The intelligence Honoka Uzumaki brought wasn't particularly difficult to obtain.
In truth, an army of several thousand shinobi was too large to conceal. With so many people moving at once, news spread like wildfire. In an era where information was relayed by summoning animals, intelligence gathered one second could reach headquarters the next.
At a shinobi's pace, a forced march would bring them close to the Land of Iron's border in two to three days.
The reason A chose to halt his army midway was to allow them to rest and recover their stamina. Of course, this was also a blatant power play. So, you want to establish a village? You want to be a Kage? We're here to slap you in the face. Are you going to run? If you don't, then let's fight. Let's see how you escape this time. If you run, your brand-new village will be finished before it starts. You'll not only lose face, but you'll never be able to establish a foothold in the shinobi world again.
Nagi simply responded that he understood. He wasn't panicking. After the celebration, he returned to the Sky Fortress and, from a storage scroll, took out the arsenal he had secretly pilfered from the Demon Slayer world.
Considering the samurai's strength in close-quarters combat, besides cannons, Nagi had brought back mostly handguns. They were all revolvers—simple, easy to use, and with no risk of jamming. They were far more effective than kunai.
They might not be effective against a jonin, but against a genin, a modern revolver was a one-shot kill.
Next came piles of dynamite and hand grenades.
While the quantity wasn't massive, it was more than enough for a battle against a few thousand men. The power of World War I-era artillery was not to be underestimated.
Honoka Uzumaki and Yukihime had become his dedicated secretaries, helping him sort through many of these matters. Between his own training and research, he was simply too busy.
"Inform old man Watanabe. Have him help forge some replicas of these revolvers and cannons. I can't be the only one running back and forth to transport them every time we run out. And parts will need to be replaced. The Land of Iron must learn to forge its own artillery and firearms."
"Also, tell Sasaki Chifu to have the samurai who joined the village come and collect the firearms and cannons. Give them half a day to familiarize themselves. In one day, we will head to the border for a decisive battle with the Land of Lightning."
Based on the intelligence, Nagi calculated the timing. In one day, the forces of the Land of Lightning would reach the border. All his forces had to do was wait for them, well-rested, within the Land of Iron's territory.
It didn't matter if the battle took place on the border. The land there wasn't particularly fertile anyway, so it wouldn't affect food production. The Land of Iron's economy was primarily based on the trade of hand-crafted weapons.
As for whether the appearance of firearms and cannons would skew the technological development of this world, eventually leading to chakra-powered guns or moon-destroying chakra cannons, that was none of Nagi's concern.
The next day, the five thousand samurai of the Land of Iron set out with a declaration of war. It wasn't that the country had few samurai, but that the Swordsmith Village had been established too recently for everyone to join. It was only after Nagi had demonstrated his Susanoo and the Three-Tails that many of them had found the courage to enlist.
Nagi divided the more than five thousand troops into three divisions: the vanguard, the main army, and a small reserve force at the rear.
Each samurai in the vanguard was equipped with a revolver and several hand grenades. In theory, an exploding tag had similar power to a grenade, but a grenade's shrapnel of iron and steel pellets made it far more lethal.
In the main army, Nagi positioned the artillery, intended for long-range bombardment of the Land of Lightning's forces.
The rear guard consisted of a small reserve force, as well as logistics and medical teams.
Barring any special circumstances, Nagi did not plan to bring the Sky Fortress to the battlefield. The thing was just too... big. Who knew if the Land of Lightning's two jinchuriki would be present? If his precious, massive Sky Fortress was blown up by a Tailed Beast Bomb, he would die of heartache.
The day of the decisive battle was sunny and pleasant, with a few clouds but not overly hot. A, the Fourth Raikage, fueled by a mixture of old and new grudges, had chosen a good day for a fight.
Before the main armies even clashed, their forward scouts had already engaged each other numerous times. The samurai of the Land of Iron were too specialized and found themselves at a disadvantage against the shinobi scouts of the Land of Lightning, but the introduction of handguns helped to bridge some of that gap.
The Fourth Raikage, A, frowned as he examined a revolver that had been brought to him. "Is this thing really that powerful?"
