At the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Grass, the Konoha camp—
"Shiken, what should we do next?"
Torifu showed no concern for maintaining his authority as commander.
Although he had long ago been taken in as a disciple by the Second Hokage, he had never formed a stable Ino–Shika–Chō team. Still, the fine traditions of the Akimichi clan had deeply influenced him—
Always listen to the smart ones. That is the ninja way of the Akimichi clan.
So, on the very first day Aburame Shiken arrived, Torifu handed over all command authority without hesitation.
And ever since, life had been incredibly comfortable.
No need to report casualties—because there simply weren't any.
No need to boost morale—because everyone in Konoha was cheering for the Aburame clan.
No need to worry about all sorts of miscellaneous concerns either, like the things Hiruzen and the others used to harp on about—maintaining relations with neighboring countries and so on.
But now that Shiken was here, his attitude was simple:
"It's not even our country—why should we care? We've already withdrawn from the Land of Grass. Whatever happens there has nothing to do with us. If there's a problem, they can go complain to the Stone Village."
When Torifu heard that, it made perfect sense.
So now, the highest commander on the Fire–Earth battlefield was practically living an idle life.
Ah, behaving like this on a battlefield was truly disgraceful…
So he hurried over to ask Aburame Shiken about the next course of action.
Even if he could only act as a messenger, at least he was doing something.
Though it was rather strange that Torifu would take the initiative to ask for guidance—perhaps the Akimichi clan had finally produced a diligent, thoughtful genius, much like how the Nara clan had produced their pride, Nara Shikaku.
Nara Shikaku: "Bastards, do you think this happened because of someone else?!"
"The next step is to be wary of the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki. He inherited the Second Tsuchikage's advanced bloodline ability, and its power is extremely formidable. So from here on, we must conceal all our movements and not let him discover our whereabouts."
"But hiding a camp of over three thousand people won't be easy."
"Exactly. That's why I plan to retreat another 500 km."
"What?! That would let the Stone Village step into the Land of Fire!"
"It doesn't matter. The land bordering the Stone Village is the most barren region of the Land of Fire—no minerals, no important towns. If they want it, they can have it."
"But what about the village?"
"If they have objections, they can come fight me themselves. I'll welcome them with both hands and feet."
"...Then retreat it is."
Thinking about his former teammates back in the village gave Torifu a headache.
Homura and Koharu were administrative types—neglecting combat for years and burdened with endless duties, which was understandable.
But why wasn't Hiruzen on the battlefield?
After these past few days, Torifu had realized something—
The overall quality of Konoha's shinobi seemed to be a tier above everyone else's.
And that wasn't even counting clan shinobi like Aburame Shiken.
As long as Hiruzen came out to hold back the enemy's Kage-level fighters, wouldn't victory be easy?
Just like the battlefield in the Land of Lightning earlier that morning—
Konoha had held them off with just one Kage-level fighter.
Sakumo Hatake: "Don't make it sound like I'm useless. I'm carrying out a crucial strategic deterrence mission! Haven't you seen? They've already called a ceasefire, and I'm still stuck in the Land of Lightning eating rough rations!"
Nara Shikaku: "You're really not going to mention that we lost half our forces? Or that my father, Inoichi's father, and Chōza's father all died? We fought with our lives on the line and even had to gamble on the Cloud Village having someone with a brain—and yet you make it sound so easy!"
That's the thing—people who haven't experienced the entire process will never understand how difficult the story truly is.
But that didn't stop Torifu from constantly complaining about Hiruzen.
As for Danzō… better not even mention him. Bad luck. Who keeps targeting their own comrades' clans like that? Over the years, how many people has he taken from the Akimichi clan? Not a single one ever came back.
...
Meanwhile, in the Stone Village—
The Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, looked over the intelligence report sent by Kitsuchi.
"The Aburame clan… Konoha truly has no shortage of talent. But this method feels awfully similar to the Second Mizukage's."
Thinking back to the First Great Ninja War—
The Stone ninja had been tormented to death by the Second Mizukage's Steaming Danger Tyranny.
It caused zero casualties while continuously wearing them down.
It forced the Second Tsuchikage, who excelled at survival tactics, to repeatedly seek him out for one-on-one combat.
In the end, both sides perished together.
The Aburame weren't using ninjutsu, but could anyone really expect them to cherish their insects?
With the way they self-destructed on contact, it certainly didn't seem like it.
Then he thought about the insect users in his own village—the Kamizuru clan.
What a disgraceful comparison.
Both bore the title of insect users, yet the difference was like heaven and earth.
During the First Great Ninja War, the Stone Village had placed great hopes on them, even devising a special plan for them to attack Konoha.
But they were utterly crushed by the Aburame elites of the time—now the Aburame clan head—along with a group of Aburame shinobi.
The most infuriating part? Konoha hadn't even intervened.
The Aburame clan alone had defeated both the Kamizuru and Stone Village's joint operation.
And from that moment on, the Kamizuru clan declined.
Now they were barely more than a handful of survivors.
"Someone, pass down my orders. Bring the Kamizuru clan head to me."
Moments later, the Kamizuru clan head hurried over, covered in dust and dirt.
It was obvious that ever since their defeat, the Kamizuru clan had been living poorly in the Stone Village.
"This time, Konoha has sent the Aburame clan. As fellow insect users, dealing with them shouldn't be a problem for you, right?"
The Third Tsuchikage stared coldly at him.
The Kamizuru clan head trembled all over.
Could they win? Of course not. If they could, they would have won back in the First War. Would their clan have fallen to this state otherwise?
But could he refuse?
Of course not.
"Yes, Tsuchikage-sama. This time, our Kamizuru clan will wash away our past shame."
"Good. Your entire clan will go to war this time. You will surely wipe out the Aburame clan completely."
"The entire clan?! Tsuchikage-sama, I beg you—my daughter is only one year old!"
"A one-year-old prodigy of the Kamizuru clan, born with mastery of the Bee Control Secret Technique, willing to devote herself to the village. Clan head, the village will not forget your sacrifice."
"No! Tsuchikage-sama, I beg you—please spare my daughter! I'll kowtow to you—please, I'm begging you!"
With a single glance from the Third Tsuchikage, the ANBU beside him immediately dragged the Kamizuru clan head away.
"Hmph. The useless have no place in the Stone Village. The village needs unity—not those who disappoint it."
In Ōnoki's eyes, the Kamizuru clan—unable to match the Aburame in insect techniques—had no value.
They might as well use their lives to pave the way for the assault on Konoha.
...
At that moment, in the Konoha base, Aburame Shiken received intelligence from Minato Namikaze, who was lurking near the Stone Village.
The Stone ninja were escorting more than a dozen dispirited individuals to the front lines.
Among them were a toddler barely one or two years old, as well as two elderly people.
Behind them, more than ten large wagons were being transported.
There was a faintly sweet scent in the air.
"Sweet scent? Large scale? That's a beehive… and members of the Kamizuru clan too. The entire clan, from old to young… Is this a gift being delivered to us?"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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