Natsuhiko moved at astonishing speed.
Even without using the Flying Thunder God Technique, his velocity was already so absurd that ordinary shinobi would struggle to even follow his movements with their eyes.
In only a few brief moments, he had already arrived outside the stronghold.
At the same time, his Jōgan activated.
Blue light shimmered brilliantly within his eyes, the glowing blue radiance pulsing like waves beneath the surface. In an instant, he had already determined the exact number of Kumogakure shinobi present.
"One hundred and ten. That's a significant infiltration force," Natsuhiko silently assessed the situation while chakra surged rapidly through his body.
In the next moment, countless seeds buried underground suddenly awakened.
Centered around him, within a radius of at least five hundred meters, trees began growing wildly beneath the earth.
Each seed had long since been engraved with Natsuhiko's Flying Thunder God formula.
Which meant that in this one-kilometer-wide circular area…
Every inch had effectively become part of Natsuhiko's Flying Thunder God domain.
He adjusted his breathing slightly.
Then his figure vanished instantly.
When he reappeared, he was already standing directly beside a Kumogakure shinobi.
The Cloud ninja were still relentlessly bombarding the stronghold with ninjutsu, completely unaware of Natsuhiko's arrival.
Until—
Slash!
The sound of metal cutting through flesh echoed sharply across the battlefield.
There wasn't even time for a scream.
One Kumogakure shinobi had already been decapitated instantly.
Without the slightest pause, Natsuhiko activated the Flying Thunder God Technique again.
The blood from the first corpse had not even finished spraying through the air before he appeared behind a second target.
His ninja blade swept cleanly through the man's neck.
Scarlet blood splattered once more.
Then came the third target.
The fourth.
The fifth.
As Natsuhiko's strength continued to grow, his chakra reserves had become increasingly terrifying, while his mastery over the Flying Thunder God Technique had risen to an unimaginable level.
Even though his sealing techniques were only considered above average, he could still push the Flying Thunder God to horrifying heights.
"Enemy attack!"
Finally, after nearly ten shinobi had been slaughtered in less than a single second, someone managed to react.
Unfortunately, before the man could even assume a defensive stance, Natsuhiko's blade had already sliced across his throat.
Blood poured violently from the severed artery.
Almost instinctively, the shinobi clutched at his neck with both hands, his mouth opening and trembling repeatedly as though he wanted to shout something.
But no sound could escape.
Still, his warning successfully alerted the others.
And these Kumogakure ninja were clearly elites.
They immediately abandoned their assault on the stronghold and, with remarkable speed, formed defensive groups of three or four people, pressing their backs against one another to create circular formations.
When they had no understanding of how the enemy appeared or attacked, rapidly establishing a defensive formation was undoubtedly the best choice.
What they didn't know, however, was that Natsuhiko had only stopped attacking because of his own considerations.
Otherwise, every single one of them would already be dead.
"Who are you?!"
The leading Kumogakure shinobi shouted loudly.
By now, he had finally gotten a clear look at the attacker.
Standing before him was a silver-haired youth wearing a Konoha flak jacket, along with a forehead protector bearing the Leaf symbol.
Yet the man had absolutely no memory of him.
Earlier, while regrouping his forces, he had quickly scanned the battlefield from the corner of his eye—
And what he saw had chilled him to the bone.
In less than a second, nearly ten of his comrades had died.
One had to understand that every member selected for this infiltration squad was an elite shinobi.
To die so silently, so suddenly, without even the slightest warning…
It was almost impossible to comprehend.
He had no idea who this young man was.
Under normal circumstances, someone possessing this level of strength should already be famous throughout the ninja world.
Not to mention those eyes—
That pair of eyes radiating dazzling blue light.
Anyone who saw such eyes even once would never forget them.
"I am…" Natsuhiko slowly raised his blade. "…Senju Natsuhiko."
Natsuhiko spoke leisurely, his tone calm and unhurried, while at the same time the chakra within his body began surging violently.
These Kumogakure shinobi had very thoughtfully gathered together for him.
It was exactly the situation he had hoped for.
Sure enough, there was an old saying that made perfect sense—
"Being good is great, but having a cooperative enemy is better."
