Shimizu and the others pressed forward, and along the way, more and more Konoha shinobi gradually joined their ranks.
No matter their numbers or strength, the moment they saw Orochimaru, they instinctively fell in line under his command, following his orders without hesitation.
Impressive…
Shimizu couldn't help but click his tongue inwardly. Orochimaru's influence wasn't just a matter of strength—it was something deeper. His name alone had already taken root in the hearts of Konoha's shinobi.
For a fleeting moment, a strange thought crossed Shimizu's mind.
Could Orochimaru actually compete for the position of Fourth Hokage?
The idea barely formed before he dismissed it with a silent scoff.
Orochimaru… becoming the Fourth Hokage?
Yeah, right. That's a good joke.
"Uzuki-kun… what are you smiling about?" Orochimaru's voice suddenly cut in.
"Nothing. Just remembered something from the past," Shimizu replied lightly, having no intention of discussing such an absurd notion—especially with the person in question standing right beside him.
He glanced back at the growing group behind them.
Without realizing it, they had already gathered over a hundred shinobi.
Not a weak force by any means.
And yet, as they advanced, the scene before them grew increasingly grim. Streets lay in ruins, buildings had collapsed, and everywhere the eye could see—blood and corpses. The once-thriving Kikyo Castle had been reduced to a battlefield of fire and devastation, and the desolate sight weighed heavily on everyone's hearts.
Can Konoha truly crush the enemy this time?
"Four hundred meters ahead—large enemy presence! Over two hundred individuals, bearing eight o'clock!" Shimizu called out. Having recovered a fair amount of chakra, he had already expanded his sensory range.
In a battlefield without the Byakugan, he served as Konoha's eyes.
Orochimaru cast him a sidelong glance. "Your sensing range seems to have expanded, Uzuki-kun."
"Of course. My strength's been improving," Shimizu replied casually.
"A secret technique, perhaps?" Orochimaru probed.
Shimizu only gave a dry cough in response, neither confirming nor denying, before continuing, "About fifty of them have formed up—they've likely spotted us."
"Prepare for engagement!" Orochimaru immediately ordered. "Spread out!"
At once, the hundred-plus Konoha shinobi scattered in all directions, and a sudden clash erupted.
Urban warfare between shinobi was never confined to the ground. With their high mobility, the battlefield could shift instantly—from rooftops to alleyways, even to ambushes launched from within buildings.
The complexity of the terrain meant chaos in battle. To maintain control, commanders would typically occupy a high vantage point, allowing them to observe the entire field and direct their forces accordingly.
And so—
Shimizu spotted the enemy commander almost immediately.
Positioned atop a four-story building, the man surveyed the battlefield, accompanied by only three guards.
Without hesitation, Shimizu activated the Body Flicker Technique in rapid succession.
"Enemy approaching fast from the front!" a Suna sensor ninja shouted the moment he detected Shimizu's presence.
Several Sand shinobi immediately attempted to intercept, hurling kunai in his path—but every single one missed.
They couldn't even graze the hem of his clothing.
"Watch out! He's incredibly fast!"
In just a few breaths, Shimizu had already crossed more than three hundred meters, landing atop the rooftop where the enemy commander stood.
What is this Konoha ninja trying to do?
Don't tell me… he plans to carry out a decapitation strike alone?
An absurd thought surfaced in the minds of the Sand shinobi.
Is he… overestimating himself?
Before they could process it further, Shimizu's hands blurred as he completed a series of hand seals at a speed nearly impossible to follow with the naked eye.
Lightning Release—Chidori Current!
In an instant, a figure wreathed in crackling lightning surged forward.
"Kill him!" the Sand commander barked decisively, gripping his kunai, intent on cutting down this reckless Konoha shinobi.
At the same time, the three guards on the rooftop had already moved to intercept him the moment he landed.
A kunai.
A blade.
And a razor-sharp wind strike—
Three attacks converged from different directions, closing in on Shimizu at once.
In the very next instant, a streak of azure light flashed into existence—curved like a crescent blade slicing through the night.
"Shing—!"
The five figures on the rooftop froze where they stood.
Then, almost simultaneously, four jets of blood burst into the air.
"Y-you… are… Shun—" The Sand commander clutched desperately at his throat, his voice strangled as his body collapsed heavily to the ground.
His three guards fell just as helplessly.
