Chapter 24 — Enough Already. Stop Jinxing It.
The morning mist had yet to fully disperse when several fully equipped squads assembled at Konoha's main gate.
Namikaze Yami and Senju Nawaki stood among the departing shinobi, each carrying their own supplies. Compared to the veterans around them, they looked conspicuously young.
Tsunade had also come to the gate. Watching the two about to head for the battlefield, a trace of complicated emotion flickered through her eyes.
"All right, Sis. I'm a man who's going to become Hokage, you know. You can relax," Nawaki declared, puffing out his chest with absolute confidence.
Yami glanced at him—and for some reason, a giant flashing DANGER sign seemed to materialize right above Nawaki's head.
Tsunade clapped her brother on the shoulder with exaggerated boldness.
"Go on. Don't disgrace Konoha."
Just as Nawaki opened his mouth to add something else, Yami grabbed him by the arm and dragged him back a step.
Enough already—shut up and rein it in!
One flag might be survivable, but at this rate, if he kept stacking them, the Shinigami might personally come knocking.
Tsunade then turned her gaze to Yami and tossed over a simple, ancient-looking ninja blade she had been holding.
"This was a blade my grand-uncle once used," she said. "Consider it compensation for the sword I broke yesterday. Don't dishonor it."
Yami caught the blade. The instant his fingers touched the scabbard, he felt a restrained sharpness humming beneath the surface. Even after years without being drawn, the weapon still radiated a chill that seeped into the skin.
"This… it's too valuable," Yami said after a moment's hesitation.
This was the Second Hokage's blade, after all.
Tsunade waved it off without even turning back, clearly leaving no room for refusal. Her figure soon faded into the thinning morning fog.
At that moment, the jōnin leading each squad arrived from the direction of the Hokage Tower. One man stopped in front of them—wearing a standard jōnin uniform, his eyes a solid, pupil-less white.
"I'm your squad leader, Hyūga Teru," he said evenly. His Byakugan revealed nothing of his thoughts.
After the briefest of introductions, the squads set off, marching toward the Rain Country front.
Before leaving, Yami looked back once more.
On the Hokage Rock, the faces of the First, Second, and Third Hokage gazed down upon the village in the morning light—solemn, unyielding.
And yet, Yami couldn't help thinking: beneath this seemingly peaceful dawn, how many undercurrents were already surging?
Was Shimura Danzo losing sleep over the complete ransacking of Root?
Were tensions between the Uchiha Police Force and the villagers spiraling ever closer to open hostility?
And ahead of them lay the Rain Country—the true meat grinder of the shinobi world.
Several days after leaving the village, the scenery began to change.
The lush forests gradually gave way to jagged terrain, and the air grew heavy with moisture—the unmistakable sign that they were drawing closer to the battlefield.
Nawaki's initial excitement was gradually worn away by the exhaustion of long-distance marching.
"Keep your spirits up, and conserve your strength," Yami reminded him, speaking from experience. "This is only the beginning."
Since leaving the village, Yami's vigilance had remained razor-sharp. Though he hadn't fully activated his Kagura Mind's Eye, he maintained a constant baseline awareness of their surroundings.
With a Hyūga jōnin leading the squad, they were effectively advancing at the front of the formation the entire time, responsible for scouting terrain and enemy movement.
When the group halted to camp by a stream after nightfall, the proximity to the war zone meant they could only subsist on soldier pills and creek water—lighting a fire was out of the question.
Just past midnight, a weary Nawaki shook Yami awake so they could rotate sentry duty.
On watch, Yami immediately sensed the change in the air. Thick clouds blanketed the sky, and the damp, earthy smell unique to an approaching storm lingered everywhere. Heavy rain was imminent.
Before the first drops could fall, Yami's expression hardened.
Within his perception, beyond the movements of forest animals, numerous chakra signatures were approaching—quietly, deliberately.
"Something's wrong," he said gravely, waking Nawaki and the squad leader, Hyūga Teru.
Teru didn't bother asking for details. Veins bulged around his eyes as his Byakugan activated, sweeping across the forest beyond the stream.
Under the Byakugan's penetrating vision, the hidden figures were instantly exposed. Yami's warning proved accurate.
Teru cast Yami a surprised glance—clearly not expecting such keen perception from a genin.
With other squads camped nearby, Teru ordered Yami and Nawaki to conceal themselves while dispatching several shadow clones to relay the alarm.
By the time preparations were complete, several enemy squads had already crept close.
"Heh. A rookie Konoha squad?"
The lead Iwagakure ninja sneered at the seemingly undefended camp.
With a hand signal, he sent several subordinates forward, using Earth Release to tunnel silently toward the tents.
But the moment they surfaced beside the camp, they froze.
The tents were empty—and the air itself reeked of danger.
"Something's wrong—!"
Before the warning could finish, a wave of searing flames erupted, instantly engulfing the foremost Iwa nin. They tried to scream, but fire poured down their throats, leaving only the stench of charred flesh behind.
After the ambush, Yami retreated at once, avoiding direct confrontation.
The brutal deaths of their comrades enraged the remaining Iwa nin. More than a dozen figures burst forth from all directions.
"Earth Release: Earth Spear Barrage!"
Jagged stone pillars erupted from the ground, forcing everyone to scatter. Hyūga Teru moved like lightning, Gentle Fist strikes shattering the stone lances with precise chakra control.
"Nawaki, watch out!" Yami shouted, hurling a kunai to drive back an Iwa ninja attempting a sneak attack.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
Nawaki formed seals in an instant. A rising curtain of water blocked the shuriken storm coming from the right flank.
Yami drew the blade at his waist, pale-blue chakra flowing along its edge. He met an Iwa swordsman head-on, sparks flying as steel clashed.
Thanks to the swordsmanship he'd gained from Kuriarare Kushimaru—and days of relentless practice—his movements were sharp and efficient. Within a few exchanges, his opponent fell.
Hyūga Teru surveyed the battlefield with his Byakugan, issuing calm commands.
"Two enemies at three o'clock—they're forming hand seals!"
"Water Release: Water Turbulent Wave!"
Yami leapt back as Nawaki's jutsu surged forward, disrupting the enemy's technique mid-cast.
The fight grew increasingly tense. Iwagakure pressed their numerical advantage, while Konoha reinforcements rushed in, gradually closing the encirclement.
Then—
"Earth Release: Earth Core Movement."
The ground convulsed violently, as if a massive earthquake had erupted beneath their feet.
Before their horrified eyes, the terrain rose and collapsed in chaos, reshaping itself in moments—cleanly severing the Konoha reinforcements from the battlefield.
A short figure suddenly hovered in the air above them.
The struggling Iwa nin straightened, their expressions transforming into near-fanatical reverence.
There was no need for introductions.
Only one person in the shinobi world could fly so freely—and wield such overwhelming power.
Ōnoki, the Third Tsuchikage.
The sole master of Dust Release, a wielder of Kekkei Tōta.
After reshaping the battlefield, he simply hovered there, hands clasped behind his back.
The crushing pressure of a Kage descended upon the field, thick enough to suffocate.
"Heh… hehehe…"
A hoarse voice broke the silence.
"For a Tsuchikage to step in personally—don't you think that's a little beneath your station?"
Along with the words came a cold, slick chakra presence, spreading quietly through the air.