Chapter 404 – This Is War
"Are they still following us?"
The Third Hokage asked as he led his troops in retreat, occasionally glancing at the Hyūga shinobi running beside him.
On the battlefield, the Hyūga clan were nothing short of living radar systems.
Within the range of the Byakugan, nearly everything was laid bare before Hiruzen's command.
Of course, the Byakugan's range was not infinite.
If it were—
There would be no secrets left in the shinobi world.
And a clan capable of seeing everything would likely become the target of everyone.
After withdrawing from the Kumogakure camp, Hiruzen had been leading his forces for several minutes.
He was not foolish enough to run in a straight line toward the dam.
If the Cloud shinobi noticed their true destination—
The entire plan would collapse.
Instead, he deliberately zigzagged through forest paths, circling and weaving to obscure their trajectory.
At this moment, he felt grateful that he had informed the unit captains in advance.
Thanks to them, not a single Konoha shinobi had fallen behind.
He could have relied on the Yamanaka clan's telepathic techniques to relay instructions—
But during high-speed movement, even a minor lapse could be fatal.
And if that technique accidentally reached the pursuing Cloud forces—
Disaster.
There was no room for error.
"For now, they're still pursuing us, Third Hokage-sama," the Hyūga replied quickly.
"Good," Hiruzen nodded. "How many?"
"Approximately two thousand. The Eight-Tails jinchūriki has joined them."
"Two thousand…"
Hiruzen calculated silently.
Not few.
But not overwhelming.
Kumogakure still had to guard its camp, so this must be the flanking force originally assigned to strike Konoha's main army.
But the unexpected bonus—
The Eight-Tails jinchūriki had come along.
That was… interesting.
If possible, Hiruzen would prefer capturing him.
But how much of the Eight-Tails' power that man had mastered—
He dared not guess.
From their brief clash earlier, one thing was clear:
Killer B was strong.
And worse—
He appeared to have a harmonious relationship with the beast inside him.
That troubled Hiruzen deeply.
Because such harmony suggested something far more dangerous.
He sighed softly.
"Unlikely… Even for Konoha, achieving that level of control is extraordinarily difficult."
Then he turned toward another squad captain.
"Inform the captains of the plan. Once we near the destination, they may brief their squads. That will make coordination smoother when the time comes."
"Yes, Third Hokage-sama."
---
At the Dam
Nara Kyōhei stood at the edge of the dam, staring into the forest below with growing impatience.
"Still not here?"
Kyōhei was a member of the Nara clan—not Shikaku's brother, but distantly related.
Strictly speaking, he was a political-type shinobi.
He hadn't even expected to be deployed to war.
Fugaku certainly wouldn't have chosen him.
And he had assumed the Third Hokage wouldn't either.
After all—
He belonged to the Konoha Police Force.
Originally assigned to the Mission Department, he had transferred when its old director retired.
He considered joining the Administrative Department under the Nara clan head—
But then he noticed something.
The Police Force's new headquarters stood remarkably close to the Hokage Tower.
That proximity meant influence.
When he heard they were recruiting capable administrative talent, he decided to try.
Unexpectedly—
He was accepted.
"Well… new environment, I suppose."
The Police Force had been expanding rapidly.
Authority growing.
Influence deepening.
It wasn't a bad place to be.
His work wasn't easy—the workload heavy—but the compensation was fair.
What shocked him most was this:
The documents he processed—
In other departments, they would have required a minister's approval.
Though he could only draft provisional plans for the most sensitive matters, the access itself was astonishing.
As he handled more files, he realized something clearly:
The Police Force had become central to Konoha's stability.
And its authority was formidable.
Had he, by accident, chosen correctly?
There was tension, of course.
The Nara clan and Head Uchiha Kei had grown a bit too close previously.
Now, some distance was necessary.
Kyōhei worried that might affect him.
But aside from Kei occasionally giving Shikaku a hard time—
Nothing changed.
No discrimination.
No pressure.
Even the other Ino–Shika–Chō members in the Police Force were unaffected.
"That commander may have a temper… but he's fair."
Then war erupted again.
Cloud shinobi ambushed Konoha mission teams.
The Police Force hunted spies while reinforcing the front.
Then came the Cloud diplomatic envoys—
Who died by Police blades.
Kumogakure declared war.
Konoha responded.
None of that surprised him.
He simply assumed he would be busy behind the lines.
Except—
When deployment lists were finalized—
His name was there.
Selected by the Third Hokage.
He had expected Fugaku not to choose him.
Correct.
Fugaku selected combat shinobi.
