Chiyo let out a long, weary sigh. "Why is it always 'one last chance'?" she lamented. "Why are we always forced into a corner?"
"The Second was right," she whispered. "We... we made a mistake."
"I failed Shamon," the Third Kazekage replied, a metallic rasp vibrating through his clenched teeth. "When this war is over, I will reinstate every single one of his policies. Not a single comma will be changed."
Chiyo could hear the cold, murderous intent in his voice. She understood. The Third Kazekage had finally resolved to settle accounts with the faction back home—those who had clamored for war only to spend it jockeying for power and profiteering while the Land of Wind crumbled into ruin.
"Rest easy, Kazekage-sama," Chiyo said, her voice steady. "As long as I am here, Orochimaru will not take a single step forward. He won't even have the chance to retreat."
"I leave everything in your hands."
The Third Kazekage gave a deep, formal bow before turning to walk out of the tent.
No one on the Konoha side could have predicted that the Kazekage, following a failed "all-or-nothing" gamble, would immediately double down with another desperate move in such a perilous situation, siphoning off forty percent of his remaining forces.
It wasn't just Konoha; neither the Iwa nor the Kumo could have foreseen it. Even within Suna, few saw it coming. It simply wasn't the logic of a sane person. One could only conclude that the harsh desert had bred a people with a brand of resilience and madness that defied common sense; the more they were pushed to the brink, the harder they bit back.
Having withstood the Sand's full assault, Konoha felt victory was assured and saw no reason to take further risks. While the southern front settled into a stalemate, the northern theater was a contrast of fire and ice.
The Sand's desperate gamble had thinned their rear defenses. Sakumo Hatake's harassment units seized the opportunity, intensifying their strikes on Suna's supply lines and turning the Land of Wind into a chaotic battlefield.
The White Fang rampaged through enemy territory, bleeding the Land of Wind dry. The nation's collapse had entered a countdown; it was no longer a question of if, but when.
Faced with an existential crisis, the Hidden Sand went feral. They launched a frenzied purge of the Konoha harassment units, their methods growing increasingly barbaric.
Both sides, suffering heavy losses, fought with a savage desperation. Konoha ninjas began committing suicide the moment an injury hindered their mobility, choosing a quick death over the inhumane torture that awaited them if captured.
Meanwhile, the Konoha garrison in the Land of Rivers found itself in an awkward state of idleness. The Sand truly lacked the manpower to launch a standard offensive there, yet Orochimaru didn't dare redeploy the garrison to the front. If the Sand found a gap and disrupted the supply lines to the Land of Fire, the tide of the war could still turn.
Aburame Tetsumaru had spent the entire day training his three disciples. Now, they were enjoying a lavish dinner.
For over ten days, the Land of Rivers front had been eerily quiet. With nothing better to do, they had built a fully functional camp, complete with small log cabins, perimeter fences, a kitchen, and even a proper latrine.
The four of them sat around a fire pit in the center of the camp, roasting food—mostly game they had hunted during the day's training. A pot of fragrant bone broth simmered over the flames.
Post-training hunger was a powerful thing. Being able to eat their fill of meat was a pure delight. Combined with chilled fruit juice and fresh mushroom soup, it was a luxury that would have been rare even in times of peace.
They ate in silence until they were nearly full, only then slowing down to talk.
Tetsumaru watched his students shoot the breeze with a smile. He stood up to ladle himself a bowl of mushroom soup, but just as he sat back down, he received a burst of alert signals.
His expression didn't flicker. He continued to sip the thick soup slowly, but his focus shifted entirely to the insect that had sent the signal. He jumped to a relay station; the signal remained clear, and he was even able to transmit visual data.
Insect vision was notoriously blurry, but with so many "eyes" providing a composite view, Tetsumaru could easily distinguish what he was looking at.
Ninjas. Nine Suna ninjas had crossed the border into the Land of Rivers.
By the time Tetsumaru finished his soup, the number of Suna ninjas crossing the border had surpassed a hundred. They were spread out across a ninety-kilometer line from north to south, advancing cautiously toward the west.
This line was entirely within Tetsumaru's 150-kilometer defensive zone, though slightly favored toward the north. The terrain they chose wasn't the best, nor the worst—just a standard, unremarkable path.
Scouts, Tetsumaru deduced. The Sand's final counter-offensive is here.
Six days ago, Orochimaru had issued a bulletin informing the garrison that the southern front had entered a stalemate and that the Kazekage had been injured. He noted that the Sand was on the verge of defeat and that their only hope was a sneak attack through the Land of Rivers into the Land of Fire.
