The battlefield at Kannabi Bridge was filled with smoke and fire.
Broken rocks flew everywhere alongside the thunderous blasts of ninjutsu. The Iwagakure frontline ninja relied on their shattered fortifications as they desperately resisted Konoha's fierce assault.
The sounds of slaughter and exploding ninjutsu intertwined together, echoing endlessly through the valley.
Inside the command tent.
Onoki, affected by the genjutsu Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Technique, staggered as he pushed aside the tent flap and stumbled inside.
"It's over. Kannabi Bridge can't be defended after all. At this point, we can only retreat further back and continue defending..."
Onoki's face was deathly pale as he collapsed weakly onto the cold ground.
"Report, Captain! An urgent letter from Lord Tsuchikage!"
A messenger ninja covered in dust rushed over with the Body Flicker Technique and dropped to one knee as he loudly reported.
Hearing this, a faint glimmer instantly lit up in Onoki's eyes.
He forced himself to stand and hurried forward, snatching the letter and opening it at once.
The moment his eyes fixed on the contents, his body trembled violently.
Only a few sharp, forceful lines were written on the paper, ['Running into walls makes it easy for people to give up on themselves and make excuses.']
['But listen carefully, Onoki. Don't abandon your will. Don't throw it away. Hold fast to your true heart!']
['Unyielding and immovable, that is the Stone Will of our Iwagakure!!!']
Between the pages rested a plain stone carrying the familiar aura of Iwagakure's homeland.
Just a few brief words, yet they struck Onoki's heart like a massive hammer, shaking him to his core.
Onoki stared blankly at the words "Stone Will" written in the letter, then lowered his head to look at the stone in his palm. His fingers slowly tightened around it.
He could not retreat anymore.
Absolutely not another step.
If he retreated again, behind him would be Iwagakure Village, the place that raised him, the home of countless villagers.
No matter what, he could not bring the flames of war onto his homeland.
Behind him was Iwagakure.
There was no option to retreat.
Only a fight to the death.
"Unyielding... immovable..."
Onoki shut his eyes tightly and muttered the words over and over. The scattered weakness in his aura gradually gathered back together.
The next instant, Onoki suddenly opened his eyes.
A blazing fire of battle ignited inside his dimmed pupils.
All traces of despair vanished.
His gaze became as firm and resolute as solid rock, while the pressure radiating from him turned heavy and razor-sharp.
"Unyielding! Immovable! Don't underestimate the Stone Will of Iwagakure!!!"
Onoki abruptly rose to his feet, his furious roar shaking through the command tent and carrying across the battlefield.
"Let those Konoha bastards see for themselves what the Stone Will of Iwagakure ninja truly means! Make them understand what it means for real gold to withstand the flames, and what it means for solid stone to be unbreakable!!"
———
On the other side of Kannabi Bridge, atop Konoha's position.
Daylight had already fully broken.
"They still haven't taken it..."
Kirisu Sarutobi frowned deeply, his expression filled with frustration.
Everything before this had gone too smoothly.
Originally, Kirisu Sarutobi had planned to speedrun Iwagakure in one hour and twenty-two minutes, capture the Tsuchikage alive, slaughter his way through the battlefield, sweep everything aside, and become a legend in a single battle.
Instead, he got stuck at Kannabi Bridge.
It was already daylight, yet there had still been no progress.
What made Kirisu Sarutobi feel even worse was that the one defending the position was Onoki.
Wasn't this kid around the same age as his son, Hiruzen Sarutobi?
And yet this little brat had actually stopped him in his tracks.
It was unbelievably embarrassing.
The anger in Kirisu Sarutobi's chest had already been boiling over for a long time.
"Report, Captain! We still haven't broken through their defenses!"
A wounded Konoha ninja dropped to one knee, panting heavily as he reported with difficulty.
"What's going on?! Why has their resistance suddenly become so fierce?!"
Kirisu Sarutobi demanded.
