At dawn, squads of shinobi stationed outside Sunagakure returned one after another.
Large numbers of Sand Shinobi gathered on every tier of the steps at the village entrance, braced for Fugaku Uchiha's arrival.
Inside the village, more shinobi patrolled and searched, guarding against his sudden appearance.
None of them knew Fugaku was already inside, hidden in a room as he recovered his Chakra.
"How has it come to this? Still no word of Fugaku Uchiha?" a Sand Shinobi asked.
"No. Konoha has the upper hand right now, but the Land of Wind has far more shinobi than Konoha sent to attack us.
As long as we stand together, we can drive Konoha out of the Land of Wind."
"That's right! Drive the Konoha shinobi out of the Land of Wind!"
"Konoha is fighting on two fronts. They're at the end of their rope. If we fight with everything we have, they're the ones who'll lose."
The Sand Shinobi shouted to bolster their confidence. Only by working themselves into a frenzy could they summon even a shred of courage against their fear.
Fugaku slowly opened his eyes. Black Mist Invisibility concealed him once more, and he walked through Sunagakure.
A stack of Explosive Tags appeared in his hand. He planted two in every building he passed.
Within an hour, Explosive Tags covered half of Sunagakure's central district.
His hands formed signs.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A blazing fireball appeared out of nowhere, igniting several Explosive Tags he had just planted.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The morning quiet shattered. Fire burst in every direction as the Explosive Tags detonated one after another.
Explosions tore through Sunagakure's central district, mingling with screams and cries of agony.
Buildings blew apart in succession. Earth and stone flew, and great domes were ripped away.
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