Waking from her afternoon nap, Tsunade walked to the field hospital at the base camp.
War meant a steady stream of casualties. But Konoha's medical standards far outstripped the Stone's — most of the wounded were combat-ready again within a day. It was one of several reasons the Leaf maintained its edge.
"Lady Tsunade!"
The greetings came from every direction. Nothing unusual — except today, the enthusiasm was noticeably amplified. More bowing. More reverence. More awe.
It clicked quickly. Word of last night's raid had spread. Three Wood Release users in the Leaf — and she was one of them.
Five hundred Stone shinobi. Over four hundred casualties. From a three-person surprise attack.
Natsuki hadn't publicized it deliberately. He hadn't needed to. A loss that severe couldn't be kept quiet.
Tsunade set the attention aside and returned to her work. Her reputation had been formidable long before Wood Release. This was an addition, not a transformation. She was used to being stared at.
Nawaki, on the other hand, was a different story. Before last night, his fame had derived almost entirely from his bloodline — Senju Hashirama's grandson, Natsuki's teammate. Now he stood on his own. Wood Release made him impossible to overlook, regardless of context.
"Sis!"
Two hours later. The familiar voice, pitched at a volume entirely inappropriate for a medical facility.
"This is a hospital. Lower your voice." She didn't look up.
He scratched his head, sheepish. The excitement had short-circuited his awareness.
"Wait."
She finished treating her current patient, then turned.
"What is it? You're still glowing."
"Look at this." He produced a scroll. "Got it from Natsuki — intelligence summaries on how the other villages are reacting to Wood Release."
"I told you to calm down last night. It's been twelve hours."
She smiled despite herself and took the scroll.
The reactions divided cleanly. Shock and heightened vigilance, across every major village.
The Stone had dispatched another thousand shinobi — no specifics on composition. Rōshi's deployment wasn't mentioned. As a jinchūriki, his identity was closely guarded; most Stone shinobi had never even seen his face, let alone foreign intelligence services.
The Cloud, Sand, and Mist had all strengthened border patrols. The concern was universal: a Wood Release surprise attack from Natsuki, Tsunade, or Nawaki. The jutsu's characteristics made it devastatingly suited to raids — enormous range, instant deployment, massive area destruction.
But Tsunade understood the limitation clearly. Wood Release wasn't invincible. Without Natsuki's Air Door providing instant insertion and extraction, last night's clean escape would have been far less certain. She and Nawaki couldn't replicate the operation alone.
At the scroll's end — the various villages' speculation about how they'd acquired Wood Release.
Some analysts had concluded Natsuki must be a Senju clansman.
"These people have remarkable imaginations," she said, closing the scroll.
"Which part?" Nawaki asked.
"The theories about Natsuki awakening Wood Release."
"Oh, those. Pretty creative." He paused, then shifted tone with suspicious casualness. "Although — if Natsuki were a Senju clan ninja, that wouldn't be the worst thing."
Tsunade froze.
An unbidden thought surfaced: the only way for Natsuki to become a Senju would be to marry into the clan.
She killed the thought before it could develop further.
"Wood Release brings fame, but it also paints a target." She steered firmly back to operational reality. "Be more cautious on missions from now on."
"I know." Nawaki nodded. Serious, for once.
An Anbu operative appeared.
"Lady Tsunade, Lord Nawaki — assembly in the command tent."
The messenger departed.
"Something's happened." Tsunade frowned. "Let's go."
The command tent was already crowded when they arrived. Every jōnin in camp.
Natsuki stood at the front.
"There's been an incident — though it doesn't directly involve our front." He kept it brief. "The Third Raikage has launched a surprise attack on the Land of Fire. Minato intercepted him. No damage so far."
The room shifted. Every face tightened.
The Third Raikage's assault meant one thing: the Hidden Cloud Village had formally entered the war against Konoha. The Leaf was now fighting on two fronts — the Stone to the west, the Cloud to the east.
The pressure would increase dramatically.
"Don't overreact," Natsuki continued. "Beyond Minato, Lord Jiraiya has already deployed with reinforcements."
Jiraiya spent his peacetime wandering — searching for the Child of Prophecy. But when Konoha was threatened, he appeared. That much was reliable.
Privately, Natsuki was more interested in how the timeline had shifted. In the original, the Third Raikage's infamous surprise attack had targeted the Land of Earth, not the Land of Fire. The timing — immediately after Wood Release's public debut — suggested causality. Konoha's momentum had surged after the raid. If the Raikage's attack succeeded now, it would blunt that momentum severely.
