Amamiya Raizen moved like a man with a plan — which, to be fair, he kind of was. After deciding to divert the Kaguya clan's attention, he called the Amamiya ninjas together and began assigning orders like a general in a board game gone bloody.
"Teams stationed in the Changbai Forest and Kasebi Ridge," Raizen announced, "initiate probing attacks. Make it loud, make it messy. The Kaguyas need to believe we're the main threat."
Most of the clan had no idea he'd already secured an alliance with three neighboring clans, so his abrupt command left them reeling. But after his decisive victory at Kasebi Ridge, Raizen's authority was basically law. No one dared question him.
Within hours, coordinated attacks erupted across the forest line. Explosions flared in the distance, and the Kaguya clan's patrols scrambled in response.
"Captain! Amamiya forces are advancing!" a scout shouted, dashing into the Kaguya command line in the misty forest.
"What?!" barked Kaguya Katsuri, the local commander. "All units, defensive formation!"
The ground churned as bone-armored shinobi took positions. Shadows flickered between the trees — fast, deliberate, ghostlike.
"Those bastards… are they really attacking here?" Katsuri muttered, a bead of sweat sliding down his temple. "Their main force shouldn't be this close."
Still, he couldn't risk underestimating the enemy. "Teams One and Two, cover the flanks! Three and Four, reinforce! Teams Five and Six, meet them head-on!"
As the Kaguya soldiers adjusted formation, the forest suddenly flared with heat.
"Fire Style incoming!" Katsuri shouted.
A roaring inferno rolled through the trees, devouring everything in its path. The blast hit the Kaguya line like a burning tidal wave.
"Teams Seven and Eight, defend!"
Bone spurs burst from the ground, forming a thick white wall that met the flames head-on. The heat licked through the cracks, but the line held.
"Now! Fifth and Sixth teams — charge!" Katsuri commanded.
Dozens of Kaguya shinobi vaulted over the bone wall and surged into the forest, kunai glinting in the firelight. Screams and steel clashed in the haze — but before long, the forest went eerily quiet.
When the Kaguya forces pushed forward, they found… nothing. The enemy had vanished.
"Damn it," Katsuri growled, realizing too late he'd been played. "He's baiting us again… just like Kasebi Ridge."
Then the mist came — silent, creeping, unnatural. Within moments, visibility dropped to nothing.
"Fall back!" Katsuri barked, unease gnawing at him.
But before they could retreat, a scream tore through the fog. Then another. And another. The sound multiplied, echoing from every direction until panic gripped the Kaguya line. When they finally regrouped at the edge of the forest, several soldiers were missing — and the mist had turned crimson.
From that blood-soaked haze, a single figure emerged.
A twelve-year-old boy, smiling faintly. A kunai in his hand, dripping red.
"Amamiya… Raizen," Katsuri spat.
"Nice of you to remember the name," Raizen said, his tone casual, eyes cold.
Katsuri's jaw clenched. "He came alone? Arrogant brat. Kill him!"
Kunai and shuriken flew like a metal storm, slicing through the fog. Raizen smirked, his form flickering — then vanished.
The weapons cut only air.
"Where—?" one Kaguya ninja began, but his words were cut short by the whisper of a blade and a spray of blood.
By the time the survivors regrouped again, Raizen was gone, leaving only corpses in the mist.
Meanwhile, far off at Kasebi Ridge, Amamiya forces launched similar hit-and-run strikes, keeping the Kaguyas pinned and furious but unable to advance.
Every minor raid, every illusion of threat, pulled the Kaguya clan's focus toward Raizen's feints — and away from the real danger creeping in along the upper river.
Three allied clans were already moving through the waterways, silent as shadows, closing in on the Kaguya's rear defenses.
The trap was almost ready to snap shut.