As his chakra swelled to its peak, Natsuhiko raised one hand before him in a single seal. A faint smile appeared on his lips as he continued speaking casually.
"Or perhaps… you know me by another name."
His blue eyes glowed brilliantly in the darkness. "My codename is Nightingale."
"Konoha's Nightingale?!"
Sure enough, compared to the name Senju Natsuhiko, the title Konoha Nightingale existed on an entirely different level of fame and recognition.
At last, the Kumogakure shinobi understood exactly who they were facing.
And they also finally realized how their comrades had died moments earlier.
Unfortunately for them—
Natsuhiko had no intention of giving them any opportunity to react.
A terrifying wave of chakra erupted from his body.
At his current level, he had already reached the point where "clapping his hands together and using any jutsu he desired" was entirely possible.
Still, Natsuhiko personally thought that hand-clasping looked too much like praying to Buddha.
He much preferred the posture of raising his index and middle fingers together while folding the remaining fingers inward.
After all, once one reached his level of strength, almost any technique—unless it involved truly transcendent abilities—could be activated through a single seal.
"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"
The ground instantly began trembling violently.
In the next second, a colossal tree erupted from beneath the earth, while countless smaller trees burst outward in every direction.
This time, Natsuhiko hadn't even combined the technique with Sage Mode.
Yet his Wood Release had already advanced to the Intermediate level.
He had used it so openly and dramatically for a simple reason: to raise morale.
He could clearly see it—Konoha had mobilized quickly and decisively, and every shinobi was prepared to fight to the death against the enemy.
And yet, their morale remained dangerously low.
In his previous life, there was a common belief:
A grieving army is invincible.
But he had never liked that kind of atmosphere.
And he had no intention of letting it continue.
What he wanted was to inspire confidence.
Because he could say with absolute certainty—
As long as he stood here, they would never lose.
The monstrous Wood Release spread rapidly under Natsuhiko's control, surging toward the Kumogakure shinobi like a living disaster.
The moment they heard the title "Konoha Nightingale," they had already decided to retreat immediately.
Konoha Nightingale was a legend within the ANBU.
His name had long since been written into every shinobi intelligence handbook.
Once his identity was confirmed, abandoning the mission immediately was considered acceptable protocol.
And this warning wasn't limited to ANBU operatives alone.
After Natsuhiko became Commander of the ANBU, even ordinary shinobi had begun receiving the same briefing.
The problem was that he had almost always worn a mask while carrying out missions. Very few people actually knew what he looked like.
But knowing his identity meant nothing in the face of what he was about to unleash.
Before they could even move properly, the massive forest had already spread across the battlefield.
The speed of Natsuhiko's Wood Release far exceeded their imagination.
Countless branches erupted from the towering giant tree, wrapping around the Kumogakure shinobi one after another.
Over ninety elite Cloud shinobi were restrained almost instantly, utterly incapable of resisting.
The branches greedily absorbed their chakra.
At the same time, they had already begun draining their life force.
In that instant, the trapped shinobi couldn't even struggle anymore.
"Although I would've liked to leave someone alive for interrogation…"
Standing atop the massive tree, Natsuhiko looked down at them from above before revealing a faint smile.
"…I don't think that's necessary anymore."
"Goodbye."
"Wood Release: Cutting Technique."
—
"T-This…"
After Natsuhiko departed, Shikaku and the others immediately chased after him.
Every one of them was among Konoha's elite.
Even if they hadn't reached the terrifying heights of the Sannin, they were still powerful shinobi feared throughout the ninja world.
But while running, they gradually began sensing something wrong.
Even those who weren't sensory-type ninja could feel an overwhelming chakra gathering in the distance.
Soon afterward—
The earth began to shake violently.
Then, before their very eyes, a gigantic tree suddenly erupted from the ground.
Wood Release!
Almost instantly, they all recognized what it was.
This was Natsuhiko's signature technique—one of the hallmark jutsu of the First Hokage of Konoha.
Staring at the colossal towering tree that made even seasoned shinobi feel a chill in their bones, and sensing the suffocating pressure of chakra that filled the entire space, they suddenly realized something:
Had they underestimated Natsuhiko's true strength?
They had experienced the Nine-Tails Night firsthand, so they were well aware that Natsuhiko possessed Wood Release power—and that it was already formidable back then.
