The noon sun filtered through the dense canopy as Amamiya Raizen led thousands of Konoha shinobi toward the jagged mountain ridge.
Tens of thousands had already gathered there, forming a wall of bodies and steel. At the very front stood two living calamities: Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara. Even with Konoha's overall numbers surpassing either clan, the presence of those two tilted the battlefield entirely.
Konoha couldn't advance.
They couldn't retreat.
Every clash ended the same way: overwhelming force, shattered lines, and more names scratched into the memorial tablets.
That was why Raizen had stepped down as commander and rushed here himself.
Hashirama and Madara wouldn't fall to cautious strategies or polite diplomacy. They needed someone who could read the battlefield with a survivor's instinct, someone who wasn't afraid to get his hands bloody.
After days of marching, Raizen finally reached the ridge. He didn't bother with secrecy or misdirection. The plan was simple: strike Senju and Uchiha hard enough to crack the stalemate.
Within the Konoha forward camp, Hyūga Tennin and the other officers looked stunned when word spread of his arrival. They immediately rushed forward to greet him.
"Raizen-sama! You're finally here. If you hadn't come, I don't know how long we would've been stuck."
Raizen offered only a curt nod and walked past them, thousands of shinobi falling into formation behind him. Once inside the command tent, he began immediately.
"Report. Distance to the Senju–Uchiha position, their numbers, their condition. Everything."
Tennin straightened.
"The allied Senju and Uchiha forces occupy the forward ridges. Combined, around ten thousand. Their morale is extremely high."
Raizen's gaze sharpened.
"What about our camp defenses? I passed the outer perimeter. It looked like half-finished scaffolding."
Tennin swallowed.
"Repairs are ongoing. They should be completed within three days at most."
Raizen's voice cracked through the tent like a whip.
"Three days? The war's been dragging for a month, and you've held these ridges for half of it. How is it possible the most basic fortifications aren't finished?"
Faces around the tent tightened with shame.
A jonin stepped forward.
"Raizen-sama… several days ago, Uchiha Madara led an assault. The previous defenses were completely destroyed. We've been rebuilding ever since."
Raizen exhaled sharply, irritation simmering under his expression. But now wasn't the time for punishments.
"Fine. You get one day. If the defenses aren't complete by tomorrow, it'll be dealt with under military law."
A ripple of nervous acknowledgment spread through the command shinobi.
Fortunately, Raizen hadn't come empty-handed. The thousand shinobi he'd brought were immediately redirected to defensive labor, bolstering the camp's faltering efforts.
After issuing several orders and dispatching scouting teams to re-survey Senju and Uchiha positions, Raizen dismissed the assembly.
When the tent finally fell silent, he sat alone in the commander's seat, fingers steepled, expression cold and calculating.
He didn't know if he could stand against Madara and Hashirama simultaneously.
He didn't know where the limits of their monstrous power lay.
But he knew one thing clearly: Konoha couldn't keep bleeding.
The objective wasn't to slay the two clan leaders outright.
It was to weaken the Senju and Uchiha enough that surrender became inevitable.
As long as their clan lands remained untouched, neither of them would bow.
The ridge had become a choke point, the only path toward deeper territory. If this route couldn't be broken open, Konoha would stagnate here until their forces withered.
Raizen muttered to himself:
"If we keep facing Hashirama and Madara head-on, Konoha's strength will collapse long before theirs does."
His decision crystallized.
He would strike first.
Before hesitation could infect either army.
Before the two gods of war could rewrite the terrain again.
"Bring me the full battle records for the last month."
A runner hurried off, returning with scrolls piled in his arms. Raizen spread them out and began reading every line with predator-like focus.
Meanwhile, deep within the Senju–Uchiha encampment, tensions were rising as well.
"Madara, I heard from the scouts. Raizen's arrived."
"We'll be meeting him on the battlefield soon."
Hashirama stood at the mouth of his tent, red armor catching stray sunlight. His voice held a weary sigh.
Madara scoffed, long black hair swaying as he turned.
"Raizen… I never expected our final opponent to be him. I've been waiting."
Hashirama frowned.
"Don't underestimate him. He might already surpass us."
Madara's eyes narrowed, Sharingan flickering like embers in the dark.
"I don't underestimate Raizen. I've known him since childhood. He was stronger than me even back then… and the rumors say he awakened a Mangekyō Sharingan that wasn't transplanted."
A rare hint of unease crossed his features.
"No Uchiha has ever awakened Mangekyō without trauma or lineage.
So tell me—how did he do it?
Just what is Amamiya Raizen?"
The wind cut across the ridge, carrying with it the scent of steel and war.
A storm was coming.