Fortunately, the butterfly effect had placed Namikaze Minato on the northeast border. In the original timeline, Minato had faced the Fourth Raikage and Killer B. The Third Raikage was stronger in raw power, but slower — and speed was what mattered against the Flying Thunder God.
The Third Raikage's legend rested on two pillars: the strongest spear and the strongest shield. The spear was Hell Stab — from the devastating One-Finger Nukite to the broader Four-Finger variant, the most powerful Lightning Release taijutsu in existence. The shield was his Lightning Release Chakra Mode and its legendary armor, so durable that even Wind Release — Lightning's natural counter — could barely scratch it.
Minato's combat power couldn't match that head-on. But the Flying Thunder God made him faster, and faster meant he could stall indefinitely. One shinobi achieving what ten thousand Stone combatants had accomplished in the original timeline.
With Jiraiya added, the Cloud wouldn't break through in the short term. But the reverse was equally true — Minato and Jiraiya probably couldn't exhaust the Third Raikage to death the way the Stone's human-wave tactics eventually had.
"One more item." Natsuki produced two documents and handed them over. "From Sensei. For both of you."
Tsunade and Nawaki guessed immediately — commendations for the Wood Release raid. The room reached the same conclusion.
Tsunade opened hers. Praise, recognition, formal acknowledgment. She'd received dozens of similar documents over her career. She read it calmly.
Nawaki was practically radiating light.
"Dismissed."
The jōnin filed out. Natsuki opened an Air Door and stepped into the Hidden Mist Village.
The Cloud's declaration of war against Konoha was the best possible news for the Mist. With the Cloud's attention split, the pressure on Kirigakure eased considerably.
Natsuki reflected that killing Rasa first had been the right call. Waiting for the Third Mizukage to take the field would have been an indefinite delay.
But the Espada needed to grow faster. Controlling Kirigakure — and unlocking Kyōka Suigetsu's Shikai — required a deeper foundation.
He met with Ringo Ameyuri. Under her guidance, he was introduced to Hōzuki Mangetsu.
The process was identical to Ameyuri's. Terminal illness diagnosed. Blood Curse administered. Disease eradicated. A demon born.
Left with no alternative, Mangetsu became the Espada's third member.
Before departing, Natsuki gave both Ameyuri and Mangetsu a standing order: build Terumī Mei's reputation. The greater her fame, the stronger her claim to the Mizukage seat.
A new day.
Natsuki studied the latest intelligence report, thinking.
The content was straightforward: the Stone's additional thousand shinobi had arrived, restoring their total strength to four thousand.
Replacing losses was expected. Over four hundred casualties demanded replenishment.
The question occupying his mind was whether the Stone would deploy a jinchūriki.
The logic was simple. After Wood Release's debut, the Stone was at a decisive disadvantage — outmatched in both elite combatants and morale. If the war continued on its current trajectory, their defeat was inevitable.
Only three individuals could reverse that calculus: Ōnoki himself, and his two jinchūriki.
"Mikoto." He stood. "We're going for a ride."
"Okay," she said softly.
An Air Door carried them to extreme altitude. Minazuki transformed into the manta ray, and they soared toward Stone-controlled territory.
"We have time." Natsuki dropped onto the manta ray's back. "Sit with me."
Mikoto settled beside him, close enough that their shoulders touched.
He placed his hand on her thigh.
She stiffened — she'd been kneeling in seiza. After a moment's hesitation, she shifted to a seated position, legs extended, giving him easier access.
"What are we doing out here?" she asked.
"Reconnaissance. Checking the Stone's main camp." He leaned against her cheek, his voice low.
A faint scent reached him. Delicate, clean.
"Are you wearing perfume?"
"No." A small pause.
"Then that's just you." He smiled, turned his head, and kissed her neck.
A tremor ran through her. She reached up, gathered her dark hair, and swept it aside — exposing more of the pale column of her throat.
He traced his gaze down past her collar. She was wearing a black combat suit today. No exposed skin.
He pulled her into his lap, leaned forward, and buried his face in the curve of her neck. His hands slipped beneath the suit's fabric.
Mikoto's cheeks colored. But she didn't stop him. She leaned into his chest and let him explore, her breathing steady, her composure surprising even herself.
She was used to this now.
The manta ray reached the Stone's operational zone.
Natsuki held Mikoto's warmth in one hand and activated Observation Haki with the other half of his attention.
His perception expanded — every stronghold, every outpost, every camp the Stone had established materialized in his awareness like pins on a three-dimensional map.
His hand paused.
Mikoto made a soft sound and lifted her flushed face.
He looked down. Her skin was damp, her eyes unfocused, her cheeks the color of ripe fruit.
