First battle

At the edge of the training ground, Hashirama Senju watched Ryuto walk back toward the wooden cabin and smiled.

"Brother, are you really going to have him take part in all the daily training?" Tobirama Senju's voice came from beside him. He had appeared again at some point, still holding that board.

"Yes." Hashirama nodded. "He's strong enough, but he lacks experience. A battlefield isn't a duel. He needs to learn how to work with others and survive in the chaos."

"With his fighting style, who could he work with?" Tobirama frowned. "He charges straight in and overpowers everything with speed and strength. Our people can't keep up with him."

"That's why we need to train," Hashirama said. "Let him adjust to our pace while we try to understand his. Learning to work together takes time."

Tobirama said nothing more, merely jotting a few notes in his notebook.

"By the way, any news from the front?" Hashirama asked.

"Yes." Tobirama closed his notebook, his expression growing more serious. "The Uchiha have been moving troops frequently lately. Our reconnaissance teams report that several of their main forces are gathering in our direction, and their supplies have caught up. It looks like they're preparing something big."

Hashirama rubbed his chin.

"Has Madara finally run out of patience?"

"It might have something to do with Ryuto," Tobirama analyzed. "After Izuna returned, he must have reported everything about Ryuto. The Uchiha couldn't possibly ignore an anomaly who can shatter Susanoo and even 'return from the dead' stronger after facing you. We Senju might not be their only target this time."

Hashirama fell silent for a few seconds.

"Pass the word to increase security. Also, move the training schedule forward. Tactical drills start tomorrow. I'll speak to Ryuto."

"Understood."

Early the next morning, before the sky was fully light, the training ground was already crowded.

When Ryuto arrived, he saw dozens of Senju ninja standing in formation, divided into several groups.

Takuma Senju was in one of the groups. He waved when he saw Ryuto.

Ryuto walked over.

"Lord Ryuto, over here!" Takuma Senju pulled him into his group.

Ryuto had met the other two members as well: Ryo Senju and Kazuya Senju, whom he had sparred with yesterday.

"Today, our group is practicing three-person offensive and defensive coordination," Takuma Senju explained quietly to Ryuto. "One person leads the attack, one provides support, and one handles defense or battlefield control. We rotate positions."

Ryuto nodded, feeling a little unsure.

Three-person coordination? Every fight I've ever had, I've fought alone, with at most a noncombatant like Yamano Tarō along.

Getting me to coordinate with others is harder than fighting Madara alone.

"Don't be nervous." Ryo Senju grinned. "We've practiced this plenty of times. We know the routines. Just follow our pace."

"The main thing is watching for signals," Kazuya Senju added. "Hand gestures, eye contact, or chakra fluctuations. We of the Senju Clan have our own unspoken understanding."

Unspoken understanding? Do I even have any of that? Ryuto wondered.

His inherited Saiyan inclination toward fighting alone was starting to hold him back.

Training began.

In the first round, Takuma Senju led the attack, Ryo Senju provided support, and Kazuya Senju handled battlefield control.

They faced another group of Senju ninja.

The two sides put some distance between them and formed the Seal of Confrontation.

"Begin!"

Takuma Senju charged first, coating his fists and feet in chakra as he went straight for the opposing lead attacker.

Ryo Senju followed close behind, but rather than moving in a straight line, he curved around to cut off the opposing support ninja's movement.

Kazuya Senju stayed where he was and formed hand seals. Several vines sprouted from the ground, disrupting the opposing control ninja's technique.

Their coordination flowed seamlessly.

Ryuto watched from the side, rapidly analyzing it.

The lead attacker drew fire, the support restricted movement, and the controller disrupted techniques.

All three performed their own roles while covering one another.

By the end of the round, Takuma Senju's group had won.

"Did you get it?" Takuma Senju asked as he walked back, wiping away his sweat.

"More or less," Ryuto said. "Clearly defined roles, with everyone covering one another's gaps."

"Right," Ryo Senju said. "On the battlefield, no matter how well one person fights, they can't hold out against superior numbers working together. That's why we have to stick together."

"You're up next," Kazuya Senju said. "You lead the attack this round. We'll handle support and control."

Ryuto took a deep breath.

"All right."

A different group took the opposing side.

They formed seals.

"Begin!"

