The autumn floods of the Tangshui River carried the smell of gunpowder, and the central banner of the Senju Tenpuku army fluttered in the wind along the riverbank. The three million-strong army of the Land of Fire, like ten galloping fire dragons, swept southward along the Land of Hot Water, and three hundred thousand armored soldiers marched across the fields and villages, bringing twenty-two main cities into the territory of the Land of Fire one after another.
On the morning of the third day, the gates of White Waterfall City slowly opened. The castle's lord, Yu Yixin —the younger brother of the daimyo Tang Yu Mumin —knelt at the moat bridge, dressed in a plain brocade robe, holding behind him the household register, treasury ledgers, and the bronze seal symbolizing the castle's authority. His forehead pressed to the ground, his voice trembling like autumn leaves in the wind. "This sinful subject, Yu Yixin, is willing to surrender the castle...to the Land of Fire, begging Lord Senju to spare the royal family of my Tang Kingdom..."
The bloodstains on Senju Tenpuku's silver armor gleamed dark red in the morning light. He didn't even glance at the pile of documents, but simply instructed his personal guards, "Take good care of the commoners. All those with Tang family blood and noble lords, regardless of age, are to be taken to the Tangshui River."
"My lord! You mustn't!" Yuquan Yixin suddenly looked up, his face drained of color. "I've already surrendered the city! You promised..."
The guard's scabbard slammed heavily into the back of his head, and Yu Yixin groaned as he fell to the ground. Tenpuku turned his horse around, the tassel of the Crimson Sky Sword sweeping across the saddle. "I only said to surrender, not to spare the nobles. Being able to see you once is already the greatest leniency I can show you. You were a hundred times more vicious when you harmed the common people. At least a dozen people must have died from just one of the Jashin Immortal Army. How many people have you tens of thousands of Undying Army soldiers killed? It would be an injustice if you didn't die."
That night, a raging fire broke out in the noble mansion of White Waterfall City, its Kakkō illuminating half the night sky. Countless noble laborers were also gathered along the banks of the Tangshui River. The tragic scene on the riverbank became a stage for the common people to watch. The Tensei, the proud heads of the rebellious nobles floated on the water, drifting downstream, becoming the most glaring warning in the eyes of the nobles.
Seven days later, Maple Dance City.
The commander stood atop the city wall, looking at the densely packed army of the Land of Fire outside the city, and threw his sword fiercely to the ground. " The Land of Hot Water is dead! I will not surrender!" Behind him, three hundred nobles roared in unison, and bows and arrows and ninja tools were lined up densely on the city wall.
Senju Tenpuku sat in his command tent, listening to reports from the front lines, his fingertips tapping on the city defense map on the table. "At the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), heavy artillery will approach and bombard the enemy."
Thirty rune-inscribed cannons were pushed a hundred feet below the city walls, their muzzles aimed at the walls. As the first rays of dawn climbed onto the cannons, the roar shattered the morning mist. Blue and white rune-inscribed bullets, like meteors, crashed into the city walls one after another, sending bricks and stones flying and causing the city towers to collapse. From dawn to dusk, three hours of bombardment completely stripped the city, which had held out for three days, of its defenses.
"Attack the city!"
The mechs charged through the rubble, followed closely by the ninja army. As the city fell, the commander and three hundred nobles retreated into the lord's mansion and detonated the last explosives. With a deafening roar, the entire mansion was reduced to rubble, burying them forever beneath the scorched earth.
In just seven days, all twenty-two main cities of the Land of Hot Water changed hands. The nobles who once wore fine silks and satins and traveled in carriages were now either beheaded and hung on stakes, or hanged themselves on their escape routes, or knelt before the soldiers of the Land of Fire, crying out, "I wish to be a commoner, I only ask to live."
Senju Tenpuku erected a ten-mile-long stretch of wooden stakes on the south bank of the Tang River, with over three thousand noble heads hanging from them. When the wind blew, the hair and ropes rubbed together, making a whistling sound. Meanwhile, Yu Mujiu, the daimyo of the Land of Hot Water, was personally caught up by Tenpuku in the reeds. With a flash of cold light from the drawn Crimson Sky Sword, his head was impaled on the tip of a spear and displayed to the various armies.
Long live the Land of Fire!
The cheers of three million soldiers echoed along the riverbank, startling waterbirds into flight and darkening the sky. Tenpuku sheathed his sword, gazing at the burning city on the north bank, and ordered his army, "Commoners who register in the Land of Fire will be allocated land and houses; those who resist will be treated the same as nobles."
