Hattori , Puppet Tyrant in Sand

Hattori, who had just been trying to pump himself up, spitting on the ground and all, finally managed to ease some of Pakura's worries. She couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Heh...you say you're not scared, but look at you—you're clearly terrified!"

"I am not!" 

Hattori immediately turned to her and raised his chin defiantly. 

"I'm the kind of guy who'd make even the Tsuchikage scream! Others fear me; I'd never fear them! Okay, maybe I fear one person...only you, Sis Pakura!"

"Fear me?" Pakura blinked in confusion. "Why would you fear me?"

"Hehe, I'm afraid of you ignoring me!" Hattori chuckled, moving closer to her.

"If you ignore me, I wouldn't be able to eat or sleep well! Sis Pakura, the battle's about to start—how about a little encouragement? How about a kiss?"

"No way!"

"Oh, come on, just a little one!" 

"No!"

"Come on, just one! (づ￣3￣)づ"

"..."

…

In the days that followed, Hattori would joke around with Pakura to ease his inner tension.

The Sand Village camp was quiet, but with tensions escalating between the Stone Village, the Cloud Village, and the Leaf Village, everyone knew this calm wouldn't last long.

And that turned out to be true. 

Just days later, Chiyo returned with forces from the southern battlefield, bringing a pivotal piece of news—the Mist Village had declared war on the Leaf Village!

Upon hearing this, Ebizo quickly ordered Rasa to lead Sand Village's elite forces while he himself led the puppet forces across the border to attack the Leaf Village unannounced!

With nearly ten thousand Sand ninja charging in, the Leaf Village's defenses in the River Country crumbled within hours.

The Sand ninja advanced swiftly, crossing into the Land of Fire's territory by the end of the day.

In the Shinobi world, there was an unspoken rule: Great nations make the moves, the middle ones play the pawns, and the small nations become the board.

The Land of Fire had always been the strongest of the five great nations, with the Leaf Village's military strength keeping enemies at bay and fighting battles on foreign soil. It was almost unheard of for anyone to breach their borders.

The whole Land of Fire was in shock when they received the news.

The Daimyo's court sent an urgent order to Hiruzen Sarutobi, demanding that the Leaf Village immediately dispatch forces to repel the Sand ninja and prevent them from advancing deeper into the Land of Fire.

Otherwise, the damages caused by Sand's invasion would be shouldered entirely by the Leaf Village.

Moreover, if the Leaf Village failed to drive back the Sand, forcing the Land of Fire to negotiate with the Land of Wind, the Daimyo's court would cut its military funding for the Leaf Village.

In the shinobi world, villages like the Leaf don't answer to the Daimyo as a subordinate. Instead, they're in a partnership: the Daimyo provides the funding, and the village provides protection, working together to govern the country.

If a village fails to satisfy the Daimyo, he can withhold funds and even commission ninja from other countries instead.

Without sufficient funding, a ninja village cannot train enough shinobi, widening the gap with rival villages and becoming vulnerable to future attacks.

This is a vicious cycle.

Because of this, the wars between ninja villages are so brutal that leaders will often personally join the battlefield to ensure victory.

The stakes are too high; no one can afford a misstep.

For the great nations, one wrong move could mean utter ruin.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had fought in two previous ninja wars and knew just how merciless these conflicts could be.

Upon receiving the Daimyo's orders, his mind was reeling.

"First it was Stone and Cloud, then Mist and Sand...now the Daimyo's stepping in too. The trouble never ends! I guess there's no choice but to go all-in."

He immediately turned to the nearby Anbu and issued his orders.

"Send my command: the Hyuga clan will counter the Mist Village, while the Uchiha clan will hold off Stone and Cloud. No matter what it takes, hold them back!"

"Yes!"

With Hiruzen's order, the entire Leaf Village sprang into action.

The Uchiha and Hyuga clans mobilized their entire forces; anyone capable of fighting took up arms and headed to the battlefield.

Both clans possessed powerful dojutsu bloodlines.

The Uchiha, with their Sharingan, could see through and replicate non-bloodline jutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu, making them a force to be reckoned with—one Uchiha could face down an entire squad.

The only downside was that the Sharingan was rare, with only one out of ten Uchiha likely to awaken it.

Fortunately, the Uchiha clan leader, Fugaku Uchiha, was highly capable.

He expertly exploited previous conflicts between Stone and Cloud, holding back both villages with just his clan.

While the Hyuga leader wasn't as strategic as Fugaku, the sheer number of white-eyed clan members gave them a formidable advantage.

Unlike the Sharingan, the Byakugan was common in the Hyuga clan, which significantly boosted their overall combat power.

The Byakugan's abilities were also impressive.

It provided enhanced vision, x-ray vision, and allowed the user to see through obstructions with a full 360-degree field of view.

It made them virtually immune to ambushes, able to take on one opponent or fend off groups.

More importantly, the Byakugan's abilities countered the Mist Village's techniques.

The Mist's signature Hidden Mist jutsu was virtually useless against the Byakugan's penetrating vision.

Once the Hyuga got close, the Mist ninja would face relentless Gentle Fist attacks, resulting in blocked chakra points and internal injuries.

With the Hyuga clan fully mobilized, while they couldn't drive back the Mist entirely, they could certainly stall their advances.

Of course, facing an entire nation alone came with inevitable losses.

Both the Hyuga and Sarutobi were painfully aware of this.

But Sarutobi believed that if the Uchiha and Hyuga clans could hold off three great ninja villages, buying the Leaf time and opportunity, any sacrifice was worth it.

"The village won't forget you!" 

Sarutobi murmured, then took off his red and white Hokage robe, revealing the black combat uniform beneath it.

On the back were the words "Third Hokage."

The Leaf's family heads stood before him, awaiting his orders in solemn silence.

Under their watchful eyes, Sarutobi issued his command in a determined tone.

"The Aburame clan will stay behind to guard the village; the rest will join me in facing the Sand. We don't have much time. We must crush the Sand Village forces in ten days. Move out!"

"Yes!"

(End of Chapter)