Ryuto pushed off the ground, his ki erupting in an instant as he shot forward like a cannonball.

He was too fast.

So fast that Takuma Senju and Ryo Senju had barely started moving before he was already in front of the opposing lead attacker.

The opposing attacker jumped in fright and instinctively defended.

Ryuto threw a punch.

Bang!

The man flew straight backward and crashed into the railing at the edge of the training ground, failing to get up for a long while.

The entire field fell silent.

Takuma Senju's mouth hung open. Ryo Senju and Kazuya Senju also froze in place.

The two remaining opponents, the support and control ninja, looked at Ryuto, then at their teammate who had been sent flying, unsure whether to continue.

"Stop!" shouted the Senju jonin supervising the drill.

He walked over, looked at the teammate Ryuto had knocked unconscious with one punch, then looked at Ryuto.

"Ryuto, you're leading the attack, not fighting a duel." The jonin sounded somewhat helpless. "You need to wait for your teammates to get into position and work together. If you rush in alone and instantly take out their lead attacker, what are we supposed to practice?"

Ryuto scratched his head.

"I... couldn't help it. When I saw him charging over, I just wanted to take him out first."

"On the battlefield, after you take out one, there are ten more," the jonin said. "And you charged so fast that you broke away from your team. If there were an ambush or a trap, your teammates wouldn't have time to save you."

Ryuto thought about it. That did seem to be the case.

"Try again," the jonin said. "Slower this time. Follow Takuma and the others' pace."

The second round began.

Ryuto made an effort to control his speed, charging alongside Takuma Senju.

Ryo Senju provided support, and Kazuya Senju handled control.

Their opponents had learned their lesson. Instead of meeting Ryuto head-on, their lead attacker kept moving around.

Ryuto chased him, but every time he was about to catch up, the opposing support ninja interfered, or the controller threw out a ninjutsu to force him to reposition.

He fought for quite a while without taking the man down.

"See?" Takuma Senju said as he fought. "No matter how fast one person is, opponents who work well together can still hold them up. That's when you need teammates to create an opening."

With that, he gave Ryo Senju a look.

Ryo Senju suddenly accelerated, circling to the opposing support ninja's flank and forcing him to turn and defend against a knife-hand strike.

In that instant, the opposing lead attacker's flank was left wide open.

Ryuto seized the opportunity, stepping forward and bringing his fist right in front of his opponent.

But at the last moment, he pulled back seventy percent of his strength.

Smack!

A light punch tapped the opponent's chest.

"We won," Takuma Senju said.

Ryuto withdrew his fist, beginning to understand.

Coordination wasn't about one plus one equaling two. It was about creating opportunities where one plus one was greater than two.

What one person couldn't accomplish, three people could achieve by dividing the work and cooperating.

"This is kind of interesting," Ryuto muttered.

Training lasted the entire day.

Ryuto went from fumbling at the beginning to gradually keeping pace, and then to occasionally pulling off simple coordinated moves with Takuma Senju and the others.

His progress was plain to see.

Hashirama Senju arrived as they were wrapping up that evening.

He stood at the edge of the training ground and watched the final drill.

"How was it?" Hashirama asked as Ryuto approached.

"Tiring," Ryuto answered honestly. "More tiring than a duel. You have to keep track of where your teammates are, where the enemies are, when to move in, and when to fall back."

"But useful, right?" Hashirama smiled.

"Useful," Ryuto admitted. "No matter how well you fight, there are times you can't cover everything. Having teammates to back you up really does put your mind at ease."

Hashirama nodded, his expression turning more serious.

"There's something I need to tell you."

"Go ahead."

"According to intelligence from the front, the Uchiha have assembled their main forces and are advancing toward us," Hashirama said. "It's a large force. It looks like they're preparing for a decisive battle."

Ryuto's gaze sharpened.

"When?"

"In three days at the earliest," Hashirama said. "The battlefield has already been chosen: the plains fifty li to the northeast. The terrain is open, suitable for large-scale fighting."

He looked at Ryuto.

"You'll fight alongside me in this battle. Not as a guest, but as a combatant on the Senju side."

Ryuto didn't hesitate.

"All right."

"Any requests?" Hashirama asked.

"Yes," Ryuto said. "Give me some freedom to act. I'm still learning large-scale coordination, so I might not be able to keep up with your precise deployments. But I can clear the flanks or deal with their strongest fighters."

