"Lord Raikage!"
"Lord Raikage!"
The Fourth Raikage Ai was leading his forces through the mountainous terrain when Cloud shinobi messengers suddenly arrived with urgent news.
"What? Thunder Gorge is under attack?" Ai's voice boomed across the ranks.
"That's impossible! With Konoha's current numbers, how could they dare assault Thunder Gorge?"
His muscular frame tensed as he barked orders. "Send scouts immediately! I want detailed intelligence on the situation!"
"Yes, sir!" The messenger vanished in a blur of movement.
After receiving confirmation that Thunder Gorge was indeed under siege, Ai commanded his ninja forces to increase their pace. They needed to reach the front lines as quickly as possible. The mountain paths echoed with the sound of hundreds of shinobi moving at top speed.
However, before the army had advanced very far, more reports began flooding in about Konoha's assault on their strategic fortress. Each message made the Raikage's expression grow darker.
His anxiety mounted with every passing moment. While he knew Thunder Gorge's defenses were formidable—built to withstand even a full-scale assault from all of Konoha's forces—he couldn't shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong. In war, unexpected events could turn the tide in an instant.
"Order the vanguard units to move at maximum speed! Thunder Gorge needs immediate reinforcement!"
"Understood!" His subordinates raced to relay the commands.
Soon after, the situation deteriorated further. More messengers arrived, each bearing increasingly dire news. The Fourth Raikage's already stern expression turned thunderous, his dark skin flushing with barely contained rage. The battlefield situation was changing too rapidly, and every update brought nothing but disaster for the Land of Lightning.
"Breached? What do you mean breached? Are you joking with me?"
In a flash of movement, Ai's massive hand closed around the messenger's throat, lifting the Cloud shinobi off the ground. His eyes blazed with disbelief at the information just delivered.
As the Raikage, Ai knew better than anyone the astronomical resources that Cloud Shinobi Village and the Land of Lightning had invested in Thunder Gorge. The fortress was their pride, an impenetrable barrier that had stood for generations. The engineering marvel had cost them fortunes to build and maintain.
How could he possibly believe that Konoha had broken through their greatest defensive position? Was the mighty fortress nothing more than a paper wall? Where had all their money and effort gone?
"My lord! Please..." The Cloud shinobi's face turned red as he struggled to speak through Ai's iron grip. "Thunder Gorge... has truly fallen! We need... reinforcements... immediately!"
"Damn it all!"
Ai released the messenger, who dropped to his knees gasping for air. The Raikage's frustration exploded outward as he drove his fist into the ground. The earth shattered under the impact, sending rocks flying in all directions and leaving a crater several meters wide.
"Tell me exactly what happened! Every detail!"
"It was Shihouin Naraku!" The messenger's voice trembled, whether from fear or exhaustion. "He's the one who breached Thunder Gorge! Reports say he transformed into some kind of giant and summoned a massive flame phoenix!"
Ai's thick eyebrows rose in surprise, and an aura of barely controlled violence radiated from his body. A giant? A flame phoenix? What kind of jutsu were they dealing with?
But no—this wasn't the time for speculation. The entire army needed to support Thunder Gorge immediately. He forced himself to think strategically despite his anger.
Given the Land of Lightning's mountainous terrain, breaches at other border positions would be dangerous but manageable. Any Konoha forces foolish enough to advance deeper into their territory would face increasingly strong resistance from their network of strongholds and defensive positions scattered throughout the country.
Thunder Gorge was different. It was the key to everything. If this position remained in enemy hands, Konoha's forces could march straight through the valley systems, bypassing most of their defenses. With only minimal obstacles remaining, the enemy could potentially reach the capital of the Land of Thunder itself.
If that happened, Ai might as well commit seppuku in shame. No Raikage could survive such a catastrophic failure.
Taking a deep breath to center himself, Ai began issuing rapid-fire orders with the clarity of a seasoned military commander.
"Send word to Dodai immediately. He's to hold the line at all costs. However, if Konoha's assault proves too fierce, I authorize a tactical retreat. They can fall back to more favorable terrain and use the environment to slow the enemy advance."
He turned to another messenger. "Notify Cloud Shinobi Village that the front-line situation has become critical. We need every available ninja. Aside from essential defensive personnel, all forces are to gather and march to the front immediately."
"Our current supplies won't be sufficient for a prolonged engagement," he continued, his tactical mind working at full speed. "Contact the rear guard. Open the storage warehouses and organize additional supply convoys. Make sure they maintain vigilance against enemy ambush attempts during transport!"
His voice rose to address his assembled commanders. "I'm ordering all ninja forces currently stationed behind Thunder Gorge to abandon their defensive positions. They're to converge on Thunder Gorge with everything they have. We must recapture that position at any cost!"
Ai understood the strategic implications perfectly. With Thunder Gorge in enemy hands, the defensive positions further back became meaningless. They'd been designed assuming Thunder Gorge would hold. Now, rather than waste precious forces trying to defend indefensible positions, better to concentrate everything on retaking their lost fortress.
