The fact that the Third Hokage had decided to personally take the field was still classified among the high command. Naturally, Hagoromo had no way of knowing.
Even so, he understood one thing very clearly—
The second large-scale battle he would personally experience was about to begin.
Even though barely ten days had passed since the previous one.
At this moment, Konoha's shinobi were engaged in intense pre-war preparations. They had only three days.
Although he wouldn't be fighting on the front line, Hagoromo still followed standard procedure, making his own preparations—restocking ninja tools, replenishing medicine, and checking equipment.
As for Konoha's command system, aside from logistics, the most important task was reorganization.
Shinobi were regrouped according to their specialties:
reconnaissance units, assault units, support units, logistics units—and even that wasn't enough.
Assault units were further subdivided into close-range combat teams, mid-range support, and long-range firepower units.
The more detailed the organization, the more flexible battlefield command could become.
At the same time, however, the burden on the command system increased dramatically.
Over-segmentation meant precision—but it also meant more endpoints for orders, and therefore more chances for mistakes.
Naturally, none of this had anything to do with Hagoromo.
He was just a tiny cog in Konoha's massive war machine.
Wherever he was placed, he would turn accordingly. The rest wasn't his concern.
If Hagoromo hadn't been injured, he likely would've been assigned to a close-combat unit—perhaps even given the chance to follow the Third Hokage straight into the enemy ranks.
Unfortunately, while his mobility had mostly recovered, his injuries were still far from fully healed.
Complete recovery would take more time.
If he were an adult shinobi, injuries of this level probably wouldn't even be considered during assignment.
But because of his age, Hagoromo still received a degree of preferential treatment.
As a result, he wasn't placed on the direct front line. Instead, he was assigned to the command center's security detail, directly under its authority.
The protection targets included Tsunade, the supreme field commander, as well as Konoha's advisory staff and the command relay system.
However, despite being nominally part of the command center's guard force, Hagoromo's actual duty wasn't protection—
It was battlefield surveillance.
Tsunade knew that Hagoromo had recently captured a large flying summoning beast.
Thus, quite miraculously, Hagoromo ended up serving as an aerial reconnaissance unit.
In this war, he would have almost no opportunity to fight directly.
Those chances belonged to close-combat shinobi like Kakashi. As expected, the son of the White Fang was assigned to the front-line assault units.
As for medical-nin like Rin, although they also moved with the army, their deployment was even farther back than the command center.
Medical units were responsible for rescue, not combat. There was no reason for them to be too close to the front.
They were the soft underbelly of Konoha's formation—something that needed to be hidden and protected carefully.
Three days of preparation passed quickly.
The Third Shinobi World War, and Konoha's final large-scale engagement with Sunagakure, was about to begin.
After suffering massive losses in their previous clash with Konoha, the Sand had pulled their defensive line back, though their reconnaissance coverage remained intact.
On the third night, just before midnight, Konoha's forces began to move.
They would use the latter half of the night to cross the Land of Rivers, then breach into the Land of Wind at dawn.
During the night march, Konoha did its utmost to conceal its movements, aiming for maximum surprise. That said, it wasn't an easy task—Sunagakure had almost certainly already received intelligence that the Hokage had arrived with reinforcements.
With the assistance of Hyūga clan shinobi, however, Konoha still managed to eliminate many Sand scouts hidden in the darkness.
As for what happened after entering the Land of Wind in daylight?
There was no hiding it.
That barren landscape couldn't conceal five thousand shinobi. What were they supposed to rely on—sandstorms?
Right on schedule, at six in the morning, Konoha's forces emerged from the forests of the Land of Rivers.
At the same time, shinobi assigned missions similar to Hagoromo's began their operations.
Hagoromo first performed the Summoning jutsu, calling forth Yatagarasu.
To be honest, summoning something of that sheer size consumed a terrifying amount of chakra.
He then stepped onto Yatagarasu's back and ascended into the sky, beginning aerial reconnaissance to prevent Konoha's forces from blundering into pre-laid enemy traps.
Reconnaissance was the lifeblood of warfare.
After all, this was enemy territory. Konoha wasn't fighting on home ground—caution was paramount.
Hagoromo followed his assigned patrol route, constantly adjusting his heading while keeping his eyes locked on the ground, scanning for enemy presence.
After penetrating fifty kilometers into the Land of Wind, he turned back according to plan.
Once he located Konoha's main force again, Hagoromo guided Yatagarasu to circle above the command center a few times, then placed his half-curled pinky fingers into his mouth and began to whistle—short and long notes in sequence.
The clear, piercing sound carried easily through the air.
This signal meant:
The area ahead, within fifty kilometers, is clear. No enemy forces detected.
The command center was advancing along with the army.
Soon, a response came from below.
The order was simple—
Continue scouting forward.
Yatagarasu stopped circling, turned, and resumed its advance along the previous route.
After passing the fifty-kilometer mark and flying another thirty kilometers, Hagoromo's mission reached its critical point.
He found the enemy's main force.
A very large one.
To avoid being shot down and roasted alive, Hagoromo made a quick estimate of their numbers and immediately turned back.
This kind of information had to be reported without delay.
"Nine o'clock direction. Straight-line distance: sixty-five kilometers.
Enemy main force detected—Sunagakure shinobi.
Estimated strength: four thousand five hundred to six thousand."
Because the intelligence was vital, Hagoromo repeated the signal twice.
Once the command center received the report, it was immediately relayed to the front-line units.
Konoha's army adjusted its heading slightly—
Then suddenly accelerated, charging straight toward the Sand forces.
Hagoromo continued monitoring enemy movements from above.
Enemy and ally detected each other almost simultaneously.
When Konoha spotted the Sand's main force, the Sand spotted Konoha as well.
The two armies rushed headlong toward each other!
Normally, shinobi warfare was relatively quiet.
But just before contact—
An earth-shaking cheer erupted from Konoha's ranks.
Hagoromo nearly fell off the bird in shock.
Why were shinobi yelling like that?! That wasn't very ninja-like!
He looked down—
And instantly understood why Konoha's morale had exploded.
The Third Hokage had charged out alone.
Single-handedly.
Straight into the enemy ranks.
What followed could be described like this:
When Madara first appeared and crushed the Allied Shinobi Forces—
That was exactly how the Third Hokage was now beating the Sand shinobi.
It was simply—
Spinning.
Leaping.
The Hokage of Konoha, fighting with his eyes practically closed.
The scene was far too beautiful.
So beautiful, in fact, that 54.438% of the Sand shinobi and 23.2% of Konoha's shinobi didn't dare look directly at it.
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