Naruto: I am Uchiha Shirou

Credits: Waterwave

The rain poured harder and harder, while the battle on the frontlines grew increasingly brutal. The torrential rainwater converged into streams stained red with blood.

"These Konoha ninjas are insane! They don't care about their resources at all!"

"Lord Hanzō, the frontlines are about to collapse. We request reinforcements!"

As the battle raged on, in the rear of the battlefield, Hanzō of the Salamander, wearing his breathing apparatus, listened calmly to his subordinates' reports.

"Has Konoha's commander appeared on the battlefield?"

Finally, after three days of relentless fighting, the leader of Amegakure—the man regarded as a demigod—spoke.

The Rain ninja who came to report suppressed his excitement and responded in a deep voice:

"No! However, Konoha's ninja used the summoning beast Katsuyu, the slug belonging to the Princess of the Land of Fire, to treat the wounded. It's this summoning beast that's allowing Konoha to fight with greater vigor."

"But those three haven't shown themselves. It seems they're waiting for the decisive moment."

Upon hearing that the trio—Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru—had not been seen, Hanzō did not seem worried; instead, a faint smile appeared on his face.

"Their absence from the battlefield is the best outcome."

If those three had appeared, he might have suspected that the Third Hokage himself had joined the frontlines. However, the presence of Katsuyu confirmed that the trio was commanding the Konoha forces from behind the scenes, clearly trying to lure him out.

War is fought soldier against soldier, general against general.

"Send reinforcements from the second defensive line to the frontlines. The main reserves are to remain unmoved!"

"Yes, sir!"

After delivering his orders, Hanzō gave a subtle signal to one of his most trusted subordinates. The subordinate nodded solemnly, and in the privacy of the room, he performed a transformation jutsu to take on Hanzō's appearance, while Hanzō transformed into the subordinate's likeness.

"Half a day. You only need to impersonate me for half a day."

As his voice echoed, Hanzō vanished without a trace.

...

While blood flowed as rivers above ground, in the dark, subterranean depths where an underground river ran, a thousand elite Rain ninjas moved swiftly and silently.

Some moved in small wooden boats, while others clung upside-down to the rocky walls, advancing stealthily.

"Lord Hanzō, we'll soon be entering Konoha's operational zone."

As the densely packed Rain ninja advanced, Hanzō, positioned at the rear, listened intently to his subordinate's report, his expression grave.

"Once we enter Konoha's operational zone, split into thirteen teams. Attack from here and here. Prioritize destroying Konoha's mining operations in the Land of Rain."

Hanzō spoke with calm precision. For him, this battle was merely a demonstration that the Land of Rain was his domain—a way to showcase his power and strength.

He especially detested the invaders exploiting his country's resources, so targeting the mining operations was also a form of retribution.

"Even if Konoha's sensory ninja detects us, there's no need to worry. By the time they react, it'll be too late to redeploy their forces."

"Yes, sir! For the victory of the Land of Rain!"

"We only need to cripple Konoha's forces in this region, and the war at the frontlines will resolve itself. The Land of Rain will finally know peace!"

Cautious as ever, Hanzō decided to alter their pre-planned positions at the last moment, fearing the possibility of leaked information.

...

As night fell, the rain intensified, accompanied by lightning and thunder, creating an ominous prelude to the coming storm.

"It's a thunderstorm!"

Hidden within forests and caves, Konoha's ninja looked up at the darkening skies, observing the relentless downpour. The storm, along with the reduced visibility, cast a heavy pall over their spirits. For them, this was not a favorable turn of events, as even signal flares would now be less effective.

"I found them!"

Suddenly, a Hyūga ninja in the forest shouted in alarm, the veins around his Byakugan bulging. He could see underground chakra flows.

"There are ten—no, countless chakra sources! They're specially trained rats! Their bodies contain faint traces of chakra, and they're being controlled by Rain Ninja to disrupt our sensory forces!"

The Hyūga ninja reported in shock, his Byakugan revealing the underground situation. While there were Rain ninjas, the majority of the movement came from rats.

But how many Hyūga ninjas did Konoha have? Not many. Most of their sensory ninja relied on chakra detection, and the sheer number of rats carrying chakra signatures was enough to confuse them.

"Fire a signal flare! Relay the intel to Lady Tsunade immediately!"

The experienced leader of the group barked the order without hesitation, prioritizing the signal flare.

Their enemies were far too cautious—but this was war.

In the pouring rain, the bright light of a flare illuminated the night sky, clearly visible to countless Konoha ninjas, who immediately prepared for battle.

