The chaotic air currents gradually subsided.
The violent turbulence that had shredded the sky moments ago vanished without a trace, leaving only a gentle mountain breeze drifting across the ridgelines.
Konoha's shinobi straightened from their defensive stances and advanced in disciplined squads, spreading out methodically to secure and clear the battlefield.
Even ordinary sky ninjas were still trained combatants. A fall from fifty meters would normally guarantee death—but some, by sheer luck or through emergency shock-absorption techniques, clung to life.
Roshi released Sage Mode. The markings around his eyes faded, and the heightened stillness within him receded.
He stepped down from the high rock shelf, landing amid shattered metal fragments and scorched earth.
"Lord Roshi."
A shinobi assigned to casualty assessment appeared instantly and bowed.
"Preliminary count: one hundred twenty-nine Sky Ninja neutralized. Ninety-three confirmed dead. Twenty-one critically wounded and incapacitated. The remaining injured or unconscious have been secured and are under concentrated guard."
"Transfer all captives—and salvageable equipment—to Shikaku for processing," Roshi ordered, his gaze sweeping across the fallen bodies and groaning survivors. "Once the field is cleared, all units regroup and hold position. Await further instructions."
"Yes, sir!"
The objective of this engagement had been achieved.
How many Sky Ninja remained was unknown. But for the time being, they would struggle to mount another large-scale aerial assault.
From the rear command post, Shikaku had observed the entire battle unfold.
He swiftly reorganized the border's primary defensive layout. Once the prisoners and recovered equipment reached the rear, he personally led a support detachment forward to where Roshi was resting briefly beneath a sheltered rock face.
"To eliminate an entire assault force in a single strike…" Shikaku said, joining Roshi in gazing at the now-peaceful sky. His tone carried rare admiration. "That was an astonishing ninjutsu."
"At my age, I thought I'd stopped being surprised by new techniques."
Roshi replied evenly, "It was simply the appropriate countermeasure. The opportunity to use it was created by your strategic deployment and coordination, Shikaku."
Shikaku chuckled. "No need to be modest right now. Give it two more years—we'll share a drink over that jutsu of yours."
He clapped Roshi's shoulder lightly.
"The Sky Ninja threat is temporarily neutralized. We can't afford to give Sunagakure time to adjust."
His expression sharpened.
"You'll lead the vanguard in a forced march to Preset Point Three. Establish a forward base and construct initial defensive fortifications immediately."
"I'll coordinate rear forces and supply lines from here." He tapped the marked valley on the map. "That location is naturally defensible—elevated terrain, limited approach routes, and close to a water source."
"You must complete the defensive deployment as quickly as possible."
The pause between them was brief.
The next phase had already begun.
Rasa understood the Sky Ninja's weaknesses better than anyone.
Sunagakure had never truly feared enemies who relied on artificial means to take flight. Among the Five Great Ninja Villages, they possessed the largest and most elite corps of Wind Release specialists.
A coordinated Wind Release jutsu, performed by multiple shinobi, was more than enough to disrupt aerial balance and throw the sky ninja into disarray. And when elite ninja wielding the Three-Star Fan unleashed towering tornadoes, the skies themselves became an impassable abyss.
Yet Rasa had never anticipated that Konoha possessed a Wind Release user capable of surpassing even Sunagakure's conventional upper limits.
Through the final fragment of vision captured by his Eye of Sand—before it disintegrated—he had seen the figure leading Konoha's vanguard, moving swiftly through the forest.
He knew.
"Roshi…"
The name slipped quietly from his lips.
He had assumed that once Shikaku arrived, the young man would step back out of deference to seniority. After all, diplomatic brilliance did not necessarily equate to battlefield dominance.
But he had miscalculated.
This young man was far more dangerous than the reports suggested.
"Order the First Puppet Unit and the Wind Release Assault Squad to move with me," Rasa commanded.
With a swift motion, he removed the white Kazekage robe—symbol of his office—revealing the fitted brown combat attire beneath.
Now, Roshi was no longer a diplomat.
He was a commander.
Preset Point Three — Valley Entrance
Konoha's vanguard had only just arrived. Scouts had fanned outward when—
A deep rumble rolled across the earth.
On the distant horizon, a golden tide surged forward.
It was not sunlight.
It was death.
An ocean of gold dust swept across the land, devouring grass, trees, and soil alike—an advancing catastrophe aimed directly at Konoha's still-forming lines.
Roshi flickered forward, appearing at the very front.
Alone.
He pressed both palms to the ground.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"
The earth roared.
A colossal wall—over twenty meters high—erupted upward in front of the vanguard, its immense mass slamming into place just as the golden sea crashed forward.
BOOM—!!!
The impact thundered like a mountain collapsing.
Gold dust exploded upward upon contact, cascading down both sides of the wall like a shimmering waterfall.
But Rasa was not finished.