He leaned in to catch her lip between his teeth — but she met him first, rising into the kiss.
He let it go on for a few seconds, then cracked his palm hard across her ass.
She yelped. Her eyes snapped clear.
Their mouths separated. She ducked her head, mortified.
"Time to head back. I have what I need."
He released her and stood. Mikoto nodded, still visibly reluctant.
An Air Door deposited them back in the tent.
"I need to think through the intelligence. Don't disturb me."
He pressed down gently on the top of her head.
Mikoto understood immediately. She lowered herself without another word.
Natsuki closed his eyes, lay back on the carpet, and let his body relax.
As expected — the Stone had deployed a jinchūriki.
The chakra signature was unmistakable. Based on the fluctuations, it was almost certainly Rōshi, the Four-Tails jinchūriki.
Rōshi specialized in Lava Release — a Fire-Earth composite that manifested as magma. Ōnoki's reasoning was transparent: Lava Release was a natural counter to Wood Release.
But Natsuki was thinking beyond the tactical matchup.
Would defeating Rōshi trigger a new character template?
As a jinchūriki, Rōshi was unquestionably Kage-level. The probability of a template activation was high.
And beyond Rōshi himself, there was the Four-Tails — Son Goku, the great red ape. The Aizen template's Hōgyoku required absorbing all nine Tailed Beasts. The Four-Tails was on that list.
Encountering a jinchūriki on a battlefield meant a fight with no quarter. Outside of war, opportunities like this were vanishingly rare.
The question was timing. Under normal circumstances, Rōshi would be held in reserve until the Stone faced a genuine crisis. The most efficient way to force that crisis was to launch an all-out offensive.
Natsuki exhaled slowly.
Somewhere out there, Madara and Black Zetsu were planning their next move.
He stroked Mikoto's hair absently and drifted into a warm, shallow sleep.
A Stone outpost in the Land of Earth.
Konan led three Amegakure chūnin through the position with surgical precision, eliminating the garrison squad without complication.
She was preparing to withdraw when the sound of displaced air reached her from four directions simultaneously.
Four figures dropped from the sky, encircling her team.
Her eyes narrowed.
Four Stone jōnin.
At a remote, low-priority outpost like this, reinforcements shouldn't have arrived this quickly. And four jōnin for a single outpost was absurd overkill.
This was a trap. Specifically for her.
"Fall back," she ordered the three chūnin instantly. They were outclassed here — staying would only create liabilities.
They understood. They ran.
One Stone jōnin accelerated, blade drawn, angling to cut off the nearest chūnin.
Tempest Kick!
Konan didn't hesitate. The vacuum blade forced the jōnin to break off his pursuit and dodge.
Earth Release: Rising Stone Spears!
Two of the remaining jōnin attacked simultaneously. The ground trembled beneath Konan's feet.
Moonwalk.
She launched skyward as stone spikes erupted where she'd been standing.
Cream Bubble!
The Clima-Tact swept forward. A cloud sphere expanded on impact, forming a dense wall between the jōnin and her retreating subordinates.
None of the four gave chase.
That confirmed it. Her chūnin weren't the target. She was.
Weather Egg: Thunder Breed Tempo!
Stormclouds condensed overhead. Lightning cascaded down.
The four jōnin scattered — then converged.
Earth Release: Rock Pillar Prison!
Four sets of seals completed in unison. Stone pillars erupted from the ground in a cylindrical cage, closing around Konan.
Blood Demon Art: Exploding Blood!
She flung her arm outward. Blood splattered across the pillars and detonated.
The cage shattered.
The instant she was free, Konan crushed the Eyeball Clone Natsuki had given her.
The pattern was clear. They weren't trying to kill her — they were trying to capture her. She didn't know why, but she understood what it meant: if she was taken, Yahiko and Nagato would be forced into impossible choices.
An Air Door opened above her.
"Lively down here."
Natsuki surveyed the four Stone jōnin from altitude, smiled, and activated Unlimited Blade Works.
All four vanished — pulled into the Reality Marble.
He needed to confirm something.
Mangekyō Sharingan.
He seized the nearest jōnin's mind. Inside, he found exactly what he'd expected — a foreign genjutsu, layered deep beneath the surface consciousness.
He erased it.
All four were the same. Every one of them had been placed under external control.
The source didn't need naming. Madara and Black Zetsu had shifted targets — from Yahiko to Konan.
But after tonight's intervention, they'd likely change tactics again. Between the Eyeball Clones and the Air Door, he'd now demonstrated his response capability twice.
The Door-Door Fruit's existence was no longer a secret from them.
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