Darui sighed. "Yes, Lord Raikage. According to the interrogation of one of their men by our Anbu genjutsu specialists, they don't really understand this so-called 'handgun' either. All they know is that Uchiha Nagi distributed them the day before they set out."
"The structure isn't complicated; any craftsman could replicate it. But the things they call 'bullets' are special. When the firing pin in the back strikes the bottom, the bullet is fired with incredible force."
"If you're not careful, even a jonin could be killed."
A ninja could be described as an egg holding a hammer. Their offensive power was immense, but their bodies were as fragile as an eggshell. Ninety-nine percent of all shinobi, no matter how powerful, could be killed with a single well-placed kunai.
"Is that so? I'll try it..."
The Fourth Raikage, A, raised the revolver, slowly aimed it at his own head, and pulled the trigger.
BANG!
With a loud crack and a small puff of smoke, a bullet erupted from the barrel at a speed of two to three hundred meters per second, streaking directly toward the Raikage's head.
Two fingers firmly pinched the bullet just before it made contact. The searing hot projectile was stopped dead in its tracks.
"Uh, Lord Raikage, are you alright?" a shadow guard asked dryly.
"Don't worry, this thing can't hurt Lord Raikage," Darui sighed. The Raikage's body had been tempered through countless battles; a bullet couldn't kill him.
"But it might not be the same for others," A said, gravely putting down the revolver. This inconspicuous-looking weapon could fire a metal slug at two to three hundred meters per second.
An experienced chunin or jonin might be able to predict its trajectory or dodge it from a distance, but it would be trouble for a genin. Not every village's genin were as monstrously talented as Konoha's.
"Pass this intelligence down the line. Tell them to be as careful as possible."
The arrow was already nocked; there was no turning back now. A could only helplessly order his Cloud shinobi to be cautious.
If it were just the handguns, it wouldn't be a major problem. The weapon's accuracy dropped significantly beyond twenty meters. As long as they used long-range ninjutsu and relied on their own skill with throwing kunai, they wouldn't be at a disadvantage. The samurai of the Land of Iron were too specialized; in a long-range ninjutsu battle, they were no match for the shinobi of the Cloud.
And yet, A had a vague, unsettling feeling.
"Report! Enemy sighted one hundred miles ahead!" "Report! The main enemy force is fifty miles ahead!" "The enemy is twenty miles ahead!"
Finally, the two armies faced each other. They were less than ten miles apart, and the open terrain made it easy to spot any potential traps. On both sides, breathing was heavy and hearts pounded. On a battlefield of thousands, even someone like Kakashi couldn't guarantee he wouldn't be hit by a stray kunai. No one's safety was assured. Once the fighting started, the battlefield would be filled with a storm of ninjutsu and kunai.
"Vanguard, advance!" Darui waved his hand, and the forward division of shinobi moved out.
He was the commander of this battle. The Fourth Raikage, A, stood on a large boulder, quietly waiting for something.
King against king, pawn against pawn. In this battle, Raikage A was the king. Naturally, he wouldn't participate in the skirmishes of pawns and cannon fodder.
Soon, a figure radiating immense presence descended from the sky via Magnet Release, looking like a god.
The shinobi and samurai of both armies instinctively avoided the area between the Fourth Raikage and Uchiha Nagi. They knew that if they got involved in a battle between kings, a single misstep could get them killed.
Unlike a battle between ordinary soldiers, a shinobi battle required them to spread out to avoid being wiped out by a single ninjutsu. They typically fought in small, coordinated squads across the battlefield.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!" +100 "Lightning Style...!" +100
The Cloud shinobi opened with a combination jutsu. A hundred water dragons, laced with the paralyzing effects of Lightning Release, struck at once, taking out over a hundred samurai who were caught off guard.
The soldiers behind them scrambled to dodge. Here, the advantage of a spread-out battlefield became apparent. If the thousands of shinobi had been clustered together, that one combination jutsu could have wiped out half the samurai army.
"KILL...!" "CHARGE...!"
After the initial small loss, the forces of the Land of Iron finally clashed with the shinobi of the Hidden Cloud.
On the vast, dispersed battlefield, each squad fought with all its might to eliminate its opponents before moving on to the next.