But this time…
The Wood Release he had unleashed seemed to lack something compared to that night.
And yet, paradoxically, its power did not feel any weaker at all.
One had to admit—they were truly elite shinobi.
Even without systematic sensory abilities, they could still keenly perceive subtle differences.
This time, Natsuhiko had not even used Sage Mode to enhance his Wood Release.
In fact, his execution had been relatively casual.
And yet the power it released was in no way diminished.
This purely Wood Release-driven force, unadulterated by Sage chakra, was immediately recognized by Shikaku and the others.
It told them one undeniable truth—
Natsuhiko had grown stronger again.
"…Truly terrifying."
Watching the roaring forest spread and devour everything in the distance, the clan heads could not help but sigh in awe.
And when they quickened their pace and finally arrived at the battlefield—
Their bodies stiffened.
The massive forest had already begun to recede.
As if responding to Natsuhiko's chakra, the enormous trees rapidly retracted, leaving behind only a single grotesque giant tree constructed of Wood Release.
It was around ten meters tall—insignificant compared to the earlier forest, yet far more horrifying in appearance.
Its twisted trunk spiraled upward like a coiled serpent, with branches extending in all directions.
And from those branches—
One corpse after another hung impaled on wooden spikes.
The bodies looked shriveled, as though their life force had been completely drained away.
At the same time, fresh blood continued to drip down the branches, pooling and staining the ground below a dark crimson.
The sight alone made even these seasoned veterans of countless battlefields feel a chill run down their spines.
This wasn't a battle.
This was slaughter.
This was a literal hell on earth.
At a glance, there were at least over a hundred corpses hanging from the branches—almost exactly matching the number of Kumogakure shinobi who had infiltrated the area.
Natsuhiko had eliminated them all in such a short span of time.
And that only further confirmed what they already suspected—
His strength had indeed grown again, surpassing even what he had displayed during the Nine-Tails Night.
Still, this was the first time many of them had witnessed his methods firsthand.
Undeniably, the incident involving Danzō had already shocked them deeply.
But compared to this…
That event now seemed almost insignificant.
"…So this is what it means to come from the ANBU."
The techniques of ANBU operatives were notoriously brutal.
Everyone present understood that much.
But understanding it intellectually was one thing—witnessing it so directly was another entirely.
Perhaps only someone like Yamanaka Inoichi would have been somewhat accustomed to such scenes.
Even then, only "somewhat."
After taking a deep breath, they all understood that this crisis had been resolved—for now.
And apart from Uchiha Haru, the more perceptive among them quickly realized Natsuhiko's intention.
This display wasn't just extermination.
It was also a demonstration—
A way to boost morale.
Yet despite understanding that, a faint trace of fear still crept into their hearts.
...
"This..."
The four-thousand-man force advanced slowly.
And the moment they saw that hellish scene ahead, every single one of them froze.
One hundred Kumogakure corpses hung from branches like gruesome decorations, swaying slightly as blood dripped endlessly onto the ground below.
Fear gripped them instinctively.
And yet, at the same time…
A deep sense of security rose within their hearts.
In fact, not long ago—when the ground had first begun to shake violently and that colossal tree had suddenly erupted from the earth—a faint sense of reassurance had already begun to take root in their hearts.
It was just that now, upon witnessing the scene before them with their own eyes, that sense of security had only deepened, even as it intertwined with fear.
After all, when such a powerful shinobi existed… when such a terrifying shinobi stood on their side… safety itself suddenly felt far more attainable.
This war was brutal.
And through sources like newspapers, they had already learned far too much about its stakes.
They knew that if they did not fight, Konoha would gradually lose its standing in the shinobi world and be slowly devoured piece by piece.
As residents of Konoha, they had no choice but to fight.
They had to fight.
Yet even with the front-line forces included, their total numbers only amounted to around six thousand shinobi.
Meanwhile, Kumogakure was said to have deployed eight thousand.
On top of that, Kumogakure had sent both the Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails jinchūriki.
Compared to that, Konoha's situation inevitably felt somewhat discouraging.
Yes, they were fighting on the border of the Land of Fire, which meant their supply lines were faster and more efficient.
