Because of the continuous explosions rocking the rear of the Sand's formation, the Third Hokage's relentless assault ground to a temporary halt.
Initially, Hiruzen's instincts flared—he assumed the Sand was preparing a massive counter-offensive. Such heavy, rolling detonations were no parlor trick; they demanded caution.
However, as the seconds ticked by, he realized something was off. Instead of a coordinated strike, he sensed the Sand's command structure becoming stiff, then fractured, and finally silent.
Did they botch a high-level forbidden jutsu? Unlikely. No one plays with such volatile techniques on a battlefield without absolute certainty.
That left only one other possibility: this wasn't an enemy attack in preparation, but a strike launched by his own side.
But who? Konoha didn't have any shinobi capable of launching large-scale, long-range bombardments—especially not with a sea of Sand Ninjas standing between the attacker and the target. Striking through a mountain is no easy feat for anyone.
Even Minato Namikaze, whose Flying Raijin gave him unparalleled reach, couldn't be classified as a "long-range" fighter. At his core, moving his physical body to the target was still the work of a close-quarters specialist.
Just as the Hokage was sifting through theories, Minato appeared at his shoulder.
"Lord Third, it seems those are aerial strikes from Ui Uchiha."
"Ui? He has techniques of that magnitude?"
Hiruzen was taken aback once more. An air raid... that made sense.
But if the boy possessed such firepower, why hadn't he mentioned it during the briefing? Had they known, they could have integrated his strikes into a far more strategic and lethal opening gambit.
The Hokage didn't know yet that Ui had already chosen the most logical target: the enemy's brain.
This was the inherent advantage of aerial reconnaissance. Even the X-ray vision of the Byakugan couldn't match the strategic clarity of looking down from the heavens.
From his perch, Ui didn't have to peel back the enemy's layers one by one like a Hyuga would. He simply watched the flow of movement, identified the hub where all orders originated, and dropped his payload.
"The caster of this jutsu... isn't exactly Ui. It's his summon," Minato added, a drop of cold sweat practically visible on his brow.
Minato felt a pang of sympathy for the boy. Ui clearly hadn't known the full extent of his own summon's "features," yet he had the audacity to summon it and fly it over a literal war zone. That took a special kind of courage—or insanity.
He probably just found out this bird can bomb things, Minato thought.
He wasn't wrong.
While the Kage and his shadow conversed, the thundering echoes of explosions continued to roll across the plains.
"Minato, order the men to push with everything we have," Hiruzen commanded after a brief silence. "I believe Ui has successfully decapitated the enemy's command system."
Though they couldn't see the carnage in the rear, a palpable sense of chaotic disorder was radiating from the Sand's lines.
Ui had maximized his effectiveness without a single directive. His "bombs" had landed squarely on the command center. And while his original plan had been... well, "unsanitary" would be an understatement, the result was undeniably effective.
Having realized the sheer power of Yata's "descendants," Ui didn't stop. He doubled down. He turned the already ruined Sand HQ into a literal crater.
He didn't actually expect to kill the Kazekage. The leader of a village was a Kage-level combatant for a reason; they possessed defenses that wouldn't crumble so easily. But making him eat dirt and smoke was a reward in itself.
In truth, Ui had underestimated the yield of those eggs. More importantly, the attack was so bizarre that no one—not even Ui himself—had seen it coming.
The Fourth Kazekage had been caught right in the blast radius. It wasn't just bad luck; it was destiny. After all, Ui had been specifically sniping for his head.
While the Kazekage wasn't dead, he was certainly worse for wear.
Exactly how injured he was remained a mystery hidden behind a thick veil of dust and debris. Ui didn't care to check too closely; taking on a Kage head-on was the Hokage's job. His mission was to sow discord.
After emptying several "clips" of eggs, Ui pivoted to other targets.
The Sand shinobi weren't fools; they tried to scatter and hide. Unfortunately for them, two legs rarely outrun two wings.
Even if they managed to dodge the blasts, Ui had already won. His second objective—total disruption of the enemy formation—was complete.
A formation in disarray is just a collection of individuals. And in this war, individuals died quickly.
The casualty ratio began to tilt drastically in Konoha's favor. No matter how chaotic things became, Konoha's shinobi maintained their core discipline: they moved in four-man squads.
The Sand ninjas, hunted from the sky and scattered by explosions, were losing their units. Isolated and forced to dodge aerial bombardment while simultaneously facing coordinated Leaf squads, they were being cut down like wheat.
Realizing that even a biological bomber has a finite payload—and guessing that laying these "eggs" was a massive drain on Yata's chakra—Ui decided to call it a day.
After hovering over the enemy for a while longer to maintain the "reign of terror," he sent a final update to the command center.
"Enemy command structure largely demolished. Rear formation fully disrupted. Status of the Kazekage is unconfirmed, but the Sand is currently incapable of organizing a counter-attack."
The command center fell into a stunned silence.
If they could have sent emojis through the communication link, Ui would have been flooded with confused, wide-eyed faces.
If we recall correctly, Uchiha Ui... wasn't your mission supposed to be 'Reconnaissance'?
Since when does 'scouting' involve a scorched-earth policy?