"Are the reinforcements here?"
"Konoha's support has arrived!"
"Hahaha, let's finish these scum off together!"
In the distance, hundreds of ninja appeared through the sheets of rain. The news spread like wildfire across the battlefield — Konoha's reinforcements had arrived.
Though among them fewer than twenty were Jōnin, the rest being Chūnin and Genin, those already engaged in fierce combat didn't care to count ranks. All they needed to know was that their allies had come.
The hearts of Konoha's soldiers ignited at once. The tide of battle, which had teetered on the edge, began to tilt in their favor. Kunai were raised, war cries echoed, and the sound of killing rumbled like thunder across the soaked earth.
Watching the scene unfold, Hayashi Uchiha felt something stir within him... a shared will to fight. As he cut through the battlefield drenched in rain and blood, he felt connected to Konoha.
He couldn't explain it. Since awakening in this world, everything had felt like a distant dream. The memories of his former life were faint shadows, leaving him hollow, detached, as though watching the world through glass.
But here, in the chaos and fury of battle, surrounded by comrades shouting the same name — Konoha — Hayashi finally felt a flicker of something real.
This world was far harsher than the peaceful one he once knew. Deception and death were the laws of survival, and the village — Konoha — was the only place offering even a fragile sense of home.
Perhaps he still missed Earth sometimes, but in this moment, he thought, Konoha isn't so bad after all.
With that thought, Hayashi tightened his grip on his kunai. All around him, Konoha's forces surged forward like an unstoppable tide.
---
Meanwhile, in another corner of the battlefield, two figures clashed in a blur of motion — colliding, separating, then circling again with measured caution.
"Chiyo, did you hear?" one of them called out. "Konoha's reinforcements have arrived. Why not surrender while you still can?"
The speaker was a tall man dressed in the traditional robes of the Hyūga clan — Hyūga Tenkū, the clan's current head.
Across from him, Chiyo's fingers twitched, chakra threads dancing from her hands. She snorted. "Don't waste your breath. We both know Konoha wouldn't send reinforcements in a battle like this. Trying to bluff me, Hyūga Tenkū? You've truly lost your mind."
Tenkū sighed theatrically. "Ah, the famed 'Flower of the Sand.' Your looks may have withered a bit, but your temper still blooms like it used to."
A teasing smile crossed his lips. "We've fought so many times, you and I. You could say we know each other's strengths… quite intimately. How about we stop this senseless fight and talk about old times instead?"
His Byakugan eyes roamed her figure, shamelessly assessing.
Chiyo's expression darkened. "Hyūga Tenkū, control your eyes, or I'll pluck them out and use them as ornaments. You think I came unprepared?"
"Until now, we were merely testing the waters," she added, her voice echoing through the rain.
Indeed, the balance of power between their forces had remained even — neither side gaining the upper hand. But Sunagakure had no intention of dragging this battle out. For them, even a stalemate against Konoha, who faced three villages simultaneously, would count as failure.
As if answering Chiyo's words, movement stirred behind the Sand's front lines. Over a dozen new figures appeared, sprinting toward the fray. Each carried a large box on their back — puppeteers.
In perfect coordination, they leapt into position and released their weapons. Wooden puppets sprang from the boxes, chakra threads shimmering faintly in the rain. The air hissed as the puppets opened their mouths and palms, releasing thick clouds of purple gas that rolled across the battlefield like fog.
Sunagakure had deployed poison gas once again.
But this time, the Konoha shinobi did not panic. Those caught in the haze swiftly retrieved antidote pills from their pouches, swallowed them, and rejoined the fight without hesitation.
Tenkū chuckled. "Chiyo, it seems your poison isn't as deadly as before. Our medical corps already developed an antidote for it. You should surrender, Chiyo-sama, before things get worse."
There was no sign of the Konoha forces collapsing as before — no screams, no confusion. Instead, their momentum surged, blades flashing within the violet mist.
Chiyo's brow furrowed. "Hmph. So the Slug Girl has been busy."
Seeing her poison fail, Chiyo snorted and leapt high into the air, hurling herself back into combat.
Tenkū smiled as she charged at him again. But mid-sprint, Chiyo abruptly veered, targeting a group of nearby Konoha ninja instead.
"Get her!" one of them shouted, unleashing a storm of kunai. But Chiyo danced between them, her chakra threads cutting the air with impossible precision.
"Don't underestimate us!" yelled a Chūnin, unstrapping a massive Fūma Shuriken from his back. He spun and hurled it with all his might.
Chiyo's finger flicked, and the weapon twisted off course midair, spinning harmlessly past her. Several kunai followed — and then, to their horror, turned back in flight, slicing into their own comrades.
Screams tore through the mist as Chiyo advanced mercilessly, her puppets moving in deadly sync.
Tenkū appeared in a blur, intercepting the returning kunai with a swift strike. His Gentle Fist shattered them midair, chakra pulsing from his palms.
Then, without pause, he lunged — his hand driving forward toward Chiyo's chest.
A puff of smoke — and Chiyo vanished. The Substitution Jutsu left only a splintered log behind.
Reappearing a few meters away, Chiyo stared coldly at her old rival. A summoning scroll unfurled in her hand.
"It seems I'll have to stop holding back," she muttered.
With a loud bang, ten white-cloaked puppets materialized before her, surrounding her like silent sentinels.
"White Secret Technique: Ten Puppets Collection!"
---