Late at night, the Hokage's office was brightly lit.
Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju sat facing each other.
"It's starting. I've signed the order. Next..."
Madara Uchiha glanced calmly at Tobirama Senju.
Tobirama nodded.
"Hokage, give the order."
"Tonight is the night the world changes."
———
[Inside the Land of Grass]
Kirisu Sarutobi sat kneeling on a tatami mat with his eyes tightly shut, clad in armor, gripping a katana in his hands.
He had not slept all night.
He was waiting for a command...
A command powerful enough to shake the fate of the ninja world... An order to attack.
Suddenly, hurried footsteps rushed over.
"Captain! Orders from the higher-ups!"
A clansman stepped forward with a grave expression and handed over a letter.
Kirisu Sarutobi abruptly opened his eyes and stood up, taking the letter.
The moment he saw the attack order...
A fierce light burst from his eyes as he suddenly drew his katana.
"Pass down my orders. Every squad follows the battle plan!"
"Attack Iwagakure!"
"Yes, sir!!!"
In an instant, the Konoha army moved like thunder, vast and overwhelming, invading the Land of Earth like a bolt of lightning.
———
"Mmph..."
Onoki was still snoring in bed.
Suddenly, frantic knocking erupted at the door.
"Captain Onoki!!! Disaster! Disaster!!!"
An intelligence ninja burst through the door and urgently reported, "Captain, Konoha's army just crossed the border and launched an attack!!!!!"
Onoki, who had still been half asleep moments ago, instantly sat up with his eyes wide open.
"What?! They attacked!?"
"How far have they reached?!"
"Who's leading them?!", Onoki asked anxiously.
"We... we don't know. They should... should be almost here already!!!"
"Kirisu Sarutobi is leading them!!"
The intelligence ninja spoke in panic.
The moment he finished speaking, chaotic noise suddenly erupted outside.
Then came explosions and roaring blasts without end.
"Holy shit! How are they this fast?!"
"It's over... it's over..."
Panic surged through Onoki's heart. Normally, his real combat experience only involved fighting wandering ninja clans in the Land of Earth.
At most, bullying poor nobodies without ninjutsu or kekkei genkai.
But now, the enemy before him was the strongest army in the ninja world, Konoha.
And the one leading them was Kirisu Sarutobi, a battle-hardened veteran from a prestigious clan.
At that moment, Onoki's mind went completely blank.
———
Tap! Tap! Tap...
Three in the morning.
Mu was dragged awake from his sleep.
Then reports from the front lines came flying in like snowflakes.
"Defeat?!"
"Defeat?!"
"Why is it still defeat?!"
Mu was horrified. The hand holding the reports trembled slightly.
"The war started less than two hours ago, and Konoha's army has already driven one hundred kilometres deep into the Land of Earth?!"
Mu instantly felt his head swelling.
Black Zetsu was equally shocked. He never expected Konoha's blitzkrieg to move this fast.
Nor had he expected Onoki's forces to collapse so completely and spiral into a total rout.
"Report to Lord Tsuchikage, a letter from the Daimyo!"
A messenger ninja stepped forward with an ugly expression.
"Read it," Mu ordered.
"The Daimyo of the Land of Earth says, Tsuchikage, what the hell are you doing?! Why is the front line losing this badly?!"
"Are you planning to make me relocate the capital?! At this rate, Konoha's army will probably reach the capital of the Land of Earth in another day!"
The messenger ninja's fingertips trembled as he forced himself to finish reading the letter full of furious condemnation. Cold sweat streamed down his face. He lowered his head in terror and barely dared to breathe.
"That's enough!"
Mu could no longer sit still and immediately stood up.
"Tell the Daimyo that I'll personally go guard the front lines!"
But Black Zetsu instantly stopped him.
"Mu! No. You can't go. If you do, you'll fall right into Madara Uchiha and Tobirama Senju's trap!", Black Zetsu spoke immediately.
Mu's expression turned anxious, his brows tightly furrowed.
Black Zetsu calmly continued, "If you go, Madara Uchiha and Tobirama Senju will definitely use the Flying Thunder God Technique to descend directly onto Iwagakure."
"At that point, headquarters will be finished. So you have to stay in Iwagakure. You cannot leave under any circumstances."
"But... but what about the front lines?"
Mu could not help asking. His voice was full of helplessness and anxiety. As the Tsuchikage, yet unable to personally head to the battlefield, the feeling of being restrained like this filled him with irritation.
Black Zetsu's face darkened as he looked toward the map and quickly said, "Then we can only rely on Onoki now. Tell him this, heads may fall, blood may flow, but Kannabi Bridge must not be lost!"
"If Kannabi Bridge falls and Konoha occupies it, they'll push even deeper into the Land of Earth and establish a supply line!"
"Also, bring the Daimyo to Iwagakure Village for protection!"
Hearing this, Mu quickly wrote a letter and sent something to Onoki along with it.
A stone representing the Will of Stone.
———
[Konoha]
At this moment, the people of Konoha still had no idea the war had already begun.
They remained deep in their dreams.
Completely unaware that in the Land of Earth, Konoha's army had already pushed forward One hundred kilometres.
Even Hashirama Senju had absolutely no idea the fighting outside had already become so intense.
Madara Uchiha's face was filled with excitement.
Tobirama Senju's face was flushed red.
The two looked at the victory reports sent from the front lines, their hearts surging with emotion.
They won. Total domination all the way through.
Less than three hours after the war began, Konoha's army had swept across One hundred kilometres of the Land of Earth.
Such a terrifying record, even in the entire history of the ninja world, ranked first in speed.
Even back when Koshoi Uchiha crossed the river and seized the northern and southern Hegawa regions overnight, it had not been this fast.
"So fast! Excellent! This is even better than when Koshoi Uchiha crushed the Senju Clan back then!", Tobirama Senju said excitedly.
"Hehehe... Hahahaha!!!", Madara Uchiha, whose face was usually gloomy, was now grinning from ear to ear, utterly basking in triumph.
"This is good news, Tobirama. We should have a drink to celebrate!"
Madara Uchiha and Tobirama Senju clinked cups and drank a small cup of sake.
Very quickly, the two adjusted their states again.
"Too bad that fellow Mu didn't take the bait. Otherwise..."
Madara Uchiha shook his head.
"Madara, the urgent priority now is not celebrating. It's securing Kannabi Bridge. This route is critically important. It's Iwagakure's supply line. If we can't take it, then we destroy it!"
Tobirama Senju pointed at the marked location on the map and spoke seriously, "Mm, true. If we seize it, we can establish our own supply line and continuously provide resources to the frontline ninja."
Madara Uchiha nodded.
"Also, the Daimyo is another key factor. If we capture the Daimyo of the Land of Earth, we can use him to threaten Iwagakure.", Tobirama Senju said.
"Hehehe. Tobirama, you should know the Daimyo were personally appointed by the Sage of Six Paths... and you still dare touch them? Aren't you afraid the invisible hand of fate will punish you for it?", Madara Uchiha asked with a laugh.
But Tobirama Senju only smiled faintly.
"The Sage of Six Paths? Do you believe in him?"
"I don't. If I did, I would never have started this war."
"Then let our tangible Konoha army crush that invisible hand!", Madara Uchiha answered with a smile.
After that, Tobirama and Madara looked at each other, the corners of their mouths curling slightly upward. Both of them felt a sense of regret that they hadn't met sooner.
"I'm starting to understand more and more why my elder brother likes you."
Tobirama Senju looked at Madara and smiled faintly.
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