[Western Front]
It was only a matter of time before Iwagakure would realize their mistake. If that happened, Onoki and the elders would descend onto the battlefield, and it would be a terrifying sight to behold.
This was a situation I would not allow.
Blitzkrieg.
In English, this meant lightning war. As long as I struck fast enough, the Earth Daimyo would never allow for the war to continue. If the jinchuriki, the convoys and Ishizo's legion of 500 shinobi were annihilated, then the only answer possible was surrender.
However, I needed support from the Konohagakure frontlines.
A crow returned.
[Danzo-sama,
We are reassured to hear from you, for we were worried about the 'shadow' that was bleeding the iwagakure legion. Judging from your words, you have a significant force, capable of turning the tides of war. However, we are not ready yet for a full-scale battle. We can prepare the forces to fight in three days
— Nara Ishio, Nara Patriarch]
I bit my lips.
The crow's reply was useless. Three days? By then, Iwagakure would recover. But a new plan formed. I dipped my brush in ink and scrawled swiftly:
[Lord Nara,
Iwagakure's forces are crippled—their jinchūriki captured, morale shattered. Strike now at their main camp (coordinates attached). My clan will flank from the east. Victory is assured. Delay risks annihilation.
—Shimura Danzo]
I smirked. The coordinates I sent weren't for the main camp. They led to Ishizo's fortified legion. Let the Nara charge into that slaughter.
"Yukiko," I ordered, "ready the clan. We move southwest."
She blinked. "But the Nara expect our flanking support—"
"We attack the supply settlements. Injured shinobi. Medical tents. Untrained genins" I tightened my bandages, the four-tails' chakra simmering. "No glory in burning bandages… but no risk either."
The settlements burned easily. Screams of unarmed medics filled the air as Shimura seals lit the night. No resistance. No honor. Just efficiency. My chest seal glowed hotter with each life taken—cooks, wounded genin, scribes. Their weak souls still fed the seal.
Consuming 15 souls calmed the searing pain. 50 made the voice in my head quiet. After 100, I could visualise the four pillars of the Forbidden fuinjutsu completely immobilizing the four tails of the tailed beast in my mental space. Despite speaking loudly, I could ignore its screams with ease. I knew it was temporary. My spirit was completely calm. In order to keep control in times of anger or fear, I needed more souls. Five hundred? One thousand? The more, the better.
By dawn, the settlements were ash.
"Danzo-sama!" Itoru pointed north. Smoke pillars rose—the real battlefield. The Nara had taken the bait.
We arrived to chaos. Nara shadows pinned down by boulders. Ishizo's earth-style users crushed Konoha lines. The Nara patriarch lay half-buried under rubble, coughing blood.
"Shimura… you… late…" he rasped at a distance.
I could see the sadness in his eyes. The Nara clansmen dead, the Konohagakure elders and chunins who sacrificed their lives for this moment.
I raised my sword high for the clansmen and the rest of Konohagakure shinobi to see. Morale was everything, and it seemed like the Shimura clan, even if not popular in the series, still held some reputation in the Second Shinobi War. I made sure its glory would reach an all-time high. My A-rank katana was not just for show, it was a symbol: "For Konoha!"
The arrival of our forces split the battlefield. Konoha shinobi, battered and bleeding, stared as the Shimura clan descended like hawks.
"Kenjutsu Corps—formation six!" I barked.
Twenty clansmen surged forward, blades glinting. They moved like a single entity, weaving a net of steel around Ishizo. The Iwa commander snarled, slamming his fists into the earth. A wall of rock erupted, but the Kenjutsu Corps scattered, flanking him. Their swords struck like vipers, forcing Ishizo's bodyguards to retreat.
"You insects!" Ishizo roared. Boulders levitated around him, hurling toward my clansmen.
"Wind Corps—now!"
Consecutive Great wind breakthrough [C]
Forty five Shimura shinobi formed hand seals in unison. A hurricane screamed to life, shredding the boulders to dust.
"Pathetic!" Ishizo spat, slamming his palms into the ground. The earth split, jagged spikes shooting toward the Wind Corps.
"Switch!"
The Kenjutsu Corps pivoted, blades slamming into the earth spikes, cracking them mid-air. The Wind Corps regrouped, their next gust slicing through Ishizo's makeshift stone armor. Blood streaked his face.
Futon no jutsu: Wind Slicer - C-rank
Although Ishizo was known as the stone titan, his large size was only making it simpler for my Shimura Wind Corps to target him. Additionally, he Ishizo was under pressure, facing the Akimichi patriarch up front, and our destructive formations behind.
I stepped forward, channeling the four-tails' chakra. My veins burned, but the souls I'd consumed steadied me. "Ishizo! Your village's greed ends here."
He laughed, hands weaving. After kicking the Akimichi patriarch in the belly, sending him crashing onto the mountain, a colossal stone golem rose, fists smashing toward me.
It seemed like he had locked onto me. However, I smiled.
Futon: Vacuum Dragon Barrage [S-Rank]
Twelve air elemental dragons erupted from my hands, surging towards Ishizo. One of the dragon head crashed onto the doton jutsu, and completely obliterated. Seeing the power I could wield, and the control I had over these massive chakra reserves after strengthening my seal, I felt invincible. I combined the twelve dragons into one, turning them into a roaring vortex shaped like a serpent. It collided with Ishizo's titanic body, grinding it to rubble. His torso was pierced through. The might of this S-rank jutsu of mine had just displayed its full potential.
If before, I lacked the chakra reserves to display its full might, becoming a jinchuriki had solved this very weakness. Everyone gasped.
Konohagakure had earned a new kage-level figure: Danzo Shimura.
The Shimura Kenjutsu Corps did not stop there. Blades rushed forward, pinning the rest of the iwagakure shinobi to the ground, turning the gorge into a sea of blood.
Approaching Ishizo, who possessed a surprising vitality, I smirked. Yukiko and Itaru stood next to me, as I mocked him.
"Trapped like a rat," I said, looming over him
"You… scheming coward," Ishizo choked. "Hiding behind your clan… that must be why you are not your village's kage…"
I gripped his throat, the four-tails' chakra flaring. "Kage? I am more. I am the Shimura patriarch!"
The seal on my chest glowed crimson. Ishizo's eyes widened as his chakra drained into me—a final feast for the soul-hungry seal of mine. His body crumbled to ash.
Reverse Four Soul Symbols Seal [Forbidden S-Rank Jutsu]
Around us, the Shimura clan mopped up the remaining Iwa forces. The Nara patriarch's corpse lay abandoned in the mud. Konoha shinobi cheered, too broken to realize they'd been pawns, oblivious to the massive scheme of the Shimura clan.
Yukiko approached, bowing, giving out a detailed report as always. This time, however, she was showing extreme respect. In this world, strength was everything, and Danzo had just displayed kage level prowess: "Ishizo's legion annihilated. Our casualties: zero."
I nodded, surveying the carnage. "Send word to Konoha. The Shimura clan turned the tide."
As the clansmen chanted my name, I closed my eyes. The four-tails hissed, but its voice was distant but almost impressed by my killing spree: Four hundred souls
Victory did not taste bitter. It tasted perfect.