Surprise Attack

Forests blanketed in dense trees were the defining landscape of the Land of Fire, and for that reason, the Land of Fire was richer than the other four nations.

Dark figures leaped between the towering trees.

Early that morning, Danzo and the others had finished preparing and stealthily made their way toward Si Ming Mountain.

Watching the Uchiha obediently keep watch over their surroundings, Danzo nodded in satisfaction.

Though their faces still carried arrogance and deep disdain for those around them, it was enough that they obeyed orders.

The warning he had given Fugaku the night before had been somewhat effective.

Just then, Hizashi Hyuga beside him suddenly spoke. "There are traces of ninja ahead. They should be from Kumogakure."

Through his Byakugan, he had already noticed the signal sent by the Uchiha scouting ahead of the group.

"Confirm their exact location," Danzo said. They were nearing Si Ming Mountain, so the appearance of Kumogakure ninja was no surprise.

Hizashi nodded. Several figures beside him swiftly moved toward the front of the group.

The entire force halted and waited for a while before the few Hyuga clansmen who had left returned.

"The enemy is not far ahead. At the squad's current speed, we can catch them in roughly three minutes. They haven't noticed us, and their numbers are less than one-tenth of ours," one Hyuga ninja reported.

Danzo nodded and calmly glanced at the others around him.

Familiar faces waited one after another for his orders.

A chill flashed through his eyes as Danzo spoke directly. "All units, catch up to them. Surround and eliminate them. No survivors are necessary."

"There is no need to conceal ourselves either. Go all out."

"But there are quite a few of them. Won't that expose our whereabouts?" Hizashi Hyuga asked doubtfully.

Danzo shook his head and responded, "It's fine. We're already close to Si Ming Mountain. With this many people, even if we don't kill them, our traces won't stay hidden for long."

"We should use this chance to weaken their forces as much as possible."

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

The sounds of air splitting rang out one after another. At Danzo's signal, those around him continued speeding toward the enemy's position.

With the battle underway, Danzo looked at Might Guy, who was eager to rush out, and said, "A Kai, stay by my side and serve as my guard."

At his current strength, it would still be somewhat difficult for him to protect himself in this war.

Aside from Skill Points, one reason he had recruited Might Guy was to have him protect his safety.

Like his father, Might Guy had mastered the Eight Gates. As long as he regarded Danzo as a friend, he would naturally risk his life to protect him.

"But..." Might Guy looked toward the flames rising ahead, unwilling to accept it.

Right now, he wanted to earn military merit and make a name for himself, so that the entire ninja world would know Konoha's proud Azure Beast.

Seeing Might Guy's expression, Danzo knew he was unwilling and explained, "The commander-in-chief is the core of the entire force. Protecting me is the key to this war."

"Besides, these people are only Kumogakure's advance force. They're nothing but small fry."

"When we face Kumogakure's main force, even if you want to remain at my side as a guard, I'll order you onto the battlefield to kill the enemy."

Those words calmed Might Guy's restless heart somewhat. He answered, "Yes! I will definitely protect Lord Danzo!"

Hizashi beside them gave Might Guy a strange look. He did not understand why Danzo paid so much attention to a commoner.

Might Guy was a ninja who specialized in taijutsu and was also a special jonin. As the Hyuga Clan, a family renowned for taijutsu, they naturally knew of him.

But a commoner was still a commoner. No matter how hard he worked, he could not keep up with clan descendants like them, who possessed the Byakugan bloodline and a thousand-year inheritance.

Ahead, enormous crashes rang out, accompanied by chaotic shouts and cries for help.

The commotion caused by all kinds of ninjutsu was no small matter.

Knowing there was no hope, the Kumogakure ninja shouted at the top of their lungs, trying to draw the attention of other nearby units with their voices.

By the time Danzo strolled onto the battlefield, the fighting had already ended.

The stench of blood rushed at him, along with countless corpses strewn across the ground.

Under such overwhelming numerical superiority, this Kumogakure unit had no ability to resist at all, while their own side had suffered almost no casualties.

"Hizashi, have your people scout out the locations of the other Kumogakure forces." Danzo instructed Hizashi Hyuga, then told the others, "Replenish your equipment from the corpses. Once the Hyuga Clan finds traces of the enemy, depart immediately."

"We'll fight our way to Si Ming Mountain and meet that old man Dodai."

The ninja who had experienced war before regained their lost fighting spirit, while those who had only recently become ninja and had never seen war were fired up under the lead of those veteran ninja.

The overwhelming advantage in numbers only made them feel how powerful Konoha was, without allowing them to experience war's cruelty.

At the same time, the pride and confidence in their hearts began to swell.

"Yes!"

The entire army answered in unison, their earth-shaking roar especially conspicuous in this remote, somewhat barren region.

But there was no longer any point in hiding. The more exposed they were and the louder the noise, the more it would throw the Kumogakure forces hidden nearby into panic and force them to reveal themselves.

"What's going on?"

Though he was still some distance from Si Ming Mountain, the tremendous noise caught Dodai's attention. Frowning, he asked the Kumogakure jonin who had hurried into the tent.

The Kumogakure jonin reported with an ugly expression, "We've discovered traces of Konoha ninja, and there are quite a few of them. They're coming for us."

"Konoha?"

Dodai abruptly rose to his feet and glared at the Kumogakure jonin. "Why are Konoha's people only being reported now?"

The Kumogakure jonin explained, "They had been hiding before. Our people simply couldn't detect their traces."

"Useless trash!"

Dodai's eyes widened as he continued, "Order the other nearby units to stay alert. Send word to Lord Raikage that Konoha's people have reached the front lines and provoked war."

"Yes."

The Kumogakure jonin nodded and prepared to leave, but then heard Dodai continue, "Dispose of those scouts after this war ends. Trash that delayed the battle has no need to remain in this world."

Dodai's eyes were filled with coldness.

"Yes."

The Kumogakure jonin paused, but still nodded in response.

After the Kumogakure jonin left, Dodai was the only one standing in the tent, his expression shifting uncertainly.

Over the past few days, the Raikage's secretary Mabui had vaguely sensed that something was wrong and had dispatched small units here one after another. At the time, he had not taken it seriously.

But he had never expected Konoha's people to truly dare provoke war, or even strike first.

To act so decisively, provoking war the moment they arrived at the front lines—this was not that old man Sarutobi Hiruzen's style.