Spring, Konoha Year 17.
Once the gears of war began to turn, no one's will could bring them to a halt.
On the northern frontier of the Land of Fire, at the border between the Land of Frost and the Land of Hot Water, the once-peaceful snowfields had been stained a hideous dark red by blood and smoke.
Kumogakure's Lightning Release army surged like a silver torrent, assaulting the Konoha Northern Army's defensive lines again and again.
The Second Raikage, A, had personally taken to the front. His silver-white Lightning Release Armor made him a moving bolt of lightning on the battlefield, leaving Konoha ninja dead or wounded wherever he passed.
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood atop a hastily constructed Earth Rampart and formed hand seals. A massive fire dragon erupted from his mouth, roaring toward Kumogakure's charging ranks.
Several Kumogakure ninja were swallowed by the flames in its path, falling to the ground with screams.
But more Kumogakure ninja flanked them from both sides.
"Lightning Release: Lightning Fang!"
Several bolts of blue-white lightning shot from the Kumogakure ranks, striking the Earth Rampart's weak points with precision. With a deafening blast, a breach opened in the Earth Rampart. Several Konoha ninja were blown away, their blood tracing gruesome arcs through the air.
"Hold steady! Don't panic!" Hiruzen Sarutobi shouted sharply. The Adamantine Staff in his hands blurred into afterimages, sweeping away several Kumogakure ninja who had charged through the breach. But fine beads of sweat had already formed on his forehead, and his breathing had grown rapid.
Behind him, the Sarutobi Clan's elite followed in silence, filling the breaches in the defensive line again and again. But there were too few of them. Kumogakure had committed three times their numbers, and its forces were still growing.