After the four of them left, Mitokado Homura immediately gathered every ninja who still had strength to spare and sent them back to Konoha as support.
They probably wouldn't make it in time, but they could at least keep order afterward, clean up the battlefield, and handle the grunt work.
…
Half a day later, Kageyama Katsuki reached Kikyō Mountain. The battle was already underway.
From high above, the fiercest fighting was at Kikyō Mountain, followed by Kikyō Castle. In the closest spot, the fighting had come to within three to four hundred meters of Konoha itself.
Because the village's interior was short on manpower, Konoha had fewer shinobi than Sunagakure here; only superior high-end combatants were barely keeping the Sand shinobi from breaking into the village.
"No wonder Sarutobi Hiruzen had to step down after the war. They fought all the way to Konoha's doorstep."
"So many Suna shinobi slipped into the Land of Fire. Even if it was with careful planning and staggered infiltration, Sarutobi still bears inescapable responsibility."
"We didn't get reparations from Iwagakure, Kumogakure, or Kirigakure—only from Suna. Lots of shinobi will naturally be dissatisfied."
"Shimura Danzō's power swelled even more after the Third War. I'm afraid plenty were unhappy with Sarutobi's softness."
Kageyama drew his blade and guided his golden eagle toward the fighting nearest the village.
Whatever little schemes he had, he still didn't want to see Suna shinobi forcing their way into Konoha.
As a part of the Leaf, it would be shameful to say otherwise.
"Careful, a Leaf shinobi is diving on us from the sky!" a Suna chūnin shouted.
Hearing it, Kageyama banked the eagle in a tight, lightning-fast turn and used the momentum to explode forward.
A flash of silver-white steel streaked past like lightning. The warning Suna chūnin stiffened; a red line opened on his throat and a spray of blood erupted.
"Shatian! Damn it!"
Another Suna chūnin's eyes split with rage. His fingers twitched, and a humanoid puppet spit a storm of senbon to force back its opponent.
An instant later, the puppet's hands fired off. Mechanisms snapped open; spikes jutted from each palm, blue-tinged. Guided by steel wires, they lunged like twin pythons toward their prey.
Kageyama swayed left and right, slipping past them, then sprang to close the distance.
His terrifying speed snapped the Suna chūnin to clarity. He frantically triggered every remaining device on the puppet; kunai and poisoned senbon poured out in a dense cloud.
Metal rang in a ceaseless clatter as Kageyama dodged while his blade danced. The unbroken silver-white arc of steel became a shield.
Sparks hissed. Lightning leapt along the sword; wrapped in lightning chakra, the edge grew even keener.
Backed by tremendous strength, one slash cleaved the carefully built puppet in two. The blade didn't stop. In the Suna chūnin's horrified gaze it swept on; his head tumbled and a fountain of blood shot skyward.
"Amazing!" The nearby Leaf shinobi couldn't help but praise him inwardly.
To drop two Suna chūnin in moments—wasn't this Kakashi?
You couldn't blame them for the mistake. The Hatake were famed for swordsmanship and agility, and the two were about the same age.
After felling two, Kageyama charged the other Suna shinobi.
No frills—just power, speed, precision, with the occasional technique. The killing efficiency was brutally high.
Once he finished here, he moved to the next spot. Ordinary chūnin rarely lasted past a single exchange.
His brazen, eye-catching style quickly drew the attention of a Suna jōnin. The man booted aside a fallen Leaf shinobi and rushed in.
"Die!"
Wind Release: Blade of Wind.
The Suna jōnin's face wore a cruel, bloodthirsty grin. He crossed sword-fingers and swept them; invisible wind condensed into razor blades and rushed in on a gust.
Within the Byakugan's view the two wind blades were clear threads of chakra. Kageyama's sword took on a pale-blue wind chakra. He cut straight into the crossing point of the wind blades.
Driven by his immense strength, the technique shattered. The Suna jōnin jerked his arms up to block.
Blood burst. Even with bracers, his forearms split under the wind-sharpened, top-grade chakra blade, the wounds deep to the bone.
"He blocked it? Impossible!"
Teeth bared in pain, the Suna jōnin could barely spare a thought for his injuries. Shock cracked his voice.
He had never seen anyone stop the Blade of Wind.
"Heh. I'm not Gekkō Hayate. That little trick is nothing."
Kageyama's sneer came with his left hand rising to a one-handed seal. Chakra surged and gathered in his throat.
"One-handed seals? Not good!"
The Suna jōnin's face changed and he leapt back.
Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Technique.
Globes of flame shot out. After dodging two, the Suna jōnin was struck.
He screamed, then fell silent as the remaining bursts hammered into him, most of them slamming into his face.
When the attack ended, his face was charred beyond recognition, more horrifying than a demon mask.
"Sigh… If I want a promotion, I have to put in some work. Special jōnin is still a bit low."
"Once the war ends, getting promoted will be much harder."
"Good thing both the Third and Minato are on this battlefield. One unit of effort now is worth at least three elsewhere."
Kageyama muttered under his breath, then moved again, sprinting straight for Kikyō Mountain.
On the way, it wasn't quite gods-and-Buddhas-fall-before-me, but with polished taijutsu, a three-hundred-sixty-degree view, and an occasional ninjutsu, no Suna shinobi could stop him.
By the time he climbed Kikyō Mountain he was soaked in Sand blood, the stench of iron heavy on him.
He could have been elegant, but this wasn't the time. Too much elegance made it hard for people to see how hard you were working, or how strong you were.
What did "fighting through blood" look like?
Just like this—only it was someone else's blood.
Namikaze Minato's fighting style was graceful. Sarutobi Hiruzen's was much more savage. With ANBU around them, they were easy to find.
Kageyama picked his moment and moved to aid the ANBU.
That way, even if Sarutobi didn't see it himself, the ANBU—the Hokage's own eyes and ears—would report it.
He was there to help, after all, lowering ANBU casualties. How could they not feel some goodwill?
And to the ANBU, he should now look like a favorite in the Third Hokage's good graces, and also a colleague. As long as they weren't Root, they knew what to do.
Under Sarutobi and ANBU's noses, Kageyama pushed even harder and shifted his style.
He led with ninjutsu and supported with taijutsu. Ninjutsu made bigger noise and drew more eyes.
A jōnin should be well-rounded to promote smoothly. If you're too lopsided, promotion gets tricky.
Might Guy could make jōnin not only because his taijutsu was truly strong and his work attitude flawless, with plenty of Will of Fire, but also thanks to the legacy of Might Duy.
As time passed, Suna's high-end fighters were ground down by Konoha.
Without high-end force to prop up the battle, genin had only slaughter waiting for them. The advantage was gone, and a rout loomed.
The likes of the Konoha Twelve are not ordinary genin; in the first round of the Chūnin Exams, the ones eliminated or not even qualified to sit are what count as ordinary. They know three basic arts, throw kunai and senbon, and if they can use a single C-rank ninjutsu they're the elite among genin.
Soon, Suna's morale collapsed. The remaining chūnin and genin fled for their lives, and Konoha shinobi pounced in pursuit like tigers charging downhill.
The outcome was decided. The battlefield slid into garbage time.