War Begins

A powerful wind blew apart the dark clouds overhead, revealing the sun that had been hidden behind them. Warm sunlight shone down on everyone.

Standing atop a boulder, Dodai did not send anyone else to attack. He merely ordered his men to surround the remaining Hyuga ninja.

He had already noticed the curse mark-like seals on these Hyuga descendants. Once they were killed, the seals would destroy the Byakugan in their bodies.

The remaining Hyuga descendants had to be captured alive.

The Kumogakure ninja responsible for the canyon reported, "Lord Dodai, all the Konoha ninja in the canyon have been eliminated."

Dodai nodded. Looking down at the Hyuga ninja who were still stubbornly holding on, he calmly formed hand seals.

"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall."

As his words fell, the ground beside the Hyuga ninja began to churn. Earthen walls burst from the ground, directly trapping them within.

"You few, seal them up and bring them back to the village first," Dodai said, pointing at several Chunin. The Jonin needed to remain as fighting strength, while the Genin were not strong enough. These Chunin were just right for the task.

The Byakugan was the true objective of this operation. War was only secondary.

The Chunin nodded and leaped into the valley, arriving before the Earth Wall formed by the Earth Flow Wall. They formed hand seals, preparing to use a sealing technique.

"Wind Style: Vacuum Great Sphere!"

Bathed in sunlight, a figure descended from the sky like a golden Buddha, crashing down upon the approaching Chunin with a tremendous gust of wind.

The immense pressure sent the Chunin flying, blood spraying from their mouths.

"Who is that?!"

Dodai frowned and looked toward the shadow beside the Earth Wall.

As the dust settled, the shadow gradually revealed its appearance beneath the sunlight.

"It's you! Shimura Danzō!" Dodai cried out, his eyes widening.

Why was it this old bastard?

They were both from the previous generation. Although Danzō's appearance had changed, Dodai recognized him at first glance.

"I didn't expect you to still recognize me. You do have some insight."

Danzō smiled as he spoke, then swept his gaze over the Kumogakure ninja around him. "Dodai, you old fool, you've really lived yourself backward. You need a numerical advantage just to bully some juniors?"

The Kumogakure ninja all watched Danzō at the center of the encirclement warily.

Danzō made no further moves. With his arms folded, he appeared completely unguarded, yet not a single Kumogakure ninja dared step forward.

They did not know Danzō, but his entrance had been far too imposing. Their commander was also treating him with unusual seriousness, looking thoroughly alarmed, and they could not help but speculate about Danzō's identity.

"I didn't expect you to be leading the team. It seems Konoha has truly made up its mind to go to war."

Dodai narrowed his eyes at Danzō below. Though he was looking down from above, for some reason, he felt as though he were looking up at Danzō.

This was not their first encounter. That old bastard Danzō was difficult to deal with.

Unlike Sarutobi, who had to take many things into consideration, once Danzō decided on something, he would pursue it ruthlessly.

That was why Kumogakure had lost no small number of men to Danzō during the Second and Third Shinobi World Wars.

To be honest, Dodai did not want to face Danzō.

"They've already started fighting. How could it be false?"

Danzō raised an eyebrow. "I originally intended to spend a little time playing with you, but since you've directly made your move, I won't be polite either."

As Danzō's words fell, dense shadows had already surrounded the Kumogakure ninja from the outside.

The Kumogakure forces stirred, all of them warily watching the Konoha ninja who had suddenly appeared behind them.

Dodai remained calm. Glancing at the encirclement behind him, he said, "Konoha should not have the capacity to go to war with Kumogakure right now."

"Hand over the three Konoha ninja behind you, and we can make peace."

"Heh."

Danzō could not help laughing. "Dodai, are your eyes so dim with age that you can't see the situation clearly?"

"Your troops are the ones surrounded by mine. If anyone should be seeking peace, shouldn't it be you paying the price?"

As he spoke, he spread both arms, his face full of calm ease.

"We truly didn't expect Konoha to still have the nerve to send troops."

Dodai shook his head with a smile. "The mighty Konoha wants to go to war, yet you sent so few men?"

"Has Konoha run out of people?"

"Ever since those two old Senju died, Konoha seems to have had a hard time."

No matter the situation, they could not lose in terms of momentum.

"You speak as if you have so many men yourselves."

As Danzō spoke, he reached behind his back and drew a long blade. Powerful Wind Style Chakra wrapped around the blade, cutting as easily as slicing tofu.

Danzō's blade effortlessly cut the Earth Wall into fragments.

Inside were only three Hyuga Clan ninja, the sole survivors of Hizashi Hyuga's entire team.

Upon seeing Danzō, the Hyuga ninja, whose nerves had been taut the entire time, finally relaxed and fainted.

"Take care of them."

After instructing a nearby Root Ninja, Danzō looked regretfully at Dodai ahead of him and continued, "Don't tell me you're still waiting for your Raikage to send you reinforcements?"

Dodai's expression hardened. He said coldly, "What exactly are you trying to say? Stop beating around the bush."

"You don't know yet, do you? The Land of Fire has formed an alliance with the Land of Water. The Mist ninja are now gathering at another border of your Land of Lightning."

"How many men do you think the Raikage can still send to support you?"

When it came to trading verbal blows, Danzō believed he had never lost to anyone.

Sure enough, his words made every Kumogakure ninja, including Dodai, change expression drastically.

Keep talking. Didn't he know villains died from talking too much?

Seeing Kumogakure's morale sink, Danzō nodded in satisfaction. "I'll give you one chance. Seal your own Chakra and surrender, and I'll spare your lives."

Although he now possessed power, winning without a fight would still be the best outcome.

Dodai's face looked grim. Danzō's words sounded familiar. Wasn't that exactly what he had just been telling the Hyuga Clan members?

"I'll only give you one chance. If you won't surrender, then forget it!"

Dodai did not answer for a long while, only staring at Danzō with an ugly expression.

Danzō did not care. He had never expected to take down this Kumogakure force without expending effort.

Before he had activated his skills, he only wanted to rely on strategy and achieve victory with the smallest possible losses.

But things were different now. Danzō no longer needed to consider such matters. The enhancements he gained after activating his skills were not limited to the effects displayed by those passive and active skills.

His attributes had also increased during this skill activation.

As his attributes rose, the improvements to his body and mind allowed him to begin matching this body, giving him more flexible control over it.

Whether he used ninjutsu, taijutsu, Blade Technique, or anything else, he was no longer as sluggish as before.

As Danzō finished speaking, his eyes filled with sharpness. He directly activated the Sprint skill, gaining a 20% speed boost and S-rank speed that would last for an hour.

QwQ, I originally wanted to diss it a little in the synopsis, but since you weren't satisfied, I changed it. I'll delete that comment too.