But even so, they were still outnumbered by nearly two thousand enemies.
That kind of gap would make anyone feel fear.
It wasn't as though Konoha had never achieved victory against overwhelming odds.
On the contrary, such stories were abundant throughout its history.
But who had led those victories?
Jiraiya of the Sannin.
Orochimaru of the Sannin.
And the current Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.
And while this time, the army was led by the heads of various clans along with their elite forces…
Even the ANBU Commander, Senju Natsuhiko—the man who single-handedly held back the Nine-Tails during the Nine-Tails Incident—was among them.
Still, many shinobi had already resigned themselves to a mindset of sacrifice.
Even if victory was possible, the cost would surely be unimaginable.
Some might call this hindsight bias, but after all, Minato Namikaze only became the Fourth Hokage after the war ended.
During the war itself, no one truly believed he could accomplish such feats.
At that time, Orochimaru had been the overwhelmingly favored candidate for Hokage.
But in the end, due to various reasons, Orochimaru lost the position—and eventually became a missing-nin.
Regardless, Minato Namikaze's rise to the position of Fourth Hokage had already become fact.
And so many shinobi now believed that under his leadership, victories against superior numbers were not unusual at all.
But this time, there was neither Minato Namikaze nor Orochimaru.
Could they truly stand against the Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails jinchūriki with only these forces?
Six thousand against eight thousand.
Even the gap in top-tier combat strength was significant.
No matter how optimistic they tried to be, a sense of unease still lingered in their hearts.
And yet—
In order to protect their homeland, and everything they held dear, they had still steeled themselves and stepped onto the battlefield.
At this moment, Natsuhiko's brutal and fear-inducing display had done something unexpected.
It had given them something else entirely—
Confidence.
A belief that victory might actually be possible.
Even though they had already resolved themselves to die if necessary, the instinct to survive was the same in everyone.
As long as there was even the slightest chance, they would seize it with everything they had.
Just as people instinctively seek light, the chance to live only comes once—that is their "light."
It is one of the most fundamental desires buried deep within every human heart.
...
The commotion caused by Natsuhiko was immense.
The range of his Wood Release was vast, and the quality of his chakra was exceptionally high.
Even though his technique could not be seen from dozens of kilometers away, his chakra itself could still be clearly felt spreading across the battlefield.
Within a border stronghold in the Land of Hot Water—
The Fourth Raikage frowned as he stared into the distance.
Not only him—Killer B beside him had also stopped his rapping, and many other powerful shinobi around them had unconsciously turned their gazes toward the distant horizon.
"Raikage-sama," a sensor ninja reported, "we've detected a massive chakra disturbance within the Land of Fire. However, the chakra signatures of our infiltration unit have completely disappeared… I'm afraid—"
"And in addition to that, our sensory division has picked up a large-scale chakra presence. The exact number is unclear, as they've already entered a fortified stronghold."
"I see."
The Fourth Raikage gave a slight nod.
"Understood. You may leave."
He didn't seem particularly surprised by the report.
Or rather, the moment he had sensed that overwhelming chakra earlier, he had already guessed that his infiltration unit was likely in trouble.
That chakra was powerful—so powerful that it was not inferior to his own.
As for the inability to accurately determine the number of Konoha shinobi present, he didn't dwell on it.
After all, a forward stronghold like that would naturally have all kinds of defensive and concealment measures in place.
Still, he couldn't help but feel a faint sense of regret.
Sending a hundred Kumogakure shinobi to carry out the infiltration had been his own decision.
He had known Konoha would make a move sooner or later—but he hadn't expected their response to be this fast.
They had deployed forces to the front lines almost immediately.
And by sheer coincidence, they had run straight into his infiltration unit.
Still, a collision was a collision. Dead was dead.
There was no point dwelling on it.
What bothered him more was that none of them had managed to send back even a single piece of intelligence before dying.
That likely meant they had been completely surrounded and wiped out so quickly that they never even had the chance.
The Fourth Raikage shook his head slightly.
However, he quickly dismissed the matter from his mind.
Anger alone would not change anything.
What mattered now was the next phase of their battle strategy.
Konoha had clearly committed heavily to this war.
Almost every clan head, along with their elite forces, had been deployed.
