Land of Rivers.
The terrain here is low, and every year, massive amounts of rainwater flow in from the Land of Rain. These rootless waters travel all the way toward the ocean, carving out the unique network of ridges and ravines that shape the Land of Rivers.
Mitsuki suddenly remembered he had studied this back in his past life — something called karst topography. He remembered the term, but not the full details.
Regardless, today this small country, ravaged by years of war, was finally about to face its decisive battle.
At this moment, within Mitsuki's Six Eyes vision, he could already see the Suna shinobi ahead.
Konoha and Suna had each dispatched thousands of ninja to this battlefield. Counting the recent reinforcements of a thousand shinobi, and subtracting the rear guard, Konoha had deployed about three thousand here. Mitsuki didn't know Suna's exact number, but it was certainly no fewer — likely more.
The balance of forces wasn't in Konoha's favor.
To maximize the Leaf's advantage of balanced combat capabilities, strategist Shikaku had reorganized the forces into five battle formations.
Mitsuki had been placed in the first vanguard line. This wasn't because he was being thrown away as cannon fodder. It was because they intended to use his overwhelming large-scale jutsu to strike first and deal a devastating blow to the Suna before the main clash began.
That was exactly what Mitsuki wanted.
Once both armies fully collided, the battlefield would descend into complete chaos—making it difficult for him to unleash wide-scale jutsu without harming allies.
"Prepare for battle!"
Nearby shinobi reminded one another.
The moment Mitsuki saw the Suna within his attack range, he didn't hesitate.
He extended his hand and formed a Giant Rasenshuriken.
His comrades in the first vanguard line only felt a violent gust whip past them, its edge stinging their skin.
Some of the newly arrived reinforcements from Konoha stared in shock at the massive spiraling chakra shuriken in his hand.
"Th-this is…?"
"Don't tell me… it's that?"
A veteran shinobi who had fought for years in the Land of Rivers explained to the new arrivals with fervor:
"That's right. Don't blink—you're about to witness the jutsu that secured Konoha's absolute advantage in the Land of Rivers!"
Around him, shinobi looked on with shock, fear, and awe — all eyes fixed on the massive blue Rasenshuriken in Mitsuki's grasp.
Many had heard rumors, but aside from those who had directly fought alongside the Legendary Cyclone Storm Ultra-Roaring Squad Zero of the Blades of Gale, Flash, and Spiral, few had ever witnessed it firsthand.
All they knew was that Konoha had a prodigy named Shimizu Mitsuki, who, right after graduation, had developed an S-rank jutsu on his own.
And in the war against Suna, this jutsu had given Konoha a tremendous edge.
The shinobi world, after all, respected only strength. Even if Mitsuki was just a fresh graduate, his sheer power commanded respect—and even worship—from veteran shinobi.
『Now then, get ready to explode!』
Mitsuki hurled the massive Rasenshuriken forward.
"Giant Rasenshuriken!"
The violently compressed wind chakra spun with a howl, tearing apart everything in its path as it roared toward the Suna army.
But as the saying goes—when you think nothing can go wrong, that's exactly when something does.
The vanguard Suna shinobi froze in terror at the sight of the familiar, devastating weapon. And who could blame them?
Ever since Mitsuki and Minato had formed a special-ops squad, they had relentlessly raided Suna's camps and supply lines.
As the saying went—"a thief never leaves empty-handed."
Although the name of the "Blazing Flash Spiral Gale Unit One" hadn't spread widely, that iconic, colossal Rasenshuriken had left deep scars in the minds of countless Suna shinobi.
Now, those in the front lines felt their lives would end before the battle had even begun.
Just then, three white puppets shot out from the Suna army, stacking together in a triangular formation.
"Three Treasure Suction Crush!"
A massive wind vortex formed before them, pulling Mitsuki's Rasenshuriken into its core.
The shrill sound of chakra blades grinding echoed continuously.
Seeing his Rasenshuriken restrained, Mitsuki abandoned the idea of guiding it into the enemy's center for maximum destruction.
Instead, he formed a one-handed seal, ready to detonate it immediately.
But the expected explosion never came.
Through the Six Eyes, Mitsuki spotted faint, black tadpole-like markings etched into the vortex barrier restraining his jutsu.
Fūinjutsu!
Mitsuki sighed inwardly—none of the Five Great Villages were ever simple opponents.
His Rasenshuriken was overwhelmingly powerful, but not complex in its nature. Suna had clearly spent time preparing countermeasures.
At that moment, an elderly woman rushed out of the Suna's formation.
From her fingertips stretched ten chakra threads, each controlling a puppet—including the three already using Three Treasure Suction Crush.
"Secret White Move: Chikamatsu's 10 Puppets!"
This was one of the most advanced and legendary puppet techniques in existence — ten puppets designed by the very founder of puppet ninjutsu, Monzaemon.
Each puppet had its own specialized weapon and attack style, and when combined, they could form devastating formations far exceeding the strength of a single unit.
"It's Lady Chiyo! She stopped that cursed jutsu!"
"Thank goodness!"
Suna shinobi erupted with cheers, their morale surging.
After all, Mitsuki's Rasenshuriken had terrorized them for far too long. They could only sigh: "We've suffered under that Rasenshuriken long enough."
Chiyo snapped her right hand, driving her puppets harder. The Sanbō Kyūkai vortex compressed further, its sealing formulas pushed to the limit.
The colossal Rasenshuriken was broken apart and compressed, condensing into a highly concentrated chakra sphere.
"Konoha brat—take this back!"
With her words, the condensed chakra sphere shot back like a bullet toward Mitsuki's direction.
The wheel of fate had turned.
Now, it was the Leaf's vanguard who felt dread.
Though the returned sphere wasn't nearly as powerful as Mitsuki's original Rasenshuriken, if it exploded in their formation, the result would still be catastrophic.