"Land of Rain: A Shinobi's War."

-----

-----

It took eight days for the Second Hokage to lead 800 Konoha ninja on a forced march to the border of the Land of Rain. On the eighth day, the Second Hokage gave the order for the army to rest in place. Meanwhile, he met privately with an Anbu messenger who had rushed in from the front lines to request reinforcements.

The Anbu ninja saluted and reported, "Lord Hokage, latest intel—three nights ago, the Sand ninja took Tiansai Rock and Iwabe City, which are both key Iwa supply points. Iwa has now completely withdrawn from the Land of Rain. About 500 of our Konoha shinobi are trapped and surrounded in a temporary stronghold in Iwabe City. They're requesting immediate backup."

The Second Hokage frowned slightly and said, "Iwa's shinobi have always been lazy on the battlefield. Most of their attention's on the Tsuchikage, who's fully focused on fighting the joint forces of Kumo and Kiri. But how the hell did a thousand Iwa shinobi get wiped out overnight by the Sand? And how did they lose their main base in Iwabe?"

The Anbu answered, "From what we've gathered, the Sand used a puppet army of over a thousand to attack Tiansai Rock. As for Iwabe City, it was taken by a female puppet master from the Sand Village. She crushed the defenses with puppet jutsu."

The Second Hokage raised an eyebrow. "Oh? So there's a badass kunoichi in the Sand Village too, huh? Guess it's not all dead weight over there. Alright, listen carefully. Get back to Saru right now and tell him to hold the line for three days. On the morning of the third day, when the first ray of sunlight hits, the whole force will launch a full-scale assault on the Sand. That'll be the moment I carry out the decapitation plan."

The Anbu nodded and left immediately.

Once he was gone, the Second Hokage called for another Anbu from his personal squad and said, "I want you to reach the Iwa commander at the Land of Rain border within a day and a night. Tell him this—he is to launch a full-scale assault on Tiansai Rock and Iwabe City. In return, Fire Country will cut Earth Country's annual tribute in half starting this year. But if he doesn't take both locations within three days, I'll pretend this deal never happened. And remind him—I've already gotten permission from the Fire Daimyo to act with full authority on the battlefield."

The Anbu gave a quick nod and disappeared from the tent.

Iwa Camp

At the Iwa outpost, a high-ranking jonin from Iwagakure sat on a raised platform, listening to the Konoha Anbu.

"So you're saying," he said, "if we take back Tiansai Rock and Iwabe City, we don't need to fight alongside Konoha again against the Sand? And Earth Country's tribute to Fire Country will be cut in half?"

The Konoha Anbu nodded. "Our Hokage already got the Fire Daimyo's approval before heading to the battlefield. He has full authority. He wouldn't lie to you."

The Iwa leader fell silent. After a few minutes, he finally said, "Alright. We'll take both cities back within three days."

The Konoha Anbu gave a respectful nod and left the room.

Sand Village Forward Command – Land of Rain Frontline

The Kazekage frowned as a Sand shinobi knelt before him, reporting, "Sir, the Iwa forces have gone nuts. They're attacking Tiansai Rock and Iwabe City like they've lost their minds!"

The shinobi continued, "Starting yesterday, nearly a thousand Iwa shinobi began a fierce assault on both locations. Our Sand defenders are doing their best to hold the lines, but they're using a lot of Earth Release jutsu. The city walls just can't take that much punishment. Lady Chiyo has requested urgent reinforcements."

Elder Ebizō turned to the Kazekage. "Looks like the Second Hokage's arrived."

The Kazekage narrowed his eyes. "What's that got to do with Iwa's sudden attack?"

Ebizō explained, "Iwa was never serious about the Land of Rain. The Tsuchikage is still far off in the Land of Hot Water, fighting the Raikage and Mizukage. The Iwa forces here were just for show, pretending to help Konoha. That's why it was so easy for us to take Tiansai Rock and Iwabe City in the first place. But now they're going all in—it can only mean Konoha offered them something huge. It's the only explanation for why they'd suddenly put real effort into this war."

He added, "We should take this chance to wipe out the Konoha forces in Iwabe while they're isolated. If we strike now, we might defeat them before their reinforcements arrive. I've already asked my sister to hold the fort and wait for us to finish off the Konoha forces before sending support."

