c35: Dramatic Changes in Kirigakure
While Konohagakure and Kirigakure clashed on the mist-covered battlefield, the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi—infamous as both Jinchūriki of the Three-Tails and a feared tyrant appeared without warning and launched a direct assault. Uchiha Fugaku and Hyuga Hiashi, who had taken command of the rear guard to cover the retreat of their units, were severely wounded during the surprise ambush. Despite the efforts of Konoha med-nin, both succumbed to their injuries after returning to the forward command encampment.
Other clan leaders who had aligned closely with the central command structure of the Hokage also suffered varying degrees of loss, with casualties disrupting several key formations, including the Aburame and Inuzuka support squads.
"I deeply regret and mourn this devastating loss. It was my oversight not to anticipate such a reckless maneuver," said the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, his voice low and face lined with grim determination.
"What?"
"Father, he…"
The faces of Uchiha Shisui and Hyuga Hizashi darkened instantly. Even those known for their composure couldn't suppress their shock. The murmurs among the assembled shinobi deepened as the full weight of the loss settled in. Uchiha Gen, though internally untouched by the patriarch's passing, still displayed the socially expected grief, bowing his head in silence.
The jōnin corps from both clans stood in heavy silence, recognizing not only the personal loss but the political consequences of losing two clan heads of near-Kage prowess. The battlefield had just become far more unstable.
That the Fourth Mizukage had committed himself personally meant more than symbolic aggression—it suggested that Kirigakure had dispatched its elite Anbu and the Hōzuki and Yuki bloodline warriors. This was no longer a border skirmish. It was all-out war.
"Hiruzen, you must not shoulder this alone," Koharu Utatane said, reclining slightly on the cold stone of the council chamber.
"We agreed unanimously, during the last war council, that Kirigakure's forces would fracture once their coastal advantage diminished. Intelligence indicated they'd retreat and shore up Whirlpool Country."
"No one foresaw such fanaticism or their deployment of a Jinchūriki to the front lines. This outcome was beyond reasonable prediction."
"This was a collective military strategy. You mustn't carry the burden alone."
Mitokado Homura leaned forward, his voice calm but firm. "Yagura's personal involvement tells us all we need to know. Kirigakure has resolved to push until they're broken. There is no negotiating from here. Only force will suffice."
"We must defeat Kirigakure decisively make it painful enough that retreat becomes their only option."
Sitting back in the shadows, Shimura Danzō crossed his arms, his tone slow and deliberate. "The priority now is appointing a new front-line commander and sending a strong reinforcement division. Accountability comes after victory."
Privately, Danzō felt more than satisfied. His long-running strategy to limit the political influence of the major clans was yielding results far beyond expectation. The deaths of Fugaku and Hiashi—two leaders who had resisted Root's infiltration meant a power vacuum, and with the Aburame, Nara, and Yamanaka support formations strained, the balance was tilting.
Listening to the composed statements from the so-called Konoha Elders what some mockingly called the Konoha F4—Uchiha Gen curled his lip subtly and kept his gaze lowered. What was there to say? They called it collective decision-making.
But when everyone shares responsibility, no one truly bears it.
"Yes," Sarutobi Hiruzen declared at last, his voice regaining steel, "Kirigakure must be broken decisively. The war must be concluded."
"I've decided that, beyond essential home defense, the most elite shinobi available will reinforce the frontline."
"We will deploy twenty-five jōnin, one hundred and fifty chūnin, and five hundred genin and reserves."
"In addition, the Legendary Sannin—Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya will deploy alongside Namikaze Minato."
"With this strength, combined with what remains at the front, we can and will—turn the tide against Kirigakure."
Hiruzen's eyes swept slowly across the room, landing on the Sannin and Minato, who stood calmly, their faces resolute.
"Yes!" the four answered in unison.
The assembled jōnin exchanged glances, some nodding solemnly. Twenty-five elite jōnin was no small deployment it signaled a commitment rarely seen since the Second Shinobi World War.
And with the Sannin and the Yellow Flash moving together, the tide of blood in the Hidden Mist was about to meet a storm.
Before the start of the Third Shinobi World War, Konoha had approximately one hundred and ten active jōnin, a number that reflected the village's peacetime elite force capacity. Since the outbreak of hostilities, even with relaxed promotion criteria due to battlefield needs, the number of jōnin had dwindled to just over sixty. Now, nearly half of them were being mobilized for immediate deployment.
This drastic decision, coupled with the presence of four Kage-level combatants, sent a clear signal Kirigakure had enraged the Hokage to a point of no return.
Among those Kage-level shinobi—Tsunade, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Namikaze Minato all were not only capable of commanding an army but had the battlefield record, tactical experience, and political stature to do so.
"Tsunade will serve as the Supreme Commander," announced Hiruzen Sarutobi, voice firm. "Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Minato will act as her Deputy Commanders."
Tsunade? Her leadership was indeed the most balanced choice. As a member of the Sannin, granddaughter of the First Hokage, and with no deep political ties to the major clans, she was both powerful and impartial.
