Battle (Part 1)

The Land of Lightning is located in the northern reaches of the continent, tucked away in a remote, desolate corner.

In truth, aside from the Land of Fire, which possesses the most fertile soil, the other four great nations are all rather unfortunate.

There is no need to elaborate on the Land of Lightning; its steep, rugged terrain forces their residents to build their homes halfway up the mountainsides.

Every day, one fears that a restless turn in their sleep might send them tumbling down the mountain—a slight exaggeration, perhaps, but who in their right mind would choose to sleep on a cliffside?

This harsh environment has made the people of the Land of Lightning inherently martial—they wouldn't survive otherwise—and they use the excuse of "physical conditioning" to willfully ignore the severity of their surroundings.

But if one were to be honest, do the people of the Land of Lightning not wish to live in the heart of the continent like Konoha, eating well and sleeping soundly?

Of course they do.

It is a pity that as long as Senju Hashirama lived, they dared not make a move.

Later, after extensive inquiries, they received a piece of news.

That damned, insufferably arrogant God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama, seemed, perhaps, likely, maybe, to be dead...

Lacking definitive proof, they could only continue their investigation.

Then, they began to uncover various clues.

For instance, business at the Konoha casinos had been sluggish lately because a certain "Big Fat Sheep" had stopped showing up.

While Senju Hashirama's Transformation Technique would certainly not be seen through, the casino's ledger could not lie.

Not to mention that several of those establishments were actually run by spies from other nations.

Perhaps this wasn't enough? Maybe it was just a normal fluctuation?

Then, the child living in Senju Hashirama's household moved out.

Well, Yuya, already eleven years old, was no longer a child.

This could not be used as a definitive judgment either, so they continued to observe.

Then they discovered that Senju Tobirama had stopped visiting Senju Hashirama's residence. (After all, with only the sister-in-law at home, he could not barge in as he once did, lest he invite suspicion.)

Although Uzumaki Mito remembered Senju Hashirama's instructions and kept her mourning clothes strictly within the house, hidden from prying eyes, these various clues were enough for the people of the Land of Lightning to confirm one thing.

That is, even if Senju Hashirama was not dead, his condition was certainly not right.

Since that was the case, they might as well give it a try.

In any event, they were sick of that godforsaken place they called the Land of Lightning; if they failed, they could just let the enemy take that wretched land.

Thus, as the spring of the seventeenth year of Konoha came to an end, the Land of Lightning launched an offensive against Konoha.

One month later:

"Hey, do you really think any enemies will come through here?" Hyuga Kazuko, who was about the same age as Yuya, glanced at him and spoke with dissatisfaction.

Yuya looked at the map in front of him and shook his head: "This is the rear guard. Although the Land of Lightning declared war, it doesn't mean we can only play defense."

They were currently located between two cliffs in the northern part of the Land of Fire.

The only way to cross was via a single iron-chain wooden bridge.

The mission for their squad was simple: if those retreating from the front lines between Konoha and Kumogakure were their own people, they were to let them pass, but if they were Kumogakure forces, they were to blow up the chains.

Explosive tags had already been plastered across the surface of this sole bridge.

Rou Uchiha glanced at Hyuga Kazuko, a faint, disdainful smile appearing on her face: "Don't you have the Byakugan? Why don't you use it to take a look?"

The rivalry between the Uchiha and the Hyuga had previously been suppressed by the Hyuga because of the presence of Madara Uchiha.

But after Madara Uchiha was ostracized by the Uchiha clan and left to stir up a massive storm, the Hyuga clan felt they were back in the game.

It's not like you could produce another Madara Uchiha, right?

Of course, the adults still greeted each other with smiles, but among the children, the education they received was that they must not lose to the other side, no matter what.

Children at this age are at a critical stage of forming their worldviews, and such teachings were bound to lead them astray.

Of course, if you were the type to take your four-year-old son to the battlefield, then consider my words as nothing (Fugaku: Stop calling me out, stop calling me out).

Yuya turned a deaf ear to the bickering between the two little brats.

Just then, a young woman wearing a ninja mesh shirt paired with a leather jacket, her hair tied in a ponytail, walked over: "How is it, Yuya? You've been staring for a long time—are you still worried about the front lines?"

This beautiful woman was none other than Senju Tobirama's secretary.

Because of the high regard he held for Yuya, and because he had to be on the battlefield, Senju Tobirama had assigned his most trusted aide to lead Yuya's squad.

Furthermore, for the sake of safety, he specifically had Yuya's squad handle simple tasks.

Take this bridge-watching mission, for example; you could say it was important, but it wasn't exactly critical. Yet, you couldn't say it was unimportant... if the Konoha front line were to collapse, their role in blocking the enemy's advance here would be a significant contribution.

Senju Tobirama's plan was indeed sound.

However...

Yuya sighed and nodded: "As for this place, it's not the guys from Kumogakure that I'm worried about, but the people from the Land of Water."

The secretary was stunned: "The Land of Water? Aren't they our allies?"

Yuya was speechless; was Uncle-Master Tobirama's secretary really this naive?

Could allies even be trusted in this day and age?

Were there really so few instances of allies stabbing each other in the back?

Just then, Yuya heard movement coming from the opposite side of the bridge.

A line of Konoha ninja came sprinting from the other side.

Yuya saw them clearly; these Konoha ninja moved with great speed and swift steps, but the key point was that every time they stepped on the ground, they left a deep crater behind.

Yuya's pupils constricted sharply, and he immediately stood up, holding a kunai aimed at the five Konoha ninja who had already run onto the iron chains from the opposite bank: "Stop! Stop immediately! If you don't stop, I'm triggering the explosive tags!"

The iron chains were only a little over a hundred meters long, and as long as his eyesight was fine, Yuya could tell something was wrong.

The young secretary also frowned and stepped in front of Yuya: "Halt! Give the code! Otherwise, we will be forced to attack!"

The five figures showed no intention of stopping, and the young secretary hesitated for a moment, but Yuya didn't pause at all, immediately forming hand seals: "Explode!"

With a loud "boom," the iron chains were blown into two segments, and the five ninja who had just reached the middle of the chains stopped pretending; as the smoke from the Transformation Jutsu dissipated, their true forms were revealed.

They were a group of guys wrapped in black clothes and blue robes.

"Water Shadow Guard?!" The young secretary was shocked, but it was already too late; those five ninja leaped directly from the bridge, and then...

They simply fell down.

Nonsense, how could they possibly jump across a distance of several dozen meters just by leaping?

However, their mission was already accomplished, because before they fell off the cliff, they threw out the Sealing Scrolls.

Five scrolls unfurled in mid-air...

The young secretary watched the scrolls unfolding high above with a nervous expression, and then, an overwhelming torrent of water gushed out from the scrolls, surging toward their small squad...

While in the air, these water currents gradually shifted shape, turning into conical spikes, simultaneously hardening into solid ice crystals, and then...

They shot toward the four of them—the young secretary and the three others—on this side...