Beneath Thunderclap City, the armies stretched out in endless ranks.
The Land of Flame's army was made up entirely of miscellaneous troops cobbled together from the former small nations. Their overall quality was generally poor, and they had virtually no combat experience, leaving a stark gap between them and the soldiers of the great nations.
But now, with the two sides facing off beneath the city, the Land of Flame's troops were brimming with morale. After more than a dozen battles of varying scale, they had long since shed their initial weakness. Every soldier's eyes gleamed at the sight of the enemy, as though those before them were not foes, but walking military merit.
The wars along the way had simply been too easy. The Uchiha Cannons provided suppressive fire at the start, the big shots above them cleared the way at the front, and ninja swept through the middle. All they had to do was follow behind and finish off the wounded. There was no difficulty at all; their only concern was being too slow to claim a kill.
In contrast, although the Lightning Country's morale was not as high as the Land of Flame's, it was no longer as dispirited as before. This was already their final battle, and there was nowhere left for them to retreat. No matter how much they feared the Land of Flame's strength, they had no choice but to make a desperate last stand!
In the Land of Flame's central formation, Enkō stood with his arms crossed, sizing up the distant enemy army. After a swift sweep of the battlefield, he understood.
Sure enough, the Lightning Country had ultimately chosen not to send ninja into battle. Apart from several personal guards beside the Lightning Daimyo, there were no strong chakra fluctuations anywhere in