"Report, Captain, we don't know either! The other side started shouting things about the Stone Will and being unyielding, then charged at us like madmen..."
"And... Onoki's Dust Release ninjutsu is incredibly destructive. It's suppressing our offensive over a massive area. The brothers can't even get close!", The ninja reported with difficulty.
"Damn it!"
Kirisu Sarutobi barked coldly. Chakra instantly surged around him as he decided to personally enter the battlefield and break the stalemate.
Above the center of Kannabi Bridge, Onoki floated in midair, suspended high above through the power of Dust Release, continuously bombarding Konoha's assault formations.
Relying on his large-scale destructive ninjutsu, he firmly controlled the skies and steadily wore down Konoha's forces.
"Arrogant fool, stop your rampage! Take my Fire Dragon Technique!"
Kirisu Sarutobi's eyes narrowed sharply as his hands formed seals so quickly they became afterimages.
The moment the seals completed, a roaring dragon of blazing flames burst forth.
Carrying scorching wind and waves of heat, it surged violently toward Onoki in the sky.
But Onoki's movements in the air were nimble and fluid. With only a casual sidestep, he easily dodged the fire dragon's attack.
The dragon swept past his side and slammed violently into the mountain wall behind him, instantly blasting shattered rocks everywhere as flames shot skyward.
In the blink of an eye, Onoki counterattacked by condensing the power of Dust Release, sending a beam of light straight at Kirisu Sarutobi.
"Damn it."
Kirisu Sarutobi's expression changed slightly as he immediately used the Body Flicker Technique to retreat at high speed, narrowly avoiding the strike.
The Dust Release landed where he had been standing moments earlier, directly erasing the ground into a deep crater without leaving behind even the slightest trace of debris.
After landing, Kirisu Sarutobi stared fixedly at Onoki in the sky, feeling utterly stifled.
He could only hate the fact that he lacked any effective anti-air methods and had no way to restrain an opponent attacking from above.
———
Madara Uchiha lightly pinched the letter sent by Kirisu Sarutobi between his fingers. His cold gaze swept across its contents, and a layer of frost instantly covered his face.
"Onoki... that little brat who stayed by Mu's side?"
"He's grown capable. Kirisu Sarutobi actually got held back by a brat like that..."
As soon as he finished speaking, Madara turned and looked directly at Tobirama Senju beside him.
"Tobirama, do we still have any manpower that can be dispatched to reinforce Kannabi Bridge?", Madara Uchiha asked in a deep voice.
Tobirama Senju leaned over the battlefield deployment map on the desk, his sharp eyes sweeping across the stationed troop markers one by one as he calmly sorted through the entire military situation.
Hearing Madara's question, Tobirama's brows faintly furrowed. He then slowly shook his head and explained the situation in a steady tone.
"All other forces have already been deployed across the various fronts to guard every direction. There's no time for them to return and reinforce."
And that was indeed the truth.
At this moment, aside from the frontline force at Kannabi Bridge led by Kirisu Sarutobi, Konoha still had four elite divisions stationed elsewhere, each carrying a critical mission.
Tenma Hyuga led troops guarding the eastern front and had already completed preparations for a seaborne surprise attack against Kirigakure.
Izuna Uchiha sat at the northern defense line, his forces fully deployed and waiting only for the order to attack Kumogakure.
The head of the Hatake Clan led troops stationed in the southwest, prepared at any moment to launch an offensive against Sunagakure.
In addition, Itama Senju and Kawarama Senju remained behind with their forces in the capital of the Land of Fire, taking full responsibility for protecting the Daimyo.
Every one of these forces represented Konoha's highest combat strength, and each had a clearly assigned objective.
As long as Madara Uchiha gave the order, they could immediately unleash lightning-fast blitzkrieg attacks against their respective hidden villages and seize control of the battlefield in the shortest time possible.
And precisely because all elite forces had already been spread out and tied down elsewhere, Konoha no longer had any spare troops that could be temporarily redirected to reinforce Kannabi Bridge.