The next morning, Fugaku arrived at Konoha Gate. Two thousand ninja had already assembled there, all of them Konoha's elite.
Fugaku swept his gaze over them and nodded. "Move out. We're going to intercept the Cloud-Mist Allied Forces' surprise attack."
With so many ninja leaving the village, Konoha suddenly felt deserted. Orochimaru had taken five thousand troops to hold off the Sunagakure forces.
Hatake Sakumo and Fuyue had each taken two thousand. All nine thousand ninja were heading to the battlefield.
Kikyō Mountain connected the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers and stood on the border between them.
Orochimaru arrived first. Tsunade and Dan Katō were both with his force.
"Dan, I'm afraid we'll have to postpone our wedding for quite a while."
Dan smiled. "As long as we're together, I don't mind waiting for the wedding. With you by my side, I'd even be willing to die in battle."
Tsunade cut him off at once. "I don't want you to die. We're both going back alive. We'll get married in Konoha and let everyone in the village witness our wedding."
Dan smiled and nodded. "I promise. I'll come back alive and marry you."
Orochimaru's force set up camp along the border at Kikyō Mountain. Meanwhile, scouting teams and elite squads entered the Land of Rivers.
On the very first day after Orochimaru arrived, the two sides clashed fiercely.
Inside the Command Headquarters, Orochimaru stood before a huge map of the Land of Rivers.
It marked the routes of Konoha's various squads. Pinning down Sunagakure's movements would take at least two more days of reconnaissance.
In a hidden underground cavern somewhere in the Shinobi World, Madara Uchiha sat quietly in a chair with his eyes closed.
A White Zetsu emerged from the wall. "Lord Madara, the Shinobi World