The Heir is Frail, You All Must Exert Yourselves

Sarutobi Hiruzen stood quietly at the front of the plaza, his posture upright and his gaze resolute. Before him stood five thousand elite ninja, each with eyes burning bright, radiating an aura of fearlessness. They were clad in Konoha tactical gear, blades at the ready, prepared at any moment to charge into the fray.

"Where the leaves of Konoha dance, fire shall burn. The firelight will continue to illuminate the village and allow new leaves to sprout. Everyone, we are about to embark on a journey to face Sunagakure. May you all return in triumph." Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke of the Will of Fire, stirring the morale of the Konoha ninja.

His voice was low and powerful. "Sunagakure comes with aggressive intent, Iwagakure is sharpening its teeth in the shadows, and even Amegakure has become arrogant, declaring war on Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and our Konoha all at once. Now is the time to show them our strength. In this battle, we must defend the dignity of Konoha and protect our home!"

"Protect our home!"

"Protect our home!"

Five thousand ninja shouted in unison, their voices echoing throughout Konoha. In that sound lay the passion for battle and the thirst for victory.

"Very well, assemble and move out!"

Early morning. Sunlight spilled over the gates of Konoha.

Hatake Sakumo took the lead, guiding Tsunade and two thousand ninja out of the village, heading toward the Sunagakure front in the Land of Rain.

Following them, two thousand ninja led by Danzo, with Orochimaru and Jiraiya as support, also advanced in an orderly fashion along their planned route.

Compared to Hatake Sakumo's strategy of heading straight for the Land of Rain to pressure the Land of Wind, Danzo's group prepared to pass through the Land of Grass, clearly intending to strike directly at Amegakure—a strategy of capturing the ringleader by capturing the bandits first.

Meanwhile, Nawaki also headed to the battlefield with the main force. However, he did not follow his sister Tsunade; instead, as a subordinate and disciple of Orochimaru, he accompanied Danzo toward the border between the Land of Grass and the Land of Rain.

Upon officially arriving at the buffer zone of the Amegakure front in the Land of Grass, Nawaki, as a member of the Konoha vanguard reconnaissance team, charged at the very front of the squad.

Just as they were preparing to infiltrate the enemy's temporary camp, they ran head-on into an Iwagakure surprise attack squad that was also passing through the Land of Grass, though their objective was to invade the Land of Fire.

"Attack!"

"Earth Style: Flying Pebble!"

"Earth Style: Rock Cannon Technique!"

"Earth Style: Earth Dragon Spear!"

"Earth Style: Rock-Binding Staff!"

Without a word of exchange, the Iwagakure ninja, as if they had long anticipated encountering the Konoha group, launched their assault immediately.

A barrage of rocks flew toward the Konoha ninja like cannonballs, while numerous conical stone spikes erupted from the ground, thrusting toward Nawaki and his comrades.

"Earth Style: Mud Wall!"

Nawaki performed hand seals rapidly and pressed his palms to the ground. A high wall rose instantly before him, blocking the stone spikes and the majority of the rock projectiles.

Seeing the attack fail, the Iwagakure jonin wielding a rock-binding staff grew furious and hurled his weapon with all his might at the mud wall Nawaki had erected.

"To think you'd use Earth Style to oppose our Iwagakure—what a shameless brat!"

The rock-binding staff instantly shattered the defense of the mud wall and pierced straight through Nawaki's body.

"Just a brat after all. Trying to imitate a mighty tiger, only to end up a dead dog—it's hilarious! Hahaha!"

Watching the Konoha brat he had killed in one blow, the Iwagakure jonin's fleshy face twisted into a hideous expression as he roared with laughter.

"Getting carried away on the battlefield is a major taboo, you know~ Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"

It turned out that Orochimaru had appeared behind the Iwagakure jonin using the Body Flicker Technique, releasing several venomous snakes that bound the ninja. As the venom entered his system, the Iwagakure jonin slowly lost his vital signs.

Just as he was about to die, he saw the Konoha brat he had impaled with his staff transform into a puff of smoke, revealing itself to be a mere log.

His eyes widened. Realizing he hadn't managed to take down a single Konoha ninja, he departed this world with his eyes wide open in resentment, heading to report to the Pure Land.

The battle continued. In the forest, a dazzling array of jutsu erupted—stone projectiles, wind blades, fireballs, and lightning flashes—with secret techniques appearing one after another.

