July 15th.
Word reached us before the smoke even faded. The Yuezhi Clan, once a proud name in the eastern lands, vanished in a single night. No survivors. No territory left. Just scorched soil and the kind of silence that only war teaches you to respect.
Two days later, July 17th, everything spiralled again. From Baimu Mountain, Kurama Nagatsune led his clan in a sudden rebellion. Konoha's coalition moved fast, crushing the fleeing Yuezhi forces as they tried to retreat home. By the time the sun rose on July 18th, the last remnants of the Yuezhi staggered back to their lands… only to find nothing. Their entire estate flattened, their banners trampled into mud.
Nagatsune didn't even give them time to mourn. The Kurama ambushed what was left and wiped them out in the dirt where their clan used to stand.
Just like that, the Yuezhi were gone. Thousands dead. One of the great illusion clans erased from the map.
Konoha didn't let the ashes cool. The Kurama immediately announced their allegiance to the Fire Country, and as their banners turned westward toward Konoha, the eastern region fell silent. With this, Konoha's dominance stretched across the North, Center, and East. Three-fifths of the Fire Nation bowed under one name.
Konoha.
The tiger finally stopped crouching.
By early August, the celebration hit the village like another battlefield.
Guy returned. The east was secured. Konoha's unity was louder than the war drums.
And just as the cheering filled the streets, another announcement shook the whole country:
the southern and western regions received a formal ultimatum.
Submit… or be erased the same way the Yuezhi were.
Even for Konoha, that level of confidence was new. For the first time, they weren't hiding their ambition. They were declaring it.
August 13th — Village Gate
Half a month later, the entire village gathered at Konoha's main road. Families lined both sides of the entrance, whispering, wondering, waiting.
"Coming!"
Someone shouted first. A long shadow appeared down the road, followed by wagons and armored escorts carrying crates and banners.
Raizen raised his hand.
"Fire!"
"Bang—!"
Cannons boomed overhead. (Raizen mentally wondered who the genius was who thought fireworks in wartime were a smart idea.)
The caravan accelerated. Three enormous banners unfurled in the breeze. Three clan crests fluttered like they owned the wind.
The crowd erupted.
The Ino–Shika–Chō Alliance had arrived.
Three men stepped forward from the caravan: one with spiky pineapple hair, one with long blond hair tied back neatly, and one with a generous belly and a dangerous calm in his eyes.
"Konoha actually got them…"
"They're the biggest clan in the south!"
"With this, we'll be unstoppable!"
Their voices piled into a wave of cheers.
Douren stepped up and offered his hand.
"Welcome to Konoha."
Nara Luhui responded with a steady grip.
"From today onward, we stand together."
The crowd broke into applause. History felt like it was shifting under everyone's feet.
The Ino–Shika–Chō were led deeper into the village, their supplies following behind.
Everywhere they walked, villagers greeted them warmly. Whatever fear they carried from the south began to thaw.
Festivities lasted the entire day. When it finally calmed, Douren assigned the alliance a new district within Konoha, just as he had done with every major clan before them.
He knew it. Everyone knew it.
Konoha had just become stronger again.
The End of August — High Council Meeting
The high council gathered in the Konoha Complex. Only two regions remained outside their reach. The west and the south.
If Konoha took those…
the Fire Nation would finally be whole.
Douren sat at the head of the room. The elders were unchanged. The new clans hadn't been added to the political core yet. Not because they were unworthy, but because war didn't allow restructuring.
Everyone could feel it though.
The next era was already knocking.
And the topic on the table was simple:
The Western Expedition.
The Southern Expedition.
The endgame had begun.