Cloud Village encampment.
The Third Raikage smashed the table in front of him with a single strike.
"Damn it! What were those two thousand people even doing? Are they all useless? They actually let Konoha's ninjas cause such massive destruction inside Cloud Village—I'll cripple them all!"
"Raikage-sama, the priority right now should be how to deal with that Konoha squad still lurking around Cloud Village. This time it was just laxatives that damaged some facilities. Our casualties aren't high, but if we ignore them, who knows what they'll do next time?"
Dodai's expression was troubled.
These Konoha ninjas were disgusting.
When they had the chance to poison, they chose laxatives instead.
It was an obvious warning to Cloud Village:
We can do whatever we want inside your village at any time. If you keep focusing only on the front lines, just wait and see what we do next... heh heh heh.
"Raikage-sama, we must thoroughly purge Cloud Village—and even the entire Land of Lightning—to root out this Konoha squad. Otherwise, we won't be able to fully commit to the offensive."
Dodai analyzed the situation.
This was an open scheme.
Either you abandon Cloud Village and go all-out against Konoha, or you protect your village and temporarily give up the front-line offensive.
There was no real choice.
After all, who would abandon their own base just to invade another country?
???
Seeing that the Third Raikage still seemed reluctant, Dodai quickly added,
"Raikage-sama, the families of the frontline ninjas are all in Cloud Village."
That struck a nerve.
Yes.
He could risk everything to fight Konoha, but he couldn't gamble with the lives of his subordinates' families.
The Third Raikage gritted his teeth.
"Dodai, do it your way. Damn Konoha—fighting them has never once been smooth."
There was something he didn't say:
Can't you fight like real men, face-to-face with blades and blood?
...
On the Fire–Lightning battlefield, things fell into a strange calm.
Within the Land of Lightning, a massive internal sweep began.
On Konoha's side, Nara Shikaku saw that Cloud Village had stopped attacking and knew Hiyasu, Hizashi, and Minato had succeeded.
Now it was time to begin their plan.
"Third Raikage… my father and the others have been waiting for you for a long time."
...
Mist battlefield.
"Charge! A Konoha genin is worth ten thousand ryo, a chūnin one hundred thousand, a jōnin a million—charge!"
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
The Mist ninjas surged forward with overwhelming momentum.
The Hidden Mist Technique led the charge, and thick white fog instantly covered the entire coastline.
Hidden within the mist, the Mist forces launched their assault on Konoha's position.
Having learned their lesson after being utterly crushed by Uchiha Kamito last time, they no longer used the mist defensively.
This time, they used it offensively.
Let's see how Uchiha Kamito handles this now.
Unfortunately, he wasn't here at all.
It was like realizing mid-exam that you studied the wrong material—panic-inducing.
Two hundred meters behind the surface position, the Aburame clan watched the battlefield swallowed by fog.
Silently—
"Aburame insect swarm… deploy."
From the forward Konoha position, countless kikaichū burst into the air, flying in all directions.
Normally, they could locate enemies through heat detection.
But the Hidden Mist Technique lowered body temperatures, nullifying that advantage.
Still, it didn't matter much.
At worst, they'd just lose more insects.
The kikaichū swarmed wildly, exploding upon contact with anything.
No discrimination whatsoever.
Their accuracy was low, but their density was overwhelming.
The Mist ninjas within the fog were immediately thrown into chaos.
Within the endless white mist, flashes of fiery explosions lit up the darkness, mixed with splashes of red.
It was a strangely beautiful scene.
...
On another coastline of the Land of Fire.
Jūzō Biwa.
Fuguki Suikazan.
Raiga Kurosuki.
Mangetsu Hōzuki.
Jinpachi Munashi.
Kushimaru Kuriarare.
Jinin Akebino.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen had assembled.
The seven quietly landed on a remote shore and headed straight toward the Hidden Leaf Village.
"The Third Mizukage and Yagura are idiots. Why fight a ninja war on the battlefield? If we just kill the Hokage, the war ends. Why make it so complicated?"
Jūzō Biwa said while running.
Young and fearless—his thinking was simple.
"Foolish. A war doesn't end with one person's death. Killing the Hokage only throws Konoha's leadership into chaos."
Mangetsu said calmly.
Nara Shikaku, Aburame Shiken, Uchiha Kamito, Inuzuka Ryoha: Honestly, we don't even listen to the Hokage anyway.
"Doesn't matter. As long as I get a satisfying kill, I don't care why."
That was Jinpachi Munashi, wielder of the Explosive Blade.
"I wonder how it'll feel when my blade pierces the Hokage's body… hahaha."
That was Kushimaru Kuriarare, wielder of the Longsword.
"Complete the mission."
That was Jinin Akebino, wielder of the Blunt Blade.
Raiga Kurosuki remained silent.
Though they were nominally a group, these teammates all seemed unhinged. Better to keep some distance.
Fuguki Suikazan, meanwhile, watched the others carefully.
Maybe this time he could kill a few of them… and pass their swords to his trusted subordinates.
Shouldn't the Seven Ninja Swordsmen have a leader?
Though each had their own agenda, their objective was the same.
Konoha, stretched across multiple battlefields, must be hollow right now.
Hokage—we're coming.
...
Inside an underground cave.
"So? The intel checks out. When do we move?"
"Now. After we're done, we can head back to the main battlefield."
"Mm. You go first. I'll find a chance… maybe pick one off."
"Alright."
...
Above ground—
A black swarm of kikaichū surged out from the forest in all directions, attacking the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
"Not good—it's the Aburame clan! Defend!"
"Water Release: Water Iron Cannon!"
"Explode!"
The seven either used ninjutsu or their blades, shattering every incoming insect.