At the border of the Land of Grass, several figures dashed quickly toward the direction of the Land of Fire.
"Dammit! These bees are terrifying!"
"Tōdō, run faster!"
A man and a dog ran at top speed, urging their teammates along.
"Inuzuka Gaku, you're going too far! Don't you know how hard running is for me?!"
"Argh! I miss Minato so much. If he were here, I wouldn't have to suffer like this."
Inuzuka Gaku's squad, as an elite unit, had long been stationed in the Land of Grass. When the war broke out, they were among the first to engage Iwagakure's forces alongside other squads.
At first, everything went smoothly. But when the Kamizuru clan entered the battlefield…
The situation changed instantly. With their venomous bees, the Kamizuru clan attacked ferociously, breaking through several of Konoha's defensive lines.
The stationed forces in the Land of Grass suffered heavy casualties, most of them falling to the poisonous bees.
"Buzz... buzz..."
Suddenly, a sound filled with oppressive weight echoed behind Inuzuka Gaku and his team.
Hearing that sound, every member of the squad turned pale.
"Damn it, they caught up this fast?!"
"Tōdō! Hurry!"
His full name was Akimichi Dōtō. As a top fighter of the Akimichi clan, when it came to strength and destructive power, he was number one in the squad. But when it came to speed, he was dead last.
There was no helping it—everyone has their strengths and weaknesses.
"I'm already running as fast as I can!!!"
"Damn you! You're buying me barbecue after this!"
"Partial Expansion Jutsu!"
Enraged, Akimichi Dōtō quickly formed hand seals and unleashed his clan's signature technique.
His legs instantly grew longer, transforming him into a small giant. With the Expansion Jutsu, his legs stretched like stilts, propelling him forward at great speed.
Inuzuka Gaku and the others widened their eyes in shock.
"Huh?"
"What's that?"
Standing taller gave Akimichi Dōtō a wider view, and with his long legs, he immediately spotted a unit heading their way.
Leading them was a striking figure—dressed in green robes. Wasn't that Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha?
"Inuzuka Gaku, faster! That's Tsunade-sama's reinforcements up ahead!"
Hearing this, Inuzuka Gaku was overjoyed and shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Keep going! As long as we meet up with Tsunade-sama, we'll be saved!"
At that moment, Tsunade was leading her squad forward at full speed. She hadn't yet seen Inuzuka Gaku and his team, but she did hear the spine-chilling buzzing sound first.
Then, from behind the treeline, a massive dark cloud emerged.
"That must be the Kamizuru clan's poison bees?"
"Looks like some of our comrades are being chased."
"Uchiha Hachiyo, lead your team to the front. If the poison bees appear, stop them immediately with Fire Release."
"Don't clash with them head-on."
Several Uchiha clan members rushed forward. There were only ten of them, but no one would dare underestimate them.
Each bore the Uchiha crest on their backs. As one of the great clans of the ninja world, the Uchiha reputation wasn't built on words—it was carved into history with fists and fire.
The Sharingan was their birthright. Their powerful Fire Release was their foundation.
Soon, the swarm of bees closed in on Inuzuka Gaku's squad. At the same time, Tsunade's group caught sight of them.
"Uchiha Hachiyo! Now! Stop those poison bees!"
"Yes!"
Uchiha Hachiyo charged ahead with his clansmen.
"Fire Release! Great Fireball Jutsu!"
"Fire Release! Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu!"
Huge fireballs and streams of smaller flames erupted from their mouths.
Seeing the sudden burst of fire, Inuzuka Gaku roared immediately:
"Everyone! Drop down!"
Battlefield instincts were honed through experience. Even though Inuzuka Gaku had never fought alongside the Uchiha before, years of combat had taught him exactly what to do.
He led his teammates as they leapt from the trees, hitting the ground just as blazing fireballs collided with the onrushing swarm.
Against insects, fire was the perfect counter. But the swarm was vast beyond belief.
Even the Uchiha's flames couldn't hold them back for long.
When the fire burned out, the bees surged forward again.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
With a shout, a fierce gust swept across the battlefield. A wind-style user had joined the fight, scattering the swarm. Many bees were sent tumbling, disoriented.
"Now!" shouted Uchiha Hachiyo. The Uchiha unleashed another round of fire techniques. With the wind to fuel it, the flames spread rapidly, consuming swathes of poison bees in a sea of fire.
But still, some managed to slip past the flames, charging the ninja.
The bees seemed endless. Just as despair began to set in, a flock of birds swooped in from afar—controlled by the Yamanaka clan's secret techniques. The birds dove into the swarm, pecking at the bees.
At the same time, Tsunade rapidly formed hand seals.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
With a burst of smoke, a massive slug appeared on the battlefield. Katsuyu spewed waves of sticky acid, dissolving countless poison bees at once.
Under the combined assault, the swarm finally broke off and retreated. Everyone exhaled in relief—the crisis was, for the moment, averted.
But as they watched the fading cloud of bees, no one felt truly at ease. They all knew this was only a temporary reprieve.
"Inuzuka Gaku, what's the situation?"
Once out of the woods, Tsunade questioned him.
His face was grim. From his expression alone, Tsunade knew just how bad things had become.
"We should retreat. Abandon all our positions in the Land of Grass."
"The main army is still behind us. We're just the vanguard."
"The village is already researching a countermeasure against the poison bees. I'll begin developing an antidote myself."
"It will take time."
As the foremost medical-ninjutsu expert in Konoha—and the entire shinobi world—Tsunade was confident she could neutralize the bees' poison.
She had already captured several bees, intending to study them after retreating.
"Then we'll follow your orders, Tsunade-sama," Inuzuka Gaku replied.
The group began a structured withdrawal. But before they had gone far, a scout rushed back in alarm.
"Bad news! The enemy's main force is on us—and there are even more poison bees!"
The message struck like a thunderclap, sinking everyone's hearts.
"If that's the case, we'll have to fight as we fall back. All clan members, support one another. Protect the medical-ninjas at all costs. We need to buy as much time as we can."
Tsunade decisively ordered the retreat. The Uchiha and wind-style specialists once again moved to the front line, bracing for the swarm.
Tsunade herself quickly seized several freshly killed bees, preparing to attempt a makeshift antidote.
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