The Storm Approaches

Several days later, Land of Iron, an underground stronghold.

The damp stone walls were covered in condensed droplets, and the air carried a pungent stench of rust mixed with sulfur. Dim yellow oil lamps swayed along the corridors, stretching the hurried figures of shinobi into long shadows. This was the temporary command center of the Shinobi Allied Forces. On the seventh day after the Five Kage Summit, the machinery of war was already running at full speed.

In the face of war, the Five Great Nations had set aside centuries of grudges and merged their respective shinobi forces into a massive allied army under unified command. The Fourth Raikage, A, served as supreme commander; his signature Lightning Release Chakra Mode seemed to still crackle in the air. The Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, served as chief frontline strategist, his small frame containing the world-destroying power of Dust Release. The Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, was in charge of logistics and medical care; her long hair and bold gambler's spirit had become the Allied Forces' most steadfast support. The Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumi, and the Fourth Kazekage, Gaara, each commanded a main force—one wielding seductive poisonous mist, the other an absolute Sand Shield.

The Allied Forces numbered more than eighty thousand troops, divided into five divisions corresponding to different functions: mid-range combat, close-range combat, long-range combat, combat special attack, and intelligence and logistics. This was an unprecedented union in shinobi history, the last hope born from despair.

The burly men of the Cloud Village and the stocky shinobi of Iwagakure stood shoulder to shoulder beneath the same banner. Though caution still lingered in their eyes, the weapons in their hands were no longer aimed at one another. Mist Village assassination squads and Sand Village puppeteers discussed quietly over sand tables, exchanging tactical gestures. The shinobi