The coalition's hard-won victory forced the Kaguya clan into retreat, but the Amamiya forces didn't dare relax. Every eye scanned the horizon, wary of a sudden counterattack. Three days passed in tense silence, and still, the Kaguya clan didn't appear.
Then a message arrived from the Kaguya stronghold. With their former patriarch slain in battle, the clan had fallen into chaos. Factions clashed—conservatives against the main army—leaving the Kaguya forces battered and disorganized. Against all odds, the feuding sides finally agreed to a truce and installed a new, centrist patriarch: Kaguya Kazuya. The confrontation ended as abruptly as it had begun.
Despite their internal strife, the Kaguya clan didn't launch a new assault on Hefeng Canyon. Instead, a strange, oppressive quiet settled over the battlefield. The coalition forces waited, uneasy, trying to sense what had shifted—but the answer remained out of reach.
Five days later, Amamiya received a letter from Nin Ge. The Kaguya clan's rebellion had subsided, and under Kaguya Kazuya's leadership, they had grown unified. The new patriarch had studied their defeat and blamed the coalition of three clans for their losses. Now, secretly, the Kaguya forces were mobilizing, preparing to strike back and dismantle the alliance entirely.
When Amamiya Tian and the Huagata clan learned this, they didn't hesitate. They pulled their surviving ninja—half of them gone in the previous battles—and rushed back to reinforce their clans. Dadao Temple, still reeling from heavy losses, begged them to stay, but the approaching Kaguya army left no choice.
The patriarch of Dadao Temple watched the evacuation with a heavy heart. "How can we hold against the Kaguya ninja?" he muttered.
Tachibana-sama's calm voice cut through his worry: "The young patriarch of the Amamiya clan killed the Kaguya patriarch himself. That will earn respect—and fear—throughout the Warring States. The Kaguya clan will respond with their main force. This isn't a disaster—it's an opportunity."
And indeed, the Kaguya clan responded. Nearly two-thirds of their ninja were sent straight toward the Amamiya clan, seeking vengeance and the restoration of their name. Rumors of Douren—now Amamiya Raizen—beheading the Kaguya patriarch had already spread, and the clan was determined to crush this challenge before it could grow.
By the time Amamiya Tian led the surviving family ninja back, only fifty remained from over a hundred who had marched to Hefeng Canyon. The battlefield had been a meat grinder. But there was no time to mourn; the storm was approaching. The Kaguya army had already arrived near Yicheng, and Amamiya Gen had no choice but to organize a defensive camp just outside their territory.
After a day of tense skirmishes, Amamiya Tian and Raizen finally returned to the clan grounds. Amamiya Gen rushed out, relief written across his face. "By the gods, Raizen, you two made it back!"
Once reunited, Amamiya Gen convened the clan's Jōnin. 650 ninja had gathered under his command, and the map spread before them showed the Kaguya advance in stark detail.
"The Kaguya attack focuses on three fronts. Yicheng—we have sufficient guards. Mineral veins—we've reinforced with over a hundred ninja. And now, this plain," Amamiya Gen said, pointing to the central battlefield. "Over seven hundred Kaguya ninja are massing here. This will be a head-on clash."
A breath swept through the Jōnin. With both clans in an open plain, it would be a frontal fight. Strength favored the Kaguya army—but supply lines favored the Amamiya.
"Don't worry," Amamiya Gen continued, "the Amamiya clan's logistics are secure. The Kaguya army comes from afar—they'll tire if we disrupt their supply. Cut their provisions, and we gain half the battle already."
The clan's leaders exchanged determined looks, and the tension in the air thickened like fog over a battlefield. The next confrontation would decide the fate of the Amamiya clan—and the Warring States.