Orochimaru's orders were clear: all garrison units were to maintain high alert. In the event of an attack, they were to hold their ground until reinforcements arrived. Under no circumstances was the Sand to be allowed into the Land of Fire.
Once the boys had eaten their fill and the soup pot was scrubbed clean, they put on a kettle of tea. As the water began to boil, the main Suna force entered the Land of Rivers.
Three thousand ninjas were divided into ten units: two main forces of a thousand each and eight smaller squads of one or two hundred. One of the main forces had crossed the border at the northernmost point of Tetsumaru's zone, while a smaller unit of two hundred had appeared in the south.
In truth, Tetsumaru had already extended his reach into the neighboring sectors. During the ten-day lull, he had secretly built four extra Broodmothers and twenty more signal stations, effectively monitoring the entire Land of Rivers.
Beyond the extra hives, the eggs from Konoha had all hatched. Combined with the insects gathered from the other Broodmothers, his total swarm had surpassed 53 million. His stockpile of Scythe-Mantises had reached 203, and he had over 600 Exploding Locusts.
He was packed with combat power.
A lone ninja or a small squad can move incredibly fast, crossing the Land of Rivers in half a day.
A massive army of hundreds or thousands, however, is a different story. A force of that size isn't there for a quick raid; they have long-term objectives, which means they need more food than a ninja can carry on their back. Logistics were essential.
Because they couldn't abandon their supplies, the pace of the entire army was dictated by the slowest supply wagons. To ensure the passage of the convoy, they had to clear roads and build bridges. This, combined with equipment maintenance and the rugged terrain of the Land of Rivers, slowed them to a crawl.
Tetsumaru estimated their pace and realized he had plenty of time. He didn't order his students into combat mode yet; instead, he told them to head back to their cabins and sleep.
However, he added a specific order: no extra training tonight.
The three Genin understood immediately. Finally, it's our turn to fight.
They quickly tidied up and were asleep within minutes.
Tetsumaru used the firelight to write a report, sent it off via a messenger hawk, and then went to his own room to sleep.
At 4:00 AM, the insects at the designated intercept point made contact with the Suna vanguard. The alarm signal jolted Tetsumaru awake.
He didn't get up immediately. Instead, he lay on his soft bed, silently sensing every bug in his network.
The Suna ninjas had stopped. The advance scouts had transitioned into a defensive posture, maintaining a ten-kilometer gap from the main body. The main army was also making camp, using heavy camouflage. It looked like they intended to hide and rest during the day, resuming their march under the cover of night.
Confirming that all Suna forces had halted, Tetsumaru set up a new layer of alarm bugs and went back to sleep.
When dawn broke, the Konoha squad was well-rested and alert. Buoyed by the massive information advantage of their total-field surveillance, Tetsumaru led his disciples in a clean bypass of the main Suna army.
Tetsumaru's target was the Suna logistics convoy. He had fifty million bugs in this theater, but that didn't mean he intended to fight a thousand Suna ninjas head-on.
Especially since the Suna forces were led by either the Kazekage or Chiyo—both of whom possessed devastating anti-insect capabilities. Even "cheap" bugs had a cost in time and effort; those two monsters could wipe out a swarm in a single clash, which would make Tetsumaru's heart bleed.
The swarm was best suited for picking off smaller units of dozens of ninjas—like the supply convoy currently winding through the canyon.
The Suna logistics unit consisted of ten squads: 31 ninjas and 40 transport puppets.
As veterans of a long war, the Sand ninjas were extremely vigilant. A squad guarded each side of the canyon as the puppets moved through the center, maintaining a strict defensive perimeter.
Suddenly, explosions rocked the canyon. Eight blast points detonated along the right side of the puppet line, burying the convoy in a hail of shattered rock.
Immediately after, thousands of insects burst from their concealment on both sides of the canyon, launching an assault into the smoke and dust of the explosions.
While the blasts were powerful, Suna's transport puppets were built for war; the falling rock wasn't enough to destroy them. The personnel on the left side of the convoy remained unharmed.
Even the ninjas on the right, though pelted by stone, suffered few casualties: two Genin were severely wounded, and three others took minor hits. The Jonin and veteran Chunin leading the unit were completely unscathed.
The follow-up swarm, however, was far more lethal. The five wounded ninjas had no defense against the sudden onslaught of Exploding Locusts and Poison-Needle Beetles; they were submerged in seconds.
The two captains reacted instantly, flashing to the other side of the convoy and using the puppets as cover to retaliate. Simultaneously, the Suna ninjas on the canyon walls opened fire. Combined with the vanguard, rear guard, and mobile squads, they formed a lethal crossfire that wiped out over a thousand bugs in two rounds of attacks.
