By December, the end of the year was approaching.
The Third Shinobi World War had already been raging for four months.
The battles between Konohagakure and the three other major Hidden Villages had gradually transitioned from initial skirmishes to a prolonged stalemate.
None of the three battlefronts showed signs of decisive movement. The attackers struggled to break through enemy defenses, while the defenders failed to launch effective counteroffensives.
To break the deadlock and seize strategic opportunities, all four major villages had begun fully mobilizing their war potential. As the war machine roared to life, greater amounts of manpower and financial resources were being poured into the conflict.
Sunagakure had committed its full strength, stationing over ten thousand shinobi at Kikyo Mountain.
Iwagakure and Kumogakure had each deployed nearly twenty thousand troops to their respective fronts. While they hadn't committed their entire forces, at least 80% of their military might had been engaged.
As for Konoha—
After routing Iwagakure's vanguard in September, Konoha's morale surged. The defensive lines on the Kumogakure front held firm, with no further breaches.
Assessing the overall situation, Konoha had not shown any signs of losing momentum, which gave Hiruzen Sarutobi the confidence to rally the village's major clans.
The elite forces of the Uchiha, Hyuga, Aburame, Inuzuka, and Sarutobi clans were now being deployed to reinforce the Kumogakure front.
This was a common practice among all villages. While commoner shinobi made up the bulk of the forces, the true backbone of any shinobi army—the core of its strength—lay in the clans with long-standing traditions and formidable bloodlines.
Although Konoha was still numerically disadvantaged, the infusion of elite reinforcements allowed it to stabilize the situation against Kumogakure. Tactical withdrawals had become rare.
On the Iwagakure front, despite being outnumbered two to one, Konoha managed to hold its ground thanks to an unexpected ace—Nara Shikaku referred to it as the "wild card"—Namikaze Minato.
The name "Yellow Flash" began to spread across the battlefield, carried on the corpses of Iwa shinobi. His presence alone kept the fight between Konoha and Iwagakure evenly matched.
On the Sunagakure front, Konoha had deployed members of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, representing the three great secret technique clans.
Unlike the other two battlefields, where Konoha was outnumbered two to one, its forces were evenly matched against Sunagakure's troops. With the numbers gap erased, Sunagakure's shinobi, who were generally weaker in individual combat, found themselves unable to withstand Konoha's aggressive assaults. They were forced to retreat, eventually falling back to the fortress at Kikyo Mountain.
Now, Sunagakure had no choice but to rely on the fortress they had initially seized through ambush to hold off Konoha's advance.
...
Sunagakure
"Everyone, take a look. These are the damage reports from the past week regarding Kikyo Mountain, as well as battle updates and requests for reinforcements."
Fourth Kazekage Rasa sat at the head of a round table, his face lined with exhaustion. He tapped the stack of reports against the table, the sound jolting the dazed Sunagakure officials back to attention.
Though still young, Rasa already bore dark circles under his eyes and deep creases on his forehead.
The burden on him was immense.
He couldn't understand it—why did all the misfortune seem to fall upon Sunagakure?
They had lost their previous Kazekage.
They were the ones who had been ambushed.
They were the ones who had declared war on Konoha.
And now, they were the ones suffering the brunt of Konoha's relentless attacks.
In just one year, Rasa felt as if he had endured every kind of setback and misfortune life could throw at him.
At this level of the game, he was the first among the Five Kage to take office as a Fourth. Among the five leaders, only he and the Fourth Mizukage were newly appointed—everyone else had been in power for decades, seasoned veterans of the political battlefield.
Yet, when Rasa compared himself to the Mizukage, the disparity was infuriating.
The Mizukage had smoothly ascended to his position and was enjoying relative stability, while Rasa had been thrown into a storm of crises the moment he took over. Sometimes, he wished he could restart his life.
As Rasa fell into momentary introspection, the gathered high-ranking officials quickly scanned the battle reports.
The overall situation was grim.
Kikyo Mountain would hold for now, but Konoha was steadily ramping up its offensives. The casualties on Sunagakure's side were increasing.
"Damn Konoha! They think they can just trample over us like this?"
After months of war, Konoha's strategy was no secret to those paying attention.
They had chosen Sunagakure as their primary target, relentlessly hammering them at every turn.
Rasa observed the expressions around the table. The frustration and anger were palpable. It was time to act.
"What are our options?" he asked. "Let's hear them."
One council member slammed a fist on the table. "We cannot show weakness! We must push back! We can't just hole up in the fortress—we need to seize opportunities to counterattack!"
"I agree! If we keep retreating, we'll only make ourselves an easier target!"
"Konoha's forces are already stretched thin. Reports indicate they've begun deploying reserves and even academy students!"
"If we can blunt their momentum, the tide of war will shift in our favor!"
...
Before and after the decision to go to war, Rasa had reshuffled the village's leadership, removing those loyal to the previous Kazekage who favored diplomacy with Konoha. He had replaced them with staunchly anti-Konoha officials.
These people remained as aggressive as ever.
Confidence and determination were valuable traits.
However, at this moment, empty bravado was not what Rasa needed.
"Silence!"
The commanding voice of Elder Chiyo rang through the chamber. As one of the few individuals whose authority had remained unchanged through the political shifts, she commanded respect.
An elder of Sunagakure, a legendary kunoichi, and one of the village's most powerful figures—Rasa did not dare dismiss her.
Since the Third Kazekage's era, her influence had only grown stronger.
Her words instantly quelled the uproar.
Those who had been shouting only moments ago swallowed their words and waited for the discussion to continue.
Even the betrayal of her grandson, Sasori of the Red Sand, had not shaken Chiyo's standing in the village.
"Everyone here holds great responsibility for Sunagakure," she said. "Barking won't scare Konoha into surrendering."
Chiyo had seen too many battles to be swayed by emotion. She remained pragmatic.
"Kazekage-sama, please lead the discussion."
"Understood. Thank you, Elder Chiyo."
Rasa cleared his thoughts and spoke. "As of now, our forces are locked in a prolonged engagement with Konoha at Kikyo Mountain. They continue to reinforce their troops, and we are at a disadvantage.
"Thanks to our fortified defenses, Konoha will not breach the stronghold easily. However, their offensives are relentless. The commander of our Kikyo Mountain forces predicts that, within two months, our numbers will fall below ten thousand. He has formally requested reinforcements from the village."
"Today's meeting will determine whether reinforcements should be sent, how many, and how we will mobilize them."
A council member raised a hand.
Receiving Rasa's nod, he stood and spoke. "Reinforcements are necessary. Kazekage-sama, I propose we mobilize our reserve forces."
The reserve forces consisted of academy graduates who had yet to pass their Genin trials.
While they lacked the qualifications to serve in Sunagakure's standing army, they had undergone six years of ninja training and possessed the basic skills required for combat.
But the question was—could Sunagakure even afford to mobilize them?
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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