Sunagakure's recent raids against Konoha were personally orchestrated by Ebizō. At the core of these operations was an extremely special group of shinobi—
men who had once formed the backbone of Sunagakure during the Second Shinobi World War.
During that war, however, every single one of them had been left crippled.
At the time, Sunagakure was desperately poor. Medical ninjas were scarce, and on the battlefield, puppeteers were forced to double as medics, using prepared puppet prosthetic bodies to replace lost arms and legs.
Unlike Sasori's human puppets, these shinobi were still living humans. Only their missing limbs had been replaced with puppet prostheses.
They were men who had sworn lifelong loyalty to Sunagakure.
When they learned of this mission, they volunteered without hesitation—
and willingly removed their remaining limbs, replacing all four with full puppet prosthetics.
Konoha's sensory system was the strongest in the shinobi world. Beyond standard sensory ninja, it included the Hyūga clan's Byakugan and various biological scouting methods. Evading Konoha's detection was far more difficult than avoiding any other village.
For ordinary shinobi, chakra flow through the meridians was unavoidable—especially Sunagakure's distinctive chakra traits, which the Byakugan could easily identify.
But these veterans were different.
With all four limbs replaced by puppet prostheses, their chakra reactions could be suppressed to extremely low levels. Combined with special drugs prepared by Ebizō, their chakra frequency could be forcibly reduced for short periods of time.
Their puppet bodies were fully weaponized—
poison gas, explosive tags, hidden blades.
Even so, these prosthetic-corps members faced death without fear. For Sunagakure's survival, they were willing to give everything.
To prevent mission failure, large quantities of explosive tags were installed inside their prosthetic bodies. If discovered during an infiltration, they would immediately self-detonate, erasing all evidence and killing everything nearby—ensuring Konoha learned nothing.
War was cruel.
But for a weak Sunagakure to survive in the shinobi world, cruel measures were unavoidable.
More than one hundred lives were expended in this way.
And it worked.
Konoha was thoroughly misled.
Even Orochimaru, with all his intelligence, was deceived.
He was a man who trusted data and evidence above all else. Precisely because Sunagakure's method was so crude and brutal, it escaped his expectations. He came to believe that Sunagakure truly possessed a technique capable of blocking sensory perception.
From Konoha's lofty perspective, they never imagined that Sunagakure would adopt such an "inhumane" strategy—
especially when every discovered attacker immediately self-destructed, leaving nothing behind.
Eventually, Konoha officially contacted Kirigakure, demanding that it cease all assistance to Sunagakure—
including any so-called sensory-blocking techniques.
Ebizō cried.
He personally watched countless comrades die in this operation, yet there was nothing he could do to stop it. A weak village had no right to mercy if it wished to survive.
While the plan progressed smoothly, Shiraishi's squad continued their intensive training.
As one of Sunagakure's future main combat units, squad coordination was absolutely critical. These were teammates to whom one would entrust their back on the battlefield.
The "King Kong Barbie" Kitajima turned out to be a distant cousin of a senior student Shiraishi once knew—also surnamed Kitajima. Though they looked similar, their temperaments were completely different, and the contrast left Shiraishi mildly unsettled.
Haruka and Saki had been classmates for years. Their coordination was excellent, especially their senbon throwing—their firing speed was so fast that even Shiraishi couldn't match it.
As for Fukuyama, the defensive specialist who relied on Earth Release hardening—
Shiraishi focused heavily on him.
If Fukuyama didn't improve his speed and reaction time, he would become nothing more than a walking target on the battlefield.
During a sparring session, Shiraishi activated High-Speed Movement, his body splitting into countless afterimages that surrounded Fukuyama from all directions.
Watching his captain move like that, Fukuyama quickly became dizzy.
"Fukuyama," Shiraishi said calmly,
"You have to improve your reaction speed. You can't rely solely on defense. Against fast opponents, that will get you killed."
Though Fukuyama possessed both Wind and Earth chakra natures, he overwhelmingly favored Earth Release. That dependence was dangerous—especially if he encountered Lightning Release users, who could directly shatter his defenses.
Wind Release was actually his natural counterbalance—
Wind restrains Lightning—
But although he knew a few basic Wind techniques, he rarely applied them in real combat.
While Shiraishi was training Fukuyama, Kitajima, ever observant, glanced toward the edge of the field.
"Captain, Maki-chan is here."
Supplies were scarce during wartime. Maki couldn't make elaborate bento anymore, but she still insisted on bringing Shiraishi simple meals every day—eventually extending that courtesy to the entire squad.
Maki and Jōgaki were assigned to support units, handling medical aid, sealing, and sensory support. Their position was relatively safer, but Shiraishi still worried about her, urging her to strengthen her Psychic Power training to improve externalized defense.
Kitajima, completely unrestrained, had started calling her Maki-chan.
At first, Maki had been intimidated by this cheongsam-wearing oddball, but over time, the two grew close—almost like best friends.
"This is today's food," Maki said, placing down a box.
She opened it, and a burst of steam rose into the air.
Kitajima's mouth immediately watered. He grabbed a bun and stuffed it into his mouth.
"Maki-chan, this is amazing!"
Seeing her food appreciated, Maki smiled brightly.
"If you like it, eat more."
She had put real effort into both the filling and the dough, so being praised genuinely made her happy.
Kitajima's appetite was even bigger than Fukuyama's. He devoured the buns without the slightest concern for appearances.
Shiraishi, by contrast, ate neatly and slowly—
while reading a book.
Watching him, Maki sighed, walked over, and handed him another bun.
"Don't read while you're eating."
Shiraishi accepted it, smiling awkwardly.
"Sorry. I got absorbed in this biography of Uchiha Madara."
"Our captain's a total book addict," Kitajima laughed.
"Anything he can get his hands on, he'll read. Oh, by the way, I've got some great books too. Captain, you should borrow them sometime—guaranteed to open a whole new world for you."
Looking across decades of shinobi history, Konoha's influence was overwhelming—from the establishment of the medical ninjutsu system to the ninja academy itself.
The more Shiraishi learned about Uchiha Madara and the clan behind him, the more terrifying the bloodline families appeared.
However—
From his observations, there were no Uchiha clan crests in the current Konoha camp.
Which meant one thing very clearly:
The Uchiha were not participating in this war.
If you want to read more, join my Patreon/kazama677
I will drop 1 bonus chapter for every 50 Power Stones