The Kazekage responded, "For now, we'll send reinforcements to Chiyo. We still outnumber them. Send a thousand ninja to back her up immediately. We'll launch a full assault on Konoha's stronghold at dawn tomorrow."

Ebizō urged, "But sir, now is the best time to attack! If we delay, things could go wrong."

The Kazekage just smiled. "Relax. Those Konoha ninja are like fish in a barrel—they're not going anywhere."

He turned and walked out of the command tent, leaving Ebizō sighing.

"Maybe I'm overthinking it," Ebizō muttered. "Let's just hope nothing big changes tomorrow…"

Back in the woods, the Second Hokage was scanning the quiet forest. Beside him, a young ninja named Aki looked nervous.

"Lord Hokage, isn't tomorrow's decapitation plan a little reckless?" Aki asked. "We don't have that many troops, and the Kazekage is supposed to be insanely strong. If we get surrounded, we're screwed…"

The Second Hokage grinned. "Don't worry. I know how strong the Kazekage is—and if I want him dead, nothing can stop me. Sarutobi's group and my 800 shinobi will be like twin blades piercing their defenses. That'll split their attention and buy me time to strike. Once the Kazekage is dead, this war is over. Then Konoha can finally focus on dealing with Kumo and Kiri."

Aki still looked puzzled. "But why do we need to worry about Kumo and Kiri? They're already locked in battle with Iwa in the Land of Hot Water."

The Second Hokage replied, "Yeah, they're fighting now, but sooner or later someone will win—and the winner will 100% come after Konoha. I've got a gut feeling the Kumo-Kiri alliance is going to win. And we're already fighting Kiri in the Land of Whirlpools. Once they beat Iwa, Kumo will definitely turn on us. That's why we need to finish this war with the Sand quickly and force a peace treaty. That way we'll have time and strength to deal with what's coming."

Aki nodded, staying quiet. The Second Hokage looked at him and said, "Go get some sleep. Tomorrow's going to be brutal. This isn't some mission or training. It's war—real, cruel war."

With that, he turned and walked back to his tent.

Aki stood alone in the silent woods, his thoughts racing."I'm just eight years old… and I'm already going to war. Back in my last life, I only saw stuff like this on TV when they reported on the Middle East."

He sighed and went into his tent.

War was about to erupt!

The next morning, as the first sunlight hit the earth—

Sarutobi Hiruzen summoned Enma with a jutsu. "Let's go, brother. Time to raise hell!"

Enma transformed into the Adamantine Staff and roared, "You bet!"

Hiruzen gripped the staff, jumped off the wall, and led the charge. One by one, the Konoha jonin followed him—either leaping down from the walls or charging out as the gates opened—storming the Sand's camp at full speed.

The Sand ninja quickly spotted the attack and rang the alarm bell.

Ebizō was the first to appear at the front lines, watching the wave of Konoha shinobi rush in, his gut sinking with unease.

The Kazekage, having just given the order, had already mobilized the first wave of Sand troops to intercept Konoha's vanguard.

At the front of Konoha's charge, Sarutobi Hiruzen dragged his staff behind him before suddenly stopping. He took a deep breath and shouted:

"Enma! Let's go—wipe them out in one strike!"

The Adamantine Staff suddenly expanded—stretching into a giant pole nearly a kilometer long—sweeping toward the incoming Sand ninja in a massive arc.

And with that, the two sides clashed.

Meanwhile, the Second Hokage was leading his squad through the forest. He pointed ahead and said to a jonin beside him, "You lead the main force from that direction and attack the Sand. I'll take a team of ten to hit the Kazekage directly."

The jonin nodded and took off with the rest of the Konoha ninja.

Now only the Second Hokage, Aki, and nine Anbu remained. They slipped through a different path and soon arrived near the edge of a Sand encampment.

The Second Hokage scanned the area, then knelt and placed one hand on the ground, closing his eyes to sense the surroundings.

A moment later, he opened them and said, "I found that old bastard Kazekage. We're going in. Stick with me and don't fall behind."

With that, he leapt ten meters into the camp.

Landing in the middle, he instantly cast a genjutsu—"Bringer-of-Darkness Technique."A black fog of illusion spread out from him, engulfing hundreds of Sand ninja in darkness.

Aki and the nine Anbu followed him in, launching a one-sided slaughter under the cover of the illusion.

"....."