Meanwhile, in Konohagakure, inside the Hokage Residence.
The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was removing his Hokage robes and changing into a suit of battle armor he had not worn in a very long time.
He did not know that at this very moment, his old acquaintance of several decades—both comrade and rival—Shimura Danzō had already infiltrated the Land of Lightning alone with thirty elite Root shinobi, and had even prepared himself for the possibility of "going to meet Sensei with a clear conscience."
More than four months had passed since the outbreak of this war. Although the losses had not been small, compared to the previous two Great Ninja Wars, this conflict could practically be described as progressing unusually smoothly—almost too smoothly, even.
On the southwestern front against Sunagakure and the northeastern front against Kumogakure, Konoha had been fighting on two fronts simultaneously, yet not only had it avoided falling behind, it had repeatedly achieved solid victories. This had finally allowed the deeply furrowed brows of the Third Hokage, tense for months on end, to relax somewhat, and there was even a little more smile on his face now.
However, several recent incidents had caused the Third Hokage to frown once again.
The first was the movement of Kirigakure along the southeastern coast.
Originally, Kirigakure had been restless, seemingly ready at any moment to press a massive army against Konoha's borders. But after learning that even while fighting on two fronts, Konoha had still repelled Kumogakure's ferocious offensive and had even managed to wound the Third Raikage—
—it seemed they had finally begun reassessing Konoha's true strength and had become much more restrained. Though only somewhat restrained.
Once the machinery of war began turning, it was difficult to stop. Konoha and Kirigakure had already engaged in repeated covert clashes around the nearby coastal nation of the Land of Waves. Small-scale friction and conflicts had never ceased, though both sides still maintained the façade of "mission conflicts," and neither had formally torn away the mask.
Then, just one week earlier, another matter had occurred—one that could be considered a severe blow not only to the Hyūga Clan, but to Konoha as a whole.
A member of the Hyūga main family had unfortunately died during a small-scale encounter with Kirigakure.
This should never have happened. Members of the Hyūga main family rarely went to the front lines. But with the war growing increasingly dire—and with Konoha potentially facing a three-front or even four-front war—every clan had been ordered to send additional manpower.
And because large numbers of branch family members had already been deployed to the southwestern battlefield alongside Konoha's other sensory clans to hunt the Red-Eyed Clan, the Hyūga Clan still found itself desperately short on manpower. Left with no choice, they had been forced to dispatch a small number of main family members directly to the front lines.
And thus, this unfortunate incident occurred.
Even worse, although the branch family members and Konoha shinobi protecting him had risked their lives to recover his corpse after his death, one of his Byakugan had still fallen into Kirigakure's hands.
Main family Hyūga had died in wars before, but an enemy successfully obtaining a Byakugan? That was unprecedented.
The incident immediately shook the entire Hyūga Clan and struck directly at one of Konoha's most sensitive nerves.
To demonstrate just how seriously the village viewed this matter, the Third Hokage had urgently dispatched Namikaze Minato to the southeastern coast, hoping to somehow reclaim the lost Byakugan.
But deep down, the Third Hokage knew perfectly well that the chances were slim.
A strategic asset like the Byakugan would undoubtedly be protected by Kirigakure with airtight security. No matter how miraculous Minato's Flying Thunder God Technique was, it still had its limits. Sending him there was, more than anything else, a way of showing the Hyūga Clan that the village absolutely would not let the matter rest.
The second matter was the document personally delivered to him last night by his disciple, Orochimaru.
Bypassing the northeastern headquarters command entirely, it had been sent directly into his hands under the classification of highest secrecy.
The document itself was frustratingly vague regarding the mission details. It only stated that if successful, the operation would deal a devastating blow to Kumogakure and might even force them to withdraw their troops entirely.
The moment the Third Hokage read that section, his brows had furrowed immediately. And when he continued reading the list of personnel involved, his heart had tightened even further.
Higashino Shinichi. Shinichi Squad.
The moment he finished reading, he had immediately performed a Summoning Technique to call upon the Monkey King Enma. But unexpectedly, his old partner had refused the summons, causing a deeply ominous feeling to rise within him.
Without hesitation, he made a decisive judgment and ordered someone to contact the southwestern battlefield overnight, instructing Jiraiya to return to the village immediately while Tsunade assumed command of the southwestern front and continued grinding through the exhausting stalemate against Sunagakure.
And just moments ago, he had once again used the Summoning Technique.
This time, the Monkey King Enma had finally answered.
And through his old companion, the Third Hokage learned everything that had happened in Kumogakure.
He was shocked, delighted... and terrified all at once.
What shocked him was that his disciple Orochimaru had acted with such reckless audacity.
The man had actually dared to conceal everything from everyone and carry out such a dangerous operation on his own authority. Even he, the Hokage himself, had only received a vague, almost notification-like report during the final few hours before the mission began.
It was practically lawless—utterly devoid of discipline!
What delighted him was that they had actually succeeded!
And the results had far exceeded all expectations.
