Race to the Border!

Night had settled over Konoha. Rows of streetlamps flickered on, casting warm yellow light across the stone streets. The evening breeze carried a chill through the treetops and over the eaves.

On the broad stone road, Tsunade walked alone toward the Senju Clan estate.

Deep in the courtyard, a few oiled-paper lanterns hung beneath the veranda, their dim light illuminating the wisteria trellis.

Mito Uzumaki sat on a wooden couch in a plain kimono. A few silver strands now threaded her vivid red hair.

A soft cushion lay beside her. Two- or three-year-old Nawaki, heavy with sleep, nestled against Mito, his long lashes drooping as he drifted off.

Hearing footsteps, Mito looked up. A gentle smile touched her eyes when she saw the girl hurrying toward her.

"Tsunade, what brings you here so late?"

Tsunade softened her steps, afraid of waking Nawaki.

She stopped before Mito, her shoulders slumped, and lowered her voice.

"Grandma, trouble has broken out again on the northwestern border. Tomorrow morning, I'm heading to the northwestern front with the main force."

The smile slowly faded from Mito Uzumaki's face. She studied the fifteen- or sixteen-year-old girl before her.

After a moment of silence, she sighed softly.

"Ever since Hashirama passed away, the Shinobi World..."

"I knew peace wouldn't last forever."

She reached out and gently stroked Tsunade's tousled blond hair.

"Hashirama's blood runs through your veins, and you were born carrying that burden. But the battlefield is cruel, and blades and arrows spare no one. You don't have to push yourself to come out on top every time."

"Above all, be careful."

The little boy beside the couch seemed to stir at their voices. He rubbed his eyes open, spotted Tsunade, and called out in a sleepy, childish voice:

"Sis... Sister."

His soft voice rang through the quiet courtyard.

Tsunade's heart melted. She bent down and touched his chubby little hand with a finger.

Nawaki giggled and reached out, trying to catch her sleeve.

Tsunade bit her lower lip and raised her head. Her green eyes shone brightly in the lantern light.

"I won't back down. I'll protect the Konoha Grandpa left behind. I'll stake the Senju name on it and protect everyone here."

Seeing her stubborn resolve, Mito did not try to dissuade her. She nodded slowly, took a small talisman carved with the Senju Clan crest from her sleeve, and placed it in Tsunade's palm.

"Take it. It may offer a little protection. Remember, come back alive."

Tsunade closed her hand around the warm talisman. Her nose stung, and she answered firmly.

"I will!"

After one last look at Nawaki, she turned and left.

Early the next morning.

A faint gray light had only just broken through the darkness, and morning mist still curled around the tall archway at Konoha's entrance.

Figures gradually gathered in the open ground outside the Konoha Gate.

Shimura Danzō stood at the front in dark combat gear, his hands clasped behind his back. A cold, deadly air surrounded him as he repeatedly looked into the distance. Dozens of fully equipped shinobi already stood in formation behind him.

Before long, several young figures hurried over.

Hatake Sakumo wore a neat fighting outfit, a thin layer of morning dew on his short silver-white hair. The White Fang Short Sword was strapped to his back. He stood straight and silent at one side of the formation.

Jiraiya wore a loose outer robe, a bulging pack slung over his shoulder and a grass stem between his teeth. He sauntered along, but his usual grin was gone, replaced by the tension of a young man heading to war.

Orochimaru walked slowly beside him, his black hair tied back. His narrow eyes were calm as he surveyed the assembled shinobi, hands tucked into his sleeves. Nothing in his expression betrayed his thoughts.

Tsunade came last. Her long blond hair was tied in a high ponytail, and she had exchanged her usual finery for combat gear. Thin bandages still wrapped her forearm, while her hand clutched the Uzumaki Talisman Mito had given her the night before.

She looked out across the mist-veiled wilderness. In her clear eyes lay a resolve she had yet to show anyone.

Everyone had arrived.