Part of the golden torrent surged upward, climbing the sheer surface and condensing into razor-sharp spears aimed at Roshi atop the wall. Another stream split away, flowing like branching rivers around the left and right flanks, attempting to engulf the Konoha formation from both sides.
"Left and right flanks! Chain Earth Flow Wall formation!" the vanguard commander barked instantly.
Shinobi on both sides formed hand seals in unison. Additional earth walls rose in succession, smaller but sufficient, forming curved bulwarks that barely contained the sweeping gold dust.
Atop the main wall, Roshi clasped his hands.
The stone beneath his feet fractured.
More than ten massive tree roots burst through the earth—dark, violent, alive. They lashed outward, shattering the gold dust spears midair and scattering them into glittering powder.
Suspended upon a wave of gold dust, Rasa saw it clearly.
That dark brown growth splitting through the stone.
Not Earth Release.
Not even close.
His pupils contracted.
For the first time, cracks appeared in his calm composure.
"Wood Release…!"
Rumors had circulated in recent years—whispers of its return in Konoha.
"It's you, Roshi!"
The response came not in words—but in overwhelming force.
"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"
The earth trembled.
From the wall beneath Roshi, the entire valley floor split apart.
Gigantic trees burst upward at terrifying speed. Roots tore through bedrock. Trunks thickened in seconds. Branches exploded outward like the arms of a primordial titan reclaiming its domain.
The advancing golden sea collided head-on with a newborn forest.
Tree after tree rooted themselves into the gold dust, their roots anchoring, their trunks resisting.
The sand sought to suffocate them.
The forest refused to yield.
Gold and brown clashed violently at the valley's entrance, twisting and grinding against one another—a battle not merely between shinobi, but between forces of nature themselves.
Gold dust and shattered wood exploded outward, mixing into a thick, swirling haze that blurred the battlefield into a storm of bronze and brown.
It wasn't only the Sunagakure shinobi who were stunned.
Behind Roshi, the Konoha vanguard stood momentarily frozen.
They stared at the young figure standing atop the towering earth wall—commanding a forest into existence, directly opposing the Kazekage himself.
Disbelief flickered in their eyes.
Then something else began to rise.
Reverence.
"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence… Shodai-sama's technique…" one Konoha ninja whispered hoarsely, his grip tightening around his kunai.
"Stay focused!" the squad leader barked sharply. "Reinforce the defenses!"
The shockwave of Wood Release did not slow Rasa in the slightest.
After that initial flash of surprise, his arms rose.
More golden sand erupted from underground—bypassing the entangled forest in front—and lunged at Roshi from vicious, unpredictable angles.
At Roshi's feet, a thick branch burst from stone and soil, lifting him sideways just as a golden spike tore across the ground where he had stood.
Simultaneously, more hardened wood spiraled upward around him, bending and interlocking into a curved wooden barrier.
The next surge of gold dust slammed into it.
Boom.
Deep gouges split the timber. Splinters flew. But it held.
And the counterattack came instantly.
Dozens of sharpened wooden vines shot outward from the forest below, spearing directly toward Rasa, who stood poised atop his golden tide.
Rasa's golden sand possessed terrifying range and precision—its offense and defense both formidable. Yet the control required limited his physical agility compared to other shinobi of his tier.
Facing the sudden barrage, his eyes darkened.
Golden sand compressed rapidly before him, condensing into a thick defensive shield.
The wooden spikes struck.
A thunderous impact rang out as cracks spider-webbed across the golden barrier.
Roshi pressed the advantage.
More vines twisted forward, tightening, coiling, ready to pierce through—
"Wind Release: Net!"
The Sunagakure Wind Assault Squad sprang into action.
Three-Star Fans swung in unison.
Interwoven wind blades roared forward, forming a slicing lattice across the battlefield.
Where the wind net passed, even the hardened wooden vines were shredded apart, severed into fragments that scattered through the air.
At the same time, Rasa's puppet corps advanced.
Over a dozen puppets surged forward—blades unfolding from every joint. They began spinning at high speed, transforming into whirling engines of steel.
The rotating blade storm crashed into the forest's edge.
Metal shrieked against wood.
Branches splintered.
The relentless advance of Wood Release was finally halted.
Then another puppet moved.
Its body hollow, abdomen opening like a mechanical maw.
Without hesitation, Rasa stepped backward into it.
The hatch snapped shut.
With a flick of the puppeteer's fingers, the puppet retreated along a golden sand pathway, pulling the Kazekage safely beyond the immediate reach of the forest's assault.
Moments later, Rasa emerged once more at the forefront of Sunagakure's lines.
Across the valley, the vast forest that had risen so violently began to lose momentum.
The massive trunks trembled.
The writhing vines slowed.
Gradually, the trees receded into the earth, leaving behind a scarred battlefield—a landscape torn apart by a clash of titanic forces.
Only the colossal Earthflow Wall remained, standing firm at the mouth of the valley like an immovable gate.
Rasa's voice cut through the tense air.
"Retreat."
The first exchange had ended.
But the war for the Land of Rivers had only just begun.
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