On the Mist warships off the eastern coast of the Land of Fire, the air was heavy with tension.
The vanguard captain knelt on the deck, head bowed, while every pair of eyes in the command room stared at him. The silence was so thick you could hear a pin drop.
Their first major move had ended in failure. Normally, the vanguard would be punished. But if what he said was true—if they really had run into a single Leaf ninja strong enough to force over a hundred of them to retreat—then the blame couldn't be placed entirely on them.
Mizunotsuki Hiyori rubbed his temples. A single powerful enemy on the coast was already giving him a headache.
This campaign was built around the three great clans of Mist and their vassal families. Victory would bring glory, but heavy losses would fall hardest on them. That was why he had been moving so cautiously from the start.
"Any word from the Seven Ninja Swordsmen?" he asked.
A handsome man stepped forward and bowed. "No, clan head. They haven't sent any reports in four days."
Hiyori slammed his palm against the armrest of his chair. "Those undisciplined bastards! They were supposed to check in every two days. When we get back, I'm telling the Third Mizukage to properly discipline those idiots."
He had no idea the Seven weren't ignoring orders. They were currently hiding in a hole in the ground, licking their wounds after getting wrecked.
"Tell the fleet we're moving to Island Two. We'll set up camp there."
"Yes, sir!"
As the messenger left, Kaguya Kuma let out a mocking laugh from the side.
"Water Moon's little bitch. One ninja and you're too scared to even land? What the hell are we even doing here? Might as well go home and hide behind your woman's skirt."
The Kaguya shinobi behind him burst into laughter.
Hiyori didn't even get angry. He simply replied in a calm voice, "We're cowards? Then why don't you and your Kaguya take your people and go kill that Leaf ninja? If you're not going to do that, then shut the fuck up and stop making noise just to hear your own voice."
"Who the hell are you calling a coward, Mizunotsuki Hiyori?!" Kaguya Kuma's temper ignited instantly.
"Whoever answers is who I'm talking about."
"Fine! I'll take my people and chop that Leaf bastard into pieces right now."
Without waiting for a response, Kaguya Kuma turned and left the ship with his clansmen.
After he was gone, Ghost Lantern Hoshizuki finally spoke. "Was it really wise to provoke him like that?"
Hiyori glanced at him. "You didn't stop me either."
"Let the Kaguya go probe the enemy first. Their bones are tough. They won't die easily."
The two clan heads sat there calmly discussing how to use the Kaguya clan as a spearhead, completely unbothered by the fact that they were essentially sending their allies into danger.
Kaguya Kuma, meanwhile, had already gathered his clan's elites and was racing across the water toward shore. Despite his explosive temper, he wasn't stupid. He knew this mission was meant to clear out Leaf outposts along the coast and create a foothold for the main force.
That was why he only brought the strongest members of his clan—so they could move fast and hit hard.
Once they reached land, he didn't bother with any complicated plans. He simply gathered everyone and started pushing straight down the coastline, destroying every Leaf outpost they came across.
The results were immediate. Five outposts fell in quick succession.
Fortunately, the Leaf shinobi stationed there had already been warned. Their orders were clear: if they couldn't win, don't fight to the death. Just observe and retreat. Because of that, casualties remained low.
"Damn it! Are all the Leaf ninjas a bunch of fucking rats?!" Kaguya Kuma roared as he stood in yet another empty, ruined outpost. "They run the second we show up!"
This was already the third empty outpost. The first two had at least given them a fight. After that, the Leaf forces had simply vanished before they arrived.
"Clan head, what do we do now? Keep going?" one of the Kaguya asked, looking bored. Even battle maniacs got tired of smashing empty buildings.
"Keep going, my ass. We're done with outposts. We're heading inland. I refuse to believe we won't run into any real Leaf shinobi if we go deeper."
Kaguya Kuma was furious. Destroying empty outposts achieved nothing. It was better to hunt actual enemies.
One of the more level-headed Kaguya spoke up cautiously. "Clan head, this goes against the original plan. Should we inform the main force first?"
Kaguya Kuma shot him a sideways glance. "You think Mizunotsuki Hiyori is some kind of saint? He deliberately provoked us into going first. He's probably hoping we'll clash hard with the Leaf so he can sit back and watch."
The Kaguya around him fell silent for a moment, then several of them nodded in understanding.
"Clan head is wise!"
"As expected of the clan head!"
Kaguya Kuma grinned, satisfied. "Enough. Follow me. We're killing every Leaf ninja we find!"
A chorus of battle cries answered him. The Kaguya force abandoned the ruined outpost and charged straight into the forest.
Their movements were quickly spotted by Leaf reconnaissance teams. The report reached Tsunade within minutes.
As long as they stayed near the coast, Tsunade was willing to ignore them for now. But the moment they started pushing inland, that changed.
