As tensions between Konoha and Kumogakure escalated, the Ninja World War was destined to reach a fever pitch.
Except for Koharu Utatane, who would stay behind to manage the village and oversee logistics, every high-ranking Konoha Shinobi was about to march onto the battlefield.
Because they had no choice.
The Third Raikage's might was terrifying—undefeated through a hundred battles.
In all of Konoha, only the all-round warrior Sarutobi Hiruzen had a real chance against him.
Danzō Shimura's mastery of Wind Release was second to none.
His techniques were extraordinarily effective against Lightning Release, which wind naturally countered.
While still whole, uncrippled, and in peak condition, he was universally acknowledged as Konoha's second-strongest after the Third Hokage.
He, too, would set out to resist Kumogakure.
As for the Land of Rain, the last of Konoha's leadership quartet would lead—Homura Mitokado.
Among the Second Hokage's students, his strength was considered rather mediocre.
But he was now in his prime and only a step away from Kage level.
Together with three other near-Kage elites under the Third Hokage, they formed another dazzling core group bound to support the Land of Rain front.
"Third Hokage-sensei, the hour has come; personnel and supplies are all accounted for."
Orochimaru, Captain of the Jōnin Corps, stepped to Sarutobi Hiruzen's side to report.
"Good. Then we depart."
The Third Hokage gave a slight nod.
The vast column stirred into motion.
Along the road, villagers shouted to the marching ranks, bidding what might be a final farewell to parents, children, and friends.
Uchiha Sumi, supported by Yuna, smiled as she watched Uchiha Gen among the troops.
The Clan Elder leaned on his cane, eyes fixed on Gen and Mikoto, and on every Uchiha in the line.
"Gen, I'll rejoin my squad now."
Uchiha Mikoto gave him a gentle smile and a wave.
She belonged to the Police Force, and every Uchiha in that unit was being dispatched to the Kumogakure front.
Once beyond the gates, the column would split in two.
"Take care, Sister Mikoto."
"You too."
With a soft smile, she waved again and was gone.
Not far off, the blond-haired Minato Namikaze, forehead protector now in place, followed Jiraiya and glanced back toward the Hokage Monument.
His graduating class was the most unusual the Academy had ever seen.
In the past, a few students had graduated early, but an entire class being pushed through ahead of schedule was unprecedented.
They were also the first new Genin ever sent to the front lines without even a single D-Rank mission under their belts.
Though these rookies would be kept to safer second-line duties, so some security remained.
Meanwhile, beneath the monument on the Hokage Building's rooftop.
Kushina gripped the railing, eyes on the long dragon-like column winding out of Konoha's gate, unable to look away.
The Nine-Tails was sealed within her.
Until she could subdue its power as Mito once had, she could not step beyond the barrier the late Uzumaki Mito and the Sealing Team had set.
Soon, the force began to divide.
Konoha had mobilized more than eight thousand for this war; thirty-five hundred were bound for the Land of Rain.
Those thirty-five hundred would split again into combined reconnaissance, strike, and defense units to sweep every inch of the northwestern border of the Land of Fire.
The division led by the Third Hokage would do the same, rooting out any hidden threats still lurking within the country.
With the war under way, enemy Shinobi and hired Rogue Ninja had been infiltrating to sabotage and spy.
These eight thousand, added to the troops already at the front, represented most of Konoha's strength.
There might be no second chance to purge the interior, so a lightning strike was needed now.
The Anbu, Root, and Intelligence Division had mapped these infiltrators long before the march began.
Given his rank, Orochimaru naturally commanded one of the detachments.
Uchiha Gen and his comrades fell under his banner.
"So, before you face a truly dangerous battlefield, consider this a valuable live exercise."
Beside a rushing river, Orochimaru stood with hands clasped behind him, gazing toward a distant woods.
"According to intel and our Sensor Squad, no Jōnin-level threats hide inside; it's yours to handle."
Among the hundred-plus Shinobi behind him, twenty-odd youths stepped to the fore and knelt to receive his orders.
Many, like Uchiha Gen, were this year's fresh graduates.
There were also old acquaintances—the fifteenth generation Ino–Shika–Chō: Nara Shikaku, Akimichi Chōza, and Inoichi Yamanaka.
Old friends could not resist exchanging glances.
Had they not been on duty, they would already be reminiscing.
"Mind the traps. Don't die. Move out."
Orochimaru glanced at his three students and spoke.
In an instant, the young Shinobi flickered away toward the trees.
At Orochimaru's signal, several more shadows slipped after them, the commander himself following with a handful of Jōnin.
Confident though he was that his three pupils could seize the enemy outpost, he had little data on the other rookies and opted for insurance.
"Inoichi, can you locate them and count their numbers?"
The moment they entered the woods, Gen asked.
The Yamanaka Clan's sensory talents were famed; in this field, they rivaled even the Senju and Uzumaki.
In the future, Inoichi would head the Allied Shinobi Forces' Intelligence Division in the Fourth Ninja World War, proof enough of his gifts.
Even now, green as he was, he outmatched most professional sensors.
"Seventeen. At your seven o'clock…," he rattled off.
"Confirmed. The three at six o'clock have the strongest Chakra signatures."
A Shinobi a year or two older than Gen and Inoichi suddenly dropped beside them and said grimly.