Naruto: Zombie Release

Arata's chakra was depleting rapidly.

Since stepping onto the battlefield, he had already used up six corpses and more than half of his chakra. If this continued, he would be in real danger.

He could tell that more and more enemy ninja had started to notice him. Whether intentional or not, they were seeking ways to break through Konoha's defensive lines and go straight for him.

After all, medical ninja were always high-priority targets for Sunagakure, and Arata, who wielded a unique medical technique, was even more of a marked man.

When Sunagakure's special unit released the fourth wave of poisonous smoke across the battlefield, Arata finally made the call to pull back.

On a battlefield of over ten thousand shinobi on each side, no single clash would determine the outcome. 

This war would be fought in many grueling rounds. 

Weighing the time since the battle started, the chakra levels of the participating ninja, and glancing around at the brutal pace of combat, Arata concluded that one side would soon have to retreat, if only temporarily.

He reasoned it wouldn't be Konoha. Even with so many poisoned, barely holding on, and suffering massive casualties, the Leaf wouldn't take a single step back on their own accord.

Sunagakure were the aggressors in this war. These sand-eating invaders had their eyes on the fertile lands of the Land of Fire. Their motivation was strong, their fighting spirit even stronger.

Originally, the Land of Rain was supposed to be the buffer zone, caught between Fire, Earth, and Wind, an unspoken, shared battleground where Konoha, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure could wage war without bringing it home. 

Even if it meant destroying the Rain's economy and environment, it was still better than fighting on their own soil.

After all, the Second Great Ninja War had been ignited by Hanzo of the Salamander from Amegakure.

But last year, after defeating the Legendary Sannin, Hanzo had announced Amegakure's withdrawal from the war. 

The other nations, though reluctant, had accepted it, no one wanted to push Hanzo, one of the top-tier ninja of his generation, a man known as a "Demi-God," too far.

With fighting in the Land of Rain now off-limits, the war had become more direct and personal. 

Sunagakure stationed its forces on the border of the Land of Fire, launching direct assaults against the defensive units led by Sakumo Hatake.

"So... another forty-seven ninja died of poisoning today?"

Back in the command camp, Sakumo sat grim-faced, overseeing the front lines. 

He wanted to join the fight himself, but he knew it wasn't time yet. He had to wait for Sunagakure's corps commander to make the first move.

There was no doubt, during the Second Great Ninja War, Sakumo was Konoha's pillar of strength. His exploits were legendary. 

The name "White Fang of the Leaf" echoed across the entire ninja world.

What made him especially feared was that most of his victories were carved from the ranks of Sunagakure.

Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law, both rising stars and elite puppet masters of the Sand, had once been touted as future Kazekage contenders. 

Facing these two renowned shinobi, Sakumo had gone into battle himself, blade in hand. In a single engagement, he killed them both.

The shock of that victory resounded through the nations, delivering a heavy blow to Sunagakure's morale and manpower. 

It even shifted the overall course of the war between Konoha and the Sand.

This feat, following the Legendary Sannin's triumph over Amegakure, marked another milestone for the Hidden Leaf in the war effort.

But Sakumo wasn't pleased. Sitting idle in camp, hearing the distant explosions of clashing jutsu and the anguished screams from the medical tents behind him, tore at his heart.

He didn't believe in a "mission-first" philosophy. He preferred to give everything he had to protect as many comrades as possible.

He was the strongest shinobi on Konoha's side. His kill efficiency was unmatched. 

By all logic, he could leap into the fray and cut down a swath of Sand shinobi in no time, indirectly saving countless allies.

But as the supreme commander of the front, he couldn't do that. 

He had to follow the Third Hokage's cautious and conservative grand strategy, forced to sit back and watch as his comrades fell, waiting for Chiyo to make her move.

"This is already the fourth wave of poison gas," a shinobi reported.

"But we were well-prepared. Our gas masks are holding up, and we've coordinated Wind Release users to cast 'Great Breakthrough' and disperse the smoke quickly. 

The medical corps has already delivered a new batch of antidotes to the front lines. It should help stabilize the situation somewhat."

Sakumo listened carefully, processing an endless stream of intel. 

He didn't even dare use Shadow Clones to split the workload, all to conserve chakra and remain at peak condition, ready to deploy at a moment's notice.

Still, there was no movement from Chiyo.

"She's gone mad," Sakumo muttered. "She won't be able to hold back much longer."

Truthfully, he didn't fully agree with the Third Hokage's orders. The strategy was far too conservative.

From the Hokage's perspective, even if Konoha traded lives at a 1:1, or even 1:1.5, ratio, it would still be a victory.

Why? 

Because Konoha had the most shinobi under its control, the most powerful bloodline clans and secret technique families, and the deepest coffers in the Land of Fire. 

There was no need to take risks.

And unlike other nations, Konoha had no desire to expand. Especially not in this war against the Sand, what would they even gain? A pile of sand where crops and herbs wouldn't grow?

What were they supposed to do, train a whole generation of Magnet Release users to pan for gold in the desert?

No, they just had to endure. With Konoha's reserves and recovery speed, they could afford to drag the fight out.

As long as they didn't lose, they won. Even if they took some losses, they'd still come out ahead. All the more reason to avoid unnecessary risk.

Kumogakure and Kirigakure still hadn't committed their main forces to the Second War. To the west, the conflict with Amegakure had ended last year. 

That left only Sunagakure and Iwagakure. In fact, the Third Kazekage had already led a corps deep into the Land of Earth, opening a second front.

All Konoha had to do was keep dragging this out. Victory would come without risk. It was this type of warfare the Third Hokage excelled at. 

He'd gladly sacrifice minor gains if it meant locking the enemy into a slow bleed.

Sakumo didn't even need to open his eyes to know what the Hokage would do after winning the war, demand reparations, yes, but more importantly, force the defeated villages to surrender a share of their mission quotas.

In times of peace, a shinobi village's main income came from completing commissioned tasks. 

The more missions they received, the more experience their shinobi gained, and the faster their strength grew. 

More money meant more advanced jutsu development, better education, more ninja trained in bulk, creating a snowballing cycle of power.

If Konoha came out of the Second War victorious, its prestige would soar. 

The wealthiest clients from all over the world would naturally prefer to hire the Leaf. Other villages would receive fewer commissions as a result.

And on top of that, they'd be forced to sign humiliating contracts, giving up a percentage of their already-dwindling missions to Konoha.

It was inevitable that a Third War would break out. During that conflict, Konoha ended up fighting all four of the other great villages. At its lightest, it was one-versus-two.

There was a reason for that.

No major village could tolerate such an imbalance forever. 

Once they regained even a bit of strength, they'd strike again, both to reclaim their mission share and to settle old grudges from the Second War.

Sakumo clenched his fists, fighting to suppress the frustration churning in his chest, as new reports from the front poured in.