The sun climbed higher as the Leaf army marched forward in tight formation. Their pace stayed steady, not rushed. Tall trees offered no real obstacle to the advancing shinobi.
The entire force moved in a straight line straight toward Sand's camp. Morale ran high. After a string of victories on the southern front, even the most hesitant fighters felt the surge of confidence spreading through the ranks.
In one corner of the formation, Taiichi, Yohei, Kakashi and the others had been placed together. The earlier battle cries had faded into focused silence.
Obito finally broke the quiet. "Taiichi, what are you doing back here? I saw Minato-sensei up front with the leaders."
Taiichi glanced toward the front where Jiraiya and the others stood, then shot Obito a long-suffering look that made the younger ninja's skin crawl.
"Minato-sensei doesn't trust you lot to stay out of trouble," Taiichi said dryly. "He asked me to keep an eye on you. Figured I'd do it myself."
Obito bristled. "What? We're not kids anymore! We made it through the last war just fine!"
Taiichi's voice turned serious. "This is the opening phase. It's always the bloodiest. Casualties hit hardest right at the start. I'll stick with you through this part. Once things settle, you're on your own."
Yohei and Kakashi nodded. They understood the logic.
As the sun reached its peak around ten in the morning, Taiichi spotted birds circling in the distance above the treeline. Sand's forces were close.
Minutes later the trees gave way to a wide open field split by a small river. Both armies faced each other across roughly a kilometer of open ground.
Commands rippled through the Leaf ranks. The formation shifted into battle order.
Earth-style specialists stepped forward and raised a massive wall along the riverbank. It gave them the high ground and a solid defensive line.
Jiraiya and the other elite jonin took position on top. As long as the Fourth Kazekage stayed back, Jiraiya would too. The first one to break that rule would signal their side was losing.
Taiichi's squad stood directly in front of the wall, part of the main assault force.
On the opposite bank, Sand raised their own wall. The setups mirrored each other, though Leaf's wall stood noticeably taller.
Taiichi muttered under his breath, "Gotta admit, this battlefield suits me just fine."
The river was only about twenty meters wide. Easy for most shinobi to cross, but for someone who excelled at Water Release, it was perfect terrain.
Kakashi glanced at him curiously. He'd seen Taiichi's Fire Release plenty of times, but never his Water style.
Taiichi caught the look and grinned, holding up his thumb and forefinger with a tiny gap between them. "My Water Release is only a hair behind my Fire Release."
Kakashi's face went flat. He had nothing to say to that.
Taiichi grew serious again. "Once the fighting starts, we'll push forward hard. The big formation will break apart, but our squad has to stay coordinated. Lose that and we're fighting alone. On a battlefield this size, that's a death sentence. Stay sharp. Excitement's fine. Getting blood-drunk and charging in alone isn't."
These were hard truths. Taiichi wanted his friends to survive.
Obito puffed up. "Don't worry, Taiichi. I'll keep Kakashi in check. No running off like last time."
Kakashi's eye twitched. Yohei smacked the back of Obito's head. "He's talking about you, idiot."
Time crawled. Both sides waited in tense silence. Orders kept coming from the wall above, fine-tuning positions.
Then the signal whistles cut through the air, sharp and urgent, spreading from the center outward.
The battle had begun.
Adrenaline hit Taiichi like a freight train. His body went tight, heart pounding, sweat breaking out instantly.
The assault teams surged forward. Taiichi led his squad at a controlled run, holding Kakashi and Obito back from charging too early.
Smoke bombs arced over the river and exploded on both sides. Sand's carried poison. Leaf forces swallowed the antidote pills Taiichi had helped develop, faces twisting at the taste.
Earth-style users raised another massive wall right at the river's edge. Sand's forward elements were already crossing when Leaf shinobi climbed the new wall and unleashed a storm of Fire Release.
Wind Release followed immediately, turning the flames into a raging inferno that hammered Sand's advance.
The first screams rose from the Leaf side as enemy counterattacks landed.
Taiichi's squad hit the wall and leaped down, Taiichi in front. He unleashed a barrage of Phoenix Sage Fire that rained down like burning meteors.
Enemy ninjutsu and weapons filled the air in response.
Taiichi carved through the chaos with his short sword, cutting down the first Sand ninja to reach him.
The real fight had started.