A loud boom seemed to explode inside Might Guy's mind the moment he heard the number. Two thousand Iwagakure Ninja. This was not a probing attack, nor was it a small-scale raid. It was a true large-scale offensive. He subconsciously tightened his grip around the hilt of his blade until his knuckles turned pale white.
Something was wrong.
In his memories, the battle at Mount Kikyo should have involved Sunagakure. So why had it become Iwagakure instead? Could killing Iwami Jūzō have caused a butterfly effect? Or was this attack always destined to happen, simply never mentioned in the original story?
Might Guy did not know.
But one thing was certain. A real war was about to begin.
Meanwhile, Nara Shikaku standing atop the high platform did not continue speaking for long. He simply raised one hand calmly and waved it downward before saying, "All battalions, deploy according to formation."
The crowd below immediately began moving, yet despite the large numbers, everything remained orderly. There was no panic, no chaos, and no unnecessary shouting. The Ninja separated cleanly according to their assigned battalions and gathered around their respective captains.
Might Guy swept his gaze across the area while counting silently. Eight battalions. Each battalion contained roughly one hundred and eighty people. This was the entirety of their available force, while the enemy had two thousand soldiers. Konoha was lacking nearly five hundred men.
Under normal circumstances, a difference of five hundred people might not sound especially large, but on a battlefield defensive line, five hundred soldiers represented countless dangerous gaps.
Akimichi Choza was already standing at the front of the Seventh Battalion. As one of the few Jonin stationed at the eastern base, he naturally served as one of the battalion captains. Choza's massive body was easy to spot within the crowd, and Might Guy, Ebisu, and Genma immediately squeezed their way over.
"Captain."
Choza glanced down at Guy first before looking toward his legs. "Can you still keep up?"
"I can."
Choza did not ask anything further and immediately turned toward the one hundred and eighty Ninja behind him. "Move out."
There were no unnecessary speeches. The moment the order was given, everyone moved simultaneously and began leaving the camp. After exiting the camp perimeter, the people at the front gradually accelerated. Walking became jogging, jogging became running, and the entire battalion moved like a long serpent slithering rapidly along the mountain ridge toward the front line.
Might Guy followed within the formation without falling behind by even a single step.
Forty minutes later, the people at the front finally began slowing down.
They had arrived at the defensive line.
Might Guy lifted his head and looked ahead. Before them stretched a low mountain ridge. It was not especially tall, but its field of vision was excellent, and the ridge stretched for more than three thousand meters. Below the ridge was a vast open area where all the grass had already been trampled flat, exposing the dry yellow earth underneath. Further west lay the direction of the Land of Grass.
Nothing could currently be seen over there.
But Might Guy knew very well that two thousand enemies were advancing from that direction.
The open plain below would become their battlefield, and this three-thousand-meter mountain ridge would become their final defensive line.
Nara Shikaku stood atop the ridge surrounded by the eight battalion captains. Choza stood among them, and even though he was nearly a head taller than everyone nearby, he strangely did not appear out of place. Nara Shikaku said several words to the battalion captains, all of whom nodded before dispersing quickly.
Choza walked back toward his battalion with an unusually grim expression.
Might Guy had never seen him look like this before.
Over the past three months, Choza had basically possessed only two expressions. The first was "not bad," and the second was "have you eaten yet?" But now there was a third expression, and it was ugly.
"Captain, what's the situation?" Ebisu hurriedly leaned closer.
Choza crouched down and picked up a twig from the ground before quickly drawing several lines in the dirt. A curved line represented the mountain ridge, and then he drew a large arrow pointing from west to east.
"There are two thousand enemies. The commander leading them is Tōshijin."
The moment Might Guy heard that name, his eyelid twitched slightly.
Tōshijin.
The Rock General of Iwagakure.
A relative of the Third Tsuchikage and a Jonin among Jonin.
Since the beginning of the war, he had already fought four major battles, winning every single one. Not a single survivor had escaped any battlefield he commanded.
Choza continued drawing lines on the ground. "The enemy's objective is very clear. They want to break through Mount Kikyo and drive directly into the heartland of the Land of Fire."
The twig traced several lines behind the arrow to represent troop formations. "This isn't the first time Tōshijin has fought against Konoha. His style is extremely straightforward. He doesn't use tricks. He doesn't rely on feints. He simply crushes everything head-on with overwhelming force."
He paused briefly before continuing. "A direct push."
Might Guy silently stared at the lines on the ground.
Direct assaults were the hardest kind to deal with.
If enemies relied on tricks, then tricks could be countered. If enemies relied on feints, then defenses could adapt. But if the enemy simply crushed forward head-on, then there was only one choice left.
Hold the line.
