In the council hall of Iwagakure in the Land of Earth, Ōnoki stared at the map of the Land of Grass, his fingertips tapping the words " Kusagakure " repeatedly. His grandfather, the First Tsuchikage Ishikawa, died mysteriously in the military camp, and his master, Mu, was killed by Tsubasa during the First Shinobi World War. They suffered heavy casualties in the war but gained nothing. Now that it was his turn to take power, he was determined to conquer the Land of Grass and expand the Land of Land of Earth's territory to the border of the Land of Fire.
"One hundred thousand troops, assemble within three days!" Ōnoki slammed his hand on the table, causing the tea in his cup to splash out. " The Land of Grass only has a few thousand old, weak, sick, and disabled people left. Take advantage of the internal strife in the Land of Fire and crush them like ants, quickly occupying the Land of Grass!" The earth ninja generals below roared in agreement.
Deep in the mountains of the Land of Grass, the Iwa ninja scouts had just disappeared when the elder of the Kusagakure tied a letter to the leg of the Konoha messenger hawk. The letter contained only ten words: " The Tsuchikage is destroying the Grass Country, please, Hokage, save us!" The old elder looked at the withered grass covering the mountains and fields, and remembered the seeds that Konoha had sent last year—if it weren't for those life-saving grains, the people of the Land of Grass would have starved to death long ago.
On the third day of the Lunar New Year, the Black Tortoise Army of Uchiha Chiri was raised on the border of the Land of Grass.
This female ninja from the Warring States period had half of the Uchiha Clan Crest visible beneath her red cloak, and the Mangekyō Sharingan in her eyes shimmered eerily in the sunlight. Behind her stood five thousand Black Tortoise Army, all clad in black ninja armor, their waists adorned not with ordinary Kunai, but with short swords engraved with Fire Style —these were the elite of the Uchiha Clan, each capable of single-handedly killing Jonin.
" Chiri, the Tu ninja are camped in the eastern canyon," the lieutenant reported. "They've captured three Grass Ninja civilians to use as laborers."
Chiri's Sharingan suddenly swirled, a murderous intent flashing in her eyes. "Notify the troops to arrive at the canyon before sunset. Remember, leave no survivors." She reached out and placed her hand on the hilt of her sword, the three characters " Uchiha " on the scabbard gleaming from the polishing—this sword had accompanied her from the Warring States period to the present, drinking the blood of the Senju Clan and severing the heads of the Tsuchi ninja.
That night, the Earth Ninja in the canyon were huddled around a campfire, munching on hard flatbread, when they suddenly heard the sound of flapping wings overhead. Looking up, they saw countless dark figures leaping down from the mountainside, their red eyes flickering like will-o'-the-wisps in the night. "It's the Uchiha!" someone shouted, followed by the sounds of short swords being drawn and Fire Style explosions. Chiri stood atop the mountain, looking down at the canyon that resembled a slaughterhouse, and suddenly remembered Tsubasa's words. " The Black Tortoise Corps is not a butcher, but a shield." But facing these Earth Ninja who were slaughtering civilians, she felt more like a scythe, specifically designed to reap the lives of these demons.
Onoki shivered in his command tent when Ōnoki reported that he had been killed. He flew to the scene and heard screams in the distance. Rushing over, he saw a river of blood flowing through the valley; five thousand Earth Ninja had been slaughtered, their corpses impaled with the Uchiha Clan Kunai. He looked up at the mountain peak and met Chiri's Sharingan. That look reminded him of his grandfather's dying warning, "Never mess with the Mangekyō Sharingan."
" Ōnoki!" Chiri's voice pierced my ears like an ice pick, " The Land of Grass is an ally of Konoha. If you attack them, you are attacking my Land of Fire!"
Ōnoki gritted his teeth, gathering Dust Release in his palm. "So what if Uchiha? I can overwhelm you with my 100,000 troops!" He waved his hand, ordering the Earth Ninja who had rushed in from behind to attack. The Earth Ninja surged forward like a tide. Chiri remained calm and composed, raising his hands to Hand Seals: " Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation!" In Setsuna, a raging fire broke out in the canyon, burning the Earth Ninja at the forefront to ashes.
