West of Konohagakure, a force of five hundred troops was assembling.
Standing at the very front of the formation was none other than one of the Legendary Sannin—Tsunade.
At that moment, Tsunade was grumbling in annoyance.
"Damn old man, sending even me onto the battlefield. I mean, I clearly..."
"Whatever, I don't even know what's going on anymore... ugh..."
As she spoke, Tsunade looked up at the sky. Amid the cloud-filled sky, it felt as if two people were watching her from above.
This made her murmur under her breath,
"Nawaki... Dan... if you two really are watching me, I swear I won't let you down..."
"Yo, Tsunade-sama, why so sentimental?"
The sudden voice made Tsunade's whole body tense. Her right fist clenched instinctively, and anger flashed across her face.
"Chizan, you little brat—if you sneak up on me again using Transparent Release, I swear I'll punch you straight into the afterlife to meet all the past Hokage!"
"Tsunade-sama, calm down, calm down."
Gekko Chizan slowly revealed himself, wearing a sheepish smile on his face.
He wasn't panicked at all despite Tsunade's threat.
"Hmph, this time we're heading to Kumogakure, and I'm the one in command. Gekko Chizan, go organize the troops immediately."
"We leave once everyone's assembled!"
Gekko Chizan went speechless at Tsunade's order.
What the hell? She's just leaving all the work to me?
Sigh... Rank really does crush people.
With no choice, Gekko Chizan went to handle the preparations on Tsunade's behalf.
A five-hundred-strong unit, and not a single weakling among them. The weakest were still chunin, and many hailed from prestigious clans.
Even the Hyuga and Uchiha clans were represented.
"Huh? Hizashi, you came too?"
Indeed, representing the Hyuga was Hyuga Hizashi, one of Gekko Chizan's close friends.
"Yeah, Hiashi went to the battlefield in the Land of Rivers. I'm leading the team following Tsunade-sama to the front lines in the Land of Hot Water."
Seeing how fired up Hizashi looked, Gekko Chizan couldn't help but pout.
If he had a choice, he really wouldn't leave the village. It was just too dangerous—there were battles everywhere.
"This time we're going up against Kumogakure. Those guys are savages. Better be careful."
Gekko Chizan couldn't forget the image of the Fourth Raikage, A. That guy was like a damn bulldozer.
With his strong physique and Lightning Release armor... tsk. Even if he wasn't quite his father, the Third Raikage, he was still a terrifying opponent.
With Chizan's small frame... tsk. One punch would be one too many.
"Oh, shut up already. That brute? You think a mouthful of scale powder wouldn't take him down?"
"Hmph, Chizan! Don't be such a coward! When we reach the Land of Hot Water, we're definitely going to teach that Eight-Tails Jinchūriki a lesson! Let him know what a real Jinchūriki is!"
Just as Gekko Chizan was lost in his thoughts, Chōmei's voice suddenly boomed in his head.
It left Chizan stunned.
Huh? Why is this guy suddenly all fired up??
"Hmph! Chizan, you don't get it. Out of all the tailed beasts, the one I hate most is the Eight-Tails."
"That guy's always spitting ink for no reason! He'd get us all covered in black! I've wanted revenge for a long time!"
"I never had the chance before... but now I have you! You have to help me get my revenge!"
Oh? So Chōmei has a grudge?
Then again, it's true—the Eight-Tails does randomly spray ink... tsk.
Alright, whatever. We're going to clash anyway, so might as well throw down!
...
With preparations complete, the five hundred-strong force from Konoha began its march straight toward the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Hot Water.
...
One day later, at the border of the Land of Hot Water.
"Everyone! Fall back to the defensive line! Don't fight them head-on!"
"Partial Expansion Jutsu!"
Konoha and Kumogakure were already engaged in fierce combat, each side having committed over a hundred shinobi.
Leading the Kumogakure side was Dodai, a trusted confidant of the Third Raikage.
On the Konoha side, the commander was Akimichi Torifu, a former member of the Second Hokage's elite guard unit.
He was also the current clan head of the Akimichi clan.
"Hmph! Lava Release!"
Seeing Torifu's fists suddenly swell in size, Dodai chose to defend.
As a user of the Lava Release kekkei genkai, his technique was full of elasticity and perfect for defense.
The massive fists slammed into the rubbery lava shield, but couldn't break through—it just bounced them back.
"Damn it!"
"No wonder he's the Raikage's right-hand man."
Akimichi Torifu was known for his strength, but the opponent's jutsu was a perfect counter.
Things weren't looking good for Konoha overall. Most of the Kumogakure forces were jonin, and they were highly skilled in cooperative ninjutsu.
Teams of three to five worked together to unleash coordinated techniques, their combined attacks proving extremely deadly.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Fire Technique!"
After defending, it was time for retaliation. Dodai's hand seals were lightning fast, and in an instant, a dozen fireballs were screaming toward Torifu.
"Tch, bit too fast..."
Though strong, the Akimichi clan's weakness had always been speed. Even Torifu, as clan head, wasn't exempt. And while Partial Expansion Jutsu was still active, taking those hits head-on would hurt—a lot.
But he didn't have any better options. He could only pull back his arms to defend.
The fireballs slammed into his forearms, burning away his outer clothing and searing his skin with intense heat, making Torifu grimace in pain.
Suddenly, a green glow enveloped him.
"Huh? What's this?"
"Hmph, Torifu-san, are you really letting them bully you like this?"
Just as Torifu was confused, a graceful figure appeared at his side. Wearing her signature "Gamble" cloak, Tsunade stood tall next to him, green light gathering in her hands.
It was medical ninjutsu—Mystic Palm Technique.
"Huh? Tsunade? You actually came to the front lines?"
Tsunade nodded, then turned and shouted behind her.
"You little brat! What are you waiting for?! Start fighting already!"
"Hey hey hey... didn't we agree I'd just drop you off? Why do I have to fight too..."
The voice was filled with helplessness...
It was Gekko Chizan.
"Cut the crap! Finish this quickly! I've got injured to heal!"
"Yeah yeah... so naggy... I'll scare you with Sage Mode tonight..."
Gekko Chizan muttered under his breath. His last line was barely audible, afraid Tsunade might hear.
How did they suddenly appear on the battlefield like this? Well, that takes us back to five minutes ago.
While advancing, their unit ran into a team transporting wounded shinobi. From them, they learned that Kumogakure had launched a fierce assault on Konoha's position.
With the situation dire, Tsunade suddenly remembered that Gekko Chizan had previously done missions in the Land of Hot Water. She asked if he had left behind a Flying Thunder God mark.
And here they were—Tsunade dragged Chizan along and used Flying Thunder God to teleport directly to the battlefield.
Just as the fighting reached its climax, they joined the fray.
Looking at the fiery chaos around him,
Gekko Chizan bit his thumbs and thought: Of course I'll fight—but not personally! Since I've learned Summoning Jutsu, the fighting's for my snake sisters!
"Summoning Jutsu! Double! (That's twice—both hands on the ground!)"