A harsh cry tore through the Amamiya camp. Raizen had barely pushed back a Kaguya vanguard when the alarm echoed again—sharp, panicked, and unmistakable. His expression froze for a moment, then twisted. He sprinted straight toward the front gates.
What greeted him made his stomach sink. Thousands of Kaguya shinobi were charging straight at the encampment like a tidal wave of pale ghosts.
"All coalition forces—form up! Defend the camp!" Raizen's shout split the chaos.
He understood instantly. It was a trap. The first skirmish was bait. The Kaguya had drawn him out, then slammed their main force into the undefended camp. No time to curse, no time to plan—only to survive.
The coalition soldiers scrambled for weapons and positions, still disorganized. The Kaguya smashed through the outer wall in seconds. The clash that followed was pure carnage.
Screams tore through the air. The first line of defenders—cut down before they could even form ranks. Blood splattered across the tents like dark rain.
"Fall back! Regroup!" Raizen bellowed, forcing chakra through his limbs as he landed in the center of the chaos. He could feel his pulse hammering in his skull. Supplies, med tents, food stores—if the Kaguya reached them, the entire campaign would collapse in one night.
He slammed his palms together, eyes narrowing. Chakra flared, golden and radiant.
"Sage Art… Manifestation of the Thousand Fists!"
The earth roared as a colossal golden Buddha erupted behind him, towering over the battlefield. Its fists descended like meteors. Dozens of Kaguya shinobi were crushed before they could even scream, their bones splintering under the impact.
For a moment, the assault hesitated. The survivors stumbled back, faces pale in the Buddha's glow.
Raizen's voice boomed through the gorge, cold and merciless. "You want war? Then die like warriors."
He drove his chakra harder. The golden statue mirrored his movement—thousands of fists hammering the ground in a storm of destruction. Kaguya corpses scattered, but the enemy line didn't break.
"Keep the defense tight!" Raizen barked, even as the massive construct began to fade from overuse. The coalition forces, now recovering from their initial shock, rushed to rebuild barriers, pushing debris into makeshift walls.
Across the field, Kaguya Takemoto's voice howled over the din. "Charge! Crush them!"
The Kaguya surged forward again, relentless.
Raizen exhaled slowly, frown deepening. "Persistent idiots…" The golden Buddha behind him brightened once more, cracks of light running across its frame.
"Sage Art—Welcome! Senju Annihilation!"
A fresh barrage of fists erupted downward, obliterating everything in front of him. Two dozen Kaguya warriors vanished beneath the golden storm, reduced to nothing but dust and blood. Yet still, the clan pressed forward, two hundred more replacing every fallen comrade.
It was like trying to drown a tide.
Raizen's temporary wall of destruction bought the coalition precious minutes. The defenders rallied, counterattacking with a roar. The battlefield turned into a maelstrom of screams, mud, and blood.
"Dance of the Larch!" shouted one of the bone-users, his skeleton sprouting from his skin like white armor. Dozens more followed, bone blades slicing through the air as they charged Raizen head-on.
The Buddha cracked under their assault, golden fragments scattering into smoke.
"Tch. Annoying." Raizen slammed his hands together. "Summoning Jutsu!"
A cloud of smoke erupted beside him, and from it, a massive toad landed with a thunderous quake—broad, scarred, and carrying an enormous blade across its back.
"Toad Fight—go wild."
The toad croaked in acknowledgment, then lunged forward, sweeping its blade in a wide arc. The ground split open as dozens of Kaguya were launched screaming through the air.
The coalition troops cheered, rallying behind the monstrous summon. With the pressure eased, they pushed back, slowly forcing the Kaguya line to retreat.
"Blades, ready!"
A signal rang out. Hundreds of shinobi hurled kunai and short swords in a glittering storm. The projectiles arced beautifully through the smoky air before plunging into flesh. Screams rose again—wet, sharp, and endless.
The once-white uniforms of the Kaguya turned crimson. Their rage boiled over.
"Kill them all!"
The second wave slammed into the Amamiya lines, trampling their own fallen as they advanced. Bodies crunched underfoot, blood soaking the dirt until it looked like rust.
In war, most shinobi didn't die by enemy hands—but by their comrades'. Shattered formations. Stray jutsu. Chaos devoured precision.
The ground quaked again.
"Earth Style! Water Style! Combine—now!"
The Amamiya ninjas moved in unison. Earth and water chakra fused, turning the ground into slick mud. The charging Kaguya stumbled, their momentum faltering.
Raizen seized the opening—but a dozen bone-wielding Kaguya closed in on him, their ivory blades flashing.
Each strike was fast, sharp, unpredictable. He deflected two, dodged another, but still felt blood trickle from a shallow cut on his arm.
"Persistent little fossils," he hissed.
Every one of them had awakened the Shikotsumyaku bloodline, and their Blood Burial state boosted their power even further. He could only hold them at bay, unable to spare chakra to reinforce his troops.
Across the battlefield, Takemoto Kaguya watched with a cruel grin.
"So this is the great Amamiya Raizen, cornered like prey," he muttered. "Perfect. Without him, their entire line collapses."
His trap was working exactly as planned.