Kakashi stared at the final tally—an absurdly inflated figure compared to the earlier estimates—but his expression betrayed little reaction.
Sixty-four cards.
Naruto's chakra amounted to three-fifths of that, a mere fraction when pitted against the God of Shinobi.
After all, when Senju Hashirama had encountered Naruto, he'd remarked that the boy's chakra was nearly on par with his own.
At the time, Naruto had been in Kurama Mode, while Hashirama was in his Edo Tensei state.
That meant even Naruto's chakra, bolstered by the Nine-Tails, fell short of Hashirama's.
For Kakashi, though, sixty-four cards' worth was more than sufficient—and then some.
Shaking off the tangle of thoughts, Kakashi settled onto his cot and unrolled the scroll Jiraiya had handed him earlier.
Konoha and Kumogakure had each suffered a major clash. Even with the Two-Tails Jinchuriki dead, the Cloud still boasted the far more formidable Eight-Tails Jinchuriki.
Having lost the Two-Tails, if they pressed the fight, the next encounter would be all-out—a decisive battle, plain and simple.
Kakashi's eyes grew distant as he scanned the scroll.
If the dam finished filling... the war's climax could come far sooner than expected.
Kumogakure Camp, Main Tent
"What?!"
"Every reconnaissance team was spotted?!"
The Raikage, still seething from their recent defeat, drove his fist through the desk in front of him.
"Correct."
"Starting from the Konoha perimeter, Hyūga branch-house squads are stationed every ten kilometers. They've completely sealed off the Land of Frost within their zone."
"Our scouts can't slip past the Byakugan's range."
Dodai flipped through the latest reports, his tone measured.
"What the hell is Konoha planning?"
The Raikage's rage cooled a fraction after splintering the table.
"That's what we're trying to uncover."
"In past clashes, Konoha never squandered Byakugan users like this."
"But one thing's clear—they're cooking something big."
Dodai closed the folder and met the Raikage's glare.
"Send more teams! Punch through their Byakugan line! We have to know what they're hiding!"
The Raikage's temper flared anew, frustration knotting his gut.
"I already am."
"And I've reached Iwagakure. Ōnoki agreed to apply pressure in the Land of Grass."
Dodai relayed the update without inflection.
"Pressure?"
"That old fossil won't commit troops?!"
The Raikage snapped.
Konoha was at its historical nadir—why not crush them outright?
"...They surrendered to Konoha in the Third War. If they flipped now and marched for us, no village would trust Iwagakure in the next great war."
"Ōnoki can only contain them—so much."
Dodai paused, then faced the Raikage squarely.
He'd argued against the Byakugan heist when the delegation risked their reputation, but the Raikage's stubbornness had overruled him.
He knew his leader too well.
Crushing Konoha in one blow would be ideal, but even weakened, the Leaf was no pushover.
Hiruzen Sarutobi still drew breath. Jiraiya and Tsunade were in their prime. The Uchiha remained the most feared clan in the shinobi world. Danzo Shimura—"The Darkness of the Shinobi"—lurked in the shadows. The Ino-Shika-Chō trio wielded terrifying synergy.
And above all, Konoha still held the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
Three villages uniting was the minimum to topple them in a single campaign.
The only true window had been the First War, after Hashirama's death, when Wind, Lightning, Water, and Earth had converged on the Land of Fire.
Senju Tobirama had held the line alone.
"...Hmph."
The Raikage snorted, falling silent.
Reputation? What good was it?
Ōnoki was senile. Ripping a chunk from Konoha's hide—that had value.
"If there's nothing else, I'll deploy the next scout teams."
Dodai glanced at the Raikage.
The Raikage waved him off irritably, dismissing him.
Land of Frost, Naka River
Kakashi stood before the completed dam, awe stirring despite himself.
Shinobi efficiency for you.
A hundred and twenty Earth Release users, paired with civilian engineers from the Land of Fire, had raised the colossal structure in five days.
"The dam doesn't need longevity," Aburame Shiro explained, as if reading Kakashi's mind. "It's a far cry from domestic flood-control barriers, which is why we finished so fast."
He gestured across the narrow gorge. "This stretch is called Garden Mouth—the river pinches here, then spills wide with nothing to stop it. A natural gate."
"Once the reservoir's full, we abandon the main camp as a decoy and mass our forces here."
Kakashi nodded. "Kumogakure scouts have been aggressive. Double security."
Aburame Shiro's hands stayed buried in his pockets, face impassive. "My insects blanket the area. No Cloud ninja will slip my net."
Kakashi said nothing more.
Shiro—Shino's father—was a cut above most. The Konoha Twelve generally outshone their parents, but Shino lagged behind his old man in ways that mattered. Post-Boruto, the kid was teaching at the Academy.
With Shiro in control, Kakashi departed.
As he'd noted, an uneasy lull had settled between Konoha and Kumogakure.
Both sides licked their wounds after the last bloodbath, projecting calm.
Beneath the surface, scout clashes never stopped.
The endless snowfields hid dozens of brutal, small-scale firefights.
Kakashi himself had dismantled several Cloud teams probing the Byakugan cordon.
Days bled into one another. Just as Kumogakure teetered on the brink of a full assault to breach the line and expose Konoha's secret, the Naka River dam neared its breaking point.
————
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