The Iwa-Suna Alliance began dividing their forces, dispatching two units of three thousand each to launch surprise attacks on Konoha's camp from both flanks.
To ensure maximum secrecy, these units withdrew a long distance before beginning a wide, circular route, setting up an encirclement.
This method would take time, but with Iwagakure and Sunagakure's confidence in a prolonged conflict, patience wasn't an issue. This war was far from over, and everyone knew it would drag on for quite some time.
On this day, the Alliance avoided a full-scale assault on Konoha's camp, opting instead for smaller skirmishes along the lines to maintain appearances and prevent Konoha from noticing the absence of six thousand troops.
An all-out attack often resulted in greater casualties on their side, with losses two or three times those of Konoha. To cover their ambush, they limited the day's attacks to minor engagements along an extended battlefront.
By day's end, the clash had exhausted both sides, resulting in relatively low losses with fewer than a hundred deaths.
Both camps were content with the outcome: the Alliance gained time to reposition their ambush forces, while Konoha awaited Mochizuki Hui's reinforcements to arrive, readying themselves to strike back against the Alliance's main force.
The following day passed similarly, with the Iwa-Suna ambush units nearing their positions. To avoid suspicion, these units were led by lesser-known elite jonin rather than familiar Kage-level figures like Mu or Shamon, whose sudden absence might have tipped off Konoha.
One of these units from Iwagakure, led by the elite jonin Yamada Noda, had moved into position to approach Konoha's camp from the right rear.
"Captain, based on our location, we're roughly sixty kilometers from Konoha's encampment on their rear-right flank," a ninja reported to Yamada. They had stealthily advanced for over two days and now were only a few hours from striking.
"Good. Let's keep moving. By today's end, we'll have Konoha's camp surrounded," Yamada Noda commanded, leading the troops onward.
But what Yamada Noda didn't know was that, only ten kilometers behind, Hui's forces were closing in.
Hui's sensory abilities were incredibly sharp, far surpassing those of an ordinary ninja, and he had easily detected the chakra of Yamada's three thousand soldiers—like a cluster of fireflies in the night.
Realizing the presence of unfamiliar chakra signatures, Hui instantly deduced their identity.
His eyes lit up.
Originally, he had rushed here in secret to catch the Alliance's main forces off guard, but instead, he had stumbled upon one of their ambush units.
The chance to eliminate these three thousand ambushers was a stroke of luck he couldn't ignore. With a nod, Hui signaled his troops to begin the pursuit, and they steadily closed the gap between the two forces.
By the time only three kilometers separated the two units, one of the Alliance's sensory ninja noticed the chakra signatures trailing them and reported urgently to Yamada Noda.
"Captain! A ninja unit is following us. They bear an unfamiliar chakra—possibly Konoha!"
Yamada Noda's eyes widened. "We've been exposed!" But he quickly reconsidered.
Even if Konoha had detected their ambush, how could they have dispatched a unit to intercept them from behind? Why not set an ambush on their path instead?
And with Konoha's forces spread thin on the front lines, where would they have found enough manpower to attack them from the rear?
"Could it be another Alliance unit?" he wondered aloud, only to dismiss the thought.
The location was far too close to their own forces; if another unit had been deployed, it would have taken a much wider route to avoid detection.
"Captain, there's someone in the sky!" another ninja cried, drawing everyone's attention upward.
They saw a young man with wings of azure-white rapidly approaching.
"A flying ninja… with wings?" Yamada muttered in confusion.
He couldn't recall any ninja matching that description and might have dismissed it as a summoning beast or bird—except for the sensory ninja's insistence that it was human.
Only the Second Tsuchikage and his disciple, Onoki of Both Scales, were known to possess flight abilities, and neither of them had wings.
As the figure drew closer, Yamada Noda scrutinized his face, trying to identify him. At last, he recognized the boy.
"Mochizuki Hui!" he gasped, unable to believe his eyes.
"Impossible! Why would Mochizuki Hui be here? And how is he flying?!"
"Could it be genjutsu?" another ninja murmured, rubbing his eyes in disbelief.
"Are we seeing things?! Since when does Mochizuki Hui have wings?"
The sight had left the unit of Iwagakure ninja stunned.
The legend of Mochizuki Hui—the "Ghost of Konoha"—had haunted Iwagakure for years.
His reputation had grown following the Anbu War, where he became notorious within Iwagakure, prompting the village to issue a special directive allowing shinobi to abandon missions if faced with "Konoha's Ghost" without repercussions.
After all the reports and images circulated about him, every Iwagakure ninja had memorized his face. Now, seeing Mochizuki Hui here, airborne and real, made it clear this was no illusion.
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