The Land of Grass had become the battlefield between Iwagakure and Konoha.
Neither side wanted to fight inside their own borders, so the war had been pushed onto this unfortunate small country instead.
Iwa was the attacking force.
Konoha was on the defensive.
As for what the Land of Grass thought about being turned into a battlefield—no one cared.
To the great nations, the opinions of a minor country meant nothing.
Unlike Amegakure, which had resisted fiercely, Kusagakure had chosen a very different approach. The moment the war reached their territory, they simply disappeared, abandoning any idea of defending their homeland.
The contrast with the Land of Rain was stark.
Amegakure had nearly driven back three great nations at once, while Kusagakure had been playing hide-and-seek the entire time.
"ANBU—Root codename squad reporting in."
Crow led the group to meet the commanding officer of this sector.
The current head of the Nara clan—Nara Shikashi.
Shikashi lifted his gaze from the documents on his desk and looked at the masked figures filling the command tent.
"Root, huh?"
Crow nodded. "Yes."
Recently, Root had been trying to recruit personnel from the Ino–Shika–Chō clans, hoping to gain their support. The Nara and Akimichi clans had remained unmoved, but several members of the Yamanaka clan had shown interest.
Although discussions were still in early stages, Shikashi was well aware of Root's activities.
He studied the map for a moment before speaking.
"You'll take the northeastern defensive line. There's a significant Iwa presence there, and Takigakure has been showing signs of activity as well."
"Your primary task is to repel attacks from Iwagakure. At the same time, monitor Takigakure. If they show any intention of joining the war against Konoha, you are to intercept them."
Takigakure was an anomaly among minor villages.
It was the only small village that the Five Great Nations truly took seriously.
After all, its leader had once shamelessly obtained a Tailed Beast from Hashirama Senju himself.
It was the only minor village that possessed such power.
Whether Takigakure had strong shinobi was unclear—but everyone understood the destructive potential of a Tailed Beast.
That alone was enough to make them cautious.
The Land of Waterfall lay between the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth, yet neither great nation had ever attempted to march directly through Takigakure's territory.
A village with a Tailed Beast was a force capable of influencing a war.
And as the defending side, Konoha needed to understand any movement Takigakure made.
"Takigakure, huh…" Akira murmured, rubbing his chin.
In his memory, enemies from that village tended to drop items related to One Punch Man in the game system.
How exactly are these loot tables even connected…?
Still, this assignment was clearly the most dangerous.
If things went wrong, they might end up facing two villages at once.
No wonder Root is so loyal to Danzō later on, Akira thought dryly. They're always the ones being pushed into the worst positions.
Shikashi rubbed his temples and waved a hand.
"You're dismissed."
"Yes, sir."
The Root operatives vanished.
Left alone, Shikashi continued rubbing his brow.
The real problem was Ōnoki, the Tsuchikage, appearing on the battlefield personally. His presence alone had caused heavy losses to Konoha's forces.
Reinforcements from Root alone wouldn't change the situation.
They needed someone capable of countering Ōnoki.
But Ōnoki never moved alone—he always stayed with a large force. Shikashi had considered attempting to assassinate him, but there had never been an opportunity.
The Tsuchikage was both reckless and cautious at the same time.
He broke the unspoken rule that Kage rarely entered battle personally—but whenever Konoha attempted to surround him, he simply took to the air and avoided direct combat.
Even a Kage could be worn down if surrounded by enough enemies.
Konoha lacked anyone who could face Ōnoki one-on-one, but if the Ino–Shika–Chō trio acted together, they might be able to hold him off.
For now, the front hadn't collapsed—but Konoha was clearly at a disadvantage. If nothing changed, it was only a matter of time before the line broke.
All Shikashi could do was keep sending urgent requests for reinforcements.
The Northeastern Line
The Land of Grass was mostly plains.
On the southeastern defensive line, Konoha forces had constructed trenches. Both sides were locked in constant exchanges of ninjutsu, explosions erupting across the battlefield.
Occasionally, Iwa shinobi attempted to flank from the sides, but Konoha would quickly dispatch interception squads.
Going farther around would mean running into another defensive sector entirely.
The fighting between Iwa and Konoha was relentless.
At that moment, Root operatives appeared inside one of the trenches.
A Sarutobi jōnin with a thick beard glanced at them.
"ANBU reinforcements?"
Crow nodded silently. Root always operated under the ANBU name when dealing with outsiders.
"We're short on manpower along the flanks," the Sarutobi jōnin began. "We need—"
"BOOM!"
A massive earthen projectile slammed down not far from the trench, shaking the ground.
Several Konoha shinobi immediately formed hand seals.
"Wind Release: Thousand Faces Gale!"
Countless compressed wind blades shot outward.
Powerful enemy shinobi tried to charge the trench directly, only to be intercepted. Amid the chaos of overlapping ninjutsu, close-quarters clashes erupted and ended in seconds. Survivors retreated quickly.
The Sarutobi jōnin finished what he'd been saying:
"Those skilled in ninjutsu should stay here. As for how you divide yourselves, that's up to you—I won't interfere."
He didn't know these ANBU well enough to command them directly.
Suddenly—
The ground began to tremble violently.
Three Iwa jōnin had slipped close under cover of smoke and launched a coordinated technique, attempting to collapse the trench and wipe out everyone inside.
"Stop them!" the Sarutobi jōnin shouted.
Konoha shinobi rushed forward, but two of the Iwa ninja intercepted them, buying time for the third to complete his technique.
They couldn't break through.
The trench contained not just jōnin, but many chūnin and genin as well.
"Fire Release: Great Flame Technique!" a Sarutobi jōnin unleashed.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!" the Iwa ninja countered.
The ground trembled even more violently. The trench itself was beginning to collapse inward.
"Leave it to me," Akira suddenly said.
"You can handle it?" the Sarutobi jōnin frowned. So many had already failed—what could one ANBU operative do?
"Long-range attacks are my specialty."
Akira weighed a kunai in his hand.
"Let him try," Crow said calmly. "He can do it."
He had seen Akira's long-range strikes before.
Crow quickly signaled the other Root operatives, assigning positions. They disappeared into the battlefield in an instant.
"…Fine. Give it a shot," the Sarutobi jōnin said at last.
If the trench collapsed completely, they would lose their last defensive advantage.
Akira activated his Byakugan, seeing through layers of smoke and ninjutsu until he located the Iwa shinobi still channeling their technique.
The scale of the jutsu required concentration.
And while casting—
They couldn't move.
Akira steadied his breathing.
"Locked on."
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