Location: Iwagakure Camp
The atmosphere in the camp was no different from that of Konoha. The air was thick with the scent of damp earth, blood and occasional wail of injured Iwa-nin being treated.
Darted all over the place were various earth formed tents and at the centre was a larger one. The War Tent.
The inside of the war tent was dim, lit only by the glow of smoldering coals in the brazier at the center. The air was filled with the scent of damp earth and ink-stained maps.
The weight of the coming battle pressed over the figures gathered around the stone table.
Ōnoki hovered just above the ground, his small frame wrapped in the heavy robes that did little to hide the wiry strength beneath. His sharp, intelligent eyes scanned the battlefield layout on the table, tracing potential paths of engagement.
Beside him stood Ishikawa, a mountain of a man with arms like boulders, his broad shoulders hunched forward as he examined the map with quiet scrutiny.
His stone-like skin bore the marks of countless battles, scars blending with the natural ridges of his hardened flesh.
To his left was Shiba, whose build was less imposing but no less formidable. He stood with his arms crossed, his expression unreadable. A man of few words, his skill lay in fortifications, defense, and outlasting the enemy rather than brute strength.
Further down the table, Akagawa leaned over the map, fingers lightly drumming against the surface.
His sharp eyes flickered with calculation, his frame lean yet coiled with tension, ready to spring at a moment's notice. Of all those present, he was the most adaptable.
His signature technique allowed him to manipulate the battlefield itself, twisting terrain to his advantage, but that didn't mean he was any less weak in a direct confrontation.
Across from him, reclining in his chair, was Tomura who boasted a slender but deceptively powerful build, his long fingers tapped rhythmically against the hilt of a dagger resting at his belt.
His half-lidded eyes held a sharpness that never dulled, like a predator waiting for the right moment to strike. He was Iwagakure's blade in the dark, moving unseen until it was far too late.
The silence stretched until Ōnoki finally spoke. "Konoha will respond." His voice was steady, carrying the weight of certainty. "They are not the type to retreat or to be caught off guard for long."
Ohnoki was an astute individual. One who has had the privilege of learning from both the first and second Tsuchikage and he understood more than most just how much of a hindrance Hiruzen could be.
He didn't like to admit it, but like him, Hiruzen was equally as shrewd.
Due to this, Ohnoki wasn't under the illusion that they had no spies in their village and presently, in their camp. After all, they too had spies within the leaf.
Ishikawa snorted. "Let them come. We'll bury them under the weight of the very ground they stand on." His voice was like grinding stone, rough and final.
Ōnoki shot him a glance, but let the words hang unchallenged. Ishikawa's strength warranted his arrogance, but Ōnoki had no patience for overconfidence.
He knew how formidable Konoha-Nin were. Hiruzen and his close squad most especially.
"And if they don't fight us head-on?" he asked as he locked gaze with him.
A sharp exhale came from Akagawa. "They won't." He tapped the map with two fingers. "They'll send those who can adapt, counter, and outmaneuver. Fighters who can meet us at our strengths rather than our weaknesses."
Ohnoki was merely asking rhetorically. He knew they wouldn't. He knew it. Over the last few months, whenever the heavy hitters clashed, they always employed the divide and conquer tactics and loathe as he hated to admit it, Konoha-Nin were formidable individually.
He had never gotten the chance to battle the others since Hiruzen always kept him occupied so he wouldn't know of their strength and since Lord Second was occupied with the Mist Village, he could only request these four as reinforcement.
Unlike Iwa, where personal strength and endurance dictated a warrior's worth, Konoha thrived on adaptability. They never relied on a single overwhelming force.
Instead, they fractured the battlefield, picking apart the strong piece by piece in groups.
Tomura smirked. "Then we cut them apart before they get the chance."
They aren't that weak. Ohnoki thought but didn't voice it. He knew better than to antagonize those who are drunk on their power. The horrible memory from the last flashed through his eyes but he quickly squashed it.
He was dead after all. That damned Uchiha.
He could still remember the way that Uchiha's Sharingan burned into his mind, the suffocating pressure of an opponent beyond his comprehension.
Just then, Shiba finally spoke, snapping him out of his thoughts, his deep voice slow, "They will come prepared. We need to control where the battle happens. The field must favor us, not them."