She immediately mobilized a force twice the size of the Kaguya group and sent them out under Uchiha Fugaku's command to intercept.
The first large-scale clash between Leaf and Mist forces was about to begin.
The moment the two sides met, Kaguya Kuma showed no hesitation despite being outnumbered. He ripped a long bone blade straight out of his left palm and charged straight into the Leaf ranks.
There were no speeches. No encouragement needed. The Kaguya shinobi fought like they were born for slaughter, following their clan head without a single trace of fear.
Kaguya Kuma tore through the Leaf forces like a blade through paper. Most of them couldn't even slow him down. Thanks to the bone armor under his skin, he barely needed to defend. He simply kept swinging and cutting.
He only stopped when he ran into Uchiha Fugaku, who had been carving his own path through the Kaguya ranks.
The two clan heads clashed.
"Kaguya," Fugaku said between heavy breaths, kunai chipped and battered. "You're strong enough that I'll remember your name."
Kaguya Kuma laughed, clearly enjoying himself. "Kaguya Kuma. Remember it well. I'm the one sending you to hell."
He shook his bone blade and it suddenly segmented, turning into a long, flexible bone whip.
"Uchiha Fugaku, I acknowledge your strength. Enjoy the dance I've prepared just for you."
Dance of the Iron Wire Flower.
The bone whip moved like blooming petals. Everywhere it touched, flesh and weapons were torn apart.
Fugaku was forced onto the defensive almost immediately. His kunai shattered under the relentless strikes. Only his three-tomoe Sharingan saved him from being shredded.
He managed to create some distance and launched a Great Fireball.
Kaguya Kuma didn't dodge. He charged straight through it, bone whip spinning. The fireball was torn apart from the inside, scattering flames everywhere. Even Fugaku had to retreat from the blast.
When the flames died down, Kaguya Kuma stood there with most of his clothes burned away and large patches of skin missing, revealing the pale bone armor underneath.
"Uchiha Fugaku! Why are you running? Are you afraid to die?!"
Fugaku was starting to feel the pressure. An opponent this hard to kill and even harder to shake off was the worst kind to face. Worse, he couldn't afford to show weakness. If the clan head looked scared, Leaf morale would collapse.
Just as he was preparing to force himself forward again, three blue signal flares rose from the Leaf rear.
The Leaf shinobi reacted instantly, their spirits lifting.
Reinforcements had arrived.
Kaguya Kuma saw the flares too. One of his clansmen quickly reported that Leaf reinforcements were approaching in force, many of them ninjutsu specialists.
He clicked his tongue in annoyance. They had almost broken through. If they'd had ten more minutes, he was confident he could have killed Fugaku.
"Retreat. I'll cover the rear."
His clansmen obeyed without question. They disengaged and fell back while Kaguya Kuma stayed behind, bone whip lashing out at anyone who tried to pursue.
Eventually, he found himself surrounded by Leaf forces. He didn't look the least bit worried.
"This technique was meant for Matsushita Taiichi," he said with a wild grin. "But you lot will do."
Chakra surged violently around him. Massive amounts of bone erupted from his body and pierced into the ground. In the blink of an eye, a forest of sharp bone spikes exploded upward.
"Fall back! Everyone fall back!"
Fugaku's warning came too late for those closest to Kaguya Kuma. Over thirty Leaf shinobi were impaled before they could escape.
Dance of the Early Fern.
Kaguya Kuma's voice echoed through the bone forest as he finally retreated.
"Clean up the battlefield! Save whoever's still breathing!"
Fugaku gave the order while Yamanaka Inoichi and Akimichi Choza appeared beside him.
"Fugaku clan head, are you alright? We got here as fast as we could."
Fugaku shook his head, staring at the dead and wounded Leaf shinobi with a heavy heart.
On the Kaguya side, after confirming no one was chasing them, they stopped to rest.
The surviving Kaguya shinobi gathered in small groups, loudly boasting about their kills while completely ignoring their dead clansmen. This was the nature of the battle-mad Kaguya.
"Clan head, our casualties?" Kaguya Kuma asked one of his men.
"Twenty-three dead. Almost everyone else is injured."
Kaguya Kuma clicked his tongue. These were his people. Even if they were a battle clan, losing this many hurt.
"Leaf lost more. Your final technique alone killed over thirty of them," the clansman said.
"Those were just small fry. Leaf won't even feel their deaths. What a shame I didn't manage to kill that Uchiha Fugaku. He was the real prize."
Kaguya Kuma sighed again. This operation hadn't gone as well as he'd hoped. They hadn't even run into Matsushita Taiichi.
"Head back. We've earned enough merit for now. Let the younger ones get some experience in the coming fights. We'll watch from the back for a while."