The screams came first.
Two Hidden Cloud sentries at the base entrance dissolved into ash, consumed by a cascade of ninjutsu. The entire stronghold jolted awake as alarms shrieked through the corridors.
The Fourth Raikage appeared in a flash of lightning, taking in the chaos at a glance. Konoha ninjas. So the intelligence was accurate.
"Wind Style users—disperse that fog!" he commanded.
The mist shredded under the assault of violent winds, revealing Tsunade and Hanekawa standing amid the confusion.
The Raikage's eyes narrowed. So they came themselves.
Combat erupted across the compound. Kunai and jutsu painted the air in deadly arcs. The Fourth Raikage moved like lightning itself, closing the distance to Tsunade in a heartbeat.
She met his charge without hesitation, fist raised.
The impact cratered the ground beneath them. Dust exploded outward. The Raikage slid back several paces—he'd forgone his Lightning Chakra Mode, and it showed.
Behind Hanekawa, the air split with the sound of breaking wind.
He pivoted, drawing the Thunder Fire Sword in one fluid motion. The blade met an incoming dagger with a sharp ring. Samui stood before him, expression cold and businesslike.
She curled her fingers slightly—a gesture he understood immediately. The Raikage wanted to talk.
Hanekawa advanced, slashing. Samui blocked with both hands, the force driving her backward. Impressive strength, he noted absently. No wonder she becomes a powerhouse.
"Hanekawa," she said, pressing forward again.
"Yeah?"
He dodged her next strike, slipping past her guard. A faint fragrance—something floral—filled his senses.
"You know what this is about."
Their blades clashed. Samui's eyes were serious, almost pained.
"I don't have information," Hanekawa replied smoothly.
"You're lying." She gritted her teeth. "We could expose you. Your identity as a spy—"
"It wouldn't benefit you," he interrupted, knocking her back with a sharp parry. "Think about it."
"There's no benefit, but the Hidden Cloud won't tolerate a spy with ulterior motives!" Samui's voice dropped to an urgent whisper. "Consider your position carefully."
"I will," Hanekawa said, and drove her away with a decisive strike.
Samui didn't press the attack. Instead, she retreated toward the Fourth Raikage, her message delivered.
"Everyone—fall back!" the Raikage commanded.
Tsunade surged forward. "Not so fast!"
Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!
Hanekawa's hands flew through the seals. A massive water dragon erupted from the ground, roaring toward the retreating Cloud ninjas. The Fourth Raikage shattered it with a single punch, then locked eyes with Hanekawa for a fraction of a second before vanishing into the chaos.
By the time the dust settled, the Hidden Cloud forces had withdrawn, leaving half their number behind.
"The Raikage's more cautious than I expected," Tsunade mused, surveying the aftermath.
"He'll try again," Hanekawa agreed. Multiple times. Testing us. Lowering our guard.
"And the intelligence?"
Hanekawa shrugged. "Not worth the trouble anymore. I've got Wood Style now—that's all the insurance I need."
---
Two weeks passed. September arrived with cooler winds and the promise of autumn.
True to Tsunade's prediction, the Fourth Raikage launched six more attacks. Each was a standard stronghold engagement—casualties on both sides, neither decisive, both sides bloodied but standing. A stalemate had formed.
Then came the Jonin Conference.
"We've identified a new Hidden Cloud encampment," Orochimaru announced, pointing to a mountain on the tactical map. "Established this morning."
"Strategic positioning?" Fugaku Uchiha asked, frowning.
"Unlikely a staging ground for surprise assault," Shikaku Nara said thoughtfully. "The distance is too great. Logistics would be a nightmare."
"How many?" Tsunade's voice cut through the speculation.
"Approximately one thousand," Orochimaru replied calmly. "The numbers suggest something... significant."
Tsunade's jaw tightened. One thousand. That's not a probe. That's a commitment.
"We've sent scouts," Orochimaru continued. "Hizashi Hyuga and Shiwei Aburame should report soon."
The two arrived thirty minutes later, dust still clinging to their clothes.
"The encampment is heavily fortified," Hizashi began. "They've erected a chakra barrier—even the Byakugan struggles to penetrate it. But Shiwei's parasitic insects detected something."
"A dangerous aura," Shiwei took over. "Immense. But not... alive. Not in the conventional sense."
"A tailed beast?" Shikaku ventured.
"No," Shiwei shook her head. "The parasites sensed no life signature at all."
Hanekawa's mind clicked. The chakra cannon. From the movie arc. They wouldn't have it yet, would they?
"Some kind of weapon," he said aloud. "A tool designed to channel massive amounts of chakra."
Orochimaru nodded slowly. "Regardless of specifics, it must be destroyed."
"Tsunade," he continued, "I'm assigning this to you."
Tsunade accepted the weight of that assignment without hesitation. She knew what it meant—the Raikage's testing phase was over. What came next would be absolute.
She also had to account for Orochimaru and Danzo. Two enemies wearing the same uniform.
Her eyes found Hanekawa. He smiled back, calm and certain.
He knows something I don't, she thought. Good.
