Three days later, the Konoha Alliance finally moved. Twenty-five thousand shinobi — every clan, every fighter capable of wielding chakra — were called to arms.
That morning, Amamiya Raizen donned his armor, bid farewell to Uzumaki Mito and the Amamiya elders, and walked out beneath the pale sun toward the Alliance training grounds. The air carried the scent of steel and smoke. Even the wind felt like it was holding its breath.
For the past three days, the Hyuga-led coalition had been swelling in number, pouring troops out of Qishui Gorge like a flood. There was no stopping it now. War wasn't coming — it was here.
By the time Raizen reached the martial grounds, the place was already packed. The Inuzuka and Aburame patriarchs stood ahead, flanked by towering mounds of provisions — weapons, bandages, sealing scrolls. Everything a shinobi needed to kill and keep breathing.
Raizen joined them at the platform overlooking the formation. Twenty-five thousand shinobi, lined with frightening precision, their armor glinting in the light. As he stepped forward, the murmur quieted until the only sound left was the wind cutting through the field.
"Amamiya-dono," Inuzuka-san said, nodding.
Aburame-sama followed, calm as ever behind his shaded lenses.
"The supplies?" Raizen asked.
"Counted and ready. No errors. All troops accounted for," Aburame replied.
Raizen nodded once. "Good."
He stood straight, gaze sweeping over the silent ranks. Twenty-five thousand pairs of eyes met his. For a heartbeat, he felt the weight of it — the sheer, suffocating expectation. Then the soldier in him took over.
When he spoke, chakra rolled through his voice, amplifying each word until it reached even the furthest shinobi.
"I am Amamiya Raizen — head of the Amamiya Clan, and commander of this campaign. One month ago, the Hyuga and their allies raised arms against our Konoha Alliance. They've taken position at Qishui Gorge, waiting for us to falter."
His voice hardened.
"They think we'll kneel. They think we'll accept their arrogance and swallow their threats. They're wrong."
A ripple went through the army — tension, anger, pride.
"For the future of the Konoha Alliance," Raizen continued, "we march today to strike them down and remind the world that Konoha's will does not bend."
The field pulsed with restrained fury.
"Before we march, three laws of war," he said coldly. "First — absolute obedience to command. Second — no retreat, not one step. Third — no cowardice, no negligence. Violate any of these, and I'll make the judgment myself."
The temperature seemed to drop with his words. Even the breeze turned sharp.
Then, just as tension coiled to breaking point, Raizen's expression softened. A thin smile crossed his lips — the kind that could melt ice.
"Of course," he added, his tone suddenly lighter, "fight well, kill plenty, and every man here earns the right to learn any Amamiya secret technique he desires. You fight, you win, you earn."
That did it. The crowd roared to life. Every shinobi knew what that promise meant — access to techniques whispered about in fear, the kind that turned a man into a legend.
Raizen waited until the noise peaked, then raised his hand.
"The Hyuga are already at our gates," he shouted. "For our homes, our clans, our future — we fight. Let's remind them what it means to challenge the Konoha Alliance!"
"KONOHA ALLIANCE WILL WIN!" the army bellowed back. Once. Twice. Thrice.
Their voices shook the air itself.
Raizen raised his arm again. "Form up! The army moves!"
Three divisions split from the main body:
Inuzuka Clan took ten thousand to guard the western flank.
Aburame Clan led ten thousand to the east.
Raizen himself took command of five thousand in the center — the most dangerous position. But Raizen had something the others didn't: the Three-Tails slumbering inside him, a living weapon of war.
An hour later, the sun was high, and the Alliance's forces began their march. The road out of Konoha was lined with villagers and families, faces streaked with tears and pride. The troops didn't stop. They couldn't.
As the last line of shinobi disappeared into the horizon, a wind swept through the empty streets — the sound of history shifting.
Word spread fast across the Land of Fire. The two great alliances had finally crossed the line. The war that everyone feared — or hoped for — had begun.
Raizen's unit pressed south toward Qishui Gorge. When the gorge came into view, a thin mist hung over the cliffs, and the river below shimmered like a blade. He halted the march and ordered a halt.
"Camp here," he said. "Scouts out. I want eyes on every Hyuga movement by dawn."
His gaze lingered on the distant horizon, where the faint outlines of the enemy camp smoldered beneath the clouds.
"So it begins," he muttered.