Next, Senju Tenpuku sent men to search for and destroy the strongholds of the Jashin Cult. The Jashin Cult's leadership then decided to initiate Jashin ritual to summon the true form of the Jashin God and annihilate the Land of Fire.
October 1st, Moon-Hot Water Mountain Range.
Tenmei led his 100,000-strong Azure Dragon Army, trudging through the remaining snow, into the territory of the Land of the Moon. The cold wind swept the snowflakes past their helmets, and the capital of the Land of the Moon in the distance was faintly visible in the clouds and mist— the Moon Shrine was built on a cliff, and its eight gates were inlaid with huge moon crystals, which reflected a hazy halo in the sunlight.
" Genjutsu?" Tenmei stood atop the mountain, gazing at the city shrouded in mist, and sneered, "Before runic artillery, it's nothing but fragile glass."
On the first night of the lunar new year, the moonlight was cool and clear.
Five hundred heavy cannons were set up two miles outside the city, their muzzles aimed at the walls of the Land of the Moon's capital. Tenmei raised his hand, and the shoulder armor of his Chaos Armor Set emitted a soft mechanical voice. "Target, the eighth gate of the city wall! Fire a volley!"
A deafening roar ripped through the night sky as five hundred rune projectiles traced bluish-white arcs through the air, hurtling towards the city like a meteor shower. The Genjutsu refracted by the moonstone were useless against the cannonballs; the first gate was reduced to dust in the explosion, the city walls collapsed, and smoke and dust filled half the night sky.
"Mech Charge!"
Five hundred mechs stormed into the city, their runic blades slicing through the resisting ninjas. Tsukisuke Chitose stood atop the shrine, raising the divine artifact " Moon Mirror," its silvery radiance shooting forth and enveloping half the battlefield. Hundreds of mechs suddenly came to a halt, spinning in place, their pilots trapped in an illusion, their visions filled with phantoms of loved ones and their homeland.
" Genjutsu?" Tenmei leaped over the flagship mech, the Chaos Staff humming in his hand. "Break the illusion! Barrier Team, deploy the Mirror Light Reflection Barrier!"
The barrier Sealing Squad accompanying the army quickly Hand Seals, and a pale blue barrier unfolded in front of the mecha formation, reflecting the silver radiance of the Moon Mirror back at Yueyou Qiansui. Caught off guard, Tsukisuke Chitose was backfired on by his own Genjutsu. The silver radiance poured in, and he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, staggering backward from the top of the divine palace.
"The head coach is injured!"
The Land of the Moon's ninjas were thrown into disarray, yet they fought to the death. Eight hundred thousand ninjas and samurai poured out from the streets, palaces, and pavilions, clashing with the mechs and ninja forces. Tenmei smashed a Jonin's Kunai aside with his staff and roared, "Leave no one alive, Land of the Moon nobles or ninjas!"
The bloody battle continued until noon the following day.
The vermilion gates of the shrine were smashed open by mechs, and the ninja army surged into the temple. Amidst the flashing blades, the last resisters of the Land of the Moon fell one by one. Blood flowed down the temple steps, seeping into the ground and merging into the underground river of the Land of the Moon's forbidden area. In the forbidden area, a coffin covered in blood-stained patterns lay quietly. As blood continued to flow in, the desiccated body gradually filled out, its pale skin regaining its color, and a faint heartbeat quietly echoed in the silent forbidden area.
On the throne in the temple, Tsukisuke Chitose watched the soldiers of the Land of Fire surge in, a wicked smile suddenly appearing on his lips. He drew a short sword and plunged it into his heart. " The Land of the Moon... will not perish..."
Flames licked at the beams and pillars of the shrine, and thick smoke billowed into the sky. The fire lasted for three days and three nights, turning the last symbol of the Land of the Moon to ashes.
Tenmei left 10,000 Azure Dragon Army to guard the Land of the Moon and personally led 90,000 troops north. The Daimyo of the Land of Lightning had already fled into the sea with his confidants and retreated to Island Turtle, while the Third Raikage A, returned to the capital, City of Lightning, closed its four gates, and raised a black lightning-patterned flag on the city wall with two shocking characters written on it, "Fight to the Death."
"Even a cornered beast will fight." Tenmei looked at the banners atop the city walls and said to his generals, " The Land of Lightning still has hundreds of thousands of elite troops; we cannot afford to delay. Order the artillery regiment to be lightly armed, carrying them with sealing scrolls, and five hundred mechs to accompany me to cross Thundercloud Gorge tonight and circle around to the rear of the city."
At dawn, in the City of Lightning.