Kimimaro, Genya, and Amaru, who had just become a jinchuriki, were in one such squad. With his mastery of Water Breathing swordsmanship and his Shikotsumyaku providing top-tier physical defense, Kimimaro was a veritable god of slaughter. Genya provided support with his precise marksmanship, while Amaru used the vast chakra of her jinchuriki status to suppress the enemy with ninjutsu.
Kunai, shuriken, and exploding tags filled the air. The Land of Iron's side was not to be outdone, pulling out their handguns and returning fire, occasionally tossing a grenade.
"Fourth Raikage A, I've been waiting for you," Uchiha Nagi said, his Mangekyo flaring to life. He activated the Transparent World, and... the Mark.
The Mark, or rather, a modified version of Sage Mode. Its power might not be as great as that of the three great sage regions, but if an ordinary person failed in their training, they wouldn't have to worry about turning into a stone statue or a snake.
At worst, their lifespan would be shortened, just like the swordsmen of the Demon Slayer world. But this was the most suitable Sage Mode for humans.
If the sage arts of the three great regions provided a tenfold boost, the Sage Mode of the Mark provided a sevenfold boost. It was less powerful, but far safer.
His Nichirin Blade, Raikiri, absorbed the sunlight and heat from the entire battlefield. Under the blazing sun, it began to burn with solar fire, its intense heat allowing it to cut through anything with ease.
Raikage A, for his part, didn't bother with warrior's etiquette either. He and his brother, Killer Bee, immediately activated their Tailed Beast Chakra Modes. One cloaked in blue, the other in red, they charged forward.
Nagi fearlessly met them head-on, one against two. He had no choice. In his newly founded village, he was the only high-end combatant. Yukihime and Honoka Uzumaki were not suited for battle. One was managing the village, handling miscellaneous affairs and logistics, while the other was stationed at the Sky Fortress as a contingency.
"Liger Bomb—"
The A-B Combo unleashed their ultimate technique right from the start, hoping to cut down their enemy in one blow.
"Hooo... Sun Breathing, Thirteenth Form—" Nagi unleashed his own technique, faster and more powerful than ever before. But then, an unexpected interruption occurred.
As the A-B Combo closed in, Killer Bee pulled out a mysterious small object from behind his back. It instantly emitted a blinding white light, like a miniature sun, forcing most people to shut their eyes.
"A flashbang??" Nagi was momentarily stunned.
"You can't use your Mangekyo now! You're dead!" Raikage A laughed wildly. His Anbu had given it to him before they left.
It was a small tool developed by the Hidden Cloud specifically to counter Uchiha Nagi's Mangekyo. It was nothing more than a flashbang. But against the absolute power and speed of the A-B combo, if their opponent's Mangekyo-enhanced dynamic vision was disabled for even a second, it was enough time for A and Killer Bee to kill him.
"Damn it, to think I'd be targeted like this one day..." Nagi cursed, closing his temporarily blinded eyes. But what the Raikage and his brother hadn't expected was—
With the Transparent World, he was just like the newly revived Madara. Closing his eyes made no difference. To the utter confusion of the A-B combo, he dodged their sure-kill Liger Bomb.
"You?? How did you dodge that? You can't even see!"
"Just because I can't see with my eyes doesn't mean I can't perceive. My turn, isn't it, A?"
Nagi grinned, revealing a row of perfectly white teeth. He then unleashed dozens of overlapping strikes with his Nichirin Blade, Raikiri, hacking mercilessly at Raikage A.
Seeing this, Killer Bee rushed to support his brother, extending several Tailed Beast tentacles, all of which Nagi severed with Raikiri.
"Oh yeah! Tentacles sliced! His sword's too sharp, what a fright!"
By now, the battle had reached a fever pitch. The shinobi of the Land of Lightning were pressing their advantage, and the samurai of the Land of Iron were in a steady retreat, their defensive line on the verge of collapse.
After retreating for several miles, Nagi was still tied up with the A-B combo, and several hundred Cloud shinobi had surrounded them, watching like hungry tigers.
At that moment, tens of thousands of meters up in the sky, Uchiha Nagi's clone watched as the vanguard of the Land of Lightning pursued the retreating forces of the Land of Iron, with their main army pressing forward right behind them. A small smile played on his lips.
"The Hidden Cloud forces have entered the designated kill zone. Open fire."
"OPEN FIRE—"