The moon finally broke through the thick clouds, casting a pale glow over the land that had been pitch-black moments before. Combined with the roaring fires now lighting up the entire camp, the five Iwagakure shinobi finally got a clear look at Taiichi's face.
It didn't help them one bit.
Taiichi had already used the Transformation Technique. All they saw was the face of some random Sand ninja.
"You bastard! Who the hell are you?!" the wounded Iwagakure jonin roared through the pain, fury burning in his eyes.
Taiichi didn't bother answering. He simply spun his short sword in his hand and sized them up, calm as ever. The earlier display had clearly shaken them—they weren't charging in.
Which suited him just fine.
His Flying Thunder God still wasn't at Minato-sensei's level. He could handle the dizziness now, but he couldn't spam it like his teacher. That first strike had to count.
And the target was obvious—the only unwounded jonin.
"You lowlifes invade the Land of Wind like it's nothing, and you've got the nerve to ask who I am?" Taiichi taunted, already moving.
The moment the words left his mouth, he flicked his wrist. A Flying Thunder God kunai shot straight at the jonin—fast, precise, and lethal.
The jonin barely shifted his weight and let the kunai whistle past his ear. He sneered. "Pathetic—"
He never finished the sentence.
The "Sand ninja" in front of him vanished.
A heartbeat later, a short sword punched through his chest and out his back.
The jonin's eyes went wide. He looked down at the blade buried in his heart, then up at the sky as Taiichi slowly withdrew the weapon.
He died without ever understanding how.
The remaining Iwagakure shinobi stood frozen in stunned silence. One second their strongest comrade was alive—the next he was gone.
Taiichi didn't give them time to recover.
Two shadow clones burst into existence beside him. Three blurs exploded forward, short swords flashing with cold light.
Less than three minutes later, the once-noisy supply point fell deathly quiet.
Taiichi flicked the blood from his blade and surveyed the ruined camp with satisfaction. Flying Thunder God was terrifying when used right—especially when the enemy had no idea what hit them. Too bad his proficiency still wasn't high enough for back-to-back teleports. Otherwise this fight would've ended even faster.
He retrieved the thrown kunai and melted back into the night without a backward glance. Raiding supply lines really was the most efficient way to hurt the enemy. Iwagakure was going to feel this loss.
An hour later, an elite Sand squad arrived at the scene.
They stared at the carnage—massive wind-style cuts, scorched earth, bodies everywhere—and exchanged uneasy glances.
"Captain… did command send another team out here?"
"Yeah, Captain. Look at the power of these wind cuts. Which senior must've come through?"
The captain stayed silent. He stepped forward, crouched, and ran his fingers along the cleanly sliced edges of the wooden structures. He tried to reconstruct the fight in his mind, but after a long moment he shook his head. Even with all his experience, he couldn't picture what kind of battle had caused this level of destruction.
"Looks like we weren't the only ones sent to hit their logistics. Someone beat us to this target."
"Let's move. If this one's already taken, we hit the next. Once this wave of raids is done, it'll be our turn to counterattack."
The captain spoke with quiet confidence, as if victory for Sunagakure was already certain.
Several days later.
Sunagakure forward command tent.
The man now seated at the head wasn't the original front-line commander. It was Rasa—the newly appointed acting Fourth Kazekage.
Few people knew he had slipped quietly onto the battlefield.
Iwagakure certainly hadn't expected it. A village leader leaving his post during internal turmoil to personally appear at the front? They would never see it coming.
"Lord Kazekage, why didn't you inform us you were coming?" Ebizō asked, genuinely surprised. "The village needs you more than ever right now."
Rasa gave the elder a respectful nod. "If even you didn't expect me, then Iwagakure definitely won't. That's the point."
Ebizō's eyes sharpened. A slow smile spread across his face. "So that's your plan, Lord Kazekage."
"I want to give Iwagakure a surprise of their own," Rasa said, voice hard with conviction. "Using my arrival as cover, we'll drive them out of the Land of Wind once and for all. My Gold Sand will be just as effective on this battlefield as a Tailed Beast."
Ebizō's smile widened. "If you're willing to take that risk, Lord Kazekage, then I'll support you with everything I have."
Rasa leaned forward. "Then let's move. I've already sent scouts deep into Iwagakure territory to map out their supply routes. Since you want to hit them hard, we'll destroy those supply points first. Once their logistics collapse, we strike with everything we've got."
Rasa's eyes lit up. He hadn't expected Ebizō to already have this level of preparation. The plan was simple, brutal, and effective—exactly what they needed.
"Excellent," he said, slapping the table. "Make the preparations immediately. We've lost too much face in this war. It's time we took it back."
