While the skies over the Land of Fire were choked with dark clouds and torrential rain, the heavens bordering the Land of Rain had unexpectedly cleared. A sea of stars hung low, so close it felt as if one could reach out and pluck them, momentarily washing away the day's sorrows. The bright moon cast a silvery veil over the coarse sands, gravel, and wind-eroded rock pillars of the plateau.
The night wind was stiff and cold, making Ren Uchiha's face feel dry and tight. Before him, the sheer gravity and resolve in the eyes of Shinichi and Shisui made him feel momentarily dazed.
Suddenly, Shinichi's expression sharpened. He pulled a kunai from his tool pouch, gripping it tight. He glared at the Sand camp not far beyond the stone pillars and spoke in a low, heavy voice:
"Ren Uchiha, remember this."
"The ANBU elites of the Infiltration and Assassination Unit are five miles to our west. Shortly, they will fire a flare. There are four colors: red, yellow, green, and blue. Each has a different meaning."
"Green means the operation has begun. Blue means the mission is complete and both sides must retreat immediately. Yellow means they've hit a snag and need us to buy more time."
Ren looked up, his eyes flickering. "And red?"
Shinichi exhaled a heavy breath. "You'd better hope we never see that one."
A suffocating silence fell. No one spoke. Not long after, a ninja suddenly stood up behind them and shouted a warning:
"Captain! To the west!"
The three Uchihas whipped their heads around. At the far edge of the horizon, bordering the Land of Wind, a plume of green smoke drifted high into the sky!
"Brother Shinichi, what's the move?" Shisui Uchiha snapped to his feet, drawing his kodachi. His Sharingan flared to life, his face etched with intensity.
"Wait!" Shinichi's breathing quickened as he tightened his grip on his kunai. "In the field, Shikaku Nara is at least trustworthy. The ninja delivering the direct command hasn't appeared yet. Wait for—"
Before he could finish, another ninja pointed toward the Sand camp and screamed:
"Captain! Look! The Sand camp!"
Everyone turned. Shortly after the green smoke rose, a dense mass of ninjas swarmed out from the Sand camp. It was a total mobilization! The Sand ninjas sprinted across the terrain, their feet kicking up coarse gravel and sending a wall of dust five meters high into the air.
Their coordinated charge was terrifying.
"Fifty... a hundred... two hundred... over three hundred of them!"
"Eight of them are wearing Jonin flak jackets!"
"Brother Shinichi, something is wrong!" Shisui's eyes trembled as his Sharingan tracked the enemy. "They aren't heading to the border to defend the supplies... their target is us!"
"Our position was exposed from the very start!"
Shinichi gasped, his face instantly freezing into a mask of shock. "This..."
Before he could react, the lookout guarding their rear let out a horrific scream:
"Cap—Captain! Look behind us!"
Shinichi spun around, his pupils shrinking violently. Behind them, at the border of the Land of Wind, right after the green smoke had cleared...
A plume of red smoke shot into the sky!
The relentless wind and sand whipped the red smoke back and forth, looking like the swinging scythe of the Grim Reaper. Realizing the meaning of what he was seeing, Shinichi felt his throat tighten. He tried to swallow, but his muscles were too constricted to move.
Faced with an extreme crisis closing in from both front and back, the gathered ninjas stood frozen, their eyes filled with terror. Unlike Ren, they knew exactly what that smoke meant. It carried only one command:
Fight to the last breath. Until you die.
Ren watched this, his heart sinking. Combining Shinichi's words with his own knowledge, the ANBU elite executing the mission five miles away was likely his superior, Ryoma Aburame.
Ryoma was a high-level elite who could trade blows with the future Fourth Mizukage, Yagura. What could have happened over there to force a red signal? Did the man who once saved Ren's life encounter a fatal threat?
Ren's thoughts were a tangled mess, but he knew there was only one thing he could do. He took a deep breath, crouched low, and gripped his Kusanagi sword. His gaze locked onto the three hundred approaching Sand ninjas. As he looked up, a pair of crimson, two-tomoe Sharingan blazed to life!
Suddenly, a hand reached out and pressed down on Ren's wrist.
Shinichi Uchiha stared at Ren with his three-tomoe Sharingan. His breathing was ragged, and he looked incredibly tense, yet his voice was as steady as tempered steel.
"Ren!"
"Trust me! Trust us!"
His eyes were bloodshot, and his face was trembling with emotion.
"I have already lost a kinsman to this war! A best friend! And countless comrades! I cannot lose the dream I am willing to die for!"
"Brats like you should be in the rear, back in the village, sucking on a pacifier and training until you grow into a towering tree! Do you hear me?!"
With that, Shinichi Uchiha stood up abruptly. He faced the eighty-nine members of the Konoha Surprise Attack Force. He raised his kunai high, his eyes bulging with fury as he roared:
"Everyone!"
"The plan has changed! The reinforcements promised by the high brass never arrived! Our intel was leaked, the mission has failed, and now we face only one path: death in battle!"
"I know you are afraid. I am afraid too!"
"But listen to me! There are two children in this unit! One is twelve, the other is seven! Their lives should not end here!"
"To hell with the mission! To hell with everything! From this moment on, I will lead the charge!"
"I will carve out a path to life for them!"
"Just as the Third Hokage says every year at the Academy: Where the leaves dance, the fire burns. The light of the fire will continue to illuminate the village and allow new leaves to bud!"
"Now is the moment I burn away completely!"
Shinichi turned his back to the children, his eyes fixed on the three hundred Sand ninjas. He marched forward without looking back.
"If anyone wants to run, do it now! I'll save the deserters too!"
The panicked Surprise Attack Force suddenly went silent. The ninjas looked up at the man trembling as he faced three hundred enemies alone. Their captain, Shinichi Uchiha.
A smirk broke the silence. It was the captain of the Second Platoon, a commoner Jonin named Ichiji.
"Shinichi, stop playing the hero! You've never beaten me at cards once! How can I let you win now?"
Ichiji stood up, his body shaking, and took his place behind Shinichi. He unsheathed his blade, his gaze hardening.
Ren looked up in awe. Following Ichiji's lead, the entire Second Platoon—thirty men—stood up as one. With expressions of both terror and resolve, they marched past Ren and took their stand behind Shinichi.
Then another man stepped forward, hauling his ninja dog. Taciturn and stern, he moved with lightning speed.
"Third Platoon Captain, Akichi Inuzuka! Present!"
Another thirty men stood up.
Shisui Uchiha watched this, his body coiled to join them as the captain of the First Platoon. But a hand covered his mouth, and a young man smiled at him.
"Leave this to me, the Vice-Captain of the First Platoon, Tokuma Yamano!"
The remaining twenty-nine stood.
Eighty-nine men stepped past Ren Uchiha and Shisui Uchiha. Under the boys' stunned gazes, they formed a thick human wall in front of them.
Ren stared at their backs, his nose suddenly stinging. These people had no connection to him. They had never even met before today. Yet, simply because of the "Will of Fire" Shinichi had screamed, for the sake of two children from the same village, they stood tall against impossible odds.
Hearing the movement behind him, Shinichi glanced back. Seeing them all lined up behind him, a look of surprise flashed in his eyes, followed by a faint, proud curve of his lips.
Shinichi turned back to the enemy, his blood-red three-tomoe Sharingan spinning at high speed. He spun his kunai, creating a dazzling blur of steel in his palm.
He gripped the weapon tight and roared with everything he had:
"Konoha Surprise Attack Force! All units, assemble!"
"Fight for the Will of Fire!"
"CHARGE!"