The Third Raikage led the still-capable Kumogakure shinobi to confront Danzo Shimura's ambush force.
However, the intense battle prior had clearly taxed the Raikage's stamina, and now, Danzo began to gain the upper hand. Fresh cuts marred the Third Raikage's steel-hardened body—injuries inflicted by Danzo's chakra-infused blade, enhanced with precise Wind Release chakra, capable of bypassing even the Raikage's nigh-impervious Lightning Armor.
Noting the Raikage's exhaustion and deteriorated combat efficiency, Danzo's excitement grew. His wind-style assaults became increasingly fierce and lethal.
At last, Danzo stripped away the bandages concealing his right eye—revealing a fully matured, three-tomoe Sharingan.
That's right. Danzo had long ago transplanted a Sharingan—stolen during the Uchiha clan's skirmishes—and though its chakra drain was significant, his reserves, bolstered by prior infusions and sealing formulas, allowed him to maintain it.
The Sharingan granted him far more than genjutsu resistance and offensive capability—it heightened his dynamic visual perception, synchronizing perfectly with his Wind Release kenjutsu.
Like Lightning Release taijutsu, Wind Release-based kenjutsu also pursued speed—but in a contrasting manner. While Lightning Release stimulated muscle and nerve pathways internally for explosive bursts, Wind Release honed cutting edges and accelerated momentum externally.
Such high-speed swordplay demanded acute visual tracking—without which, even a skilled shinobi would be overwhelmed by the velocity of their own attacks. With the three-tomoe Sharingan, Danzo could now read the Raikage's movements and launch refined, deadly strikes.
Danzo's thoughts were cold and calculating. If he could slay the Third Raikage and erase all Kumo witnesses, no one would be left to expose the Sharingan he shouldn't possess.
"Damn it...!"
The Third Raikage roared in pain as another gash opened along his arm. Rage seethed in his voice—humiliation at being wounded by the likes of Shimura Danzo.
"Tonight will be your death, Raikage!"
Danzo's grim expression belied the thrill coursing through him. Killing the Third Raikage would elevate his status in the village beyond compare. With the aging Hiruzen increasingly questioned, Danzo envisioned himself poised as the most viable candidate for the Fourth Hokage—just as Tobirama had passed the role to Hiruzen in their youth.
Danzo's forces—elite members of the Shimura and Sarutobi clans—clashed fiercely with the Cloud shinobi. Officially, they had accompanied the Konoha main force to establish a defense against Sunagakure in the Land of Rivers, but their true orders were covert and deadly: neutralize the Third Raikage if opportunity allowed.
Coordinated and ruthless, the two clans launched synchronized combination techniques. Sarutobi clan members invoked the Fire Release: Great Flame Technique, while Shimura wind-users fanned the flames, massively amplifying the attack's scale and intensity—forcing the Cloud shinobi into defensive formations.
Among the attackers, Sarutobi Shinnosuke—Hiruzen's son—stood out, wielding powerful fire-style jutsu alongside his partner Shimura Izumi. Their childhood camaraderie translated into impeccable battlefield synergy.
But they were being watched.
Two strikingly similar shinobi in the Kumogakure forces—a pair of one-eyed twins, each wearing a sealed eyepatch on opposite sides—kept their gazes trained on Shinnosuke and Izumi. These were special sensory scouts of the Yotsuki clan, equipped to detect chakra fluctuations through layers of deception.
The Cloud forces had been ordered not to risk themselves recklessly. Their primary goal during the battle's early stages was survival—stalling for time while their reserves and injured comrades recovered chakra and reorganized.
…
Meanwhile, far from this clash, the armies of Sunagakure and Iwagakure made their move. Witnessing the clash between Kumo and Konoha, they seized the chance to storm Uzushiogakure.
Though such a charge was perilous, hesitation would cost them dearly. If the Cloud forces regained strength and joined the Uzumaki defense, any chance of conquest would vanish.
The assault had to be swift and brutal.
"You've come this far—don't expect to leave alive!"
Uzumaki Masahiko, eyes burning with fury, commanded his clan's defense. Once again, the Four Elders raised the Four Red Yang Formation, sealing off the battlefield in a blazing cube of death. Escape was no longer an option. Annihilation was the goal.
"This barrier... the scale is absurd!" Chiyo of the Sand muttered in awe. The chakra fueling the technique was beyond conventional standards.
Beside her, Ebizo remained silent, giving hand signals to Sunagakure puppet-nin. In response, the puppeteers launched devices that dispersed a dense, corrosive poison mist, which was quickly propelled across the village by coordinated Wind Release techniques.
This wasn't ordinary poison—it was engineered specifically to withstand Fire Release. If ignited, it converted into a toxic smog, doubling its lethality.
Simultaneously, Iwagakure's forces launched massive Earth Release jutsu, targeting the foundations and terrain of the village. Their goal: disrupt the Uzumaki sealing networks, particularly the defenses tied to the treasured Bashōsen—the Banana Palm Fan—whose five elemental outputs had already repelled an earlier Mist assault.
Having analyzed data from the Mist conflict, both Iwa and Suna had prepared contingency plans. That knowledge now paid off, as coordinated strikes neutralized the fan's sweeping elemental storms.
Watching their most powerful defenses being countered, Aloe Uzumaki and the other commanders grew grim. The tide was turning.
At the village perimeter, a shadow moved—Jia San had arrived.
A traitor of the Aburame clan, Jia San raised his hands and began forming a sequence of complex hand seals, invoking a forbidden jutsu.
"Forbidden Technique: Jar of Venomous Decay!"
With a muffled explosion, a nondescript clay jar within the patriarch's latrine shattered—releasing a storm of invisible, microscopic insects that swarmed invisibly across Uzushiogakure.
These weren't ordinary kikaichū. They were nanoscopic variants—engineered to evade even the keenest Uzumaki sensory arrays. Within moments, they had infiltrated lungs, bloodstreams, and nervous systems of allies and enemies alike.
Jia San didn't discriminate. His targets included the Uzumaki, the Iwa shinobi, and the Suna invaders. All were enemies of Konoha, and his mission was scorched-earth annihilation.
What's more, he wasn't done.
Drawing a sealed scroll from his robes, Jia San unfurled it to reveal one hundred thousand high-grade explosive tags—each engraved with a blood-bound Multiplicative Detonating Seal, a forbidden jutsu pioneered by Tobirama Senju.
The microscopic insects he had scattered—fed on his chakra and genetically linked—served as conduits for detonation. One command, and every tag could be summoned to the insects' locations, reducing Uzushiogakure to a crater.
However, what Jia San didn't realize was that he had already been marked.
Far from the village walls, hidden amidst the trees, a Cloud Anbu operative lowered his chakra-imbued monocular, a cold smile on his lips. Behind him crouched three elite operatives—silent as ghosts.
Assigned to monitor the situation independently from the main force, their primary target was the group of Konoha operatives suspected of infiltrating the village earlier that day—including the Hokage's eldest son.
After days of quiet surveillance, they had finally caught their prey.
"This one's dangerous."
The team leader's voice was sharp and certain.
"A probable Aburame. With high-level forbidden techniques. He was sent to erase Uzushio—and might turn those techniques against Kumo next."
He glanced at his team. "No close combat. Eliminate immediately. The bugs are not to touch you."
"Understood."
The Anbu nodded in unison. This wasn't about valor. It was about clean, efficient assassination. Kill the target—and disappear.