While Konoha scrambled to redeploy forces and brace for impact, Uchiha Jin led two hundred lightly equipped shinobi in a relentless sprint across Fire Country.
Hours later—
The towering outline of Kikyo Mountain Fortress finally emerged in the distance.
Reconnaissance
Beside him, Hyuga Hizashi activated his Byakugan.
Veins bulged around his eyes as his vision pierced through walls and terrain.
"Fortress garrison: one hundred and six shinobi. No ambush. Confirmed secure."
Only then did the tension in the group ease slightly.
They had beaten the Cloud.
Barely.
"Drop concealment. Enter immediately," Jin ordered without hesitation.
No more stealth.
Two hundred shinobi emerged openly from the forest and approached the fortress gates.
The sight was unmistakable—
Scarlet Sharingan. Pale Byakugan.
The two most recognizable bloodlines in Konoha's history.
No written order was necessary. In this village, those eyes were identification enough.
And with Hyuga branch members present, the possibility of defection was effectively zero. The Caged Bird Seal guaranteed loyalty in a way no document ever could.
The gates opened.
They entered.
Immediate Command Seizure
"Everyone rest in place. Recover stamina," Jin ordered first.
Then he turned to a guard.
"Who commands this fortress?"
The guard saluted quickly.
"Fortress Commander is Mitokado Daimoku-sama, and Deputy Commander Sarutobi Saemon-sama. They've already been notified—"
Footsteps approached.
Two middle-aged shinobi in flak jackets hurried toward them.
Mitokado.
Sarutobi.
Jin didn't need a family tree to understand the political alignment.
Kikyo Mountain wasn't just a defensive site.
It was a supply hub.
And supply hubs meant power.
Before either man could speak, Jin stepped forward.
"I am Uchiha Jin, current head of the Uchiha clan and Chief of the Konoha Police Force."
"I am assuming temporary command of Kikyo Mountain Fortress under emergency military authority."
Hizashi added calmly,
"I am Hyuga Hizashi, head of the Hyuga branch family and Chief of Reconnaissance. You may verify our identities—but you will comply immediately."
The air tightened.
Technically, this was a power seizure.
But neither Daimoku nor Saemon were fools.
Two hundred mostly Chunin and Jonin-level shinobi had just arrived.
This wasn't politics.
This was war.
Daimoku swallowed.
"…May we know the nature of this emergency?"
Jin didn't sugarcoat it.
"A is leading two thousand Cloud shinobi toward this fortress."
"Sand and Stone forces are mobilizing along our western borders."
"If Kikyo falls, Fire Country has no defensive buffer."
The two commanders visibly paled.
This wasn't an exaggeration.
It was a strategic nightmare.
Jin's voice hardened.
"The Cloud army will arrive within an hour."
"Konoha reinforcements require at least half a day."
"We hold here."
"Or Konoha burns."
Then came the part that mattered.
"This is not the time for clan politics."
"I don't care what surname you carry."
"I require absolute obedience."
"Understood?"
Daimoku straightened immediately.
"Understood. We serve Konoha."
Saemon nodded firmly.
"Same."
Good.
No ego. No delay.
That alone increased their survival odds.
Fortress Status Report
Jin moved straight to logistics.
"Report personnel and supplies."
Daimoku answered quickly:
Total personnel: 106
Chunin: 24
Genin: 82
Medical-nin: 1 (Chunin level)
Then supplies:
Food and medicine sufficient for 1,000 troops for six months
Explosive tags, kunai, shuriken, senbon stockpiled
Enough armaments to equip 3,000 troops for a major engagement
That changed things.
This wasn't a small outpost.
It was a war reserve.
Jin nodded once.
"Good."
War Preparations
Orders came instantly.
"Move all combat supplies to the walls."
"Explosive tags take priority."
"We survive half a day on those."
"Establish a field hospital immediately."
"Prepare triage protocols now—not after casualties begin."
Both commanders dispersed at once.
Jin ascended the fortress walls.
Below stretched valleys and forest.
Wide approach lanes.
Clear sightlines.
But here's the brutal truth:
In shinobi warfare, walls are symbolic.
Ninjutsu turns stone into paper.
Two thousand Cloud shinobi wouldn't be stopped by height alone.
The fortress wouldn't win this.
Preparation might.
Explosives might.
Positioning might.
And ultimately—
Jin himself might.
He exhaled slowly.
This wouldn't be a defensive skirmish.
This would be a controlled slaughter—or a disaster.
Half a day.
That was all they needed to survive.
The Fourth Raikage was coming.
And Kikyo Mountain was about to become a battlefield that would echo across the ninja world.
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