If you held, you survived.
If you failed, you died.
Choza tossed the twig aside before standing back up. "However, our mission is not to drive them back."
He pointed toward the open plain below the ridge. "Our mission is to hold this place. The reinforcement force dispatched from Konoha is already on the move, but the earliest they can arrive is dawn tomorrow."
Might Guy looked at the massive battlefield below. Fifteen hundred defenders against two thousand attackers, and they needed to hold the line for at least an entire day and night. This battle was not unwinnable, but it would be incredibly difficult.
Might Guy tightened his grip around his blade hilt until sweat covered his palms. "Where is our position?"
Choza pointed toward a section on the left side of the mountain ridge before looking at the three of them silently for two seconds. "When the battle starts, stay close to me."
Just six simple words, yet the tone behind them was completely different from usual.
Ebisu silently adjusted his sunglasses while Genma removed the toothpick from his mouth before placing it back again. Might Guy nodded quietly.
Choza then turned around and began walking deeper behind the ridge. "Come eat first."
The three immediately followed behind him. Several temporary sheds had already been erected behind the mountain ridge while the cooking squads rapidly prepared food. The rice was cold, the dishes were cold too, but the portions were extremely large. Nobody complained.
Might Guy held his bowl while squatting on the ground and shoveling rice rapidly into his mouth. He ate everything completely clean, leaving not even a single grain behind. A major battle was approaching, and once the fighting started, there would be no time left to eat. He needed to fill himself completely now.
When he finally lowered the empty bowl, he noticed Ebisu nearby eating just as quickly, his cheeks bulging while he shoveled food into his mouth. Meanwhile, Genma had already finished eating and stood nearby with a toothpick in his mouth while staring silently into the distance.
After swallowing the final mouthful of rice, the three of them returned their bowls to the collection basket before standing up together and walking toward the mountain ridge once again.
The ridge was already packed with people.
One thousand five hundred Ninja stretched across the entire defensive line.
There were no waving banners, no shouting slogans, and no loud speeches. Everyone was simply doing their own preparations. Some checked the contents of their ninja pouches, some adjusted their forehead protectors, while others repeatedly pulled Kunai from their wrappings before sliding them back into place. Some crouched low while drawing seals into the dirt and infusing explosive tags with Chakra, while others closed their eyes as though silently memorizing something.
Everyone prepared in their own way.
Might Guy and the others belonged to the assault squad. Standing at the Seventh Battalion's designated position, they looked down toward the battlefield below.
At the far end of the open plain, nothing could yet be seen on the horizon.
But the atmosphere already felt wrong.
The wind had stopped blowing.
The grass no longer swayed.
Even the sounds of birds had completely disappeared.
Ebisu stood to Might Guy's right while gripping a Kunai tightly, his expression visibly stiff. "Might Guy."
"Yeah?"
"When do you think they'll arrive?"
Might Guy did not answer immediately. He simply stared toward the distant horizon. The silence there felt unnatural. It resembled the final moments before boiling water erupted. The lid rattled, steam rose upward, yet the water itself had not fully boiled.
And once it boiled...
"They're here."
Might Guy's voice was extremely soft, but his expression was incomparably serious.
Ebisu did not hear him clearly. "What?"
Might Guy lifted his chin slightly.
At that same moment, the gazes of everyone standing atop the mountain ridge gradually converged toward the same direction.
A reddish-brown line suddenly appeared along the horizon.
It did not slowly expand outward.
It appeared all at once.
Two thousand Iwagakure Ninja stood arranged in perfectly ordered formations. From south to north, they filled the entire horizon completely. The spacing between every formation was identical, and the spacing between every row of soldiers was also identical. Once again, there were no banners and no slogans.
Only people.
Two thousand people marched silently forward.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
The earth itself trembled beneath them.
Two thousand pairs of feet striking the ground simultaneously merged into a single deafening rhythm.
Ebisu nearly dropped the Kunai in his hand. "This... this is way too many..."
Might Guy silently stared at the massive gray line advancing toward them. The enemy had not divided into multiple routes, hidden reserve troops, or attempted any feints. It was simply one enormous wall of troops arranged in long horizontal formations crushing directly toward Mount Kikyo.
There were no weak points.
No openings.
Every position was a hard wall.
Nara Shikaku stood atop the highest point of the ridge while narrowing his eyes toward the advancing army for several seconds before finally speaking calmly.
"All battalions, pay attention. The first line, Earth Release squads, prepare. The second line, Fire Release squads, prepare. The third line, explosive tag squads, prepare. Await my command."
There was no passionate speech and no loud discussion about the Will of Fire.
Only simple commands.
And the absolute calmness expected from a battlefield commander.
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