"Yes," came the unified response from the four legendary shinobi standing at the head of the assembly.
"Go now and prepare. We depart within the hour," ordered the Third Hokage.
"Yes!" echoed every jōnin and chūnin in the hall.
Ninja efficiency left no room for delay. In the large operations room, Tsunade, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Minato quickly selected the shinobi to accompany them to the Kirigakure front. They reviewed the comprehensive rosters, which cataloged every active-duty shinobi's rank, specializations such as sensory, medical, or seal jutsu—and completed mission count.
Within just thirty minutes, 675 shinobi were handpicked across ranks and specializations.
The remaining time was used for them to return home, inform families, and gather equipment. In a testament to Konoha's discipline, six hundred and seventy-five fully armed shinobi assembled at the village gate within fifty-five minutes, ready to march under the banners of the Sannin and the Yellow Flash.
Minato Namikaze, famed as the "Yellow Flash of the Leaf," left ahead of the main column, moving with speed that not even other jōnin could match.
Tsunade had given him a clear mission: stabilize the front lines and puncture the growing arrogance of Kirigakure's advance forces.
Among the reinforcements was Uchiha Gen, a jōnin of the Uchiha clan and a former student of Orochimaru. His inclusion was both expected and necessary, given his Sharingan and tactical acumen.
Also among the recruits was Team 7, Minato's own genin squad, already recognized as a promising elite unit. All selected shinobi moved swiftly, stopping for rest only once. By 9:00 PM, the entire Konoha task force arrived at the southeastern front in the Land of Fire.
After such an extended forced march, the genin's stamina had been nearly exhausted. Even chūnin and jōnin showed signs of fatigue. Only the Sannin remained at peak condition, due to their unparalleled chakra control and stamina.
Recognizing this, they held back from engaging in immediate battle. The night was used for rest, regrouping, and restoring morale.
Minato had already fulfilled his assignment, delivering a swift and brutal blow to Kirigakure's vanguard and halting their advance. The front line was now stabilized.
As she moved through the camp, Tsunade—having activated a sensory seal and blocked her olfactory senses to avoid the stench of the wounded personally inspected the medical tents and regrouping units. Her presence, along with the arrival of the other legendary shinobi, began to lift the gloom that had settled over the troops following the recent losses.
The morale of Konoha's forces surged. With the Sannin and the Yellow Flash present, many shinobi felt defeat was no longer a possibility.
Meanwhile, Kirigakure's embedded spies, some masquerading as Konoha support-nin, quietly relayed the intelligence of the Sannin's arrival back to the Mist's command post.
Tsunade, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Minato were fully aware of these spies. But rather than eliminate them immediately, they let them transmit the news this was part of a calculated psychological strategy. Letting Kirigakure believe they had uncovered critical intel would prompt them to reconsider aggressive tactics and shift to a defensive posture, buying time for Konoha's exhausted ninja to recover, and giving the fresh reinforcements time to acclimate.
Upon receiving the report, Fourth Mizukage Yagura convened an emergency war council. The impact was immediate.
The bloodline elites and high-ranking jōnin of the Mist were shaken. Though hardened killers, they could not ignore the names now arrayed against them. The Sannin and the Yellow Flash were not myth they were walking weapons, forged in the furnace of the Second Great War.
Facing four legends simultaneously sent shivers down the spines of even Kirigakure's most ruthless commanders.
Yagura, himself the Jinchūriki of the Three-Tails and no stranger to war, realized a frontal confrontation was no longer viable. The village's long-gestating Tailed Beast assault strategy against Konoha gained urgency in his mind.
Kirigakure's command reached consensus swiftly: they would no longer seek head-on battle. Instead, they would adopt a delaying strategy, pulling back into fortified positions while covertly executing the tailed beast plan. Once that succeeded, they would retaliate with overwhelming force.
That night, Mist forces across the front received sudden orders cease forward operations and reinforce all defensive lines.
Confused, many Kirigakure ninjas toiled through the night erecting barriers and fallback trenches. Some whispered about cowardice. After all, the day's casualties had been high, but not devastating.
The truth remained sealed within the Mist's leadership. The delay in morale decline was valuable even temporary ignorance served the war effort.
Though Kirigakure had long borne the moniker of "The Village of the Bloody Mist", even before Obito Uchiha manipulated Yagura, its shinobi were still human. Battle-hardened and brutalized, yes but not unfeeling.
Obito had only intensified a culture that had already thrived on bloodshed.
At Konoha's frontline camp, as the other supporting shinobi headed off to eat and rest, Uchiha Gen and Uchiha Shisui remained. Before anything else, they stood silently in front of the memorial stones, paying their respects to the fallen Uchiha Patriarch, Fugaku, and mourning the clan's painful loss.
Only after completing that solemn duty did they turn to food, aware that the war had only just begun and that vengeance, strategy, and survival would now walk hand in hand.
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