---
After the conference, only Orochimaru and Danzo remained in the tent.
"The Raikage finally moves," Danzo said, excitement barely contained.
Orochimaru said nothing.
"You can't hesitate now," Danzo pressed. "This is the moment."
"Of course," Orochimaru replied, his tone suggesting otherwise. "I'll leave the rest to you."
Danzo's smile widened. He didn't notice—or didn't care—that Orochimaru had committed to nothing. That he'd positioned himself to distance himself from whatever came next.
Orochimaru had learned long ago that Danzo made an excellent tool. And tools, once broken, could be discarded.
---
The mobilization of one thousand Konoha ninjas took hours. Hanekawa and Tsunade waited in the command tent, though not idly.
Hizashi Hyuga entered after requesting permission.
"The Hidden Sand forces have been redeployed west," he reported. "Sakumo's team moved east. We remain here at the main camp."
"Three-pronged defense," Tsunade mused. "Prevents flanking maneuvers."
"Whose order?" Hanekawa asked.
"Danzo Shimura, acting under Orochimaru's authority."
Tsunade exhaled slowly. "Orochimaru still has some restraint. I'm... grateful for that."
Hanekawa stroked his chin. Orochimaru's playing hands-off. Letting Danzo take the risks. He wondered if it was sentiment—Tsunade was his teammate, after all—or simple pragmatism.
After Hizashi left, Tsunade turned to him. "You're confident in Sakumo's team?"
"They crippled the Two-Tails Jinchuriki years ago," Hanekawa said. "They won't disappoint."
Tsunade studied him for a long moment, then nodded. "Then I'll trust your judgment."
---
An hour later, one thousand ninjas marched toward the distant mountains.
Hanekawa surveyed the terrain as they approached. The range was more extensive than he'd anticipated—not a single peak but a chain of them, each defensible, each a potential stronghold.
"It's problematic," Tsunade admitted. "Difficult to assault effectively."
"Then we don't assault," Hanekawa said. "We summon."
Tsunade's eyes widened. "The Slug? That will consume—"
"I have the Yin Seal. It won't matter."
She considered this, then nodded. "Do it."
They stepped forward together, hands moving through the seals in perfect synchronization.
Psychic Art: Summoning Jutsu!
Chakra erupted from both of them—vast, heavy, pressing down like a mountain. The air twisted. Smoke billowed.
When it cleared, a colossal white slug stood before them. The gathered ninjas gasped.
"Crash it," Tsunade commanded.
The slug lurched forward. The impact was catastrophic. The mountainside exploded into rubble and dust. Hidden Cloud ninjas tumbled down the slopes like leaves, many not rising again.
"Fall back!" the Fourth Raikage roared, already moving.
The ninjas scattered, abandoning the high ground. The Raikage descended in a controlled leap, landing hard but intact.
"Master Slug, withdraw," Tsunade called.
The slug retreated, leaving devastation in its wake.
The Fourth Raikage rose, his expression dark as a storm. When his eyes found Hanekawa, they burned with fury.
"Capture Tsunade now," he said, his voice cold and precise, "and I will still accept you as a Hidden Cloud ninja."
The gathered Konoha forces froze.
Hanekawa remained perfectly calm.
"If you refuse," the Raikage continued, "then you are my enemy."
Tsunade's hand moved to her side, but Hanekawa stepped forward first.
"Teacher," he said, his voice steady, "do you believe him?"
Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "Of course not. This is a trick—"
"Exactly," Hanekawa said. He turned to face the Raikage directly. "I'm a Leaf Village ninja. I always have been."
The Fourth Raikage's expression didn't change. "Foolish."
Then Mabui stepped forward, flanked by additional Cloud ninjas. In her hands was a document.
"This records your history before arriving in Konoha," she said, tossing it forward. "You'll find it... illuminating."
Hanekawa didn't move. Neither did Tsunade.
She caught the papers and, without opening them, tore them to shreds.
"This means nothing to me," Tsunade said coldly. "You don't understand Hanekawa at all."
"Perhaps you're the one who doesn't understand him," Mabui replied.
Then Dodai arrived with reinforcements. Hanekawa's breath caught slightly as he recognized the massive figure beside him.
The Eight-Tails Jinchuriki. Killer Bee.
The Hidden Cloud forces now numbered three thousand.
They were surrounded.
"Hanekawa learned many unique Hidden Cloud techniques," Dodai said smoothly. "You'll see them demonstrated shortly, Lady Tsunade. Then you won't be able to deny the truth."
Tsunade ignored him completely. She was already calculating odds, positioning, escape routes.
Hanekawa walked forward, a slight smile on his face.
"I'd like to show you something," he said to the gathered Cloud ninjas. "A unique Leaf Village technique."
His hands moved through the seals.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
Flames erupted from his mouth, a massive inferno that forced the Cloud ninjas back. But it wasn't the technique itself that mattered.
It was the perfect execution. The control. The Hidden Leaf control.
And in that moment, as the flames cleared, Tsunade understood.
Hanekawa wasn't denying anything. He was showing them exactly who he was.
A Leaf Village ninja. Through and through.