According to intelligence, the operation was being led by the ANBU Commander—Konoha Nightingale.
Although the details were still somewhat unclear, acquiring this information had not been easy.
After all, Konoha's ANBU had been aggressively purging spies, with Kumogakure operatives being their primary target.
However, if this intelligence was accurate…
Then the Raikage would actually be pleased.
Which clan head would willingly be sent to the front lines like ordinary infantry?
And a young ANBU commander, someone who thrived in the shadows, leading the entire army?
What did that imply?
Did it mean Konoha was running out of capable leaders?
Otherwise, why wouldn't they deploy veterans like Jiraiya or Tsunade—shinobi with both overwhelming strength and proven command experience?
Even Orochimaru, according to earlier intelligence, had already defected.
And yet, despite war already breaking out, Konoha had not recalled any of them.
No matter how he thought about it, the Raikage could not make sense of it.
But at the same time, it seemed to confirm one thing—
Konoha truly did not have many available forces left.
Still, he did not dare to underestimate them.
The clan heads were still formidable opponents.
And with someone like Nara Shikaku on the field, their tactical capabilities were not to be ignored.
But all of this was still just intelligence.
He had yet to confirm the full picture.
And that chakra he had just sensed only made him more cautious.
"…It seems I'll have to verify things properly."
The Fourth Raikage thought quietly to himself.
In war, intelligence was everything.
Without sufficient intelligence support, how could a war possibly be fought—and won?
Wanting to obtain intelligence, the simplest methods were infiltration by spies—or direct combat.
As long as a battle broke out, even if the scale was not large, as long as the intensity was high enough, valuable information could still be extracted from it.
What the Fourth Raikage needed to determine right now was exactly who they were facing, so that Kumogakure could respond accordingly.
"Relay the order. Tomorrow, deploy one thousand shinobi to accompany me—fast units only, those capable of withdrawing at any moment."
Having reached that conclusion, the Fourth Raikage spoke without hesitation. His voice was deep, powerful, and unwavering.
"We depart at dawn. The target is the Konoha stronghold. The objective of this operation is simple—identify exactly who the enemy is. Therefore, we must select agile, quick-witted units. Understood?"
"Yes, Raikage-sama!"
—
Inside the Konoha stronghold, Nara Shikaku looked at Natsuhiko with a deeply pained expression.
"Commander Natsuhiko… your methods are truly something else. Could you at least leave us a few survivors next time? We still need some usable intelligence…"
At the same time, the other clan heads had also finally grasped the situation.
After the main army had linked up with them and entered the stronghold together, the morale of the troops had undergone a dramatic transformation.
The earlier atmosphere of heaviness and despair had completely vanished.
In its place was trust—faith in them, and in Konoha's eventual victory under their leadership.
This was an extremely positive sign. It meant that the shinobi's morale had been successfully lifted, which would greatly benefit their upcoming battle formations.
While the previous atmosphere would not necessarily have led to failure, that sense of resignation toward death had been undeniably troublesome.
Now, however, they were more willing to survive, more passionate, and far more eager to fight.
The only problem was that Natsuhiko had gone far too far this time.
He had eliminated every single enemy without leaving a single survivor.
At that instant, all of the infiltrating Kumogakure forces had been completely wiped out, leaving them with absolutely no one to interrogate.
Yes, with Yamanaka Inoichi present, they could technically extract information from severed heads.
But the problem was that corpses were not nearly as useful as living captives. Once a person died, their brain cells deteriorated rapidly, making it nearly impossible to retrieve complete intelligence. At best, only fragmented information could be obtained—far from what a war effort required.
Not to mention, even processing a single head was already troublesome enough. Now they were dealing with over a hundred, and they didn't even have the proper equipment for large-scale extraction.
For Yamanaka Inoichi, it would be an extremely difficult and exhausting task.
In the end, the idea was abandoned.
"Apologies. At the time, I was only thinking about preventing their retreat, and also boosting our morale, so…"
Natsuhiko shrugged casually, smiling as he spoke.
"Besides, it's not like we're the only ones without intelligence. Kumogakure probably doesn't have much on us either. At most, they just know we've arrived."
Shikaku could only respond with a helpless expression, though he still nodded in reluctant agreement.