Relying on his already impressive Earth Style and the Water Style techniques gifted by Qi Luna—which he had mastered thoroughly—Nawaki wreaked havoc on the battlefield.

He used Water Style: Exploding Water Colliding Wave to create favorable terrain, then utilized Water Style: Wave Riding Strike in tandem with ninja tools and Earth Style to weave through the enemy lines, single-handedly forcing four or five Iwagakure ninja into a retreat.

The heat of battle surged through the air. Orochimaru watched his disciples fighting like fierce tigers on the battlefield, his heart filled with pride. A glimmer of admiration flashed in his narrow eyes before he turned his full attention to the duel against the two remaining Iwagakure jonin.

"Ninja Art: Hidden Shadow Multi-Snake Hands!"

Orochimaru's hands moved in a blur of seals. In an instant, several thick, massive snakes extended from his arms, lunging toward the Iwagakure ninja with jaws agape.

The two Iwagakure jonin dared not be careless, quickly performing Earth Style jutsu to raise sturdy walls of earth.

The snakes slammed into the walls with dull thuds, but the impact caused cracks to spiderweb across the stone.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"

Following this, Orochimaru took a deep breath and exhaled a fierce, howling gale.

The wind roared across the field, carrying sharp currents that instantly shredded the earth walls to pieces. The snakes Orochimaru had summoned took the opportunity to coil around one of the Iwagakure jonin.

Wind and snake worked in tandem, forming a powerful offensive that left the two ninja struggling to keep up.

"Earth Style: Earth Mound Dumpling!"

The other Iwagakure ninja seized the moment, using his jutsu to rip a massive boulder from the ground and hurl it violently at Orochimaru.

Orochimaru flickered out of the way with agile grace, simultaneously commanding the snakes to surround the ninja from different directions.

"Earth Style: Earth Dragon Spear!"

The other ninja, having broken free with his comrade's help, seized the chance to launch a stone spike attack. Orochimaru dodged with a Body Flicker, then dispersed the spikes with a blast of Wind Style.

Amidst the fierce exchange, Orochimaru relied on the exquisite coordination of his snake-style ninjutsu and Wind Release to maintain the upper hand. He kept the two Iwagakure ninja firmly pinned down, preventing them from breaking away to support their comrades and creating a more favorable combat environment for his disciples and subordinates.

However, the battle did not last long. Under Orochimaru's leadership, the Iwagakure surprise attack squad—consisting of over twenty ninja, including three jonin and six special jonin—was quickly annihilated by the Konoha forces.

Yet, the Konoha team paid a heavy price for this victory:

Three chunin were killed in action, five were wounded, and two of those suffered severe injuries that rendered them unable to continue fighting for the time being. One special jonin also died, and the others were all more or less injured. Only Orochimaru, Nawaki, another jonin in the squad, and the final medical ninja remained unscathed.

Soon, Orochimaru wrote down an intelligence report and summoned a small brown snake, instructing it to deliver the information back to the temporary camp headquarters.

He then directed the wounded to clear the battlefield and designated the least injured, most experienced special jonin to take charge of escorting the severely wounded back to camp once the cleanup was finished.

After making these arrangements, Orochimaru led the remaining three members of the reconnaissance squad, including Nawaki, to continue their original mission of gathering intelligence in Amegakure.

Not far behind the squad, Orochimaru stood on a tree branch, one hand resting against the trunk. Watching his adorable disciple charging toward the front lines, still brimming with energy, Orochimaru couldn't help but curl his lips into a smile.

Recalling how Nawaki had flexibly utilized Earth Release and the powerful Water Release ninjutsu left behind by the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, Orochimaru felt a surge of confusion. He wondered when his disciple had learned Water Release, a style he didn't typically excel in, yet he was equally pleased to see him grow stronger.

Perhaps because they had just won a battle, Nawaki, in the vigor of his youth, plunged headlong into an explosive tag trap. The violent blast sent the medical ninja collapsing to the ground in shock.

Seeing the necklace blown to his feet by the explosion, Orochimaru's pupils dilated in shock, his face etched with disbelief.

"Nawaki!"

Supplementary Note:

In the anime, there is a scene before Nawaki dies where Orochimaru kills an enemy wearing attire similar to Iwagakure ninja, so I have arranged for an Iwagakure ambush plot here.