War Begins

Inside Konoha's main camp tent.

Danzo looked calmly at Fugaku and said with a smile, "It seems that because of the cooperation with Kirigakure, the Raikage has started getting anxious as well."

"According to the agreement, Kirigakure's people should only be waiting at the front lines. That alone shouldn't be enough to make the Raikage panic, should it?" Fugaku asked. He had met the Fourth Raikage once before.

In his impression, the Fourth Raikage was not only impulsive and hot-tempered on the surface; he was the same deep down. But that also gave him a brave and steadfast character.

Danzo smiled and explained, "It looks like Kirigakure wants a share of the spoils too. They've already begun attacking Kumogakure from their side of the border."

"What?" Fugaku was greatly shocked. When Ryoma had come to deliver the news earlier, he had not been inside the tent, so he had not known about it.

Danzo had just dropped another huge revelation, and it seemed he still had not informed anyone else.

"If Kirigakure truly agrees to send troops with us, perhaps we really will have a chance to occupy the Land of Lightning alongside them." Fugaku spoke eagerly. He could already envision the arrogant Kumogakure being destroyed by them and Kirigakure together.

Danzo shook his head. Fugaku was still too young. Or perhaps it was because the combat strength in this world was too high, so no one had studied the so-called art of war or tactics like those who came before.

"The Five Great Nations currently maintain a relatively stable balance. They restrain and support one another, and an accident in any one country will break that balance," Danzo said calmly.

"I don't know what people in the other countries think, but until we have sufficient reserves, I have no intention of breaking that balance."

Fugaku paused, then nodded as if he only half understood.

A day passed in the blink of an eye. It was still Si Ming Mountain, and the sky was as overcast as it had been some time ago.

This was the normal climate of the Land of Lightning.

Everything seemed to have returned to how it was a few days ago, except their positions had switched. Konoha occupied Si Ming Mountain, while Kumogakure's people were the ones attacking the peak.

Danzo stood quietly atop the mountain, gazing at a tiny black dot in the distance.

That tiny black dot was Kumogakure's army. Within his pupils, it steadily grew larger until human figures gradually became visible.

Si Ming Mountain was a strategic location with excellent terrain. Small peaks suitable for ambushes surrounded it on all sides, and one had to pass through a long mountain ravine to enter Si Ming Mountain.

Such a fine battlefield, yet Dodai did not know how to use it. If a modern person had been commanding, Danzo would have needed much more time to capture Si Ming Mountain.

"Have everything been arranged?"

Watching Kumogakure's troops draw closer and closer, Danzo asked Ryoma, who was waiting beside him.

"Everything has been arranged. As you ordered, a considerable number of Exploding Tags have been buried at designated locations on the surrounding peaks," Ryoma responded.

"Once Kumogakure's people arrive, they'll likely rest for a while before launching their attack. Send a few teams to harass them. Don't give them a chance to rest, and don't clash with them head-on. Run the moment you see anyone," Danzo added after giving it some thought.

The strategies in military manuals were not difficult to understand. The key was using the right strategy in the right place.

Danzo was not Zhuge Liang. He could not foresee everything.

He could only make preparations in advance based on his own judgment, then adapt as Kumogakure attacked.

Following Danzo's orders, ninjas who excelled in speed formed temporary squads under the leadership of Kakashi and A Kai, darting toward Kumogakure's camp.

Just as Danzo had expected, Kumogakure's forces stopped some distance from Si Ming Mountain and rested where they were.

Darui stared gravely at the towering Si Ming Mountain ahead. He no longer had the trouble-averse attitude he showed in the village. The current situation did not allow him to relax.

News from the front lines had already reached Kumogakure, which was why their unit had quickened its pace at the last minute.

Kirigakure's forces had begun attacking Kumogakure from another direction, while the troops led by Dodai had been defeated by Danzo at Si Ming Mountain. Even the Land of Lightning's daimyo had rarely disagreed with the Raikage before, yet now they had begun arguing.

With troubles both outside and within, the situation for Kumogakure and even the Land of Lightning as a whole was far from optimistic.

They had never expected that a mere provocation of Konoha would bring such consequences.

But it was useless to regret it now. The key was how to defeat that old veteran and drive Konoha's people out of the border.

"Still worried?"

Soft footsteps sounded as Yugito slowly approached Darui's side.

"After all, he's an old veteran who once made people tremble at the very mention of his name. I need to think carefully about how to fight this battle." Darui gave a bitter smile.

"Don't be afraid. Once the battle starts, I'll smack him to death for you." Yugito patted Darui on the shoulder and promised.

"Don't be too careless. Konoha was once the strongest of the Five Great Villages. Even with the power of a Tailed Beast, they may still have ways to deal with you," Darui said with a frown.

"The Nine-Tails breaking free of its seal was enough to get their Hokage killed. Now that I've already begun mastering Tailed Beast Transformation, they simply don't have the power to suppress me," Yugito remained confident.

The outside world only knew that the Fourth Hokage had died because the Nine-Tails had broken free of its seal.

Konoha had suffered immense losses in strength and had even sacrificed its Hokage over just one Nine-Tails running wild on its own territory. Because of this, the other ninja villages thought far less highly of Konoha.

"You..." Darui smiled bitterly. Just as he was about to explain further, an explosion rang out in the distance.

"Enemy attack!"

Without hesitation, Darui activated Nintaijutsu. Deep-blue Chakra emerged over the surface of his body, and he turned into a streak of blue light as he rushed toward the explosion.

Yugito looked at Darui's retreating figure in surprise. She was astonished by his reaction and speed, but she quickly followed his footsteps, flashing toward the source of the blast.

When they reached the explosion site, there were only several icy corpses lying on the ground.

"What happened?" Darui asked coldly.

"It should have been Konoha's people."

A Kumogakure Chunin reported this. He had only just arrived as well.

"These people were all Genin responsible for patrolling this area. That disturbance just now was likely caused by Konoha's people attacking them."

Though it was only a guess, no one objected.

Just as Darui was about to give orders to deal with the aftermath, another explosion sounded in the distance.

"Damn it!"

Cursing under his breath, Darui rushed toward that area once again.

Yet when he arrived, he still saw no sign of the attackers. Only the corpses on the ground proved that the disturbance had not been false.

Boom!

Another explosion sounded in the distance.

Darui's expression stiffened as he once again raced toward the explosion, but when he arrived, all he saw were several more icy corpses.

He angrily swept his gaze over the surroundings, but there was not a single trace to follow.

Boom!

As for the issue with the name Uncle Dan, I'll find a way to resolve it.

qwq Also, I've realized there are way too many plot holes in Naruto, whether early or late in the series. Naruto failing to graduate from Ninja School three times, Impure World Reincarnation, Eight Gates, all the different timelines... Looking up information has made my head hurt. I'll do my best to make it all fit together.