At the border of the Land of Grass, several figures fled swiftly toward the Land of Fire.
"Damn it! These bees are terrifying!"
"Dōtō, run faster!"
A man and his dog sprinted at full speed, with the man urging his teammate onward.
"Gaku Inuzuka, you're too much! Don't you know how hard it is for me to run?"
"Oh! I really miss Minato. If he were here, I wouldn't be suffering like this."
Gaku Inuzuka's squad, part of an elite force, had been stationed long-term in the Land of Grass. When war broke out, they and several other squads were the first to engage Iwagakure's forces.
Initially, everything was going smoothly—until the Kamizuru Clan entered the battlefield.
With their poisonous bees, the Kamizuru Clan instantly shifted the balance, viciously breaking through Konoha's defensive lines.
The garrison forces in the Land of Grass suffered heavy casualties, most falling to the deadly swarm of bees.
Buzz...
Suddenly, a pressure-filled buzzing sound rose behind Gaku Inuzuka and his teammates.
Hearing that sound, everyone's faces changed dramatically.
"Damn, they caught up this fast?!"
"Dōtō! Hurry it up!"
Dōtō's full name was Dōtō Akimichi. As a top member of the Akimichi Clan, his strength and destructive power were unmatched on the team—but when it came to speed, he was the slowest.
No helping it—everyone had their strengths and weaknesses.
"I'm already going as fast as I can!!!"
"Damn it! You're buying me barbecue later!"
"Partial Multi-Size Technique!"
Furious, Dōtō formed a hand seal and activated his clan's signature technique.
His legs instantly elongated, turning him into a small giant. With the Multi-Size Technique boosting him, Dōtō's long strides made him dash forward like a flash.
Gaku Inuzuka and the others stared in shock.
"Huh?"
"What's that?"
Standing higher meant seeing farther. Using his towering height, Dōtō quickly spotted a group of figures charging toward them.
Leading them was someone very familiar—wearing a green cloak—it was none other than Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin!
"Gaku, hurry up! Lady Tsunade's reinforcements are coming!"
Hearing this, Gaku Inuzuka was overjoyed and shouted loudly, "Keep pushing! If we meet up with Lady Tsunade, we're saved!"
...
At the same time, Tsunade was leading her forces at a fast pace. She hadn't yet spotted Gaku Inuzuka's group, but she did hear the disturbing buzzing sound ahead.
Through the trees, she soon saw a dark, swarming mass.
"Those must be the Kamizuru Clan's poisonous bees."
"Looks like some of ours are being pursued."
"Yashiro, lead your squad up front. If the bees show up, hit them with Fire Release immediately."
"We can't engage them directly."
Several Uchiha clan members accelerated to the front of the formation. Though there were only ten of them, no one would dare underestimate the group.
Their backs proudly bore the Uchiha crest. As one of the most powerful clans in the ninja world, the Uchiha didn't gain their reputation through talk, but through strength.
The Sharingan was their innate gift; their mastery of Fire Release was their foundation.
Soon enough, the swarm of bees caught up with Gaku Inuzuka's team, and Tsunade's forces finally caught sight of them.
"Yashiro Uchiha! Move! Stop that swarm of poisonous bees!"
"Yes!"
Yashiro Uchiha led his clan members and charged ahead.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
Large and small fireballs erupted from their mouths.
Seeing the sudden blaze rising ahead, Gaku Inuzuka roared, "Everyone, hit the ground!"
This kind of battlefield instinct wasn't taught—it was honed through countless battles.
Even though he'd never worked alongside the Uchiha before, Gaku Inuzuka knew exactly what needed to be done.
He led his teammates to leap down from the trees, hitting the ground just as a barrage of fireballs smashed into the pursuing swarm.
Fire was the best weapon against insects.
But the swarm was simply too massive.
Even with the Uchiha Clan's powerful Fire Release, they couldn't hold them off for long.
When the flames finally died down, the bees surged forward once more.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
With a loud shout, a fierce gust of wind swept through the battlefield. A team of Wind Release specialists had arrived for support, and the strong wind scattered the swarm of bees, leaving many of them disoriented and dazed.
"Now!" Yashiro Uchiha shouted.
The Uchiha clan unleashed another round of Fire Release techniques. This time, the flames, fueled by the wind, spread rapidly—engulfing swathes of the poisonous bees in a raging inferno.
Yet, some of the bees still managed to bypass the flames and continued their assault.
The swarm seemed endless.
Just as despair began to set in, a flock of birds suddenly swooped in from the distance. It was the Yamanaka Clan, using their secret techniques to control the birds, arriving to assist. The birds dove into the swarm, pecking and tearing into the bees.
At the same time, Tsunade quickly formed a series of hand seals.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
With a puff of smoke, a massive slug appeared on the battlefield. It spat out streams of corrosive slime, instantly melting large clusters of poisonous bees.
With this combined assault, the tide turned. The bees finally began to retreat, and the immediate crisis was averted. Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief.
But no one relaxed.
Watching the swarm slowly vanish, the shinobi knew this was only a temporary reprieve.
...
"Gaku Inuzuka, report the situation."
Having moved out of the woods, Tsunade questioned Gaku about the current conditions.
His grim expression said it all. From that alone, Tsunade could gauge how bad things truly were.
"We need to retreat. Abandon all operations in the Land of Grass."
"This was only the vanguard. The main force is still behind."
"The village is working on a way to neutralize the bee venom. I'll also begin researching an antidote."
"It's going to take time."
As the foremost expert in Medical Ninjutsu in Konoha—and arguably the entire ninja world—Tsunade was confident she could counter the bees' poison.
She had already captured a few samples and intended to study them once they pulled back.
"Understood, Lady Tsunade," Gaku replied.
The troops began retreating in an orderly formation. But before they got far, a scout ninja raced back from the front.
"Bad news! The enemy's main force is closing in—and they're bringing even more poisonous bees!"
The announcement hit like a thunderclap. A heavy weight sank in everyone's chest.
"In that case, we'll fight while retreating!" Tsunade ordered without hesitation.
"All clans, coordinate your efforts. Protect the medical ninja at all costs—we need time."
She positioned the Uchiha Clan and the Wind Release users at the front once again, forming a defensive line against the swarm.
Meanwhile, the Yamanaka Clan maintained aerial surveillance with their birds.
Tsunade herself crouched down, collecting several of the fallen bees—already thinking of how to formulate a temporary antidote.
...
(100 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / PinkSnake