Land of Earth – Frontline
This place could no longer be called land.
The air was thick with the stench of scorched earth and pulverized stone, as if the battlefield itself were still burning. Mountains and hills that once stood here had vanished completely, replaced by a terrifying wasteland that looked like it belonged to another world.
Gigantic craters scarred the ground, bottomless and jagged, as though meteorites from outer space had smashed into the earth. Vast stretches of mirror-like crystal glimmered across the battlefield—traces left behind when Fire Release melted everything in its path, only for Particle Release to erase it completely.
Deep gullies carved by violent winds split the terrain apart, while twisted landforms rose where massive earth walls had once been forced out of the ground.
At the center of this apocalyptic landscape, two figures stood facing each other from a distance. Their ragged breathing was the only sound in the dead silence of the battlefield.
This was a place where only the two of them could stand.
"Hoo… hoo…"
The Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, hovered in midair, his wrinkled face etched with exhaustion and stubborn pride. His comically large red nose looked unusually pale from the massive chakra consumption.
Opposite him stood the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, clad in battle armor. His aura was unstable, and the Adamantine Staff in his hand had already reverted to Enma's true form. The monkey king squatted beside him, fangs bared, eyes locked warily on their enemy in the sky.
"Monkey," Ōnoki rasped mockingly, "how much longer can you last? Your stamina is draining far faster than mine."
Hiruzen ignored the provocation. He calmly placed his pipe back into his mouth, took a deep puff, and exhaled smoke that blended with the dust swirling across the battlefield.
"Ōnoki, I admit you have an advantage in the air," he said evenly. "But whatever you planned, it has already failed."
His gaze swept across the devastated landscape shaped by their combined power.
"Stop," he continued, his voice firm but unraised. "That's enough for today."
"Ha?!" Ōnoki burst out laughing as if he had heard the greatest joke of his life. He straightened his aching back, fury blazing in his eyes. "Stop? Sarutobi, have you gone senile? The only one falling here today is you! Our strategy? Since when did Konoha know our strategy so well?!"
He clasped his hands together. A blinding white light began gathering in his palms.
Particle Release—the power capable of erasing all existence.
Yet Hiruzen remained completely calm.
He knew better than anyone how terrifying this jutsu was, but he also understood its fatal flaws. The activation speed was slow, and the firing speed wasn't much better. With a bit of smoke or visual interference, he could easily evade it with his speed.
"Today, Hiruzen Sarutobi, you will be buried forever in the Land of Earth!" Ōnoki roared.
Just as he was about to unleash the attack, a figure suddenly appeared like a ghost at the edge of the battlefield.
"Tsuchikage-sama!"
An Iwagakure Anbu knelt on one knee, holding an open scroll toward the sky. His face was pale with dread.
"Urgent intelligence!"
Ōnoki frowned impatiently. To him, nothing mattered more than killing Hiruzen right now. But the moment his eyes swept over the few lines written on the scroll, his entire body froze.
The brilliant light in his palms flickered violently, then vanished.
The air seemed to solidify.
Hiruzen instantly noticed the change. He stared at Ōnoki's suddenly darkened expression, a premonition rising in his chest.
For Ōnoki to look like this—even in the middle of their battle—something enormous must have happened.
And if nothing unexpected had occurred…
Then it could only be that matter.
"...Good."
After a long silence, Ōnoki forced out a single word through clenched teeth. He slowly rolled up the scroll. When he looked at Hiruzen again, his gaze was filled with complicated emotions.
"You damn monkey," he spat.
"Today, this ends here."
"You win."
Without another word, without even a threat, he turned, grabbed the Anbu, and flew rapidly back toward Iwagakure.
Watching him retreat without hesitation, Hiruzen finally let out a long breath.
He even chuckled softly—before coughing violently and spitting out thick phlegm.
"That really took everything out of me," he muttered.
He turned and used Body Flicker, vanishing toward the temporary command post.
Konoha Temporary Command Post
"Hokage-sama!"
The Anbu immediately stood and saluted.
Hiruzen waved his hand and went straight to the sand table.
"Any urgent reports from other battlefields?" he asked in a low voice.
An intelligence officer stepped forward, face pale with shock. He handed over a thin report, his voice trembling.
"Hokage-sama… an urgent report from the Land of Rain."
Hiruzen read it.
His pupils shrank instantly.
The hand holding the paper trembled uncontrollably.
Only a few words were written—but they exploded in his mind like thunder.
[Land of Rain Frontline Victory Report]"Demigod" Hanzō—Captured alive.
Captured… alive?!
Land of Wind – Sunagakure Command Post
Inside a dim tent, Ebizō stared at the sand table, brows deeply furrowed. Beside him, Chiyo's face still carried grief.
Who could have imagined that a newlywed couple would be slaughtered by Konoha ninja?
They didn't even know the killer's name.
The only eyewitness claimed white teeth erupted from the ground and swallowed them whole. In the next moment, both were dead.
There was no doubt—it had to be Konoha.
They even gave that person a title:
Konoha's White Fang.
"Chiyo-sama! Ebizō-sama!"
The tent flap burst open. A Sunagakure ninja stumbled inside, face pale as a ghost.
"Urgent intelligence from the Land of Rain!"
"What's with the panic?" Chiyo snorted coldly. "Did the sky fall?"
The ninja collapsed to his knees.
"The sky did fall… Hanzō—he—"
Ebizō snatched the scroll and unrolled it.
Clatter.
It slipped from his fingers.
Chiyo froze. She slowly looked up.
"What is it?"
Ebizō couldn't speak. He only pointed.
She picked up the scroll.
Her face drained of color.
For the first time, her eyes—usually as calm as an ancient well—filled with disbelief and terror.
Hanzō… captured alive?!
That was Hanzō!
Even Chiyo wasn't confident she could counter his poison or survive his blade, let alone his Water Release mastery.
Someone on par with their Kazekage… captured alive… in the Land of Rain?
Impossible.
Hidden Mist – Underground Cave
Madara sat on a stone throne, eyes closed. Tubes connected to the Gedo Statue fed chakra into his dying body.
A White Zetsu emerged from the shadows.
"Madara-sama, something interesting happened in the Land of Rain."
Madara snorted.
"Interesting? Everything in this world is boring."
White Zetsu chuckled.
"Konoha ambushed Hanzō. Result—"
It paused.
"Hanzō was captured alive."
Madara's eyes snapped open.
Terrifying pressure flooded the cave.
"What did you say?"
"Hiruzen… captured Hanzō?"
Impossible.
Hanzō would never surrender.
"And…" White Zetsu added, "the main force was a ten-year-old child."
Madara froze.
Ten years old?
"And Kakuzu was sealed too."
Silence.
Madara stared blankly.
When he was ten, he was still throwing stones with Hashirama.
"…Is this information accurate?"
"Absolutely."
Madara finally spoke:
"Let's wait. The Land of Rain will change."
"And Uzushiogakure?"
"Not destroyed yet. Most Uzumaki fled."
"…We'll go see."
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