Nighttime, Kumogakure encampment.
A long-haired burly man led a squad as they patrolled the perimeter of the camp with vigilance.
In recent days, several shinobi had gone missing near the camp. The culprit remained at large for a long time, throwing the Kumo forces into a state of panic.
Those who had vanished weren't just Chūnin—there were also Specail Jōnin and Jōnin among them.
Each night, no one dared to leave their tents, afraid they might encounter the killer...
This situation had made the burly man, who served as the commander, absolutely furious!
He decided to personally begin patrolling, determined to bring the criminal to justice.
Yet, after two consecutive nights of patrols, there was still no sign of the killer making another move...
"Commander-sama, I think the criminal must've fled in fear of your overwhelming strength," his adjutant flattered him with a smile.
He felt this continuous patrolling was pointless. It would be better to return to the tents and rest. After all, they hadn't slept in two days and nights.
But he didn't dare say that directly, so this was his roundabout approach.
"If you want to go back, go. I won't stop you," the long-haired burly man replied without turning his head.
"Commander-sama, don't say that. I'm just concerned about your health..." the adjutant quickly explained.
"Hmph, not sleeping for two days won't kill me!" The long-haired man shot him a cold glare. "But for those comrades who were taken... it's not just a matter of losing sleep!"
If the killer wasn't caught, more of their comrades would end up dead!
As the battlefield commander, he would never allow that to happen again.
The adjutant lowered his head and dared not speak further, silently following behind to continue patrolling.
Suddenly, there was a noise from the distant shrubbery.
"Hell Stab: Piercing Four Fingered!"
Lightning Release chakra surged through the long-haired man's body, concentrating into four fingers to form a high-density thrusting strike.
His figure became a flash of light as he appeared before the shrubbery at incredible speed, thrusting his fingers forward without hesitation.
"Boom!"
The half-meter-tall bushes exploded into pieces, chunks of wild rabbit meat scattering through the air.
Plop—a charred rabbit leg slammed into the adjutant's face.
Smelling the roasted meat, he instinctively swallowed.
"A rabbit, huh?" The long-haired man retracted his chakra and resumed the patrol.
He had thought the killer might be hiding there—but it was just a rabbit.
Seeing that the commander wasn't paying attention to him, the adjutant quickly grabbed the rabbit leg and devoured it ravenously.
After not eating all night, he was truly starving.
The long-haired man up ahead noticed the sound behind him and let out a helpless sigh.
How did someone like this even become a battlefield adjutant?
Until dawn, the killer never showed up.
"That damn bastard, I'll catch you sooner or later!"
The long-haired man clenched his fists in anger and turned back into the tent.
Back in the command tent, he didn't choose to rest—instead, he began working through the documents on the desk.
He had previously requested reinforcements from the village. Judging by the time, they should be en route now.
Once the reinforcements arrived, he would immediately break the ceasefire and launch a surprise attack on Konoha!
Thanks to those two fools, Kinkaku and Ginkaku, who had completely bungled command, the Kumogakure forces had suffered heavy losses in the last few battles. Most of the shinobi were severely injured and needed time to recover.
That was one of the reasons he had chosen to call a temporary truce.
After more than ten days of medical-nin treatment, many of the wounded were recovering...
They just needed to wait for reinforcements to arrive, and then they could launch another offensive.
This time, they would crush Konoha in one fell swoop!
This operation was one the burly man was leading personally, as the battlefield commander.
He took it extremely seriously—failure was not an option!
Especially when he recalled how his teacher had been killed by that Uchiha brat—it only fueled his rage further. His fists creaked as he clenched them tighter.
He would definitely kill that brat and avenge his teacher!
If only that fool Kinkaku had spoken up sooner, he wouldn't have let the Uchiha escape...
But what's done is done. All he could do now was seek revenge in the next battle.
Soon, reinforcements from Kumogakure successfully arrived at the encampment.
...
Reinforcements from both Konoha and Kumogakure arrived almost at the same time.
Konoha encampment, command tent.
At that moment, all the clan heads and elite Jōnin had gathered inside.
The Nara commander's expression was grim as he looked around at everyone and began the pre-battle briefing:
"Kumogakure's reinforcements have arrived. What comes next will be a tough battle!"
"We need to cooperate fully, defeat Kumogakure, and strive to end the war as quickly as possible!"
"I'll now begin assigning the battle plans..."
Due to the surrender of the Land of Wind on the southwestern front, Konoha had been able to shift all their forces to the northeastern battlefield.
With this massive support, the pressure on the battlefield eased significantly.
Renya's squad of six was still tasked with preventing Kinkaku from joining the battle.
As for the long-haired burly man, there were other elite Jōnin assigned to intercept him.
The scale of the war had begun to escalate, evolving from battles involving hundreds to those involving thousands.
This was essentially the full military strength of both villages.
Clearly, both sides were now going all in.
Renya had no objections to the Nara commander's arrangements.
On the battlefield, plans could never keep up with change.
He had killed the future Second Raikage, and although he wasn't sure of the exact relationship between the Second and the future Third...
It was obvious—the Third Raikage would never let him go easily...
Renya wasn't afraid. The powder he had developed was specifically designed to counter the long-haired man's Lightning Release Chakra Armor.
With that powder, even the Third Raikage could be destroyed with a single hand!
As for Kinkaku, Renya didn't plan on using the powder on him. This kind of weapon was to be saved for critical moments—to deliver a fatal blow!
It absolutely could not be used casually!
...
The meeting soon ended, and everyone left the command tent.
"This time, we can't let Kinkaku escape again," Shimura Danzō said as he clenched his fist. "He must be killed!"
They had let Kinkaku escape twice before—undeniably their own failure!
Third time's the charm... Kinkaku had to die this time!
After two battles, the team of six had thoroughly figured out Kinkaku's fighting style.
With proper coordination, there was now a high chance they could kill him!
Even they hadn't realized it themselves—but in fighting such powerful foes, their own strength had grown significantly.
Life-and-death combat was the fastest path to getting stronger.
...
Konoha, Hokage's Office.
"The final war is about to begin," Senju Tobirama said, setting down a file and rubbing his brow out of habit.
If they could defeat Kumogakure, the war would be over.
Both villages had deployed the bulk of their forces. Now, it was a war of attrition.
Whoever ran out of resources first—would lose.
"Get ready. I'm heading to the battlefield myself," Senju Tobirama suddenly said toward the shadows.
At a time like this, the Hokage couldn't stay hidden in the village. He had to lead from the front to raise morale!
The Anbu soon delivered his battle uniform.
Senju Tobirama changed into it, then looked out the window at the village, murmuring softly:
"Haven't seen that kid in a long time."