When the Kaguya Clan was burned to ashes, Amamiya Raizen finally turned his back on the smoking ruins. Only broken walls and corpses were left to mark their name.
The news reached the Kaguya front lines like a kunai through the ribs. The soldiers fighting in the forests didn't know yet—but their commander, Kaguya Takemoto, did.
He staggered as the message hit him, gripping his chest like it might hold his heart together.
"Where's Kaguya Kuma?!" Takemoto roared, voice trembling between rage and despair. "Wasn't he supposed to guard the clan lands?"
The trembling messenger bowed low, eyes wide with fear.
"L-Lord Kuma has evacuated with his people… they're heading toward the southern border of the Land of Fire."
Takemoto's face twisted into something between grief and fury. "That damned Kuma…!" He clenched his fists until blood ran down his knuckles. Then, snapping his head toward his men, he bellowed:
"All Kaguya shinobi, withdraw immediately! We're returning to defend the clan!"
The nearby warriors froze mid-battle, confused. Abandon the field now, when they were clashing with the Amamiya Clan? That meant death—or worse, humiliation.
But when Takemoto shouted again, his voice cracked like thunder:
"Amamiya Raizen attacked our homeland! If you stay here, there'll be no home left to return to!"
That was enough. Shock rippled through the ranks. They'd held this line to protect the clan—what was the point if it had already fallen?
"Withdraw!" Takemoto ordered again, louder this time.
A horn wailed across Shirohaku Forest, signaling retreat. Kaguya soldiers paused mid-swing, glanced at one another, and began pulling back in grim silence.
The Amamiya forces hesitated, unsure what had triggered such a sudden withdrawal. Only the higher-ups guessed the truth—Raizen had struck at the Kaguya heartlands, forcing the front lines to crumble.
Amamiya Wata realized it instantly and gave chase, launching a fierce pursuit. The Kaguya, however, didn't turn to fight. They retreated in silence, disappearing deeper into the forest's mist.
By the time word reached Kasebi Ridge and the Kamikawa River, every Kaguya outpost was in chaos. Their home was gone. Their will to fight shattered.
The three Kaguya divisions abandoned their fronts and regrouped—nearly eight hundred shinobi gathering outside their ruined territory.
"Lord Takemoto," one of the commanders demanded, pale and trembling, "is it true? The clan land… destroyed?"
Takemoto's eyes were bloodshot. "Go see for yourself."
They advanced—and the truth rose to meet them in the form of smoke and ash.
The once-thriving Kaguya compound was nothing but scorched rubble. The air still reeked of fire and death.
"Damn it all!" Takemoto's voice cracked as he charged into the ruins.
Bodies everywhere. Homes reduced to dust. No survivors to welcome them back.
"The Kaguya Clan… is finished." His voice was barely more than a rasp.
The men around him broke—some shouting, others falling to their knees, a few sobbing quietly into the soot.
"Lord Takemoto, what do we do now?" one asked, hollow-eyed.
Takemoto clenched his jaw so tightly it hurt. "…We regroup with Kaguya Kuma. He took survivors south. If anyone still breathes the Kaguya name, we go to them."
He hated the man for running—but what choice was left? At least Kuma's group might have supplies, or a plan. It wasn't loyalty driving Takemoto now—just desperation and a flicker of hope that their clan wasn't entirely extinct.
But before they could march, a breathless scout stumbled into camp.
"Lord Takemoto! The Amamiya Coalition has joined with the Tribal Alliance! They're advancing this way!"
Takemoto's face went pale. "Then we can't stay."
The order came quick: "Evacuate south. Now."
The eight hundred Kaguya shinobi obeyed without argument. None had the will left to fight. They were ghosts in armor, trudging toward the southern forests.
Meanwhile, far behind them, Raizen received his own report.
"Patriarch, the Kaguya forces are retreating south under Takemoto's command."
Raizen's expression sharpened. "Good. Then this ends here."
He raised his hand, voice cutting through the air like steel.
"All units, advance! We finish what we started—chase the Kaguya down!"
"Yes, sir!"
The coalition forces surged forward through the smoking forest, blades gleaming and chakra flaring in the dusk light.
Behind them, the ashes of the Kaguya Clan scattered in the wind—another name erased from the Warring States' bloody scroll.
...
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