Ōnoki finally saw his opportunity and nodded. "Then we don't wait for them to dictate the terms. We take the ground before they can claim it." He turned to Akagawa. "Shift the terrain. Force them to fight where we hold the advantage."
Akagawa inclined his head. "That much… I can do." he said in a dramatic tone.
"If they counter the terrain shift, Ishikawa, you hold the front. Tomura, you move in for the kill. Shiba, your job is to make sure our forces can retreat if needed." Ōnoki said as his gaze swept over them. "No one fights alone. If they bring adaptability, we respond with precision. Our forces will strike at their weak points before they even realize where we are."
Tomura chuckled under his breath. "And if they do realize?"
Ōnoki's eyes hardened. "Then we remind them why Iwagakure stands unbroken."
He wasn't about to lose to Konoha. His hatred for them, though misguided, was immense. And considering the stubbornness instilled in them; The Will of stone, he wasn't about to bring shame to his village.
The brazier crackled, casting deep shadows across the warriors' hardened faces. Konoha might be formidable, a cradle of potential, but that didn't mean Iwagakure wasn't.
Whatever Konoha threw at them, Iwa would meet it with unyielding force.
"Make preparations. I doubt they'll wait for us to come up with a decent enough plan before attacking." Ohnoki said with a tone of finality causing the others to nod, each with their own thoughts.
…
A thunderous explosion shattered the tense atmosphere of the camp, the ground trembling beneath them as chunks of earth and debris rained down from above.
The force of the blast sent a violent ripple through the camp, causing several tents to collapse in on themselves. It was unknown how many died from the collapse.
Ōnoki's sharp eyes flicked toward the entrance just as the sound of frantic shouting filled the air.
"Enemy attack!"
The words rang out, followed by the distant clash of steel and the unmistakable roar of flames consuming something. In an instant, the carefully laid-out battle plans were abandoned as the Iwa-nins turned toward the source of the commotion.
Ōnoki floated into the air, his fists clenched at his sides. They didn't wait. They struck first. He gritted his teeth, eyes narrowing as the unmistakable chakra signatures of Konoha-nin flickered at the edges of his perception.
He knew they'd attack but he didn't expect it to be this soon.
Ishikawa was already moving, pushing past the entrance of the tent, his massive frame nearly knocking aside a messenger who had rushed in, face pale with fear.
"Report!" Ōnoki barked.
"They hit our supply lines first!" the Iwa-nin gasped out. "Explosions along the southern perimeter—multiple squads engaging. We also lost contact with the eastern outpost!"
Ōnoki's jaw tightened. Hiruzen. He knew this was his doing.
Just then, he noticed a familiar chakra signature. "Kagami," he murmured under his breath, feeling an unease settle into his bones. The Uchiha was here, which meant… Damn it.
"Then we move now," Ishikawa growled, his voice like rolling thunder. "Let them come. We'll break them here."
"No," Ōnoki snapped. "We move with precision. Find their key players. If they came to fight us, we fight them on our terms."
He knew his fellow Iwa-nins could be headstrong, but he wasn't keen on losing more men when it could be diverted. He knew the level of damage a battle between two S-Rank Shinobi could be, not to mention multiple.
Akagawa smirked, stretching his fingers before cracking them. "I can work with that."
Shiba remained still, his eyes shadowed beneath his helmet. "Our forces need time to regroup. I'll hold the camp's defenses."
Ōnoki nodded sharply. At least someone was wise enough to understand. "Then let's see if Konoha is as strong as they think they are."
…
Battlefield – Iwagakure Camp
The outer area of the camp was now a mess of shifting earth, fire, water, air, lightning and steel all clashing in a beautiful picture of chaos.
The southern perimeter was already in chaos, Iwa-nin scrambling to contain the breach as Konoha's forces tore through the defenses with ruthless precision.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was at the center of it all.
His staff spun in a blur, knocking back an advancing Iwa-nin before he flipped over a lunging attacker, slamming his weapon into the man's skull. He landed lightly, barely taking a breath before twisting to avoid a boulder hurled in his direction.