The ninja from the Land of Lightning the city wall yawned, when suddenly he heard a deafening cannon roar behind him. He turned around in alarm and saw mechs from the Land of Fire charging through the morning mist, the Kakkō flashes turning half the sky red.
"We're surrounded!"
The Third Raikage A, burst out of the commander's mansion, his body wreathed in blue lightning. " Lightning Release: Lariat!" He transformed into a streak of blue light, crashing into the mech array outside the city. Tenmei directly piloted his mech to meet him, the Chaos Staff colliding with the lightning, unleashing a blinding light.
" Tenmei! You dared to kill a ninja from my Land of Lightning! Today you will pay with your life!" A roared, his Lightning Release Chakra forming armor on his body, and his fist, crackling with lightning, slammed into the mecha.
" The Land of Lightning betrayed the alliance first, and now they are reaping what they sowed!" Tenmei piloted his mecha, sweeping his Chaos Staff to force Raikage back. " The City of Lightning has fallen. If you do not surrender, you will die!"
The two armies fought fiercely for several days beneath the city walls. The blue light of Lightning Release intertwined with the bluish-white glow of rune cannons, shaking the heavens and earth. The ninjas of the Land of Lightning fought fearlessly, charging wave after wave into the army of the Land of Fire, only to fall one after another under the onslaught of mechs and ninja soldiers.
By dusk on the seventh day of the battle, Raikage A was covered in wounds, and his lightning had dimmed. He looked at the dwindling number of his personal guards, a hint of madness flashing in his eyes.
" Thunder Prison City Annihilation!"
Using his blood as a catalyst, Ai unleashed a torrent of Lightning Release Chakra, black lightning coalescing around his body and causing the air to tremble. This was a forbidden technique from the Land of Lightning, capable of destroying an entire city and taking the enemy with him.
"Don't even think about it!" Tenmei saw through his intentions, controlled the Azure Lightning Mecha to leap into the air, and gathered the power of all the runes in his body into the Chaos Staff, slashing down fiercely!
With a soft thud, Raikage's head shot into the sky, and the black lightning instantly dissipated.
The remnants of the Land of Lightning, seeing their commander's severed head, finally collapsed, kneeling in surrender. Tenmei, standing on the shoulder of his mecha, raised the Chaos Staff and proclaimed loudly. "From this day forward, the Land of Lightning is erased from the annals of history, its territory annexed by the Land of Fire!"
November 5th, outside Kumogakure.
The armies of Senju Tenpuku and Tenmei joined forces here. On the land where the three kingdoms once allied, only scorched earth, surrendered flags, and displaced civilians remain. Tenpuku climbed to the top of the Raikage Building, overlooking the ruined city under the setting sun, the Crimson Sky Sword gleaming red in his hand.
" The Land of Hot Water is destroyed, the Land of the Moon perishes, and the Land of Lightning surrenders." He spoke slowly, his voice carried far by the wind. "After this battle, the eastern border of the Land of Fire will have no more enemies, and will be free from trouble for a hundred years."
Tenmei stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Father, the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning has fled into the sea with his confidants. Reconnaissance aircraft have not yet found any trace of him. Please give your instructions."
Tenpuku turned around, his gaze sharp. "Continue the investigation. We must find them alive or dead. Furthermore, leave a million troops to garrison the kingdoms of Lei and Yue, and relocate the commoners of the Land of Fire to the border regions, distributing land and allowing them to settle. The rest of the army, return to the capital." He paused, his tone suddenly turning cold, "As for the captured nobles of the three kingdoms... escort them back to the Capital of Fire with the army, awaiting the Queen's judgment."
As the sun sank below the horizon, it cast long shadows of the two people.
Thousands of miles away, on a moving island.
The Daimyo of the Land of Lightning huddled in the ship's cabin, looking at the high-ranking officials and nobles of the Kumogakure before him, his voice hoarse. " The Thunder God Seal... is it really going to be activated? That's a forbidden technique that will scorch the land for thousands of miles, even civilians will die..."
An elderly nobleman with white hair slammed his fist on the table. "Why bother with the commoners now? The Land of Fire has already destroyed our country! We are the last bloodline of the Land of Lightning! Activating the Thunder God Seal might offer a glimmer of hope!"
"No!" another nobleman retorted, "We still have elite troops! As long as we escape overseas and focus on researching runic technology, we can rise again one day! The emergence of Thunder God will only cut off our escape route!"
The last rays of the setting sun spilled across the sea, and within the golden waves lay hidden final conspiracies and lingering flames of war. Meanwhile, the flag of the Land of Fire fluttered in the wind over the former lands of the Three Kingdoms.