The Two Great Ninja Villages Attack and Plunder

On January 10th, Konoha's 47th year, not long after the New Year had passed, Kumogakure, which had been fighting Konoha along the northeastern border for nearly three months, made a new move.

Taking advantage of Iwagakure's main forces being occupied with resisting the Konoha Allied Army on its southwestern and southeastern borders, the Third Raikage personally led forty thousand elite troops across the northern nations and launched a surprise assault on the Land of Earth!

Because Kumogakure attacked from directly east of the Land of Earth, Iwagakure was completely unprepared. Forty thousand Cloud Ninja swept straight in, capturing cities and territories within just a few days and occupying numerous towns. Kumogakure did not rush to push deeper, instead conducting broad sweeps of the surrounding areas and steadily advancing its front. The overall pace of the advance was not particularly fast.

A few days later, Iwagakure, having been caught off guard, finally reacted and urgently redeployed part of its forces for defense. However, even at maximum capacity, it could only draw ten thousand men from the border forces. The disparity in numbers was simply too great, and Iwagakure could not mount an effective defense. Though Kumogakure's offensive slowed somewhat, it continued to advance steadily and relentlessly.

Moreover, to avoid becoming bogged down in guerrilla warfare, Kumogakure looted and burned everything in its path. It also forcibly compelled civilians of the Land of Earth to migrate alongside its army, gathering them in towns to serve as human shields. The Rock Ninja forces retreated again and again, their morale utterly shattered. The deeper the Cloud Ninja penetrated, the greater the devastation they inflicted upon the Land of Earth. Clearly, Kumogakure had no intention of absorbing everything it occupied. It merely wanted to seize the land, even if the towns were left barren and