After the order was given, Fugaku immediately led the Twelve Guardian Ninja to the front lines.
He had already learned the purpose of this mission from the Daimyo.
As someone loyal to the Daimyo, he would resolutely carry out his orders.
As for the Twelve Guardian Ninja, ever since the incident at the Fire Capital construction site, their role had shifted to guiding how shinobi should act.
The wind blew across the mountains, rustling Fugaku's cloak embroidered with the Uchiha fan.
His gaze swept across the ridge, landing on the massive Konoha army moving steadily into the southern plains of the Land of Lightning.
Two thousand Konoha shinobi, led by Jiraiya, were methodically taking position in their assigned defensive zones.
There were no fluttering banners, no thunderous battle cries.
Only the soft, steady sounds of disciplined marching.
The towns of the Land of Lightning along the way were eerily silent.
Doors and windows were tightly shut. The streets were deserted.
Occasionally, a bolder villager would peek through a crack, eyes filled with fear, dread, and curiosity.
In their eyes, these shinobi wearing Konoha forehead protectors were executioners.
Demons who had just massacred three thousand Kumogakure shinobi.
Yet the expected looting and brutality never came.
When the Konoha troops entered the first town, the residents had already prepared themselves for the worst.
But nothing happened.
The shinobi swiftly secured the town's perimeter, then quietly dispersed.
Entering private homes?
No.
Harassing civilians?
No.
Even before departure, Fugaku had already given strict orders.
They all understood that this mission was not about conquest. Their main objective was to maintain stability and assist local civilians in resuming production.
Though they didn't fully understand the reasoning, they still followed orders precisely.
Additionally, strict military law ensured discipline.
For example, any act of harassing civilians or abusing the populace would be punishable by death, regardless of rank.
In every town they entered, these military laws were posted in prominent locations.
This was the shared will of the Daimyo and the Commander-in-Chief. No one dared defy it.
However, to the civilians of the Land of Lightning, these words offered little reassurance.
To them, it sounded more like a hypocritical declaration.
Then, a Konoha shinobi stepped out of the patrol formation.
Every hidden gaze immediately locked onto him.
What was he going to do?
The shinobi walked slowly to the center of the town, where an ancient well sat, long dried up due to drought.
He stood before the well and began forming hand seals.
Those unfamiliar gestures, to the villagers, were filled with ominous foreboding.
In the next instant.
"Water Release: Water Wall!"
With a low shout, a large amount of clear water surged into the dried-up well in an incredible fashion.
Gurgle! Gurgle!
The well quickly filled to the brim with clean water, even overflowing and running down the cracked, dusty street.
The eyes behind the door cracks widened instantly.
What was this...?
After the shinobi left.
A few braver children couldn't resist any longer. They ran out from behind the doors, cautiously approaching the well and scooping up water with their small hands.
Clear. Sweet.
They stared at their palms in disbelief, then at the ancient well that continued to gush with clean water, and suddenly burst into joyful cheers.
This astonishing scene didn't just occur in one place.
Out in the fields beyond the town.
Another team of shinobi moved swiftly between the ridges.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow River!"
The hardened, compacted earth shifted and churned under the effect of the jutsu, becoming soft and fertile in no time.
Irrigation canals were also quickly carved out.
An old farmer leaning on his cane stared in disbelief.
These shinobi had completed a month's worth of his family's work in just half a day.
Jiraiya stood atop the tallest tower in the town, silently watching it all unfold.
He watched the villagers' eyes change from fear, to curiosity, to gratitude and awe.
He watched the Konoha shinobi strictly carrying out their duties.
The Great Toad Sage's prophecy echoed again and again in his mind.
Everything was happening now.
Then, a chill crept over him.
He wasn't a fool. He saw it clearly.
This wasn't a military occupation.
It was a long-planned annexation.
First, with thunderous force, they broke the Land of Lightning's spine. Then, they fed its people with overwhelming goodwill. Eventually, they would make them submit willingly to the Land of Fire.
In that moment, Jiraiya fully understood the young Daimyo's strategy.
His ambition went beyond victory in war.
He wanted the entire Land of Lightning, and the hearts of its people.
...Meanwhile.
In the heart of the Land of Lightning, Kumogakure.
The air was thick with tension and anxiety. Oppressively heavy.
The thirteen hundred remaining Kumo shinobi stood lined up at the village gate.
They were Kumogakure's final fighting force.
The second-line troops left behind.
The order they received was to surrender Kumogakure.
But none of them moved.
The blood of three thousand comrades. The betrayal of the Daimyo. The imprisonment of their Kage and Jinchūriki. Each was an unbearable humiliation.
And today, they were to welcome those who came to divide their homeland.
"Remember this!" A one-eyed Kumo shinobi growled in a low voice. "The Daimyo ordered no resistance! Anyone who disobeys will be branded a traitor!"
"But!"
He suddenly turned, his single eye sweeping across the Kumo shinobi, a wild intensity burning within it.
"Remember their faces!"
"Etch today's humiliation deep in your souls!"
"One day, we'll wash away today with their blood!"
No one responded.
Only silence. Oppressive and suffocating.
Just then, dust rose at the horizon.
Two armies advanced, one from the left and one from the right, overwhelming in presence.
To the left was Iwagakure, clad in brown uniforms, their steps heavy and steady.
To the right was Kirigakure, moving silently and eerily.
The two armies stopped at Kumogakure's gate.
They looked at the Kumo shinobi lined up before them, their eyes full of hatred.
Some showed mocking sneers.
"Oh, quite the spirited bunch." An Iwa shinobi sneered, scanning them. "What, you still think you can fight?"
"With them?"
A Kiri shinobi licked his blade, his eyes greedily sweeping across Kumogakure's tall buildings.
"What a lovely place. From today on, it's ours."
They made no attempt to hide their status as conquerors.
The Iwa shinobi who spoke earlier walked up to a Kumo child.
He reached out and patted the boy's face.
A mocking, humiliating gesture.
"Hey kid, why are you staring like that? You wanna die?"
"Pah!" The Kumo child suddenly spat in his face.
"You little...!" The Iwa shinobi's face twisted with rage, raising his fist to strike.
"Stop." The Iwa commander, a Jōnin, stepped forward. "No need to bother with defeated stragglers."
He walked up to the Kumo child and looked down at him.
"I won't kill you."
"All of you worthless people should live."
"Live, and watch as we take everything from you."
"Your village. Your treasures. Your Ninjutsu scrolls..."
He paused, his gaze drifting boldly toward several kunoichi among the Kumo ranks. His smile became twisted.
"…and all your spoils of war."
"Hahahahahahaha!"
Arrogant laughter echoed through Kumogakure.
Each laugh cut like a blade, carving into the hearts of every Kumo shinobi.
Humiliation.
Fury.
Hatred.
Many clenched their fists, nails digging deep into their palms.
They glared at the arrogant invaders with bloodshot eyes.
The shinobi of Iwa and Kiri reveled in their status as conquerors.
They swaggered into the village, shamelessly occupying the finest homes, looting supplies as they pleased.
Just like invaders marching into a fallen land.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)