To avoid detection, Tetsumaru hadn't buried enough bugs in the initial ambush. If he had used five or six thousand, no one below the rank of Jonin would have survived the first wave.
Before the Sand ninjas could catch their breath, a massive tide of insects surged from the road ahead and behind them. Tens of thousands of large insects—a churning mass of black and green—pressed in like a flood.
The two Jonin and several veteran Chunin shouted in unison, "Form up! Defensive circle!"
The puppeteers worked frantically to arrange the transport puppets into a ring. The vanguard, rear guard, and left-flank squads dove into the temporary fortress.
The right-flank squad was too far out; they chose to break outward, hoping to bypass the heart of the swarm.
Everything happened exactly as Tetsumaru had predicted. He smiled as his personal stockpile of Exploding Locusts found their opening.
Seeing the Sand ninjas turtle up, Tetsumaru commanded the locusts to launch. Fourteen white pillars of smoke streaked into the sky, curved, and plummeted toward the canyon floor. Amidst earth-shattering explosions, orange-red fireballs rose from the valley, quickly twisting into black mushroom clouds.
Phase 1: Landmine Insect ambush.Phase 2: Camouflage Bug surprise attack.Phase 3: Swarm Tide to force the enemy into a cluster.Phase 4: Exploding Locust "missiles" to shatter the formation.
This was the tactical cycle Tetsumaru had designed. Depending on the results of the locust strikes, he would decide whether to move in for the kill, clean up the loot, or—if things looked bad—retreat immediately.
This time, the results were spectacular. The Suna convoy was nearly wiped out. The temporary fortress had collapsed, leaving a single Jonin and two puppeteers struggling in the sea of insects.
The only survivors were the right-flank squad that hadn't reached the fortress in time, along with the Jonin and two Chunin from the center. Following the locust bombardment, they attempted a desperate breakout, only to be intercepted by Tetsumaru's three disciples. In the chaos, they were quickly overwhelmed.
Moments later, a fresh wave of insects crest the ridgeline, pouring into the valley like a blanket. The six remaining Sand ninjas were paralyzed by the horror of the scene, letting out final, desperate howls.
Seconds later, 100,000 insects swallowed them whole. The three high-ranking Suna ninjas chose suicide over capture. The two Chunin detonated explosive tags, while the Jonin released a cloud of pale purple mist.
Tetsumaru recognized the toxin instantly—it was the Salamander's venom.
Fortunately, it seemed the venom had been stored too long; it wasn't fresh. By the time the mist dissipated, only about three or four thousand insects had been killed—a loss far lower than Tetsumaru's estimates.
After directing his disciples and the swarm to finish off the last three stragglers, Tetsumaru performed a quick cleanup of the battlefield. He set fire to the supplies they couldn't carry and initiated a rapid withdrawal.
Their schedule for the day was tight. Suna had three more logistics convoys, and he had to destroy all of them to force the main Suna army to turn back.
Unless, of course, the Kazekage had truly lost his mind.
After a rapid sprint, they reached a valley twenty kilometers away—the path adjacent to the road the next convoy was set to take.
He let his three students catch their breath while he slipped over the ridge alone to set traps.
Time was short, so he couldn't set anything complex. He simply scattered a cluster of Landmine Insects to guarantee the initiative.
The rest would have to be settled through direct combat involving the swarm, himself, and his students. For this reason, he had pre-emptively gathered three million insects for this ambush.
The number was so vast they could barely fit in the small valley; they were literally stacked on top of each other in layers.
As the insects piled up, the trapped heat began to rise. The temperature became unbearable for them, and their survival instincts began to override Tetsumaru's commands. Bugs were constantly trying to crawl out of the pile to find a cooler spot.
Nara Yoshito swallowed hard, suppressing his discomfort as he flicked away a locust trying to climb up his leg.
To distract himself, Yoshito asked, "Sensei, this swarm is different from the one we trained with. There are way fewer species. Why is that?"
Uchiha Hiro also looked at Tetsumaru. He had noticed the shift in the swarm's composition but his pride wouldn't let him ask; he had been trying to figure out the reason himself.
Inuzuka O, meanwhile, was idly pinching a locust's horn. He looked around in surprise. "Wait, really? I didn't even notice."
His ninja dog was even worse, happily carrying a Poison-Needle Beetle in its mouth like a chew toy. The other two teammates rolled their eyes; O was famously oblivious to anything that wasn't direct combat. Now that he was used to the swarm, he ignored any changes to it entirely.
Tetsumaru laughed. "You noticed?"
"You're right. It's different from training. I've removed over half of the species for this battle to make the swarm more efficient. Any guesses why?"
"Get it right, and there's a reward."
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