"Hurry! I sense countless chakra signatures moving rapidly!"

"Underground! At ten o'clock to the left, there's a mass of chakra activity."

"No, it's rats!"

All across the forest and hills, pre-deployed Konoha sensory ninja cried out in alarm. Signal flares lit up the stormy night, turning the sky as bright as day.

In the rain-soaked forest, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru stood with grim expressions, watching the flares erupt in all directions.

"Reports indicate an uncountable number of chakra signatures moving underground. The Hyūga have detected that Rain ninjas are controlling rats infused with faint chakra…"

A Konoha ninja approached to deliver the report, while the expressions on Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya's faces grew even more severe.

"Heh, just as the intel said," Orochimaru rasped, his voice low and sinister. "The so-called demigod of the Land of Rain is truly paranoid, even using rats."

Ninjas often trained animals, usually for substitution jutsu. Substitution jutsu was not teleportation but rather a sleight of hand: in a blind spot, they would transform an object or animal into their likeness, fooling opponents. Animals imbued with chakra made the technique even more convincing.

"Incorporating faint chakra into the fur of trained animals—he's completely disrupted all our plans."

Hanzō's cautious tactic had rendered Konoha's careful preparations full of holes.

"Damn it!"

Jiraiya punched a tree in frustration as rainwater dripped down. Tsunade and Orochimaru, on the other hand, remained calm. Such was their nature.

"Activate Plan B. Once we confirm the presence of a large number of Rain ninjas, fire flares," Tsunade ordered, her voice sharp. She then turned to Orochimaru and Jiraiya, her tone icy.

"Three minutes. In three minutes, whether or not we confirm the enemy's presence, detonate all the explosive tags we've planted in this area."

"Understood!"

"Heh, three minutes? A bit rushed, but it'll do. If we're blind, we might as well blind the Rain Ninja too."

Jiraiya gave a firm nod, while Orochimaru's sinister smile widened. Tsunade smirked coldly and said, "A million explosive tags. Let's see if this so-called demigod enjoys our little gift."

Both sides were making their moves. Luck would decide much. If they were fortunate, the explosion might take out a significant number of Rain ninjas. If not, the large-scale underground collapse would force the Rain Ninja to surface, exposing them.

More importantly, the massive detonation would alter the underground river system. Even if Konoha lost track of the subterranean network, so would the Rain Ninja.

After issuing the orders, Tsunade turned decisively, her gaze sweeping over the legions of Konoha's elite ninja hidden in the forest. She raised her arm and shouted:

"Konoha ninja! Prepare for battle!"

"Oh!"

"Oh!"

A deep roar echoed through the forest in an instant—they had been suppressed here for far too long.

Tsunade's heroic and valiant demeanor left Jiraiya, who was watching from behind, momentarily stunned. Her golden hair shimmered, and Tsunade seemed more decisive than ever before, even carrying an unfamiliar aura about her.

It was familiar—something he had once felt from the old man.

Meanwhile, Orochimaru squinted, his hoarse laughter revealing his understanding. He could see it clearly—Tsunade was feeling the pressure. It wasn't just the pressure of war but also the burden of protecting her village and her clan.

"Send orders to the front line. All Konoha ninjas are to retreat to defensive positions."

Orochimaru's raspy voice echoed as he looked at the intelligence in his hand, a playful smile forming on his face.

"Elder Chiyo has begun leading the Sand Shinobi in a counterattack. It seems they've received the war report from the Land of Wind. I wonder how long they can hold out."

The Land of Wind had erupted into flames of war, forcing a two-front conflict. Chiyo, clearly enraged by the news, had launched what appeared to be a final desperate offensive.

Hearing Orochimaru's words, Tsunade let out a cold laugh:

"That old puppet hag is a gambler at heart. She's betting on making progress on the battlefield in the Land of Rain, without even worrying about her supply lines being cut. When that happens, it'll be a total defeat."

When it came to Chiyo, both Tsunade and Orochimaru considered her a long-standing rival. Though they had never directly clashed in battle, they saw her as a formidable adversary.

Chiyo's use of poison among the Sand Shinobi clashed with Tsunade's development of antidotes, creating a repeated cycle of countermeasures on the battlefield in the Land of Rain.

This left Elder Chiyo of Sunagakure feeling extremely stifled, leading her to nickname Tsunade the "Slug Girl." In turn, Tsunade cursed Chiyo privately, calling her an "old gambler" for constantly creating new poisons in hopes that Tsunade wouldn't be able to counteract them.