"At once."
Within the hour, dozens of elite Sand squads slipped out of camp under cover of darkness, vanishing into the night as they raced toward Iwagakure's rear lines.
The next morning, Taiichi packed his gear and set out once again to hunt for Iwagakure supply points.
The fighting was always intense, but the searching was long and tedious—especially when you were working alone. All he had were his senses and the occasional stroke of luck.
By late afternoon he still hadn't found a single target. Just as he was about to call it a day, something flickered at the very edge of his sensory range to the left.
Taiichi stopped dead and turned toward it.
The image was still blurry from the distance, but he could tell it was definitely a camp.
As he got closer, his expression grew stranger and stranger.
When he finally stood on the ruined wall and looked down, he understood why.
The "camp" was nothing but a smoking ruin.
Collapsed walls, charred wood still smoldering, supply tents flattened. Bodies in Iwagakure flak jackets lay scattered in unnatural poses—some torn apart by ninjutsu, others cut down by blades.
Two massive blackened craters dominated the center of the destruction.
Taiichi walked through the wreckage, eyes scanning every detail. The damage was fresh. The scent of burning and blood still hung in the air. This fight had ended less than twelve hours ago—maybe even at dawn.
"This isn't Minato-sensei's style," he muttered.
Minato would have been cleaner. This was the work of an overwhelming, coordinated strike—multiple high-level shinobi hitting fast and hard.
A cold realization hit him.
Sunagakure had finally launched their counterattack.
The sheer scale and precision of the destruction far exceeded anything Taiichi had done on his own. This was organized. This was planned.
And if Ebizō—"the Desert Fox"—was involved, then this was only the opening move.
Taiichi's eyes narrowed with a mix of excitement and caution. The battlefield was about to become a lot more chaotic. If he wanted to keep racking up kills on both sides, he couldn't stay in the Land of Birds anymore.
It was time to return to the main front in the Land of Wind.
Two days later, every Iwagakure supply point Taiichi visited was already a smoking ruin.
All of them had been hit on the same day.
Sunagakure's opening strike had been devastating.
And if Ebizō had gone this far, the next phase wouldn't be far behind.
Taiichi turned his back on the Land of Birds. The real war was calling.
Inside Sunagakure's central command tent, the highest-ranking officers had gathered.
Rasa, acting Fourth Kazekage, sat openly at the head of the table for the first time since arriving at the front.
The Sand jonin who hadn't known he was here stared in shock and excitement. This was their Kazekage—young, powerful, and now leading them personally.
Rasa's sharp gaze swept over them all. These were Sunagakure's elite. He needed their loyalty if he wanted to keep his seat.
And nothing earned loyalty faster than victory.
"I'm sure you've all heard the news," Rasa said, voice carrying through the tent. "Two days ago we struck deep into Iwagakure's rear and destroyed every supply point they had in the Land of Birds. Their logistics are crippled."
Excited murmurs broke out. Some jonin had already known. Others were hearing it for the first time and couldn't hide their glee.
Rasa raised a hand for silence. "This is the opportunity we've been waiting for. I came to the front lines for one reason—to drive Iwagakure out of the Land of Wind and make them pay for their arrogance."
The jonin straightened, eyes burning with renewed fire.
"Tomorrow at 8 a.m., all forces will be assembled. We launch the full counteroffensive. We will push every last Iwagakure shinobi back into the Land of Earth."
A thunderous "YES!" shook the tent.
The jonin rushed out to prepare their squads. The atmosphere was electric.
When only Rasa and Ebizō remained, Rasa turned to the elder.
"What do you think of tomorrow's battle, Elder?"
"We will win," Ebizō answered without hesitation.
Rasa studied him. "You seem very confident. Do you have something I don't know?"
Ebizō smiled. "In war, victory comes down to timing, terrain, and morale.
Timing is equal for both sides.
Terrain heavily favors us—especially with you here, Lord Kazekage. Your Gold Sand will be devastating.
Morale is on our side. Our people are united. You are leading them personally. Their fighting spirit is sky-high.
Meanwhile, Iwagakure's supply lines are shattered. Their forces are already in chaos. And we haven't heard of any major reinforcements arriving."
Rasa nodded slowly, but his eyes stayed sharp. "You're right about all of that… but I can tell something's still bothering you, Elder."
Ebizō blinked, then let out a low chuckle. "As expected of the Kazekage. You noticed the same thing in the raid reports that I did."
Rasa's expression turned serious. "Those teams that hit the supply points… the destruction was far too clean. Too powerful. It wasn't just a few squads operating independently. Someone—or something—much stronger was involved."
Ebizō's smile faded. "Exactly. And that's what worries me."