The forest floor was no longer ground — it was overturned earth, mud, and blood. Jutsu explosions collided like thunder tearing the skies. Shurikens cut through the air like swarms. The screams of war and pain blended into a symphony of chaos.
Even with Konoha's defenses well-organized and veteran ninjas on the field, the number of allied forces from the other villages was overwhelming. The Will of Fire of the Leaf ninjas seemed to be hanging by a thread.
But then... A gale cut through the battlefield like an invisible blade. A gale of hope.
From the eastern skies, dozens — no, hundreds — of ninjas emerged in perfect formation, stepping onto the ground with military precision. The muffled sound of synchronized footsteps overpowered the roar of war. At the center, advancing like a living arrow, was Gaara, the Fifth Kazekage, surrounded by his elite. Beside him were Temari, Kankurō, and the loyal commander Baki.
The sand rose furiously as Gaara extended his hands. A gigantic wall of sand emerged, protecting a Konoha platoon from an enemy charge. The war had just turned.
ON THE CLIFFTOP
The scene didn't go unnoticed.
From atop the hill, Ōnoki, Mei, and Raikage A watched with wide eyes and grim expressions.
"What...?!" Ōnoki growled, fists clenched. "Gaara is... with them?"
"Damn brat..." Raikage growled.
"I warned you youth is impulsive."
"I expected hesitation, not betrayal!" Mei snapped, her eyes blazing.
"What is the Sand thinking?!" A bellowed, lightning beginning to course through his arms.
"They're digging their own grave!"
Ōnoki stepped forward, staring at the battlefield with calculating eyes.
"Gaara... You were always a risk."
IN THE CENTER OF THE BATTLEFIELD
Jiraiya smiled, arms crossed beside Tsunade, watching the arrival of the Sand.
"Hah! Looks like the kid has more honor than all the Kages combined."
Tsunade nodded, fists clenched.
"Konoha is no longer alone."
Gaara approached them, his expression as firm as the sand he wielded.
"I couldn't stand by and watch them turn this into a massacre. The Sand came to protect what's still just."
Tsunade placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You made the right choice, Kazekage."
SECONDARY FIELD — SOUTH FRONT
Kitsuchi, the Stone Village general, watched the Sand's advance with disdain.
"They think they can turn the tide with desert breezes?"
Behind him, an army of Iwa ninjas assembled.
"Bury them all," he ordered.
The earth trembled underfoot. Kitsuchi raised his arms, manipulating the terrain expertly. Multiple stone spikes erupted, advancing like beasts beneath the soil, trying to impale any Leaf ninja who dared approach.
That's when two powerful chakras stood out amidst the chaos.
"Hm?" Kitsuchi turned just in time to see two figures land precisely before him: Temari, wielding her giant fan, and Tenten, surrounded by dozens of scrolls and seals.
"Let's end this quickly," said Temari, opening her fan.
"We won't let any more of them advance!" shouted Tenten.
Kitsuchi charged forward, stomping hard. A stone wall rose between him and the kunoichi. But Temari was faster. With a swift motion of her fan, she sliced the wall with a precise wind gust.
"Fūton: Kamaitachi no Jutsu!"
Stone shards flew. Kitsuchi stepped back but smiled.
"Don't underestimate the rock!"
He slammed his fists into the ground. The entire terrain became a trap: peaks emerged from the soil like a titan's teeth. Tenten leapt between the peaks, opening a scroll and summoning dozens of weapons that began orbiting around her.
"Sōshōryū! (Twin Rising Dragons)"
Two large serpentine streams of weapons shot toward Kitsuchi. He blocked some with stone shields, but others slashed his shoulder and leg. Temari followed up with another cutting blast.
"Fūton: Tōjūgō no Jutsu!"
The gust lifted the rubble, blinding Kitsuchi for a second.
"She's fast..." he grunted.
But Kitsuchi wasn't an ordinary jonin. He plunged his hands into the earth and pulled out a massive sphere of compressed rock.
"Doton: Gōremu Dama!"
He hurled the sphere. Tenten leapt and in mid-air released a rain of explosive kunai.
BOOM!
The collision destroyed surrounding trees. When the dust settled, Tenten fell to her knees, panting, scratched all over.
"It's not over!" she shouted, already opening another scroll.
Temari stepped in front of her.
"Let me handle it for a moment."
She raised her fan and opened the third fold.
"Kiri Kiri Mai!"
A colossal tornado emerged, devastating the field ahead. Iwa ninjas were swept away like leaves. Kitsuchi tried to anchor himself but was launched against a distant boulder.
Silence for a moment.
Tenten, bleeding from a shoulder cut, rose with difficulty.
"I thought weapons wouldn't be enough, but..." she smiled. "I still have more tricks."
With one last seal, she activated a jutsu of her own design:
"Hijutsu: Sōgu Bakusō! (Secret Technique: Devastating Armament)"
Dozens of different weapons flew like a swarm, each controlled by chakra threads, forming a metallic storm that surrounded Kitsuchi from all sides.
CHAK! CHAK! CHAK!
Piercings, cuts, small explosions.
When the smoke cleared, Kitsuchi collapsed, unconscious, his body covered in embedded weapons and dust.
Tenten dropped to her knees, exhausted. Temari approached, holding her arm.
"You... are at my level now, Tenten."
Tenten laughed.
"Still a long way to go. But... I wanted to prove I'm not just 'the weapon girl.'"
Temari looked at her seriously.
"Today you were the woman who saved an army. But let's keep going, the battle isn't over yet."
Iwa's troops began to retreat in that sector, feeling intimidated, though honor and pride still held them in place.
On the Kage battlefield, Tsuchikage Oniko clenched her fists.
"This war... won't be easy."
MEANWHILE — IN A PLACE WHERE THE SUN DOESN'T TOUCH
At the center of the room, seated on a throne, was Nagato. His eyes — the dual Rinnegan, now with stained deep purple hues — were open but fixed on the void.
Behind him, the shadows twisted. And from within them, Konan emerged, her Akatsuki cloak fluttering softly. Her face bore the weight of a thousand days of doubt.
"Chaos has been instilled," she said, her voice cutting the silence like a torn scroll. "The villages clash. Konoha resists like beasts alongside the Sand. The stage is in flames..."
Nagato didn't move. But the air around him trembled.
"It's not time yet," he murmured, as if speaking to himself.
Konan stepped forward, firmer:
"The pieces are moving. Jin-Woo seems unwilling to get involved. He's not part of the equation. Not part of the cycle. You should—"
Nagato raised a finger. Absolute silence. The chakra around him pulsed like an evil heart.
"When the sky is consumed by the blood of the Earth...
When leaders stop listening and only scream...
When even gods lose their names..."
He finally turned his face, gazing at Konan with eyes that pierced flesh and soul.
"Then... the world shall know the true God! This being from another dimension awaits the answers to his questions."
Konan clenched her fists.
"And when that time comes... not even death can stop you?"
Nagato slowly closed his eyes.
"Death... belongs to me now."