Chapter 88 - The Battle Begins
Kumogakure's Forward Command Camp
The mood inside the Kumo command tent was restless.
Tension buzzed in the air like static before a lightning strike. Dozens of elite jonin stood at attention, awaiting orders, while aides rushed between tables, organizing troop logistics and preparing for the inevitable clash. Yet despite the anticipation, no orders had been given to advance.
The Third Raikage, Ay, sat at the center of the command table, arms folded, eyes closed—composed, but alert. His frame, massive and immovable, radiated strength. Lightning crackled faintly around his body, as if his chakra refused to be stilled even in moments of calm.
"Lord Raikage, we've been camped for days."
One jonin finally stepped forward, unable to contain his concern.
"Konoha's forces are weakened, disorganized. If we don't strike now, they'll receive reinforcements. We'll lose our window."
The man's voice was respectful, but firm—anxious even. He truly didn't understand the Raikage's hesitation. Why delay?
Instead of replying immediately, Ay opened his eyes slowly, as if disturbed from deep thought. His voice, when it came, rumbled like thunder.
"We wait one more day. If he doesn't come… we'll march into Konoha and find him ourselves."
The jonin frowned, confused.
"...'He'? Who are you waiting for, Lord Raikage?"
But the Raikage didn't answer. His gaze was distant, sharp as a blade honed for war. The entire tent seemed to still beneath his quiet intensity.
Before the question could be asked again—
"Lord Raikage! Commotion outside the command tent!"
A messenger burst in, breathless. "The scouts say… the sky—has been torn open!"
"What did you say?" Ay's brow furrowed.
"T-torn open, sir! A massive rift—above Konoha's position! A jutsu, they think… it cleaved the clouds like paper!"
At first, silence.
Then a low chuckle rumbled from the Raikage's throat.
He rose to his feet, towering over the others, his cloak billowing behind him like thunderclouds about to break.
"He's here."
Ay's voice was no longer calm.
It was thrilled.
"Come," he said, brushing past the flustered jonin. "Let's take a look at the sky."
Outside the Tent, when the Kumo officers stepped out, what they saw made even the most hardened shinobi suck in a breath.
The clouds—dense and gray only moments ago—had been split.
A massive gash stretched across the heavens, clean and deliberate, as though a god had drawn a blade across the sky itself. The clouds didn't drift or reform—they remained parted, sunlight spilling through in jagged streaks that cast long shadows across the earth.
The sight was both beautiful and terrifying.
Ay's smile widened.
"He's issuing a challenge."
He recognized the meaning immediately. That rift wasn't a coincidence. It was a declaration.
Kazane Hatake had arrived.
And this—this was his invitation to battle.
"Pass the order—mobilize the troops. Prepare for war!"
---
Meanwhile – Danzo's March
A few miles to the south, deep within the forested trails near the River Kawa, Danzo Shimura was already on the move.
His personal Root division, over 400 strong, marched behind him in tight formation—faceless, voiceless, obedient.
If nothing else, Root shinobi had always been reliable. They followed orders. They didn't question. And in this moment, Danzo relied on that more than ever.
He rode on horseback, for once not cloaked in shadows, not hidden beneath Konoha's bureaucracy, but leading a visible force into a known location.
But despite the outward show of resolve, Danzo was anything but calm.
His mind churned with one singular thought:
"If I die here… everything I've built will vanish."
He clenched the saddle tightly, his one good eye darting from treetop to treetop, paranoid.
If Kazane wanted me dead, he could've done it back in the command tent. So why send me ahead? Why have me 'lure' the enemy if not to make me a sacrificial pawn?
He clicked his tongue.
Damn that brat.
But there was no turning back now. Root was already committed.
He raised a hand, halting the march.
"Scouting report," he barked.
A masked shinobi appeared beside him.
"Lord Danzo. We're closing in on the Kumo forward perimeter. Estimated distance—under one kilometer."
Danzo narrowed his eye. "Deploy Alpha Squad. Draw them out. Minimal engagement. We provoke—we retreat. No heroics."
"Yes, sir."
The ANBU vanished into the trees.
Danzo remained mounted, his chakra flaring as he prepared protective seals on his forearm.
Just a little longer. Once they're close enough, I'll pull back… and let Kazane do the rest.
---
Elsewhere – Kumo Forces Mobilize
Not far from the front, the main body of the Kumo army began to move.
Rows upon rows of elite shinobi, their uniforms trimmed with lightning-etched symbols, marched in disciplined formation. Supply caravans followed, along with med-nin detachments, summoning teams, and reconnaissance squads.
At their head stood Killer B.
The Eight-Tails' jinchūriki tapped his finger rhythmically on the hilt of his twin swords.
"Yo, Big Bro's fired up—it's time to dance, no time for luck!"
His rhymes earned a few chuckles from nearby shinobi, but B's eyes remained sharp. He was relaxed, but not careless.
Then, a scout approached.
"Lord B! Contact at the edge of the forest! Multiple Konoha ANBU—possibly Root!"
B frowned slightly.
"Just them? No sign of Kazane?"
"None yet, sir."
"Mm. He'll show."
The scout hesitated. "Should we engage?"
B tilted his head, then shook it.
"Big Bro's already gone ahead. Let him handle it."
It didn't take long.
In the shadowed forest between the camps, the air exploded with chakra.
Boom!
A massive shockwave ripped through the trees.
"Report!" Danzo shouted, but it was already too late.
From the direction Alpha Squad had vanished, a blur of motion tore through the branches like a bolt of black lightning.