Danzō turned slowly and surveyed the force before him. His gaze paused briefly on the four young shinobi.

He raised his voice, its hoarse edge cutting through the morning mist.

"The time has come. Move out! Our destination is the northwestern border of the Land of Fire!"

At his command, the force began to move toward the horizon.

Meanwhile, at the Second Ninja Corps camp on Konoha's northwestern frontier.

Military tents stretched across the rolling hills, housing more than two thousand shinobi of the Second Legion. The morning mist had yet to lift, but there was no trace of ease in the camp. A heavy tension hung over it all.

Messenger shinobi hurried back and forth along muddy dirt roads, flashing coded hand signals. The message sent from Konoha headquarters the previous night had passed through the chain of command and reached Torifu Akimichi, who was in charge here.

Once the news spread, the laughter and easy conversation that usually followed drills vanished from the camp.

Outside the tents, shinobi gathered in twos and threes and spoke in hushed voices. Some cleaned their sharp kunai and Ninja Blades, the faint scrape of metal unusually clear in the silence;

others crouched beside campfires, staring at the dying embers with furrowed brows. Sentries climbed the tall wooden watchtowers, their eyes fixed on the western horizon—the direction of the Land of Grass border.

Inside the command tent, the atmosphere was even more oppressive.

Several battle-hardened jonin stood around a makeshift wooden table. Spread across it was a huge terrain map crowded with markings for passes, river valleys, and troop positions.

Weathered and grim, Torifu Akimichi pressed a finger hard against a valley near the border. "We've received orders from Lord Hokage. Reinforcements are on the way. From here on, be ready for skirmishes—or outright war."

An older jonin let out a long breath and looked toward the gray sky beyond the tent.

"The First Shinobi World War ended only a few years ago. I thought we might have time to catch our breath."

"I never expected Iwagakure to make a sudden move..."

"Hmph! Iwagakure has a death wish. Lord Hokage has only been in office a few years, and the village is improving under his leadership. That damned little runt Ōnoki dares provoke us now?" An Uchiha jonin clenched his fists and spoke through gritted teeth.

Damn it, the Uchiha Clan finally has a Hokage, and so many people can't stand it?

We have to take him down!

"Exactly! I say we don't even wait for Lord Danzō. Let's attack now and catch Iwagakure off guard." A Senju jonin beside him could no longer contain his anger and loudly agreed.

No matter who holds the Hokage Position, anyone who picks a fight with Konoha makes an enemy of the Senju Clan!

Konoha was built through Lord Hashirama's life's work. Even with those two lords gone, no one gets to challenge it at will!

Whoever you are, come at us and we'll take you down!

Torifu Akimichi was pleased to hear both founding clans speak with such spirit. That willingness to fight was exactly what war demanded. He raised a hand to quiet them and said gently, "Settle down, everyone."

"Danzō will arrive soon. He'll decide whether we fight or seek peace. As a Konoha shinobi, I'm every bit as angry as you are."

His expression abruptly turned solemn, and his voice grew steady and firm.

"But a shinobi's duty is to obey orders!"

"Now, as commander of the Second Legion, I'm issuing the following orders."

"First, all units are to regroup immediately. Everyone will check their Explosive Tags, medical kits, ninja tools, and other combat supplies, then go on battle alert."

"Second, assemble an elite reconnaissance squad built around shinobi from the Uchiha, Hyūga, Aburame, and Inuzuka Clan. Send them deep into enemy territory to gather intelligence."

"Third, bring the entire force to order and prepare to welcome our commander. We'll show Danzō the fighting spirit and discipline worthy of the Second Legion!"

"Those orders take effect immediately. Dismissed!"

At his command, everyone in the tent bowed in acknowledgment, then quickly split up and headed to their posts.

Now the entire camp waited with bated breath.

They waited for the leader coming from Konoha headquarters, the commander soon to arrive at the front: Shimura Danzō.