Before their departure, Konoha had already carried out a large-scale purge of enemy spies.
Regardless of origin, regardless of whether they had already been identified or not, all suspected infiltrators had been eliminated by the ANBU.
After that, Konoha entered a heightened state of alert, making it extremely difficult for any intelligence to be transmitted out.
Whatever Kumogakure had, it would likely be fragmented and sparse.
As for the traces left behind by their marching army—there was no helping that.
Fortunately, they also had Hyūga clan shinobi constantly rotating reconnaissance duties. With their Byakugan, they could at least delay enemy discovery and buy them valuable time for response.
"You're not wrong, Commander Natsuhiko. But we still need to strengthen our defensive deployments."
Shikaku rubbed his temples before his expression gradually turned serious.
"We need to be cautious of Kumogakure's next move. After losing so many men without capturing the stronghold—or sending back even a shred of intelligence—there's a high chance the Fourth Raikage will take more dangerous actions.
For example… launching small-scale, high-intensity raids to probe our strength."
"Oh?"
Natsuhiko blinked, clearly having not considered things that far ahead.
However, Shikaku's words forced him to take the matter seriously.
In truth, his understanding of warfare was not particularly deep.
Most of what he knew came from his previous life—movies, books, and even video games.
But the movies he watched were mostly large-scale strategic war films or first-person perspectives, and even the games he played were grand strategy titles.
For example, those "war criminal simulator" games—he had played plenty of them. Blowing up France, leveling Japan with nuclear strikes… he had done all of that without hesitation.
But those types of games were still fundamentally about grand strategy.
You assign a capable general, give him the right troops, ensure his logistics are stable, and then he would push the enemy back for you.
There was no need to worry about the finer tactical details.
And Natsuhiko knew very well that he had deficiencies in that regard.
For example, right now—when it came to anticipating enemy actions on the battlefield, he was still far from sufficient.
That was precisely why, when he had set out, he had already planned for Nara Shikaku to serve as the battlefield commander.
He would simply provide Shikaku with the strategic objectives he wanted to achieve.
Once Shikaku completed those objectives, Natsuhiko would step in to resolve the remaining problems and secure the final outcome.
However, Shikaku had effectively pushed him into the role instead.
Which likely meant he wanted to help Natsuhiko grow into it.
In truth, what they were doing now was already close to what Natsuhiko had originally envisioned.
It was just that, in this arrangement, many details would need Shikaku's guidance.
In a way, it was also training him.
"It seems we'll have to be more cautious. I actually think we should further divide our responsibilities."
Natsuhiko thought for a moment before smiling lightly.
"But for now, let's deal with the immediate problem. Do you have any ideas, Shikaku? Or any further analysis?"
"I believe that, considering Kumogakure's objective, their numbers this time won't be too large."
Although Shikaku was curious about what Natsuhiko meant by "dividing responsibilities," he still first shared his analysis.
"Also, based on Kumogakure's usual tactics, they'll likely deploy highly mobile units."
"Units capable of strong infiltration and assault, and who can quickly disperse and retreat if they encounter resistance or risk being surrounded by a larger force."
"And I suspect the commander leading them won't be weak either. We need to be fully prepared."
Natsuhiko stared blankly at Shikaku for a moment.
This man hadn't just predicted Kumogakure's possible movements—he had even inferred their likely force composition.
Even though Natsuhiko knew the Nara clan was intelligent, this was no longer just a matter of intelligence.
It required extensive real battlefield command experience.
At this point, Natsuhiko was even more convinced that his original decision to place this man as overall battlefield commander had been the correct one.
Even though circumstances had changed, Shikaku was still here with him.
That alone meant he could assist with countless small but critical details.
It also strengthened Natsuhiko's confidence that Shikaku would help him fulfill all necessary preconditions for victory.
Thinking of this, Natsuhiko suddenly smiled.
"Shikaku, I'll leave the arrangement of these matters to you. That shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"No problem," Shikaku nodded.
"However, Commander Natsuhiko, you are still the overall commander. I will still need to report these decisions to you."
"I understand. But sometimes, there's no need to make things so complicated. From now on, let's do it like this—you handle the tactical details, and I handle the strategic direction. How about that?"
"…Understood, Commander Natsuhiko."
...
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