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Before dawn, the Hokage's office was still lit up. Madara sat at his desk with the final order in front of him, and Tobirama waited on the other side.
"This is it," Madara said, picking up his brush. "Once I sign this, we're committed."
"Give the order, Lord Hokage. Tonight, we change the world." Tobirama met his gaze and nodded.
........
At Konoha's command post in the Land of Grass, Sasuke Sarutobi knelt on the tatami in full armor, holding his katana. He had stayed up all night, waiting for just one message.
The order to attack!
Footsteps pounded down the hall. A Sarutobi shinobi rushed inside and held out a sealed dispatch.
"Captain, High Command has given the order!"
Sasuke Sarutobi opened his eyes, stood up, broke the seal, and read the message. "Send word to every unit. Follow the battle plan and move on Iwagakure!"
"YES, SIR!"
Konoha's army crossed the border in full strength. By the time the Hidden Stone sentries realized what was happening, the first defensive line had already fallen apart.
........
Ōnoki slept through the first warning.
The second sounded as if someone meant to knock the door off its hinges.
"CAPTAIN ŌNOKI! WAKE UP! KONOHA HAS INVADED!"
An intelligence officer burst into the room before Ōnoki could answer. "Konoha's forces crossed the border. They're already attacking!"
Ōnoki shot upright, still tangled in his blanket. "WHAT? Where are they now? How many? Who's leading them?"
"We don't know! Their vanguard is moving too fast, and they may already be close to camp. Sasuke Sarutobi is in command!"
Before Ōnoki could ask more, shouting started outside. An explosion shook dust from the ceiling, and another hit even closer.
"How the hell did they get here so fast?" Ōnoki scrambled out of bed as the camp fell apart around him.
"We're finished..."
His past victories meant little here. Until now, most of his opponents had been scattered clans with barely any ninjutsu to speak of, much less a kekkei genkai. Konoha was different. And at the head of its army stood Sasuke Sarutobi, a veteran who had spent most of his life on the battlefield.
Ōnoki stared at the intelligence officer, and for once, nothing came to mind.
........
At three in the morning, Mū was pulled out of bed and handed a stack of reports from the front. More came in before he finished the first, and all of them said the same thing.
Defeat...
"Another defeat?" Mū snatched up the next report.
"The war hasn't even lasted two hours, and Konoha has already advanced a hundred kilometers into the Land of Earth!"
His hand shook as he held the paper. Black Zetsu looked at the growing pile, just as surprised. He had warned Mū that Madara and Tobirama might attack quickly, but he never thought they would move this fast. Even worse, Ōnoki's front had collapsed before Iwagakure could finish getting ready.
A messenger hurried in, looking as if he would rather be anywhere else. "Lord Tsuchikage, a letter from the daimyō."
"Read it," Mū said.
The messenger swallowed and began. "Tsuchikage, what the hell are you doing? How did the front collapse this badly? Are you planning to make me move the capital? Give Konoha one more day, and its army will be at my gates!"
By the end, sweat covered the messenger's face, and his voice fell to a murmur. Mū had heard enough. He stood up and said, "Tell the daimyō I'm going to the front myself."
"No, you're not," Black Zetsu said, stepping into his path. "That is exactly what Madara and Tobirama want. The moment you leave, Tobirama can use the Flying Raijin Jutsu to bring a strike force into Iwagakure. We lose the village, and the war ends before you reach the front."
Mū's jaw stiffened. "Then what am I supposed to do while my army falls apart?"
As Tsuchikage, Mū was supposed to defend the Land of Earth, but now he could only sit in Iwagakure while Konoha advanced. Black Zetsu leaned over the map. "You stay here. Ōnoki is our only hope now. Tell him he can risk his life if needed, but he cannot lose Kannabi Bridge. If Konoha takes it, they'll have a supply route and can push even deeper into the Land of Earth."
He tapped Iwagakure on the map. "Bring the daimyō here as well. We can protect him inside the village."
Mū went back to his desk and wrote the order himself. He added one more thing: a small stone, the symbol of Iwagakure's Will of Stone.
........
Back in Konoha, the streets were still dark and quiet.
The village slept through the start of the war while its army pushed a hundred kilometers into the Land of Earth. Even Hashirama didn't know. The former Hokage slept through it all.
Madara and Tobirama were still awake.
Victory reports covered the desk between them, each one better than the last. In under three hours, Sasuke Sarutobi had broken through every position and pushed Konoha's army farther into enemy territory than either of them expected.
No force in shinobi history had moved so far so quickly. Even Uchiha Kitsune's famous night attack, when the Uchiha crossed the river in white mourning clothes and took the Naka and Kita River territories before dawn, had been slower.
"LOOK AT THIS!" Tobirama slapped the latest report onto the map, his face red with excitement.
"Sasuke Sarutobi is moving faster than Kitsune did when he beat the Senju!"
Madara read the numbers again. His usual scowl disappeared, and he started laughing. "Now this calls for a drink."
They poured two small cups of sake, clinked them together, and drank to Konoha's first victory. The celebration lasted only a minute before both men leaned over the map again.
"Too bad Mū didn't fall for it," Madara said. "If he had gone to the front, we could have ended this tonight."
"Forget about Mū for now. We need Kannabi Bridge." Tobirama pointed to the route through the Land of Earth. "It carries Iwagakure's supplies to the front. If we take it, we can use the road ourselves. If we can't hold it, we destroy it and cut off their army."
"Either way, the bridge goes down." Madara nodded.
"The daimyō is important too. If we capture him, we can use him to pressure Iwagakure."
That earned a laugh from Madara. "Careful, Tobirama. The daimyō say the Sage of Six Paths granted their ancestors the right to rule. You're willing to touch one of his chosen lords? What if fate's invisible hand decides to punish you?"
Tobirama gave him a small smile. "The Sage of Six Paths? Do you really believe that story?"
"Of course not. If I did, I wouldn't have started this war." Madara placed one hand on the map. "Let Konoha's very real army deal with that invisible hand."
The two men looked at each other, both smiling in the same way. For once, neither of them could remember why they had argued for so many years.
"I think I'm starting to see what my brother likes about you."
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