Kakashi and Guy charged forward, pushing through the battlefield's fog of war.
As soon as they broke through, they saw Sakiya dragging a figure toward them.
Both of them were caught off guard.
Sakiya came to a stop in front of them and unceremoniously dropped the unconscious body of Roshi onto the ground.
Smack—
She stood tall, hands on her hips, looking smug.
"Tch. That monster's human form was easy prey for my Eye of Death."
Kakashi and Guy exchanged glances.
They had no words.
---
With Roshi taken down, the tide of battle shifted instantly.
Iwa Shinobi found themselves on the losing end—overwhelmed in direct combat.
Onoki's planned tactics? Useless.
With no better options, Iwa Shinobi called for a full retreat.
This sudden withdrawal left Onoki in disbelief.
The battle had barely even begun, and they were already at a disadvantage.
"Is this fight even winnable?" he muttered.
Left with no choice, he ordered Iwa forces to break into small squads and launch guerrilla attacks—doing whatever they could to disrupt Konoha's advance.
They were practically suicide squads, sacrificing themselves to keep Konoha from gaining full control of the battlefield.
---
Iwagakure.
Two figures, clad in black cloaks with red clouds, strolled into the village unnoticed.
No alarms. No resistance.
Kisame bared his sharp teeth in a grin.
"Heh. Looks like our intel was right. Iwa's defenses are practically empty."
Itachi nodded in agreement.
With Konoha dominating the battle and Naruto heavily guarded at the center, launching a direct attack would be pointless.
Instead, they had opted for a different approach—an infiltration mission.
Their target: the Five tails.
For now, they wandered the village with no obvious sense of urgency…
But someone was watching.
An Iwa shinobi had been tailing them for a while, keeping his presence hidden.
Then, without warning—
Caw!
A swarm of crows burst into existence right next to him, swirling together to form the unmistakable figure of Itachi.
The Iwa shinobi reacted instantly, drawing a kunai and slashing through the illusion in one swift motion.
Shff!
Itachi's body split in two.
But instead of blood—
Feathers.
The Iwa shinobi's eyes widened in shock.
"What… Nani?!"
Thud!
The Iwa shinobi's heartbeat raced as his gaze locked onto Itachi's Sharingan—three tomoe spinning hypnotically.
In an instant, his vision blurred.
When his senses returned, he was already trapped in a genjutsu.
Itachi stood before him, interrogating him for information.
Once he got what he needed, Itachi released his grip, letting the Iwa shinobi drop to the ground.
With a swift motion, he drove a kunai into his heart.
Cold and efficient.
"Let's go." Itachi's voice was emotionless.
Kisame chuckled, amused as always.
"As expected of you, Itachi."
The two walked away without a second thought.
---
From their interrogation, they had gathered vital intel about Iwagakure.
The village was sparsely defended—only a handful of shinobi had stayed behind.
A dozen elite Jonin at most.
But there was one major obstacle.
The Five-Tails' Jinchuriki.
Han.
He was the village's last line of defense, and his strength was undeniable.
Onoki had left Iwa in Han's care, confident that the Jinchuriki alone could deter any attack.
And, most importantly, Onoki was sure that Kumogakure wouldn't move against them anytime soon.
Even if they did, Iwa had spies in their ranks—there would be enough time to react.
---
At a secluded training ground, Han sat in deep meditation.
Steam slowly escaped from his body as he controlled his chakra with precision.
Then—
His eyes snapped open.
Two figures approached.
Kisame and Itachi.
Han exhaled, his voice calm yet firm.
"This area is restricted. Leave."
Kisame grinned, gripping Samehada as the blade let out a hungry growl.
"Oh, we're here for you."
Han's eyes narrowed. His chakra flared, thick and overwhelming.
"Then you're wasting your time."
Without another word, Han vanished from his spot, reappearing mid-air with a burst of steam.
With blinding speed, he launched a devastating kick at Kisame.
The force was unreal.
Even Kisame—renowned for his durability—barely had time to react, raising Samehada just in time.
Boom!
The impact sent him flying.
Kisame tumbled across the ground before flipping back to his feet.
He wiped the blood from his mouth, grinning.
"Not bad. You hit hard."
But Samehada squirmed uncomfortably in his grasp, letting out a pained whimper.
Kisame patted the blade.
"Relax. I'll feed you something good soon."
Then, without warning, he formed a rapid sequence of hand seals.
"Water Style: Great Exploding Water Wave!"
A massive torrent of water surged forth, turning the battlefield into an ocean.
The fight had begun.
Han's pupils shrank.
Steam burst from his body as he flipped mid-air, narrowly avoiding the massive wave. Landing gracefully, he steadied himself on the water's surface.
The battlefield had transformed into an endless ocean.
Meanwhile, on the shore, Itachi tightened his grip around an Iwa shinobi's neck before tossing the lifeless body aside. Several more lay motionless at his feet.
He turned to Kisame.
"Finish this quickly."
Kisame grinned.
"Got it, Itachi."
---
At the same time…
The war between Iwagakure and Konoha raged on.
With Sakiya's support, Konoha held the upper hand.
Her illusions restrained the enemy, making it nearly impossible for Iwa's forces to gain any ground.
Though victory wasn't certain yet, one thing was clear—Konoha's casualty rate had plummeted.
Among Konoha's ranks, Sakiya had earned a reputation.
A title.
The "Angel of Konoha."
A young girl, seemingly delicate, yet wielding illusions strong enough to protect an entire army.
Her name spread quickly.
But fame wasn't always a blessing.
Iwa shinobi soon caught on.
They knew who was behind the large-scale illusions crippling their forces.
And so did Onoki.
If they wanted to turn the tide, there was only one option.
Eliminate Sakiya.
Onoki, desperate for a solution, consulted an old strategist.
And just like that, the plan was set in motion.
Suddenly, bad news arrived.
Onoki slammed his fist on the table, his anger boiling over.
"Aka! Are you sure it's them?!"
He couldn't believe it.
The Akatsuki—an organization that had once seemed like nothing more than wandering mercenaries—had infiltrated his village.
An attack from the front, a betrayal from the back.
It didn't make sense.
Onoki had always been wary of Konoha, but why would Akatsuki want to hand him a battle against them on a silver platter?
All of this... just to take Han?
"No way!"
Then, something clicked.
Something felt wrong.
Had he acted too rashly in attacking Konoha?
Even with Konoha's decline, he was too experienced to fall for something so obvious.
It was almost as if he'd been... manipulated.
A sudden wave of realization hit him.
A Genjutsu.
That bastard had planted the idea in his mind, subtly nudging him toward war.
Onoki clenched his fists.
"I've been used."
His mind cleared.
"We can't keep fighting. We have to retreat—now."
His home was already under attack.
If they didn't pull back soon, there might not even be a village left to return to.
---
Meanwhile, on the battlefield…
Konoha's shinobi quickly noticed the Iwa forces pulling back.
Cheers erupted.
Victory.
At Konoha's camp, Sakiya walked along the road, her face twisted in frustration.
As she passed by, shinobi greeted her with admiration.
"Angel of War!" someone called out.
Sakiya scowled, her fists clenching.
"I told you—it's Eye of Death! Stop calling me that!"
The ninja hesitated, then awkwardly laughed.
"Uh… right. Eye of Death. Haha. Thank you for everything, Sakiya-sama."
As he walked away, he muttered under his breath.
"There's no way a girl that cute should have a name like 'Eye of Death.' She's clearly a War Angel."
No matter how many times Sakiya corrected them, it was useless.
The title stuck.
She was the Angel of War.
And nothing was going to change that.
As the war came to an end… her legend only grew stronger.
_______________
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