Chapter 115: Battle
On the morning of the 10th, after eighteen full hours of deep rest, Hyūga Hizashi was the first to awaken.
An unprecedented sense of fullness flooded his mind, as if a dried-up riverbed had suddenly been replenished by a clear spring. He could distinctly feel that his Byakugan had undergone a significant change—an outright improvement.
Suppressing the doubts rising in his heart, Hizashi decisively activated his Byakugan and cast his gaze into the distance. As chakra continued to flow, his field of vision stretched farther and farther.
Three kilometers.
Four kilometers.
Five kilometers.
It kept extending—
Until it finally stabilized at six kilometers.
At that moment, Hizashi's sudden activation of the Byakugan startled the others. Seeing him open his dōjutsu without warning, everyone instinctively assumed enemies were approaching and immediately drew their weapons.
But when they noticed the unmistakable joy on Hizashi's face, they realized something was off.
Only after Hizashi closed his Byakugan did Hatake Sakumo voice what everyone was thinking.
"Hizashi, what was that just now? You nearly gave us a heart attack."
"Sorry—sorry," Hizashi said quickly, barely containing his excitement.
"I was testing my Byakugan. After last night, my visual range has expanded by one full kilometer."
"What?"
A sharp gleam flashed in Sakumo's eyes before being replaced by pure delight.
"That's fantastic! This is exactly what we needed—perfect timing. It'll be a huge help for what comes next."
The news was like a shot of adrenaline, instantly washing away the heaviness hanging over the team. Everyone's spirits lifted—after all, finding the enemy was the most critical part of the mission.
Seizing the moment, Sakumo quickly explained the plan finalized the previous night to Hizashi in full detail. Once everything was confirmed, the team wasted no time. They set out immediately toward the route marked on the scroll, with Hizashi prepared to activate the Byakugan and conduct a full-scale search for the Sand Village envoy.
---
The Land of Birds was a country dominated by hills. Though this area lay near the border, the rolling terrain had already begun to take shape. Layer upon layer of low hills perfectly concealed anyone hiding within their depressions.
Long-range observation with the Byakugan, combined with natural visual obstruction up close—this terrain was practically a natural ambush zone.
Once Sakumo's team reached the designated route, the four of them swiftly spread out to inspect the surroundings. To their delight, Hizashi's newly expanded Byakugan range was just enough to fully cover the entire area.
This eliminated the need for constant repositioning due to blind spots and completely prevented the Sand Village delegation from slipping through unseen.
Guided by Hizashi's vision, the team concealed themselves within a shallow depression in the middle of the route. From here, they could monitor the entire passage without moving at all.
To conserve stamina, Hizashi was instructed to activate his Byakugan only once every five minutes, checking for the delegation's approach.
---
More than an hour passed.
When Hizashi once again opened his Byakugan and looked toward the Land of Wind, five figures appeared within his field of vision.
As he increased his chakra output, the image sharpened rapidly.
Five hooded individuals.
Judging by their attire, they wore Wind Country sand-cloaks. Even after leaving the desert environment, they had not removed their hoods, moving swiftly and with purpose.
"Ten o'clock direction," Hizashi reported calmly.
"Distance: five kilometers. Five ninjas approaching."
The team immediately tensed.
Weapons were drawn. Kunai were readied. Three pairs of eyes locked onto Hizashi, waiting for his final confirmation.
Hizashi poured in even more chakra.
The chakra pathways within the five figures gradually became visible, their entire bodies soon outlined by chakra light.
"Wait—something's wrong," Hizashi suddenly said, cutting off the team just as they were about to move.
"Their chakra signatures are off. Too weak."
The others froze, momentarily confused.
"These five… all of them only have chūnin-level chakra," Hizashi said gravely.
"There isn't a single jōnin among them."
A single sentence snapped them all awake—they had nearly fallen for Sunagakure's trap.
It had to be related to the squad they eliminated yesterday. Even though the scene had been cleaned up flawlessly, one patrol going missing was still enough to put the Sand Village on alert.
That said, the current situation suggested that the alliance plan had not changed. They had merely added an extra layer of caution to their movements.
Hizashi, Minato, and Taichi all turned their eyes toward Hatake Sakumo, waiting for his command.
"Let them pass," Sakumo said decisively.
"We keep waiting."
It was a risky call.
If that squad had been jōnin deliberately suppressing their chakra to disguise themselves as chūnin, this decision could allow the real target to slip right past them.
The probability was low—but this was precisely the moment that tested a commander's judgment and nerve.
With Sakumo's decision made, Minato and Taichi sheathed their weapons. Under Hizashi's Byakugan surveillance, the decoy squad passed three kilometers to the team's flank before gradually disappearing from view.
Before Hizashi could close his Byakugan, another squad entered his vision.
This time, experienced now, he immediately increased chakra output. The details sharpened rapidly.
"This one's real," Hizashi said firmly.
"Three jōnin-level chakra signatures—and two chūnin."
Just as expected.
The first group had been scouts. If Sakumo's team had attacked them earlier, the real delegation—traveling closely behind—would have discovered the ambush almost immediately.
That would have doomed the mission outright. Worse still, it could have provoked both Sunagakure and Iwagakure into open hostility—possibly even accelerating the outbreak of the Third Shinobi War.
