Outside the gates of Sunagakure, Akagi led a unit of Iwagakure shinobi into a fierce clash with the Sand ninja. The flare signals bursting in the sky startled the defenders within the village.
"What's going on?"
"Why is there a distress signal coming from outside the village?"
Ken Ogasawara, tasked with defending Sunagakure with just over five hundred ninja, immediately barked the question upon spotting the twin signal flares.
Only he knew the crushing pressure he had been under these past few days. A vast village like Sunagakure, reduced to barely five hundred defenders. The thought of that number leaking to outsiders sent a chill down his spine.
If word got out about how fragile their defenses were, they would become a prime target for every opportunistic force lurking in the shadows.
Sunagakure held riches and secrets coveted by many, but lacked the strength to guard them all.
If someone could breach its defenses, the loot alone would justify any risk. The risk-to-reward ratio was just too enticing.
What ambitious warlord wouldn't be tempted?
Fortunately, their security protocols had been airtight so far. Otherwise, they'd be dealing with far more than just an Iwa incursion right now.
"Ken-sama," reported a masked ANBU, landing swiftly before him, "a unit of roughly five hundred Iwagakure shinobi has appeared outside the village. They're currently engaging our returning patrol."
Ken's pupils contracted sharply.
"Could it be… they've learned the truth about our defenses?"
But then he shook his head, brushing off the rising panic. "No… No, they couldn't know. There's no way."
As acting commander of the village's entire shinobi force, Ken Ogasawara steadied himself and immediately gave the order:
"Rally everyone, prepare for battle!"
Even before his words fully settled in the ears of those nearby, he was already sprinting toward the main gate.
"Yes, sir!"
The surrounding Suna-nin answered in unison and dispersed to carry out his command.
Whatever the Iwa force's true objective was, Ken knew only one thing: they must not succeed.
The remaining Sand ninja scattered throughout the village quickly converged at the gate.
When Ken and his reinforcements arrived at the battlefield, the sight that greeted him made his blood boil.
In mere moments, over half of the hundred returning Suna-nin had been wiped out. Sixty corpses lay strewn across the desert sands.
Iwa had suffered losses too, but far fewer. Barely a handful, and certainly not enough to slow them down.
This was 100 vs 500. The outnumbered Sand ninja had no chance against Akagi's elite strike force, handpicked by the Third Tsuchikage himself.
"Kill them!"
"Kill! Kill—!"
The Iwa shinobi roared as they chased down the thirty or so remaining Suna survivors, cutting them down right at the gates of the village.
Unacceptable.
Completely unacceptable.
"Full assault! Wipe out every Iwa shinobi in front of us!" Ken bellowed, drawing his blade and charging into the fray without hesitation.
No matter what, he would not allow Iwagakure to set foot inside Sunagakure.
This was his responsibility, his conviction.
If this enemy force broke through, the consequences were unthinkable.
With no Kazekage present, Ken was the village's strongest shield. He would not, could not, let Iwa pass.
Anyone could see the invaders meant harm.
Obvious.
They were already at the damn doorstep.
"Die!"
Boom!
Just as Akagi prepared to strike down a fleeing Sand ninja, Ken arrived at the last second and saved him.
"Just in time," Ken muttered, eyes locked onto Akagi, a firestorm of killing intent erupting around him.
"Ken-sama!"
The rescued Suna-nin looked up, pale and breathless, recognizing his savior with relief and awe.
Akagi turned his attention toward the incoming reinforcements, then glanced around the raging battlefield. He narrowed his eyes and smirked.
"So… this is the last of your defense force, isn't it?"
"If we kill you all, Sunagakure's treasures will be ours."
Ken's pupils contracted once again.
So he knows. He really knows.
That flicker of emotion didn't go unnoticed by the seasoned Akagi.
"Earth Style: Stone Dragon Jutsu!"
Without hesitation, Akagi struck first, hurling a massive sand-and-stone dragon toward Ken.
But Ken was no rookie. Dodging the attack with practiced ease, he immediately retaliated with a deadly technique of his own.
"Wind Style: Pressure Damage!"
A giant sphere of compressed wind burst from his mouth, blasting toward Akagi with explosive force.
But Akagi's cold expression flickered with amusement.
The Stone Dragon hadn't just been aimed at Ken, it had been targeting the Suna-nin behind him as well.
Realizing this too late, Ken shouted:
"Look out!"
The Sand ninja in the rear saw the descending Stone Dragon and scrambled to evade.
BOOM!
The massive earthen beast crashed into their ranks, killing several and gouging a deep trench into the desert floor, reaching all the way to the village gates.
Even as they traded deadly blows, neither Akagi nor Ken backed down, locked in a brutal duel.
Nearby, a girl of thirteen or fourteen stood out like a beacon.
She was Pakura, a Chūnin of Sunagakure.
Her bloodline limit: Scorch Release.
"Scorch Style: Overheat Kill!"
Fiery orbs floated around her, incinerating Iwa shinobi left and right with deadly precision.
Though only a Chūnin, Pakura's strength rivaled, or exceeded, that of many Jōnin.
"Now's our chance! Counterattack!"
"Avengers for our fallen comrades, kill them all!"
The thirty or so Suna-nin who had been desperately fleeing suddenly wheeled around to fight, spurred on by the arrival of reinforcements.
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
Moments ago, their comrades had been laughing and talking beside them, now they lay lifeless on the ground.
The pain, the rage, it all boiled over.
"Fire Style: Fragmentation Jutsu!"
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
"Wind Style: Kamaitachi Jutsu!"
In the blink of an eye, the battlefield erupted with coordinated elemental assaults.
But Iwa didn't falter.
"Earth Style: Earth-Flow Barrier Formation!"
Several Iwa Earth-style users raised a fortified wall in unison, shielding their comrades from the onslaught of flame and gale.
The blazing inferno and furious winds crashed harmlessly against the barrier, failing to inflict casualties.
-------
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to my Patreon ——— patreon(.)com/PrimalDemon [remove the parentheses ( )]