Ōnoki isn't here yet, he noted grimly. That meant their plan was still in motion. They had struck first, but Iwa was too well-trained to collapse this easily.
A flicker of chakra surged to his right.
There you are.
Ōnoki descended from the sky, his form wreathed in chakra as he floated just above the ground. His sharp gaze locked onto Hiruzen's, and for a brief second, neither of them moved.
Then, without a word, Ōnoki raised his hands, forming a hand sign.
Hiruzen moved first.
A blur of motion sent him dodging to the side as a sphere of glowing white chakra materialized between Ōnoki's palms.
"Jinton: Genkai Hakuri no Jutsu!"
The sphere expanded, obliterating everything in its path. Trees, stone, even the very air seemed to disintegrate under the force of the Dust Release. Hiruzen landed in a crouch, beads of sweat forming on his brow.
"You don't waste time," he remarked, tightening his grip on his staff.
Ōnoki scoffed. "I don't have time to waste."
The two clashed, speed and precision meeting raw destructive power. Hiruzen ducked under another blast of Dust Release, countering with a rapid series of hand seals.
"Doton: Doryūheki!"
A massive earth wall rose between them just in time to absorb the explosion that followed.
But Ōnoki was already moving.
He wasn't just some slow-moving powerhouse. He was fast, skilled, and utterly relentless. The old man blurred above Hiruzen, compressing a smaller Jinton sphere in his palm and hurling it downwards.
Hiruzen leaped away, barely avoiding instant death as the ground beneath him vanished, reduced to nothing.
This fight was not going to be easy.
…
Elsewhere on the Battlefield
Kagami Uchiha's Sharingan spun as he danced between attackers, his kunai cutting through the air in arcs of silver.
Just then, a streak of white flickered through the smoke, a figure moving just as fast as he was.
Tomura.
The assassin came at him like a ghost, his movements eerily silent despite the battlefield chaos. Kagami barely had time to block before a kunai sliced past his cheek.
"You're quick," Tomura murmured, eyes gleaming. "I like that."
Kagami didn't waste time responding. He launched a Genjutsu in an instant, but Tomura twisted, dispelling it before it could fully take hold.
This would be a fight of skill. No wasted movement. No hesitation.
Kagami exhaled sharply, settling into his stance.
"Then let's see if you can keep up."
…
Torifu Akimichi crashed into Ishikawa like a force of nature.
The sheer impact of their clash sent shockwaves through the battlefield, earth splitting beneath their combined strength.
Ishikawa grinned, his massive hands tightening into fists.
"Not bad, Konoha-nin," he admitted. "But let's see if you can handle this!"
With a roar, he slammed his fists into the ground, sending a tidal wave of rock surging forward.
Torifu braced himself, chakra surging through his body.
"Baika no Jutsu!"
His form expanded instantly, muscles growing as he met the wave of earth head-on, fists shattering stone as he charged forward.
Neither man intended to give an inch.
…
Homura Mitokado gritted his teeth as Akagawa manipulated the battlefield with unsettling ease.
The very ground beneath him twisted, turning his footing into a deathtrap of shifting terrain. Homura leaped, landing on a solid patch of earth just before a spike of stone shot up where he had stood a second earlier.
"You Konoha-nin think too straightforwardly," Akagawa said, voice amused. "You assume the battlefield is yours to command."
Homura didn't deem it necessary to respond as his fingers flew through seals.
"Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu!"
A water dragon surged from his mouth, colliding with the shifting earth and breaking through the unstable terrain.
Akagawa's smirk faltered slightly.
"Then I'll just have to shift faster."
…
Koharu Utatane stood firm as Shiba erected massive stone walls, sealing off sections of the battlefield.
"You won't get through," Shiba warned, his deep voice steady. "Not before we're ready to counterattack."
Koharu's expression was unreadable.
"Then I'll just have to tear your walls down."
With a sharp inhale, she unleashed a torrent of water, carving through the defenses like a relentless tide.
Shiba exhaled, eyes narrowing.
"Let's see if your flood outlasts my fortress."
…
Ōnoki and Hiruzen clashed mid-air, chakra surging as the battlefield erupted around them.
This was no longer a mere skirmish. This was the turning point. This battle would determine the course of the war and the fate of nations.
And neither side intended to break.