Hashirama considered it.

"All right. You'll lead a separate squad, not too many people, around twenty, all agile fighters. Your task will be to roam, reinforce whichever side is under pressure, or find an opportunity to raid the enemy command post."

"Deal," Ryuto said.

"One more thing," Hashirama added. "Madara might take the field himself. If he comes after you, don't fight him head-on. Just hold him off. I'll finish off the other enemies as quickly as possible, then come help you."

Ryuto grinned.

"I've been waiting for Madara too. Practice can never match real combat."

Three days passed in a flash.

Over those three days, apart from continuing to practice simple coordination with Takuma Senju and the others, Ryuto repeatedly practiced his new fighting method combining ki with Senju taijutsu.

He focused on two things: unleashing power faster and defending with less effort.

Ki flowed through his body more and more smoothly, as naturally as breathing.

The night before departure, Ryuto checked his equipment in the wooden cabin.

It was really just two changes of clothes, some dry rations, and the few taijutsu scrolls Hashirama had given him.

He had hardly any ninja tools. He fought entirely with ki and his fists.

As he was packing, someone knocked on the door.

Takuma Senju stood outside, holding a cloth bundle.

"Lord Ryuto, this is for you." He handed over the bundle.

Ryuto opened it and found three kunai, a short sword, and several shuriken.

"I don't have any use for these," Ryuto said.

"Take them, just in case," Takuma Senju said. "Anything can happen on the battlefield. If you run out of ki or get tied up in close combat, a weapon is better than empty hands."

Ryuto considered it and accepted them.

"Thanks."

"We're together tomorrow," Takuma Senju said. "Ryo, Kazuya, and I are in your squad, along with seventeen other comrades. You're the captain."

Ryuto paused in surprise.

"I'm the captain?"

"Yes." Takuma Senju nodded. "Lord Hashirama arranged it. He said that although you don't understand command, you're the strongest, and the men respect you. On the battlefield, when the captain charges at the front, everyone naturally follows."

Ryuto smiled.

That was very Senju, and very Hashirama.

"All right. I'll charge at the front, then. Keep up."

"We will."

Before dawn the next morning, the Senju camp stirred into motion.

Cooking smoke rose, and the aroma of food filled the air.

Ryuto finished breakfast, put on his black training outfit, and fastened the kunai and short sword at his waist.

When he stepped out of the wooden cabin, the training ground was already packed.

A dense mass of people stood there, at least four or five hundred.

All wore Senju clan clothing, their expressions solemn. No one spoke.

Hashirama Senju stood at the very front, with Tobirama Senju and several other senior members beside him.

Ryuto walked over to his squad.

Takuma Senju, Ryo, Kazuya, and seventeen other young ninja were already in formation.

At his approach, all of them straightened at once.

"Everyone here?" Ryuto asked.

"Everyone!" the twenty men answered together.

Ryuto nodded and said nothing more.

He looked ahead.

Hashirama Senju turned around to face everyone.

"I'll keep this short," Hashirama began, his voice quiet but carrying across the entire training ground. "The Uchiha are here. They want a decisive battle with us. If we win this battle, we can push the front back and secure at least six months of peace. If we lose, the clan grounds and our families behind us will all be exposed to the Uchiha's blades."

He paused.

"So we cannot lose this battle."

"Yes!" Hundreds of voices answered in unison, their fervor shaking the heavens.

"Move out!"

The force set off.

Ryuto led his twenty-man squad in the middle of the column.

It was quiet along the way, with only footsteps and breathing to be heard.

Occasionally, a scout ninja ran back from up ahead to report to Hashirama.

The atmosphere grew increasingly tense.

Ryuto could sense it among the young ninja around him. Some were taking deep breaths, some were checking their ninja tools over and over, some had excitement in their eyes, and others concealed unease.

What about me?

He was a little excited and a little nervous.

This was his first time taking part in this kind of organized, large-scale ninja war.

It was completely different from the small-scale clashes before.

"Ten li to go," Takuma Senju said quietly. "We're almost at the designated battlefield."

Ryuto looked up.

In the distance, an open plain was already visible on the horizon.

At the far end of the plain, a dark mass of moving figures was faintly visible as well.

The Uchiha had arrived too.