On Second Mountain stood Uchiha Jin.
On Third Mountain, Uchiha Obito.
And on Fourth Mountain, Orochimaru — along with the thousand reinforcements he had brought.
It was obvious.
If the Three-Village Alliance wanted to break through, their best option was First Mountain.
"Simple pursuit won't inflict enough damage…"
Shikaku murmured to himself as he studied the battlefield.
He unrolled a map.
His eyes quickly fixed on a single location.
Kusagakure. Tenchi Bridge.
Konoha's strategic objective in this war had been clear:
Hold Kikyo Mountain.
Drive the alliance out of the Land of Fire.
Minimize domestic losses.
If that were all, then biting their heels and escorting them out of Fire Country would have sufficed.
But now?
Konoha held the advantage.
And Shikaku wanted more.
He wanted this war to hurt.
Badly.
He wanted to carve out at least ten years of peace.
And after this battle, negotiations would inevitably follow.
If Konoha could sit at the table with undeniable leverage—
Then the sacrifices would not be in vain.
Ideally, the entire ten-thousand-man alliance force would be annihilated.
If that proved impossible—
Then at least one village's army must be erased.
After brief consideration, Shikaku chose his target.
Iwagakure.
Sunagakure was already crippled.
They had barely recovered from the Third Great War.
This loss alone would shake them to their core.
Kumogakure had strength — but they had already suffered heavily at Konoha's hands before this battle.
Only Iwagakure remained robust.
Under the long stewardship of the Third Tsuchikage, they had preserved their strength.
They had suffered the least in the previous war.
If their five thousand troops were destroyed—
Iwa would be forced into strategic paralysis.
And Konoha's dominance would be secured.
Shikaku's gaze hardened.
The key was Tenchi Bridge.
The decisive battle could not occur within Fire Country.
Even scattered remnants could wreak havoc on civilian cities.
The battlefield had to shift beyond the border.
Of the neighboring nations, the Land of Grass lay closest to Kikyo Mountain — and it bordered Iwagakure.
The Iwa forces were most likely to retreat in that direction.
And once inside Grass Country—
A massive canyon would block their path.
Tenchi Bridge was their only viable crossing.
A chokepoint.
A coffin lid.
Decision made.
"Inoichi."
"Yes."
"Notify Chōza. Plan adjustment."
"Delay the routed forces at First Mountain. Block them — but release them in batches."
Inoichi nodded.
"And inform Uchiha Jin, Uchiha Obito, and Orochimaru."
"Prioritize eliminating Sunagakure and Kumogakure shinobi."
"Iwagakure forces can be temporarily spared."
The orders were transmitted instantly.
Shikaku turned to the communications squad.
"Contact the village."
"Have them notify Jiraiya immediately."
"Deploy five hundred shinobi to Tenchi Bridge in Grass Country."
"Seal Iwa's retreat."
The message was inscribed onto a scroll.
A ninken was summoned.
Scroll secured.
Dismissed.
Back in Konoha, the receiving unit would summon the same hound and relay the intelligence upward.
The rest depended on the village's response time.
Shikaku returned his gaze to the battlefield.
The Alliance's assault force, after leaving behind rear guards, surged toward First Mountain exactly as predicted.
But just as their vanguard reached its base—
Forces erupted from Second and Third Mountains.
Two Konoha armies struck outward.
Second Mountain troops surged toward First.
Third Mountain forces descended toward Fourth.
Under Jin and Obito's leadership, Second and Third had already crushed the bulk of their enemies. Only scattered squads escaped.
Fourth Mountain still resisted stubbornly — the Alliance had concentrated elite shinobi there.
But with Obito reinforcing, its fall was only a matter of time.
At First Mountain, the fighting had been stalemated.
But once Alliance reinforcements arrived, Konoha's line tore open, allowing many enemy shinobi to escape.
Until Jin arrived.
Stabilization.
Controlled slaughter.
Per Shikaku's orders, Sand and Cloud shinobi were hunted relentlessly.
Iwa units were allowed to pass in measured waves.
The net was being drawn elsewhere.
Hours later—
The final enemy on First Mountain fell.
The Defense of Kikyo Mountain was over.
The results were staggering.
Kumogakure
Over one thousand shinobi deployed.
Nearly annihilated.
Only a few dozen escaped — dragging away a gravely injured Fourth Raikage.
Sunagakure
Four thousand deployed.
Just over a thousand escaped.
Fourth Kazekage Rasa — severely wounded, fate uncertain.
Retreating toward the Land of Rivers under Chiyo's leadership.
Iwagakure
Five thousand deployed.
Over half casualties.
Four-Tails and Five-Tails Jinchūriki — dead.
Commander Kitsuchi — gravely injured, survival unknown.
Remaining forces fragmented, retreating in scattered segments toward Grass Country.
From ten thousand—
The Alliance was reduced to roughly four thousand survivors.
A crushing Konoha victory.
But—
The cost.
Konoha had fielded six thousand five hundred defenders.
Over two thousand were killed outright.
Hundreds more critically wounded.
Nearly everyone else was injured to some degree.
Only around three thousand remained battle-capable.
And the war—
It was not over yet.
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