Chapter 303: The Three-and-a-Half-Day War (Part 5)
D-0, 1 hour and 30 minutes after the attack began.
High in the sky, Yotsuki Dana flew rapidly, carrying Kushina in a princess carry.
Kushina curled into a ball, feeling a bit awkward.
The Nine-Tails inside her stomach was laughing its head off.
As for Nagato? He only deserved to hug Dana's thigh.
"Can you handle it? I'm speeding up!"
Kushina nodded.
Nagato: "...!!!!"
With a hum, Dana's speed increased further.
Simultaneously, Dana was communicating with Arashi and his Old Man in his mind.
Arashi reported on the border conflicts, and Dana said:
"Clearly, their focus is no longer on Blue Bee. The battle there is probably already over. I've secured the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and the kid. Konoha tried to use Space-Time Ninjutsu earlier, but I intercepted it. Obviously, they planned for this."
The Third Raikage said, "I'm in the Fire Capital. The Fire Daimyo wasn't found... We're searching outward from the palace. Also, I feel their resistance is a bit weak. Even that Might Duy feels like he's holding back."
Dana replied, "With the Earth Daimyo captured, at least we have room for negotiation."
The Third Raikage suddenly asked, "Is that kid Nagato with you...? How is his mood?"
During Dana's coma, the Third Raikage had gotten along well with Nagato.
Dana glanced at Nagato, whose face was distorted by the wind while clinging to his thigh. "He's fine. Won't die."
"Give him the small slug. I have something to say to him."
Dana was surprised but slowed down slightly, placing the slug on Nagato's head.
Whatever the Old Man said to Nagato, the boy's expression turned thoughtful, seemingly conflicted.
Gradually, the "Will of the Cloud" statue appeared ahead. The trio arrived at Kumogakure.
Dana delivered Kushina directly to the Sealing Corps, where Samui was already waiting.
"Check her. She has a seal involving Space-Time Ninjutsu on her body. See if you can destroy it or seal over it!"
"Understood!"
Dana didn't leave. He held Kushina's hand the entire time, ensuring physical contact to prevent her from being teleported away.
After the brief exchange earlier, Minato Namikaze seemed to have given up on this side and didn't appear again.
According to Kushina, Minato had secretly visited her a few months ago. That was likely when the Flying Thunder God mark was placed. It might not have been for war back then, but now it had to be neutralized.
While waiting, Dana managed numerous matters via the slug network in his mind.
"Is that so... The Wind Daimyo isn't in the capital either... Go to coordinates (698, 433). I left a temporary Heavenly Transfer base there; it shouldn't be dismantled yet. Return with Dodai and the others. It's time for the counterattack..."
The Three-Nation Alliance had indeed caught the Cloud off guard. From their subsequent reactions, their goal was definitely more than just Blue Bee; they intended to launch a full-scale war.
For the Cloud, all efforts in the first hour were to secure leverage to save Blue Bee. Now that they had a chip—and presumably Onoki knew it—the Cloud needed to broaden its perspective and view the problem from the level of the entire battlefield.
Any war must have an objective.
The Alliance's objective was simple: dismantle the Cloud and return the Land of Lightning to its primitive administrative structure. Whether they planned to return power to a distant branch of the Raihara clan or carve up the Land of Lightning afterward, Dana didn't know.
This was an ideological confrontation.
The Daimyo Courts of the three nations and the three major ninja villages couldn't accept the Land of Lightning's current model. The Cloud's model was more advanced, superior, and capable of leading the ninja world into the future. But this model would shake their foundations. If the Cloud continued to exist and prosper, their "Noble vs. Commoner" game would no longer work.
So even if the Cloud had no intention of invading other countries, these conservatives couldn't coexist peacefully with the Cloud. They likely dreamed day and night of hindering the Cloud's rise or dismantling it altogether.
Strategically, the Cloud had long ago "abandoned illusions and prepared for struggle."
As for the three major villages, without continuous reforms like the Cloud, they couldn't accept the new model. They could only cling to the old ninja concepts.
Under the Cloud's pressure, they were tied even tighter to their respective Daimyo Courts.
When the Daimyo Courts joined the fray, the war potential of the ninja villages was fully unleashed. In past wars, ninjas fought ninjas while Daimyos watched, sometimes even tripping them up. But now it was different. The Daimyos fully supported and even participated in this gamble.
The ninja villages had no logistical pressure, no resource pressure, and no funding pressure.
It was foreseeable that this war would be even more terrifying than the Third Great Ninja War in the original timeline.
The Cloud had temporarily lost the initiative, so they absolutely couldn't be led by the nose anymore. They had to break out of the rhythm designed by the enemy.
Following conventional thinking, the Cloud should now be busy gathering scattered forces, dealing with endless Alliance troops along the long border, and being bled dry like a slow cut.
