"Don't cause trouble," Tsunade warned, glancing at Akira.
She had already spotted Hyuga Hiashi in the distance.
Those two together—
trouble was guaranteed.
Last time they were on the same team, they had nearly come to blows multiple times.
And judging by that smile on Akira's face—
he was definitely thinking something he shouldn't.
"Got it," Akira replied, still grinning.
Tsunade frowned slightly, but said nothing more.
They entered the command tent.
The current commander of this front—
was from the Hyuga clan.
Hyuga Hikaru.
A branch family prodigy who had eventually become Hyuga Masashi's personal guard.
The same path the main family had once planned for Akira.
Hikaru was wrapped in bandages, clearly injured, yet still issuing orders nonstop.
He smiled upon seeing Orochimaru and the others—
but the moment his eyes landed on Akira, the smile vanished.
Akira had become a taboo within the Hyuga main family.
Yet with ANBU backing him, they couldn't act openly.
Originally, Masashi had planned to deal with him after the war.
Too bad—
he died on the battlefield.
What a waste.
Didn't even drop experience or a Byakugan.
Akira was honestly dissatisfied.
"Lady Tsunade, this is all the intelligence from the front…" Hikaru handed over a scroll.
He was effectively relinquishing command.
With his injuries, he could no longer continue.
Among those present, Tsunade held the highest authority.
Jiraiya and Orochimaru were still just jonin without special titles.
Only Tsunade—
thanks to her background—
naturally outranked everyone.
Konoha might appear fair—
but background mattered in everything.
Tsunade skimmed the report and began issuing orders immediately.
"Orochimaru's team—you're assigned to the northwest front. Orochimaru and Jiraiya, remain here."
"Yes!"
No rest at all.
A ninja quickly led the three away.
The Cloud front was very different from the Stone front.
The Stone front, located in the Land of Grass, was mostly plains—trench warfare dominated.
But here, in the Land of Moon—
mountains were everywhere.
Control the high ground—
control everything.
Konoha had secured five mountains, linking them into a defensive line.
A solid wall against the Cloud's advance.
Akira's team was stationed in the middle.
"Your task is simple—stop any Cloud ninja who appear," the escorting shinobi from the Shimura clan said before leaving.
The Shimura clan specialized in Wind Release—
a natural counter to Lightning Release.
Combined with the Hyuga's close-range dominance—
the Cloud forces were heavily suppressed.
Unlike the Mist front.
Mist ninjutsu countered Sharingan vision, and Water Release suppressed Fire Release.
Unlucky for the Uchiha.
Akira shook his head.
"So we just… wait here?" Nawaki asked.
Last time, he had been guarding supply lines—
and nearly got wiped out in an ambush.
"No need to wait long," Akira said, activating his Byakugan.
All mountain paths were tightly controlled.
The Cloud could either force through—
or attempt to circle around and get intercepted anyway.
Originally, Konoha's defense wasn't here.
But after Masashi's death—
the line collapsed.
They retreated to this terrain—
and barely stabilized the situation.
Still—
the Cloud had no intention of giving up.
They kept probing for weaknesses.
Through his Byakugan—
Akira spotted a squad approaching rapidly.
"One jonin, two chunin."
He rubbed his chin, glancing at Nawaki and Mushi-hime.
A kunai appeared in his hand.
"…Perfect distance."
"Sniper mode—guessing game!"
Blue flames ignited on the kunai.
"Enemy already?" Nawaki asked.
"More or less."
Akira tossed the kunai casually upward—
and the moment it fell—
Smack!
"Whoosh!"
The three Cloud ninja dashed across rocky terrain.
The Konoha defense line was just ahead.
"Prepare for combat!" the jonin ordered, drawing his blade.
The two chunin followed suit.
Then—
"Whoosh!"
A fireball shot toward them.
The jonin's body crackled with lightning—
stimulating his cells and boosting speed.
He flashed behind the fireball.
The two chunin followed, evading with enhanced speed.
"Blue flames… some kind of kekkei genkai?"
He turned to observe—
But behind them—
the fireball suddenly expanded.
Nine dragon heads burst out—
"ROAR—!!"
Flames surged outward.
The trio tried to escape—
—but one chunin was too slow.
Burned to ash instantly.
The other avoided the core—
but both legs were incinerated.
He collapsed, screaming.
A dragon head smashed down toward him.
The jonin vanished—
leaving only a flash of lightning.
Lightning Body Flicker.
"ROAR!" "ROAR!" "ROAR!"—
The dragons didn't disperse.
They chased him.
"Alive?!"
His face changed.
Nine heads lunged at him.
He dodged frantically—
the dragons were massive, but slow.
"…Like mythical beasts."
He landed on a slope, turning to retreat uphill—
But suddenly—
a blue fireball appeared before him.
It expanded instantly—
into a fire dragon—
and slammed into him.
No time to react.
He was engulfed.
Back at the mountain—
three experience notifications appeared:
+15,487 / +1,487 / +1,547
"Cloud ninjas are pretty mobile," Akira muttered.
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