"Well done, Hizashi," Sakumo said.
"Now guide us ahead of them. Let's give our guests a proper welcome."
Spirits surged instantly.
Moving with the terrain, the team wove through the rolling hills, continuously adjusting their relative position under Hizashi's guidance to achieve the perfect ambush angle.
---
When the two sides were separated by nothing more than a hill less than ten meters high, Taichi gave a final signal.
Everyone retrieved an antidote pill and swallowed it without hesitation. Even without chewing, the violent bitterness twisted their features instantly.
They forced the discomfort down.
Before the enemy could move on, the team surged up the hill.
Though winter sunlight lacked warmth, atop this carefully chosen battlefield, their elongated shadows spilled forward—falling directly across the Sand Village delegation.
Rōsa and his escorts instinctively looked up, momentarily blinded by the glare.
That instant was all the Leaf ninjas needed.
Shuriken and kunai tore through the air in a blinding opening volley.
To their credit, the Sand shinobi reacted with veteran composure. Even while evading the barrage, each of them quickly shoved a pill into their mouth.
Taichi caught the movement at once.
"They're going to use poison—be careful!"
Before his warning even finished, Rōsa flicked his wrist, scattering several violet pellets.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Thick purple poison smoke engulfed the battlefield.
The Sand shinobi believed they had bought themselves a moment to regroup—
Then a scream rang out.
"That direction—Wada!" someone shouted.
Rōsa's face darkened.
So fast?
And they charged straight into the poison?!
In the instant the smoke erupted, Minato had already used Flying Thunder God, appearing beside a chūnin. The power gap was overwhelming—the man didn't even register Minato's presence before his throat was slit.
At the same time, Sakumo, Hizashi, and Taichi all plunged directly into the poisonous mist, each engaging their chosen opponent without hesitation.
The situation flipped instantly.
The poison smoke—meant to shield Sunagakure—now worked against them. The enemy was immune, fearless, and attacking from within the haze.
Worse still, it quickly became clear:
The poison barely affected the Leaf ninja at all.
Instead, the obscured visibility crippled the Sand shinobi's coordination.
With a sharp roar of wind, the smoke was finally blown away—Fūsetsu, the Sand jōnin, had unleashed a powerful Wind Release technique.
The battlefield cleared.
And the situation had already transformed.
---
Sakumo faced Rōsa, locked against three puppets at once. Broken puppet components littered the ground around them.
Minato fought Fūsetsu, one pressing relentlessly in close combat with impossible speed, the other struggling to maintain distance with Wind Release.
Hizashi engaged the blade-wielding special jōnin. Though unarmed, Gentle Fist proved its reputation—Hizashi had already closed inside the blade's effective range, denying his opponent any chance to unleash proper sword techniques.
As for Taichi—
The moment the smoke cleared, his short blade was already buried in a chūnin's heart.
Ignoring the dying man's convulsions, Taichi withdrew the blade calmly, his gaze shifting to the swordsman fighting Hizashi.
Whether it was Taichi's predatory stare—or the sight of two allies already dead—the swordsman's movements grew erratic.
Fear had set in.
And fear killed faster than any blade.
As Taichi advanced, pressure crushed down on the swordsman's mind. Hizashi already had him pinned—adding Taichi to the equation spelled certain death.
When Taichi reached optimal range, he vanished.
A flash.
His blade came down—
Clang!
A heavy round shield intercepted the strike.
A four-armed, two-legged humanoid puppet had arrived just in time. Its other three arms extended blade weapons, launching a ferocious triple assault.
Taichi was forced backward.
For the first time, he was suppressed.
Glancing sideways, Taichi noticed Sakumo was still only dealing with three puppets.
So Rōsa had been holding back.
As expected of Sunagakure's second-greatest puppet master.
But surprise only worked once.
Having adapted to the puppet's rhythm, Taichi shifted his blade with surgical precision, slicing clean through its weaker joints.
In an instant, the four-armed puppet collapsed into a limbless husk.
Then its mouth snapped open—
A storm of senbon erupted forward.
At the same time, the severed arms reanimated and lunged from behind.
Surrounded.
Taichi didn't panic.
His blade sang.
A violent surge of Wind chakra exploded outward, centered on the short sword. Spinning on his right foot, Taichi formed a whirling barrier of blade-light and compressed airflow.
Metal clanged. Wind howled.
Senbon were deflected. Blades blown aside.
When the assault ended, Taichi stood unscathed—though the ground around him was shredded with deep scars.
Hizashi stared in shock.
That technique—
It looked uncannily like Rotation.
This time, Taichi didn't repeat his mistake.
He switched the blade to his left hand, flashed forward, and drove a chakra-enhanced punch straight into the puppet's core.
It detonated.
Fragments scattered in every direction.
Rōsa's eyes widened.
"That strength… Tsunade's monstrous power?!
What is this kid to her?"
No answer came.
Taichi was already moving—charging straight toward Rōsa himself.
Against puppets, monstrous strength was absolute.
No matter how refined, a puppet shattered instantly once struck.
A fraction of delay—
That was all it took to decide victory.
And Taichi intended to exploit it fully.