Just as the two sides were locked in a stalemate, Space Break sound suddenly came from the horizon. Ōnoki looked up and saw countless arrows wrapped in lightning tearing through the clouds, accurately piercing the throats of the earth ninjas. "It's the Hyuga Clan's rune arrows!" He was so shocked that he almost fell to the ground. He saw Kirin Corps Hyuga Tensei the Kirin Legion out of the thick fog. Each Hyuga ninja's bowstring was wrapped with blue runes, and wherever the arrows passed, the earth ninjas' rock shields shattered like paper.
Uchiha Chiri looked at the Hyuga Clan's reinforcements and sneered. As expected, Tsubasa had calculated everything perfectly. She had anticipated that Ōnoki would use a "human wave tactic," so she had the Black Tortoise Corps first wear down the Earth Ninja's elite forces, and then sent the Kirin Corps to suppress them from a distance. She turned her Sharingan and activated the Genjutsu " Genjutsu," instantly trapping three hundred Earth Ninja in an illusion, who lay on the ground clutching their heads and screaming in agony.
Hyuga Tensei led the Hyuga Clan archers to a high point and fired "armor-piercing arrows" at the Earth Ninja army formation. These arrows had their own swirling patterns, allowing them to penetrate rocky obstacles and specifically target the Earth Ninja's joints and vital points. Ōnoki tried to activate Dust Release, but was forced to retreat repeatedly by Chiri's Mangekyō Sharingan, and could only watch helplessly as his 100,000-strong army was cut into pieces.
"Retreat! Retreat quickly!" Ōnoki finally couldn't hold on any longer and manipulated the rock giant to cover the retreat. Chiri wanted to pursue, but Tensei stopped him. "Don't pursue a desperate enemy. Our goal is to protect the Land of Grass." The two stood side by side on the mountaintop, watching the rout of the earth ninja. As they returned to the city to rest, they heard the people of the Land of Grass cheering. "Thank you, Land of Fire army! Thank you Lord Hokage!"
Chiri touched his bleeding Sharingan eye and suddenly said to Hyuga Tensei, "Back when I fought against the Senju Clan, I never imagined I'd survive to this day." Hyuga Tensei took down his bow and arrow and said, "Living is about protecting. Chiri, the Uchiha Clan you protected back then, now it's our turn to protect them."
The defeated army of the Land of Earth retreated back to Iwagakure on the Lantern Festival.
Ōnoki sat beneath the Tsuchikage statue, watching as someone splashed excrement on his own statue. He touched the peace treaty he had just written in his pocket.
"My lord, envoys from Konoha have arrived." The lieutenant carefully handed over the letter. "They accepted the peace, but they demand that we..."
Ōnoki crumpled the letter, suddenly recalling the day of the final battle, when Chiri's Sharingan reflected his disheveled appearance. He realized that true strength wasn't built on numbers, but on a foundation like Konoha's, where every ninja held a unwavering belief in protection. He stood up, gazing towards the distant Iwagakure —where the houses were still made of mud bricks, the people's clothes patched upon patched, while in Konoha's shrines, the aroma of Lantern Festival dumplings should be filling the air.
Anbu spies brought a folk song from the direction of the Land of Grass. Ōnoki recognized it as a newly composed song by the people of the Grass Ninja: " The Tsuchikage has great ambitions, wanting to devour the Land of Grass; when the Black Tortoise Kirin arrive, they'll beat him until he begs for his mother!" He shook his head with a wry smile, pulling out the Iwagakure Forehead Protector from his pocket, Forehead Protector edges still stained with soil from the Land of Grass. Perhaps, this spring, he should make a trip to Konoha —not as an enemy, but as... a learner.
The snow fell again, landing on Ōnoki's white hair. He suddenly remembered his grandfather's words. "There are mountains beyond mountains, and people beyond people." He used to think that the rocks of the Land of Earth were the hardest, but now he realized that what is harder than rocks is the human heart. And the hearts of the people of Konoha have now solidified into an immovable boulder.