But even in war, Elder Chiyo remained a gambler at heart.

...

Under the heavy rain, all of Konoha's sensory ninjas stood at attention, while those with Byakugan nervously scanned their surroundings.

"The time is almost here!"

Inside a tree hollow, Shirou's calm voice echoed as Kushina grumbled in frustration:

"So cunning! The Amegakure raised so many rats to spy on us."

Meanwhile, Mikoto, her face always adorned with a gentle smile—even during wartime—calmly collected the specially crafted kunai scattered around.

"Kushina, these are your custom-made kunai."

"Thanks, Sister Mikoto."

Unrolling a sealing scroll, Kushina placed the kunai into designated arrays on the scroll. These specially crafted kunai each had unique sealing formulas inscribed on them.

Seal!

 With a series of bursts of white smoke, the tri-pronged kunai were all sealed away, leaving the scroll marked with the word "Seal."

Through his sensory abilities, Shirou squinted, clearly able to discern the properties of the sealing jutsu. The scroll was enveloped in a special chakra that sealed the items within.

Sealing jutsu!

This was something he resolved to study in the future. Among all the powers in the ninja world, aside from the likes of Kekkei Genkai and Bijuu, sealing jutsu was among the most powerful.

After all, even the mighty Otsutsuki clan had been sealed away.

"Prepare for battle!"

The three stepped out of the hollow, stepping into the rain. All the Konoha ninjas in the area stood on high alert.

"Prepare to detonate the explosive tags!"

"Yes!"

Buried deep underground were countless explosive tags, densely packed to cover the entire area—a sight that would terrify anyone.

A million explosive tags—this was a strategy designed to alter the course of the war.

Taking advantage of the natural underground rivers of the Land of Rain, Konoha was willing to expend a million explosive tags to turn the tide of the conflict. Otherwise, they would remain on the defensive.

"Leave it to me!"

Kushina's expression grew serious as she connected her chakra to the explosive tags below, ready to detonate them at any moment.

Meanwhile, scattered across the rain-soaked forests, lakes, and hills, Konoha ninjas kept a tense watch on the time.

Three minutes.

Explode!

 At the three-minute mark, countless Konoha ninjas shouted in unison, detonating the explosive tags. In an instant, flames erupted from the buried explosive tags.

The sound of the explosions underground was muffled by the rushing water of the underground rivers, making it nearly impossible to hear.

...

Exploiting the distraction caused by the countless rats disrupting the sensory ninjas, Hanzo of the Salamander, advancing underground, squinted and said coldly, "The decisive moment has come."

"Lord Hanzo, our sensory ninjas report a large number of sensory ninjas above us!"

"Damn it!"

Hearing this report, Hanzo, ever cautious, immediately narrowed his eyes, his face darkening. Only one thought crossed his mind:

"Our intel has been leaked!"

Otherwise, how could the Konoha ninjas have prepared so thoroughly? If it had been discovered by chance, that would be understandable, but the presence of so many sensory ninjas above made it clear that this was a deliberate setup.

"Lord Hanzo, there are explosive tags!"

Though the sound of burning explosive tags was masked by the underground river, the faint flickers of firelight from the tags still gave them away. In the pitch-black underground, the flames were especially conspicuous.

In the terrified eyes of countless Rain ninjas, countless flames erupted in an instant as the explosive tags detonated.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The million explosive tags meticulously placed underground detonated simultaneously. Aboveground, Konoha ninjas felt the earth shake beneath their feet.

After the initial rumble, it was as if a massive force was surging through the ground. Moments later, a scene that left countless ninjas stunned unfolded.

The earth, after an initial bout of upheaval, began to collapse and fracture rapidly. Entire regions crumbled, accompanied by deafening roars of destruction.

The scene resembled a natural disaster, like an earthquake, with its effects spreading far and wide.

"Everyone, be careful!"

Under flashes of lightning and peals of thunder, the collapsing earth created fissures so deep they seemed bottomless.

In worse-hit areas, large sections of land caved in, causing underground rivers and accumulated rainwater to rush together. From the hills, one could see sinkholes forming below, filling with muddy water to create lakes.

From time to time, these lakes would surface with bloodstains and fragments of torn clothing—grim reminders of the ninjas caught in the disaster.

"Konoha!"

A furious roar echoed through the rain. Suddenly, with a thunderous crash, a massive and terrifying summoned beast burst forth from the ground.

Standing atop the summoning beast was none other than Hanzo of the Salamander, the leader of the Amegakure. Behind him stood a group of elite Rain ninjas who had narrowly survived.