The long-standing calm was finally broken a few days later.
The scouts sent out by Konoha returned in a hurry, their faces pale and eyes filled with urgency. Their voices echoed across the main tent.
"A large-scale mobilization by the Kumo forces! Their numbers… far surpass anything we've seen before!"
Panic briefly flashed across the faces of the shinobi gathered.
Namikaze Mirai stood at the head of the wartime sand table, his palms pressed flat against its edge, fingers slightly curled with tension. His expression was calm—but his gaze was sharp and heavy, like a blade honed for war.
"The enemy we face this time will be greater than any before. If this front collapses, Kumogakure will be like a spear thrust into the very heart of Land of Fire."
He paused.
"Everyone… it's time for a decisive battle."
The atmosphere turned grave, the air heavy and still. The gathered Jōnin looked at one another solemnly. No words were necessary to express the storm in their hearts. The long calm had been unnerving, yes—but this confirmed it. A storm was coming, and it would not pass quietly.
"Uchiha Fugaku." Mirai said, turning to the stoic Uchiha patriarch. "The left flank will be yours and the Uchiha clan."
A slight narrowing of his eyes revealed a deep calculation in Mirai's mind.
'Uchiha excels in offensive disruption. Let them strike from the shadows and fracture their formation before the bulk of our forces engage.'
Fugaku nodded once, confident and composed. His Mangekyō Sharingan gleamed faintly beneath his lids.
"Understood."
Mirai's gaze swept next to the other side of the table. "Akimichi Choza, Yamanaka Inoichi—take the center."
The two seasoned clan heads shared a brief glance and nodded.
"With the combined forces of Ino–Shika–Chō under your command, you'll hold the front. Buy time. Create an opportunity."
"Understood!" Choza said firmly.
"Got it." Inoichi replied, already calculating enemy positioning in his mind.
"Shiranui Genma, Namiashi Raido, I'm placing the right flank in your hands."
Mirai's voice held subtle emotion here. These were comrades who had stood by him and Minato during the Third Great Ninja War. People he trusted.
"Do not get yourselves killed. Though guard this wing with your lives."
Genma smirked.
"You got it, Mirai-sama. We'll show 'em."
Raido gave a nod, silent but resolute.
With all battlefield positions delegated, silence descended on the tent once more.
"Everyone." Mirai said finally, "Any questions?"
A shinobi near the far end of the table hesitated. He looked around nervously, then cleared his throat.
"And… what about you, Mirai-sama?"
The room collectively tensed.
Mirai hadn't assigned himself a position yet.
He smiled lightly, straightening his back.
"As for me..." He paused, voice gaining weight.
"I'll deal with the two Jinchūriki."
The words fell like a bomb.
Shock rippled through the room like a physical wave.
"You'll… face them alone?"
"He's planning to fight both tailed beasts alone at once?!"
Even the ever-composed Yamanaka Inoichi's brows twitched.
But no one dared question him directly. Not after all they had seen him do.
"Understood!" someone finally declared.
"If Mirai-sama is on the field, we have nothing to fear!"
"Yeah! This battle—Konoha will win!"
"Konoha must win!!!"
The tent erupted with passionate roars of resolve. The shinobi who moments ago were weighed down with dread now brimmed with newfound fire.
Outside, the sun had begun to rise—its light breaking through the morning mist.
…
When Mirai stepped out of the command tent, he was greeted by a small figure sitting solemnly on a rock.
Naruto.
The boy looked up at him, his face determined beyond his years.
"Uncle... please let me go with you."
His voice trembled only slightly.
"I want to do my part."
Uchiha Fugaku, who had followed Mirai out, raised an eyebrow. 'The child is still just three… but there's clarity in his eyes.'
Mirai knelt down in front of Naruto, gently brushing the boy's spiky blond hair back with his hand.
"When you're on the battlefield, Naruto… don't be afraid. I'll protect you."
The camp leaders, just catching up behind them, were stunned.
"Mirai-sama… are you serious?"
Inoichi took a step forward, concern flashing in his eyes.
"He's also the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki—if anything happens to him—"
Mirai's voice cut clean through the worry.
"As long as I breathe, no one will touch Naruto."
There was no room for argument.
…
On the plains, the wind stirred the tall grass with unnatural tension.
Mirai stood calmly at the front of the Konoha army, Naruto beside him. His hands rested on the boy's shoulders, and his Biomagnetic Field Perception expanded outward like an invisible net.
He frowned.
'They've replaced their metal weapons…'
The cloud ninja's chakra signatures were there—but not the subtle traces of iron or steel. No kunai. No metal armor.
He remembered the last time someone had tried this. Sunagakure, during the Third Great Ninja War.
'So they think they've neutralized my power again?'
A low hum began to resonate under the surface of the earth.
Then, like an incoming tide, the Kumo forces appeared—an unending sea of black-clad shinobi rolling across the plain.
Naruto gasped.
It was the first time he had seen the full force of a shinobi army.
"Close your eyes." Mirai whispered gently. "It's going to get messy."
"Mm!" Naruto nodded obediently.
"CHARGE!"
"KILL!!"
With a thunderous roar, Konoha's army surged forward.
The two forces collided in a thunderous, chaotic clash. Lightning crackled. Earth split. Jutsu clashed violently mid-air.
Kumo ninjas swung bone-forged swords, glinting under the sunlight. The replacements had sacrificed weight and balance for non-metal composition. Their combat effectiveness had dropped—but their primary goal was clear:
Limit Namikaze Mirai's magnetic domain.
'A worthy attempt.' Mirai thought. 'But it won't save you.'
A massive roar erupted across the battlefield—familiar, gut-wrenching.
*BOOM!*
The ground shook.
There, in the distance, the Two-Tails, Matatabi, had fully manifested. A blazing blue inferno cloaked her feline form. With every swipe of her tail, entire squads of shinobi were hurled like ragdolls.
"Uncle!" Naruto clutched at Mirai's sleeve, eyes wide with terror.
"Don't be afraid." Mirai said, placing a steady hand atop his head.
"Today, I'll show you how to tame monsters."
The ground beneath them trembled again.
Not from Matatabi.
But from something else.
*KRRRRRRNNNNKKKKK!!!*
The sound of metal shearing, twisting, grinding—roared beneath the soil.
Then, with a thunderous crack, a massive metallic hand erupted from the earth.
Naruto's jaw dropped.
One massive fist.
Then another.
Then, slowly, the enormous frame began to rise.
Metal particles, drawn from deep within the earth's crust, came together in an awe-inspiring spectacle. Dust swirled. Energy surged.
A giant—a towering Mecha nearly a hundred meters tall—emerged from the plains, shaking the very battlefield.
*DOOM!*
It took a heavy step forward. Another.
Mirai stood atop its shoulder, Naruto in one arm, his coat flapping in the wind.
His blue eyes glowed.
"Let's go."
Electromagnetic Mecha!
The mecha lurched into a sprint—each step sending quakes through the battlefield.
Across from them, Matatabi froze mid-roar. Her feline pupils narrowed.
*BOOOOOOM!!!*
The giant metal fist slammed into her face.
*CRASH!!!*
Matatabi was sent flying across the field, tumbling through a hill like a ragdoll.
Naruto blinked, his mouth wide open.
"U-uncle! You punched her!"
Mirai smirked, holding the boy tightly.
"This is just the beginning."
On the battlefield, every eye turned toward the titan of steel.
And at the top—
Stood the 'Blue Flash', and the new-generation Jinchūriki to tame the storm.
*****
Support me on my pat reon and gain early access to my creations.
https://www.pat reon.com/RroY28 (remove the space)
You can access up to 30 advanced chapters.