After the battle ended and the field was cleared of corpses and wreckage, Amamiya Raizen gathered the coalition's surviving shinobi under the fading light of dusk. The smell of ash and blood still hung heavy in the air.
"Today's attack happened because we got careless," Raizen said coldly, his gaze sweeping across the group. "Next time, I don't want to see that stupidity again."
A ripple of shame crossed the faces below. No one dared to speak.
Raizen sighed inwardly. He didn't need to lecture them further. Anyone who'd survived the chaos of that ambush had already learned the price of complacency.
"Amamiya Yuki," he said, turning toward the clan's intelligence elder. "Report on the Kaguya clan's current status."
Yuki stepped forward, unrolling a scroll marked with ink stains and smudges of dirt. "As of our last confirmed count, the Kaguya clan has roughly six thousand members. After the previous losses, around four thousand remain—of which about a thousand are active shinobi. The clan is currently under the temporary leadership of Kaguya Takemoto, but there's division among his subordinates. They possess three elite jōnin, one of whom—Kaguya Kuma—is close to Kage-level. There are about a hundred standard jōnin, six hundred chūnin, and the rest are genin."
A low murmur rippled through the tent. Even after repeated defeats, the Kaguya clan's strength remained monstrous.
Raizen frowned, but not out of fear. His thoughts were fixed on the numbers.
Six hundred chūnin… that's absurd. Their bodies really are built different.
Chūnin were the backbone of any clan. Even in the great villages of the future, most shinobi never rose past that rank. The Kaguya, with their freakish bone bloodline, had endurance that bordered on unnatural.
He straightened up. "Don't let this discourage you. They might be strong, but we've beaten them before—and we can do it again."
"Yes!" The coalition ninjas shouted back, their voices regaining a spark of energy.
"Good. We were hit today because we focused too much on building this camp and not enough on defending it. That ends now."
Raizen began barking orders like a man who'd been through too many command meetings and respawn timers.
"Security teams, expand the perimeter and set up new chakra tripwires. Any disturbance gets reported immediately. Patrol squads, double the routes. I don't care if you have to crawl through the mud—no Kaguya is sneaking up on us again. Yuki, you're overseeing both units."
"Yes, Raizen-sama." Yuki bowed and left immediately to make arrangements.
Raizen turned to another officer. "Amamiya Wata—you'll lead the reconnaissance division. I want intel on every Kaguya patrol that moves within five miles of our borders."
"Yes!"
"And Hatake Gintama—form a twenty-man vanguard team. Move to the frontlines and scout enemy formations. If they plan to hit us again, I want to know before they even breathe near the border."
Gintama nodded, eyes gleaming with grim resolve.
"I'll remain in command of the main garrison with five hundred shinobi. If the Kaguya come, we'll meet them head-on. Everyone else stays back under Amamiya Seiji's orders—reserve units move the moment he signals. Clear?"
"Yes, sir!"
Within moments, the tent emptied into a whirl of motion. Patrols spread out into the forest like shadows. Watchtowers flickered to life with chakra lamps. The coalition, bloodied but unbroken, began to move with renewed discipline.
Across the ravine, within the Kaguya encampment, Takemoto sat beneath a dim lantern. His expression was cold as he studied the battlefield reports. Yesterday's rash assault had cost him dearly. This time, he would not act without strategy.
By midnight, both armies were in motion again. Scouts slipped through the dark forests, silent and wary, like wolves testing the edge of another pack's territory.
Dawn came to the Changbai Forest, shrouded in mist and dew. Five Kaguya shinobi moved cautiously among the trees, marking the terrain.
"This area's already mapped. Why's Takemoto-sama being so paranoid?" one grumbled.
"Shut it," their captain snapped. "After three straight defeats, you'd think you'd have learned something."
The complainer fell silent, face pale. Even the most arrogant Kaguya had stopped underestimating the Amamiya after Raizen's devastating jutsu yesterday.
The captain crouched, sketching the forest floor with a kunai, alert to every sound. "This forest could be the next battlefield. Treat it like it already is."
Unbeknownst to them, a pair of silver eyes watched from the shadows to their right.
A silver-haired young man—Hatake Gintama—gave a slight signal with two fingers. His squad vanished in an instant, flickering out of sight.
Moments later, the forest echoed faintly with short, muffled screams—so quick and distant that even the birds didn't bother to flee.
The hunt had begun.