It was the Raikage.
Cloaked in his lightning armor, his body radiating so much raw power it distorted the air around him, he emerged from the smoke and tore past Danzo's forward units.
"Third Raikage inbound! Evade!"
"Retreat! Now!"
Danzo turned white as a sheet.
He hadn't expected him to come in person.
Not this fast.
Not alone.
Damn it. Kazane… you threw me to the wolves!
But the bait had worked, Danzo had completed his task: he had successfully attracted ten enemy attention and was now luring the Kumo army to the battlefield Kazane had designated.
---
Elsewhere — Approaching the Battlefield
Not long after Danzo's departure, Kazane also began to mobilize.
Leading the remaining Konoha forces himself, he walked at the front of the column, his long cloak swaying in the wind, swords sheathed but ever within reach.
The troops followed silently behind.
Despite having witnessed Kazane's power firsthand—the storm-splitting strike that had carved open the sky, and the legendary victories that followed—many still harbored fear.
They had suffered a devastating defeat not long ago at the hands of Kumogakure. For many, the sting of that loss hadn't faded. And now, they were marching once more toward the same enemy. Toward the same dread.
The air was thick with tension.
Every step forward felt like a step toward death.
Even with Kazane at the lead, their morale wavered.
Among them, Jonin Sasaki glanced around at the anxious faces, then quickened his pace until he was walking beside Kazane.
"Lord Kazane," he said quietly, keeping his voice low enough that only Kazane would hear, "we're nearing the designated site. But…"
He hesitated, unsure of how to phrase the rest of his concern.
"Do you really believe Elder Danzo will follow your plan?"
Sasaki didn't doubt Kazane's judgment in battle.
But trust—especially where Danzo Shimura was concerned—was another matter.
After all, he had personally witnessed Kazane nearly kill Danzo with a single kick during their last encounter. To him, it seemed inconceivable that Danzo would risk his life to support a man who so openly despised him.
But Kazane didn't slow.
His gaze remained fixed ahead, calm and unwavering.
"He will," he replied, his voice steady.
"He loves Konoha more than you think."
Sasaki blinked, caught off guard.
Kazane continued, his tone neither mocking nor sarcastic—simply factual.
"Danzo has spent his entire life in pursuit of the Hokage title. He's sacrificed everything—morality, reputation, even his body—for that dream. And if Konoha falls here, everything he's built… everything he's done… will be for nothing."
Kazane's eyes narrowed slightly.
"He can't afford to let the village lose. Not now. Not ever."
As the Konoha army reached the designated location, the soldiers began to spread out into formation.
A tense silence settled over the clearing.
The wind shifted.
The sky—still split from Kazane's earlier strike—loomed high above them, casting ominous rays of light through the rift. The earth was dry beneath their feet. The trees swayed unnaturally, as though nature itself sensed the storm to come.
Then—
"They're here...!"
A shout rang out from the vanguard.
"All forces, brace!"
Another voice joined.
"Elder Danzo and the Root division—returning from the front!"
The soldiers shifted uneasily, raising weapons and tightening armor.
And then they saw them.
Danzo, at the head of a retreating Root force, was sprinting toward the Konoha lines, his cloak tattered, his lone eye wide with urgency.
Behind him—
A massive wave of chakra surged forward like a tidal flood.
The Kumo army, in full force, surged into view.
At its front, like a living battering ram of muscle and lightning—
The Third Raikage.
An enormous man, his entire body cloaked in crackling electricity, sprinted through the trees with devastating speed, his presence like a hammer pounding the battlefield.
Panic swept through the Konoha ranks like wildfire.
"It's the Raikage…"
"He's coming straight for us—!"
"Stand fast! Hold your formation—!"
"Why is Danzo running?! Is this part of the plan?!"
A dozen voices clashed, nerves fraying.
But before the panic could take hold—
"Silence!"
A commanding voice boomed across the field.
It was Shikaku Nara, Konoha's Chief Strategist, stepping forward from the rear lines.
He stood calmly, hand resting near his weapons pouch, his eyes sharp and calculating.
"Remain focused. The commander is present," he said.
"Kazane-sama has a plan."
Those words brought a flicker of calm back to the troops.
If Shikaku believed in Kazane's leadership, they could too.
And as Danzo and the Root operatives broke through the forward ranks, retreating safely into friendly territory, all eyes turned to Kazane.
But Danzo felt the weight of the stares.
Dozens of Konoha shinobi—clan members, jonin, and even low-ranking soldiers—glared at him with open disdain.
He had fled like a coward.
They all saw it.
And Danzo knew—
This humiliation was by design.
Kazane had sent him as bait… and ensured everyone saw the result.
Still, Danzo said nothing.
There was no room for pride now.
Not when the storm was about to break.
Meanwhile — Across the Field
The Raikage finally brought his army to a halt.
His massive figure stood at the head of the Kumo line, his gaze sweeping across the Konoha ranks.
His sharp eyes scanned the formation—but Kazane was not yet visible.
Instead, he saw Danzo.
Retreating.
Disappointment flickered across his face.
"I'm starting to think they lied," he muttered.
"That kid's just smoke and mirrors."
His chakra flared in irritation.
Killer B stepped forward beside him, his twin swords resting easily on his back.
"You want me to say hi, Big Bro? Maybe shake the tree a little?"
The Raikage didn't hesitate.
"Do it."
"B... send them a little gift, will you?"
The Raikage turned to Killer B, signaling him to deliver a message to Konoha's forces.
A brutal, explosive gift of chakra and destruction.