The Land of Stars' War Preparations

Konoha's towering wall was torn open by several earth-shaking explosions, ripped apart as easily as fragile building blocks, leaving a vicious breach dozens of meters long.

Shattered stone, splintered wood, and twisted metal shot in every direction. Smoke, dust, and firelight surged into the sky, staining it a dull gray-yellow.

The sentry towers on the wall were reduced to powder by the violent blasts, as if they had been made of paper.

Before the smoke had cleared, amid shrill whistles and murderous shouts, dozens of Otogakure shinobi surged in through the breach in the wall!

They wore uniform dark combat gear. Some had masks over their faces, while others were smeared with war paint. Otogakure Headbands were tied around their foreheads, their eyes cold and their movements swift. They were clearly well-trained elites.

The ones charging at the front were several shinobi with especially fierce auras and vicious eyes. Many among them had once been Konoha shinobi!

"Spread out! Act according to the plan! Create chaos! Kill anyone who resists! Don't disappoint Lord Orochimaru!" an Otogakure squad captain with a centipede-like scar on his face roared sharply, his voice filled with twisted pleasure and hatred.

He was the first to throw several Kunai bound with Explosive Tags, striking the base of a lookout tower near the breach with perfect accuracy.

Boom!

The lookout tower tilted in the explosion, collapsed, and smashed through the roof of a civilian house below. Smoke and dust spread everywhere as screams rang out on all sides.

Under the cover and leadership of this advance force, more Otogakure shinobi poured through the breach like a swarm of locusts. They quickly split into several groups and pushed deeper along different streets.

They were clearly quite familiar with Konoha's layout, and their targets were precise.

Key traffic nodes,