The Fourth Raikage's orders spread through the ranks like wildfire, executed without question or hesitation. The entire Cloud shinobi army surged forward with renewed urgency, their formation stretching and warping as faster units pulled ahead.
What had been a perfectly organized military formation began to show gaps. The supply units, burdened with essential materials and provisions, gradually fell behind the main force. Though the situation demanded speed, the Raikage wasn't foolish enough to leave their supplies completely undefended. He assigned protective details to guard the convoys.
However, compared to the thousands in the main army, these remaining guards were a token force at best.
High above in the clear mountain air, invisible to those below, Shihouin Naraku observed the Cloud forces' movements with keen interest. Using a communication jutsu, he relayed detailed intelligence to Hyuga Hiashi, alerting the ambush team to prepare for action.
The main Cloud shinobi force rushed past the area where Konoha's strike team lay hidden. Despite their numbers, the Cloud ninja remained completely unaware of the danger lurking nearby.
Several factors contributed to their successful concealment. First, the Konoha ambush team had positioned themselves at a careful distance from the main route, close enough to strike but far enough to avoid casual detection. Second, the Cloud forces were moving with such urgency that their sensory ninja hadn't conducted thorough sweeps of the surrounding area. Most crucially, Hyuga Hiashi's Byakugan provided an overwhelming tactical advantage on the battlefield.
The legendary white eyes could detect enemies long before they could detect him. This allowed Hiashi to continuously adjust his team's positioning based on the enemy's movements and patrol patterns, dramatically reducing any chance of discovery.
Perhaps most importantly, this deep within Lightning Country territory, the Cloud shinobi simply didn't expect to encounter enemy forces. They maintained necessary vigilance, of course, but nothing approaching the paranoid caution they would exercise near the actual front lines.
So the Konoha assault team watched with professional calm as thousands of Cloud ninja streamed past their position, heading toward the distant battle. Once the main force had passed, they settled in to wait for their true target—the supply convoy that would inevitably follow.
Veins bulged prominently around Hyuga Hiashi's temples as he activated his Byakugan to its fullest extent. His supernatural vision penetrated the landscape, tracking the approaching supply team from over a thousand meters away.
"Here they come," he whispered to his team.
"The Cloud shinobi supply detail consists of seventeen ninja total."
His Byakugan analyzed each target's chakra levels with practiced precision. "Based on chakra capacity, only one approaches jonin level. The remainder are chunin and genin."
"Chunin make up the majority—I count ten. The remaining six are genin-level."
The Byakugan's penetrating gaze studied every detail of the enemy formation. Hiashi quickly identified each Cloud ninja's likely specialization based on their positioning, movement patterns, and chakra distribution. Some moved like close-combat specialists, others maintained the spacing typical of long-range fighters.
Using this intelligence, he silently directed his team with hand signals. Konoha shinobi moved like ghosts through the rocky terrain, setting explosive tags in optimal positions, preparing wire traps across likely escape routes, and positioning themselves for maximum advantage in the coming ambush.
From his aerial vantage point, Shihouin Naraku observed the preparations with professional appreciation. His thoughts turned philosophical as he watched Hiashi work.
"The Byakugan truly is a strategic-level kekkei genkai," he mused quietly. "Before the battle even begins, they've already mapped out every detail of their opponents. How can you fight against such an advantage?"
In single combat, the Sharingan certainly proved itself as an incredibly powerful bloodline limit. Its ability to copy jutsu, predict movements, and cast genjutsu made Uchiha warriors feared throughout the ninja world.
But in warfare—true military campaigns—the Byakugan reigned supreme. Its reconnaissance capabilities could turn the tide of entire battles.
Every ninja village outside of Konoha coveted the Byakugan's power. The Hidden Mist had taken direct action during previous wars, successfully capturing a Byakugan from the Hyuga main family. They treasured it as a village secret, and that single eye had indeed provided them with significant military advantages over the years.
Cloud Shinobi Village had gone even further in their desire, attempting to kidnap young Hyuga Hinata purely to obtain the bloodline. The incident had nearly sparked another war.
The Byakugan's ability to provide near-perfect battlefield intelligence made it invaluable in military operations. From this perspective, Naraku reflected, the development of the Caged Bird Seal wasn't entirely without reason. The Hyuga clan needed some method to protect their bloodline from falling into enemy hands.
Of course, while the Caged Bird Seal itself might have been necessary, the bitter divide it created between the main and branch families was an unfortunate consequence that could have been avoided with better leadership and more equitable treatment.
Shihouin Naraku continued his vigil from above, watching as Hyuga Hiashi and the ambush team struck with lethal precision. The attack unfolded exactly as planned. The Cloud shinobi supply convoy, caught completely off guard, stood no chance against the coordinated assault.
In less than three minutes, the engagement was over. All seventeen Cloud ninja lay dead, their supplies now in Konoha hands. Most remarkably, not a single member of the Konoha team had died in the encounter. Only a few had sustained injuries, and those were minor wounds that wouldn't significantly impact their combat effectiveness.
The success of the ambush demonstrated the devastating effectiveness of superior intelligence in warfare. The Cloud forces had been neutralized before they even knew they were under attack.
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