The Sand ninja heard the whistle of air behind him and spun, parrying with a kunai to knock away two lightning-charged shuriken. He felt no relief, only a growing sense of dread. He instinctively took a step back just as a hand-blade violently pierced through the very earth wall he had created.
Had he not dodged, that hand would have skewered his chest. But luck, as they say, is a zero-sum game. The ninja countered by driving his kunai through the protruding hand, then leapt high over the wall.
Wind Release: Wind Cutter!
The wind blade sliced through his opponent's neck. The Sand ninja braced himself for the sight of a rolling head.
But the gruesome scene never came. Instead, a voice echoed from his side. Another Hagoromo appeared, wielding the very longsword the Sand ninja had discarded moments ago.
With his attention fixed entirely on the figure in front of him, the Sand ninja was defenseless against the lateral strike. A single, clean thrust drove the blade through his heart. The "Hagoromo" hit by the wind blade vanished in a puff of smoke.
It was a simple Shadow Clone.
The ninja's final thought was a fleeting "Ah, a clone," followed not by regret, but by the lingering disappointment of failing to kill his mark.
So, when did Hagoromo use the jutsu? It was during the "faceplant." Before using the Fire Release, he had simultaneously cast a clone and a transformation jutsu, hiding his real self while the clone drew the enemy's focus.
The fight had been taxing, draining a significant portion of Hagoromo's chakra. After steadying his breathing, he began to pull back toward the Konoha lines. In a large-scale battle, blind aggression is a death sentence; without chakra, a ninja is just a corpse-in-waiting.
For the next hour, Hagoromo played the role of a "sniper," picking off enemies from the rear with precisely thrown kunai and shuriken. His efficiency was terrifying—using his high-level calculation skills and wind-resistant trajectories, he averaged one kill for every five to seven projectiles.
Finally, Konoha reinforcements arrived.
Usually, the Sand would retreat upon seeing fresh Konoha forces, but this time, they fought with renewed, almost suicidal fervor. Even as the strength ratio shifted to a crushing 2:1 in Konoha's favor, the Sand ninjas refused to yield.
Something is wrong, Hagoromo thought, a cold knot forming in his stomach. They're throwing away their lives. This isn't a battle; it's a stalling tactic.
He slowed his pace, hoarding his remaining chakra for the "unknown" he felt approaching.
One and a half hours after the reinforcements arrived, the Sand casualties reached 70%, yet they still held their ground. Then, a low, guttural roar drifted through the air—a sound like a primeval beast.
It was coming from the direction of the Land of Fire. From the direction of the Command Center.
Hagoromo sprinted toward his squad leader. "Captain Hyūga! What's happening at the HQ?"
The Captain's veins were bulging around his eyes as he strained his Byakugan. "I can't see that far, but the chakra... it's massive. I've never seen anything like it. It's like..."
"A Tailed Beast," Hagoromo finished for him.
Suddenly, a brilliant flare erupted in the sky over the HQ. Then another. And another. Five flares in total—the signal for an Immediate Emergency Reinforcement Request.
The puzzle pieces snapped into place. The thousand Sand ninjas here were bait, meant to tie down Konoha's main force while a specialized strike team—possibly including a Jinchūriki—attacked the heart of the command.
"Break engagement! Return to HQ immediately!"
The order rippled through the ranks, though Hagoromo was already moving before the words were even shouted. He didn't care about the stragglers here; Kushina was at that command center.
Konoha's intelligence had failed. They hadn't realized the front-line offensive was a feint. The Sand had sacrificed a thousand lives to ensure that the force hitting the command center would be unopposed and overwhelmingly powerful.
Tactical Failure: The Feint
The Sand used a "Fixed Force" to pin Konoha's "Mobile Reserve" in place. By the time Konoha realizes the true target, the distance (50-60km) becomes a race against time.
The Threat: A Jinchūriki at the Command Center means the Field Hospital, Supply Depot, and Kushina are all in the path of a disaster-level event.