The next day.
The four great villages' armies moved out.
Like a storm sweeping in, they flattened the towering trees near Konoha's approach—pushing them down in one brutal wave—then cleared a battlefield several kilometers wide, clearly intending to use it as the main front.
And as they worked…
the sky, once bright and cloudless, turned heavy and dark.
Black clouds stacked layer upon layer—like the heavens were about to collapse—pressing down on everyone's lungs.
Not long after, the battlefield was ready.
The forces lined up in neat formation across the open ground:
Sunagakure: a little over 2,000
Kirigakure: a little over 2,000
Kumogakure: a little over 2,000
Iwagakure: over 20,000
The Iwa army in the middle was a black tide—so dense it made people's scalps prickle just looking at it.
Because they were attacking together, every Suna-nin, Kiri-nin, Iwa-nin, and Kumo-nin wore the same expression:
Heat in their eyes.
Excitement in their blood.
They looked like they'd already eaten Konoha alive.
"Look—Raikage-sama and Killer B-sama are out!"
A Kumo shinobi shouted, voice shaking with excitement.
Instantly, countless eyes turned toward the Kumogakure front.
There—
the Fourth Raikage, A, in his raiment, stepped forward with a hard, grim face.
Beside him, Killer B strolled out wearing black shades, seven swords strapped across his back.
Neither man released any visible chakra pressure.
But the moment they appeared, the Kumo ranks straightened like steel.
Their morale rose—without anyone needing to say a word.
Then—
"Fourth Kazekage Rasa is out!"
"Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki is out!"
"Elder Genji is out…!"
One after another, the top-tier leaders stepped into view:
Rasa. Ōnoki. Elder Genji.
And with their arrival, the allied army's battlefield aura finally stopped being contained.
It spilled outward—
a violent tide of intent, a collective hunger for blood.
Yet across the distance…
Konoha stayed silent.
No horns.
No movement.
No reply.
One minute.
Ten minutes.
Twenty…
Time stretched—tight and suffocating—until the allied troops' war intent reached its peak.
A, Ōnoki, Elder Genji, and Rasa exchanged glances.
Then they all gave a small, cold nod.
The meaning was obvious:
If Konoha wanted to hide like a turtle—
then they'd crack the shell themselves.
"Ready—"
In the next instant, all four raised their right hands.
That simple gesture snapped through the allied ranks like lightning.
Weapons tightened in fists.
Feet dug in.
Breaths sharpened.
War was one command away.
But then—
Konoha finally moved.
Leaf shinobi poured out at high speed, streaking into the open ground.
"They're here!"
"Konoha's finally coming out!"
The leaders of the four villages smiled—cold and satisfied.
They weren't afraid of losing.
They were afraid Konoha wouldn't show.
Now that the Leaf had stepped onto the field?
They could crush it head-on.
And the thought made their blood sing.
WHUM—!
In a single breath, A, Ōnoki, Elder Genji, and Rasa released their presence.
The moment their battle intent flared—
it linked with the intent of thousands upon thousands behind them, merging into one monstrous pressure that rolled forward like a tidal wave.
They weren't even trying to kill yet.
They were trying to break Konoha's spine first—with sheer momentum.
The Leaf ranks felt it immediately.
"So strong…"
"They're sure they've already won…"
Even the Konoha shinobi who didn't fear death still frowned.
Because the worst thing in war wasn't numbers—
it was being crushed in spirit before the first strike.
Uchiha Fugaku.
Hyūga Hiashi.
Nara Shikaku.
Even they felt their nerves tighten.
This was bad.
Very bad.
Then a calm voice cut through it.
"You watch."
"I'll go play first."
A sharp gust—
a figure vanished from the Leaf formation and landed at the center of the battlefield.
Ren.
Uchiha Ren stood alone between two oceans of soldiers.
And the allied lines reacted instantly.
"That's Uchiha Ren—focus fire on him the moment it starts!"
Raikage A barked the order loud enough to carry across the field.
Ōnoki, Rasa, Elder Genji, Killer B, and Yagura all paused for a fraction of a second.
Because Ren…
didn't look like what they expected.
No outward killing intent.
No obvious chakra eruption.
No "monster aura."
Just a young man—plain, almost casual—standing there like he'd stepped out for a walk.
Some shinobi even blurted it out, confused:
"Seriously? That's him?"
"He killed Hiruzen and the Leaf leadership?"
"He doesn't look like a demon…"
Ren just rolled his shoulders, like he was waking up.
Finally.
"I can go all out."
"Let's see how my Tremor Tremor power performs in a real war."
He cracked his neck once.
And in that tiny, lazy motion—
his presence changed.
It wasn't chakra.
It wasn't genjutsu.
It wasn't a technique anyone in the shinobi world could name.
It was something deeper.
A pressure that made instincts scream.
A king's will.
A ruler's dominance.
As if the world itself had recognized a predator stepping onto the throne.
And then—
BOOM.
Conqueror's Haki erupted from Ren like a roaring tsunami.
Centered on him—
a vast, invisible shockwave of supremacy surged forward, swallowing the allied armies whole.
As if the entire battlefield had been ordered to kneel.
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