Not only had they successfully triggered the Eight-Tails' rampage and completely destroyed Kumogakure's logistical and medical core, but afterward, under Shinichi's leadership, Shinichi Squad had gone on to launch consecutive raids against the Yotsuki Clan's ancestral grounds, destroy the Raikage Tower, and shatter the statues of every previous Raikage.
Every single one of those reports—every one of those achievements—was worthy of being recorded in Konoha's history books.
What terrified him, however, was that such a world-shaking assault had undoubtedly driven Kumogakure into absolute fury and madness.
At this very moment, the rage of the Third Raikage—and of Kumogakure as a whole—was certainly being poured entirely onto Shinichi and his unit. Isolated deep within enemy territory, they were facing the desperate, all-out pursuit of an entire hidden village willing to pay any price to hunt them down.
Thus, the Third Hokage immediately began making preparations to personally head to the northeastern front.
The opportunity in war was fleeting, and Shinichi's safety was even more urgent.
Once fully equipped, he turned toward the broad-built, heavyset middle-aged man beside him.
"Torifu, I'll have to trouble you with holding down the village personally during this period. If all goes quickly, Jiraiya should return tonight."
Torifu nodded solemnly and replied in a deep voice, "I'll protect the village. Hiruzen, you must be careful on this trip to the front lines."
"I will."
The Third Hokage nodded, then turned toward the subordinates awaiting orders and declared loudly: "Transmit my orders to the Northeastern Army Group. The entire army is to immediately enter the highest state of combat readiness! The moment I arrive, we launch a full-scale offensive at once!"
"Yes, sir!"
...
That same night, at eight o'clock, inside the headquarters command center of Konoha's Northeastern Army Group.
The Third Hokage sat at the head seat, quietly listening as Chief Strategist Nara Shikaku compiled and delivered all current intelligence at the fastest possible speed.
Though the territory of the Land of Fire was vast, for shinobi—especially top-tier powerhouses like the Third Hokage—the distance was not actually that great. Had he not waited for his personal guard unit and coordinated with intelligence outposts along the way, he could have reached the front by the afternoon if he had traveled alone at full speed.
After listening to Nara Shikaku's briefing, the Third Hokage shifted his gaze toward a Root member inside the tent and asked directly: "Where is Danzō?"
The Root member lowered his head and answered: "Hokage-sama, Danzō-sama departed the camp this morning with thirty comrades. He did not disclose their destination."
He was telling the truth.
When Danzō left earlier that day, he had informed no one. Even the thirty Root members accompanying him did not know what mission they were being sent to carry out.
That damned Danzō... acting on his own again.
The Third Hokage frowned slightly, but now was not the time to dwell on it. He asked no further questions and instead swept his gaze across every face inside the command center before loudly declaring: "The situation is clear. The opportunity has appeared. Hear my command!"
"The Northeastern Army Group will launch a full offensive across the entire front!"
"Our target—the Land of Lightning!"
"Yes, sir!"
Everyone within the command center responded in unison before quickly dispersing.
Five minutes later, the Konoha army—which had already completed its assembly before the Third Hokage's arrival—suddenly stirred awake like a colossal beast that had lain dormant for far too long and began surging beyond the national border.
More than ten thousand shinobi split apart into large squads, medium squads, and small units, silently disappearing into the night like countless blades slashing northward.
Night of March 23rd, Year 47 of Konoha.
Under the personal command of the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Konoha shinobi army—which since the outbreak of the war had remained entirely on the defensive, fighting positional defensive battles—launched, for the first time ever, a massive proactive offensive.
More than ten thousand Konoha shinobi aggressively crossed the borders of the Land of Fire, intending to push through the small buffer nations of the Land of Hot Water, the Land of the Moon, and the Land of Frost before striking directly into the homeland of the Land of Lightning itself!
And the codename assigned to this operation was—
Save Konoha's Shinichi!
This "Konoha's Shinichi" could refer to the legendary "Shinichi Squad," a unit established barely over a month ago that still lacked official designation, yet had already accumulated countless shocking military achievements, each one more astonishing than the last.
This "Konoha's Shinichi" could also refer to the legendary boy himself—Higashino Shinichi—only eleven years old, yet already counted among the powerful figures of the shinobi world, with war achievements unmatched across the entire army since the war began and a name that now echoed throughout the entire shinobi world.
And in the hearts of most of the shinobi participating in this operation, though none of them said it aloud, they all understood perfectly clearly that the codename referred to Higashino Shinichi himself.
This boy, who had already been the village's brightest rising star before the war, and who during the war had risen with meteoric brilliance, clearly held a far greater weight in the Third Hokage's heart than anyone had imagined.
For his sake, the Hokage himself had been willing to leave the village, personally head to the front lines, and lead an army of ten thousand in a fierce invasion of the Land of Lightning!
Tonight, the flames of war would no longer remain confined to the borders of the Land of Fire.
Tonight, Konoha's blade would point directly at the heart of Kumogakure.
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