But the Third Hokage?
He assumed Hiruzen wouldn't choose Police personnel—
Certainly not administrative types.
Yet fate had other ideas.
He was drafted.
He couldn't refuse.
"Well… I've seen battle before."
Perhaps he would handle intelligence analysis or logistics planning.
Nothing too dangerous.
Except—
He now stood at a dam.
Waiting.
Preparing for something far larger than paperwork.
And for the first time—
He understood something clearly.
This—
Was war.
Thinking of all this, Nara Kyōhei couldn't help glancing back at the massive dam behind him—and at the thousand-plus shinobi concealed within the surrounding forest.
He let out a long sigh.
"In the end… I really underestimated what I was getting into."
He truly had.
He never expected the Third Hokage to devise something this insane.
The idea of using the dam had crossed his mind before—but it was far too risky.
First, there was no guarantee the enemy would pursue.
Second, if too many pursued, they themselves would be doomed.
Then there were the problems of battlefield command:
How to ensure their own troops didn't fall behind.
How to coordinate effectively once they reached the dam.
How to control the flow of engagement.
All of it required precise planning.
But Kumogakure had handed them the perfect opportunity.
They had launched a large-scale assault on Konoha's main front.
As for the so-called flanking unit—
Kyōhei could see through it at a glance.
Their true purpose was likely to lure out this hidden force operating behind enemy lines.
Ironically—
That very maneuver gave the Third Hokage his chance.
A chance to execute this… unconventional solution.
"Captain Kyōhei!"
Just as he was mentally complaining, a Hyūga shinobi rushed over. Veins bulged around his eyes as the Byakugan remained active.
"The Third Hokage is approaching. Nearly two thousand Cloud shinobi are pursuing him."
"Oh?"
Kyōhei's expression sharpened immediately.
He had no reason to doubt the Hyūga—this man was also formerly from the Police Force.
"How far?"
"They're moving quickly but from a slightly offset direction. My visual range is about one kilometer. Less than a minute before they arrive."
"Perfect."
Kyōhei turned sharply.
"Yamanaka Heiji—get ready!"
A shinobi seated cross-legged near the dam opened his eyes and smiled faintly.
"Yes, yes, Captain Kyōhei. I'm ready."
Yamanaka Heiji was a freelance shinobi of the Yamanaka clan.
Kyōhei knew him in passing—large clans worked that way. You recognized names and faces, but familiarity was rare.
Even alliances like Ino–Shika–Chō didn't mean deep personal ties.
As Heiji spoke, he activated his clan's secret technique.
A wave of subtle psychic chakra spread outward—
Linking every Konoha shinobi positioned around the dam.
Even so, when he finished, he was visibly winded.
Kyōhei couldn't help but be worried—
If only he knew that in the future, a young girl named Yamanaka Ino would connect the entire Allied Shinobi Army in a single breath.
"That'll do."
Kyōhei looked down toward the forest below.
Through gaps in the trees, he could see faint silhouettes advancing.
He counted silently.
Ten seconds passed.
When he clearly spotted the Third Hokage at the front—
He gave the order.
"Now!"
Instantly—
A thousand shinobi launched their attack on the dam's spillway.
Explosive-tagged kunai flew.
Fire Release techniques ignited.
The impact was immediate.
Boom!
The dam trembled violently.
Cracks spiderwebbed across its massive structure.
Kyōhei was still assessing the damage when the Hyūga beside him suddenly grabbed him by the collar and leapt down the slope.
Yamanaka Heiji was yanked up by his Nara and Akimichi teammates, and the entire unit withdrew at full speed.
They had barely cleared the structure—
When it broke.
The spillway ruptured completely.
Water burst forth like a ravenous beast.
A roaring wall of destruction surged forward.
Trees were uprooted.
Rocks shattered.
Everything in its path was swallowed by the merciless flood.
---
"Ow…"
Kyōhei rubbed his head, glaring at the Hyūga.
"That throw was unnecessary."
The man had simply tossed him aside mid-retreat.
His skull still throbbed.
Standing up, he stared at the devastation before him.
A long silence followed.
He didn't know how many Cloud shinobi had just died because of his command.
But he knew this much—
It couldn't be helped.
He brushed dirt from his uniform and drew a kunai.
"Yamanaka Heiji."
"Yes, yes, Captain?"
"Notify everyone. Regroup immediately. Maintain combat readiness."
He looked toward the receding floodwaters.
"We move in to clean up the battlefield."
Heiji gave a tired but firm nod.
"Understood."
And with that—
The aftermath began.