Line Up

The Kingdom of Frost was bitterly cold, with dark clouds obscuring the sky. On a vast plain, the camps of Konoha and Cloud Shinobi Village stood five kilometers apart, facing each other at a distance.

Konoha's ninja troops were marching into the battlefield. In response to Cloud Shinobi's provocation, Konoha dispatched an elite ninja force led by the Uchiha and Akamichi clans. To demonstrate their loyalty, 15 Jōnin from the Uchiha clan, including their chief, Uchiha Fugaku, had joined the battle. The Uchiha clan was clearly making a concerted effort to prove their loyalty.

However, the suspicions surrounding the Uchiha clan were not easily dispelled. The image of the Sharingan in the eyes of the Nine-Tails during its rampage was still fresh in everyone's minds. This was not something that could be easily forgotten or forgiven.

Under his mask, Kazuya's expression became thoughtful. He knew that Uchiha Fugaku's efforts were futile. Since the Nine-Tails' attack, the fate of the Uchiha clan had been sealed. The blame lay with Uchiha Madara, whose actions had led to the First Hokage's serious injuries and Senju Tobirama's subsequent suppression of the Uchiha clan. Decades later, Uchiha Obito's actions had further cemented the clan's doomed fate. 

Kazuya knew that the higher-ups in Konoha were just waiting for the right moment. He himself had an interest in the Sharingan and couldn't afford to miss out on acquiring such power.

Konoha's ninja entered their positions: 32 Jōnin and nearly two hundred Chūnin. Despite having fewer Chūnin than Cloud Shinobi, they had a slight advantage in the number of Jōnin. However, the majority of Konoha's Shinobi wore serious expressions. While their conventional strength was comparable to that of Cloud Shinobi, the presence of Jinchūriki on the enemy side was a significant concern. Jinchūriki were immensely powerful, posing a natural disaster-level threat to ordinary ninjas without Kage-level combat power to counter them.

Two days prior, Uchiha Fugaku had nearly been defeated by Cloud Shinobi's Two-Tails Jinchūriki, leaving many Konoha ninjas with feelings of frustration and disappointment. As a result, many looked at Kazuya with skepticism.

"Why did they send an Anbu instead of Jiraiya-sama?" some whispered. 

"Yeah, Jiraiya-sama would have been much better," others agreed.

"Hush, that's Captain Kazuya, the one who seriously injured Orochimaru!" someone cautioned.

"Seriously injured Orochimaru? Who saw that? Maybe it's just a rumor," another retorted.

"I think so too. I heard Jiraiya-sama was there when Orochimaru was hunted down. Maybe Kazuya just got lucky," another added.

These murmurs of doubt were pervasive among the ranks, but Uzuki Yugao was confident. She knew Kazuya's true strength and was eager to see him prove his doubters wrong.

Konoha's ninja hierarchy was well-organized. Each Jōnin led several Chūnin to form fighting squads, and several squads formed a medium-sized battle formation. This setup helped prevent enemy Jōnin from easily slaughtering their Chūnin, a strategy honed through countless wars.

Kazuya, along with Kurenai, Uzuki Yugao, and two Anbu teams, stood on the edge of the position. Their mission was to take out Anbu in Cloud Shinobi Village, not to engage in regular battles. Kazuya also had the critical task of dealing with the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki.

On the opposite side, Cloud Shinobi's camp was bustling with activity. A beautiful young female ninja with beige straight hair and long braids appeared. She was the Two-Tails Jinchūriki, Yugito Nii. Her presence was met with immediate respect from the surrounding Cloud Shinobi.

"Master Yugito," they greeted, kneeling.

Yugito responded with a cold voice, "I will handle Konoha's leaders. You just need to hold off the other ninjas. Killer Bee will join the battlefield soon, and then we can crush Konoha."

"Yes, Master Yugito!" the Cloud Shinobi responded, their morale soaring.

Yugito looked at the distant Konoha camp with disdain. She believed Konoha had weakened significantly after losing the Fourth Hokage and Orochimaru. Confident that Uchiha Fugaku was no match for her, she was determined to claim victory without sharing credit with Killer Bee.

"Pass the order," she commanded. "The whole army begins to attack!"

In an instant, Cloud Shinobi's position erupted with activity. The battlefield quickly became chaotic as Konoha's warning system detected the incoming attack.

"The enemy is coming!" a Hyuga ninja shouted.

"Defense!" Uchiha Fugaku ordered. "Long-range squad, fend off their ninja attack. Melee squad, charge with me!"

"Kill those damn Cloud Shinobi!" he roared, leading the charge with kunai in hand.

"Kill!" echoed throughout the Konoha ranks as hundreds of ninjas surged forward, ready for battle.

The Wind Style users among the Konoha forces launched their attacks to counter the shuriken barrage from the Cloud Shinobi, clearing the sky in a spectacular display. Meanwhile, melee troops from both sides clashed violently, turning the battlefield into a chaotic melee.

"Battista Bomb Drop!" a dark-skinned Cloud Shinobi shouted as he grabbed an Akamichi clan ninja and slammed him into the ground. The Akamichi ninja, undeterred, transformed into a massive human boulder and rolled through the Cloud Shinobi ranks.

"Meat Bomb Chariot!" he bellowed, flattening everything in his path.

The burly Cloud Shinobi, electrified with blue lightning, chased after the rolling boulder, engaging in a fierce power struggle.

As the battle raged, Kazuya remained on the periphery, unnoticed by the others. He was collecting chakra points and combat experience from the chaos around him.

[You picked up 100 Chakra points]

[You picked up 100 Chakra points]

[You picked up 200 combat experience points]

[You picked up 30 Wind Style talents]

[You picked up 30 points of Lightning Style talent]

Golden light balls swirled around Kazuya, a sign of his rapid accumulation of power. An excited smile spread under his mask.

"This is the essence of war," he thought, exhilarated. "It's surprisingly intoxicating!"

In just the initial moments of the battle, Kazuya had already collected over 10,000 chakra points. The sheer volume of his gains left him thrilled, knowing this was just the beginning of an ultimate, insane harvest.