"The commander's been killed!"
Chaos erupted instantly among the Sand forces.
Meanwhile, on the battlefield below, the main forces of both sides had only just begun to clash…
"Uzuki-kun truly lives up to expectations," Orochimaru remarked, his confidence in Shimizu's strength growing ever deeper.
Even if he himself had carried out that decapitation strike, he doubted he could have executed it with such clean precision.
Unknowingly, he had already begun to regard Shimizu as an equal.
"Crush the Sand forces at full strength!"
At the same time, Shisui Uchiha kept his Sharingan fully active, the twin tomoe slowly spinning as they captured every detail of that instant kill.
In his eyes, Shimizu had been like a thrown blade—straight, decisive, and lethal—piercing through the enemy's chest and ending the fight in a single, flawless motion.
He's… incredibly strong.
"Shimizu-senpai… no—Shimizu-sensei!"
"Shisui, you'd better work hard."
"For the Uchiha!"
Shisui steeled himself, silently renewing his resolve.
…
......
.........
The battle ended quickly.
Under the combined command of Orochimaru and Shimizu, Konoha's forces crushed the Sand unit of over two hundred shinobi, rescuing scattered allies and regrouping with new reinforcements.
But there was no time to rest.
They immediately moved on to the next battlefield.
The fighting never ceased—not even for a moment.
Along the way, they reunited with other newly promoted Konoha chunin, including Uchiha Megumi, Hyuga Hayakumo, Might Guy, and Asuma Sarutobi.
Bit by bit, their forces swelled, growing into a formidable group of several hundred shinobi.
Then, around midday—
A faint tremor rippled beneath their feet.
"…What is this?"
"Rumble—!"
The earth began to shake violently.
"…An earthquake?!"
They looked up.
To the north of Kikyo Castle, a colossal wave of golden sand rose into the sky—nearly a hundred meters tall and stretching for several kilometers, an overwhelming and terrifying sight.
Shimizu recognized it instantly.
Magnet Release: Gold Dust Great Burial…
But this… was dozens of times more terrifying than the one Rasa had used before.
The golden tide devoured everything in its path, reducing all it touched to sand.
Gradually, the entire city was swallowed into a dark yellow world.
…Sensei! Shimizu's heart tightened. Is Kousuke-sensei safe…?
"Everyone, gather together!" he shouted.
Faced with a disaster of this magnitude, there was little he could do—except protect as many people as possible around him.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
At the same time, Orochimaru unleashed an earth-style technique.
A towering blue wall of water and a sturdy brown wall of earth rose together, forming the final barrier protecting the hundreds of Konoha shinobi…
…
......
.........
"'Shunshin Shimizu'… 'Orochimaru, the Wind Calamity'…"
In the distance, Rasa crouched upon the sand, gazing at the twin barriers—one blue, one brown—that barely withstood their final trump card: a Gold Dust Great Funeral on a scale beyond anything before.
"I really wish they'd just die already…" he muttered.
How he longed for those trembling walls of life to finally collapse…
"…I'm afraid that won't happen." Pakura's eyes brimmed with unwilling tears.
Sunagakure had given everything—bet everything—and yet, this was all they had to show for it…
"Rasa… it's time to go." Chiyo cast one last look at the city about to be completely buried beneath golden sand, her heart equally filled with regret.
Her enemy, Tsunade, still lived.
And Shimizu remained very much alive.
It seemed her life had only gained more unfinished regrets.
"The Third Hokage is on his way… we must leave," Chiyo said as she turned decisively and walked away.
Moments earlier, Sand ANBU had delivered urgent intelligence: the Hiruzen Sarutobi himself was leading a large force of elite shinobi toward Kikyo Castle.
This was the very army that had originally been locked in a standoff with Kumogakure.
For the Third Hokage to personally intervene meant only one thing—
Konoha and Kumogakure had reached a truce.
But why would Kumogakure agree to peace…?!
"…What a waste. Victory slipped through our fingers." Rasa rose slowly and turned away.
They had lost.
And so, the only thing left for them to do… was destroy Kikyo Castle.
They had to destroy it.
They could not allow Konoha even a moment to recover.
"Withdraw while Konoha is still busy rescuing the wounded," came the order.
"We may not be bringing victory home… but at the very least, we'll bring our people back alive."
..
Drop some POWERSTONES to push the story forward!
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin