boulder.
Behind Konoha's lines—
A blue-haired ninja began his hunt.
"Spirit Transformation Technique."
Several Konoha shinobi guarded him.
It was Konoha jonin, Katō Dan.
"Ahhh!"
"Ahhh!"
"Ahhh!"
Cloud ninja charging the front began collapsing in batches.
Compared to their physical toughness, their defenses against soul attacks were far too weak.
The Cloud unit leader's eyes split with rage.
"Retreat! Fall back! Konoha's invisible assassin has struck again!"
No trace, no form—completely unseen.
For a time, the Cloud believed Konoha had produced another master of invisibility techniques.
The Cloud forces quickly withdrew.
Today's battle ended there.
...
Cloud Camp—
"Lord Raikage, this won't work! We can't break through at all! Those Konoha ninja are disgusting—slowing us down, attacking from range, and there's that invisible assassin! If they'd just fight us head-on, I guarantee we could take their position in a single day!"
The defeated unit leader vented loudly.
"That's enough. What are we doing here? This is war. Should we go beg Konoha to fight us head-on?"
Dodai snapped.
Already irritated, and now this—of course he'd lash out.
"But this fighting style is just too frustrating!"
The leader couldn't take it anymore. Were Konoha ninja even men? Always relying on dirty tricks—if this were the Hidden Cloud Village, their ancestors would be cursed for eighteen generations.
"Dodai, don't be too harsh. The men have been fighting under pressure these past days."
The Third Raikage saw it all and felt it deeply.
His subordinates went out proudly every day, only to return battered and humiliated. Anyone would struggle with that.
"Lord Raikage, the real problem is our rear isn't secure. We can't commit all our forces to the front. For days now, our reconnaissance teams haven't captured a single infiltrator. All we know is that a group of Hyūga ninja is hiding somewhere in the Land of Lightning—nothing more. Under these conditions, how can I risk a full-scale assault on Konoha's position?"
Dodai was deeply frustrated.
Cloud's combat strength wasn't weak—but no matter how strong you are, it doesn't matter if you can't even reach the enemy.
They couldn't catch the infiltrators, and they couldn't break the front lines.
What was he supposed to do?
In such a massive Hidden Cloud Village, Dodai didn't even have anyone he could truly discuss this with.