After withstanding the first wave of Alliance attacks, they would then engage in a tug-of-war, inch by inch trying to tip the scales of victory, just like Konoha in past wars.
This reaction would naturally be anticipated by the enemy, perhaps even desired. To be honest, even if the Cloud overpowered all other villages, fighting a conventional war against the combined forces of three major villages and three major nations would still hurt them badly.
Thinking of his Old Man still in the Land of Fire, Yotsuki Dana suddenly had a plan.
He immediately confirmed something with someone, then contacted his father.
D-0, 3 hours after the attack began.
The Third Raikage stood atop the Fire Daimyo's Palace, his face grim.
The entire palace had been turned upside down, but the Daimyo was nowhere to be found. Even the great nobles in the capital's estates were gone. According to intel extracted via Genjutsu, these nobles had secretly left the capital one by one starting three days ago.
"Old Man, what's the situation on your end?"
Dana's voice rang in his mind.
The Third Raikage said deeply, "The Fire Daimyo wasn't found. No important figures in the capital either."
"I assume there wasn't even decent resistance."
"Correct. They were prepared... Fortunately, you caught the Earth Daimyo by surprise. With that chip, we have room to talk... This old man will return now."
The Lands of Fire and Earth clearly wanted to play dead. They knew their capitals would become targets once the war started, so they evacuated the core personnel. Since both capitals were deep in their respective territories, let the Cloud strut around inside; at least the nobles wouldn't suffer.
Once the frontlines opened up, these Cloud ninja would eventually be recalled. The Cloud wouldn't dare massacre the city or raze the capital against the will of the world, right?
The Fire Daimyo was probably hiding in some corner right now, actively contributing to the war effort.
The Third Raikage himself felt he couldn't be willful for his brother Blue Bee anymore. As the Kage, he needed to return early to organize the overall situation.
However, Dana said, "No, Old Man. You don't need to come back yet."
"What do you mean?"
"I'll handle the border war. Old Man, you stay in the Land of Fire. We absolutely cannot be led by the nose."
"What's your plan?"
"They fight their battle; we fight ours. And if we fight... we strike the aorta!"
D-0, Late Night, 6 hours after the attack began.
Border of Land of Fire and Land of Hot Water.
Sakumo Hatake, having rushed back, was seizing the time to refine chakra. The battle with the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki and the multiple long-distance Flying Thunder God jumps had drained him dry, even with the Akimichi Clan's special soldier pills.
Feeling slightly recovered, Sakumo asked, "Any movement from the Land of Lightning's troops?"
His deputy, Fugaku Uchiha, replied, "None yet, Hokage-sama."
Suddenly, Minato Namikaze appeared beside Sakumo.
Panting from the teleportation, Minato said, "Sorry, Hokage-sama. Regarding Kushina... I failed. Yotsuki Dana was there. He seemed prepared; I didn't even have a chance to speak."
After failing to retrieve Kushina, Minato had almost no chakra left and could do nothing but find a place to rest for a few hours.
Sakumo nodded, then looked at his subordinates.
Konoha's 2,000-man surprise attack force, like Iwa's, had gathered days ago but hid deep within the Land of Fire to avoid detection. Sakumo joined this force later.
In ninja warfare, surprise attacks or vanguard troops were crucial and had to be composed of village elites.
How much strategic advantage they could gain later depended on how far the vanguard could push in this first strike.
Fighting on the border line versus fighting inside the Land of Lightning were two completely different things.
So whether it was Iwa or Konoha, the vanguard troops were the cream of the crop.
The 2,000-man force included elites from every Konoha clan. Ordinary civilian cannon fodder weren't qualified to join; they would be arranged in the rear to transport supplies.
"We can't wait any longer. I've recovered enough. Tell everyone: Move out!"
Just then, a Hyuga ninja ran up. "Hokage-sama! The Cloud troops seem to be retreating!"
D-0, 7 hours after the attack began.
Land of Rice Fields.
The Cloud office in the Land of Rice Fields had been destroyed. Cloud ninja were fighting and retreating.
Even counting the border patrol troops, the Cloud only had about 600 people in the Land of Rice Fields, with varying strength. Facing Iwa's prepared 3,000-man vanguard, they could only fight while retreating, losing more than they won.
They hid in a cliffside area.
Suddenly, a comrade carrying a small dog-sized red-striped slug received a message.
"Orders from the village: Retreat."
"Retreat? Why?"
Many Cloud ninja were reluctant. Although outnumbered, they were well-equipped and their will to fight wasn't broken.
Even if they couldn't win, they could call for reinforcements, right? They were thinking about how to regain their ground.
"Wait, there's more..."
"Retreat across the board... to the Land of Hot Water, coordinates (045, 023). We... will build a defense line there... and launch a counterattack... commanded personally by... Yotsuki Dana-sama."