In Naruto with the Flame-Flame Fruit

Year 44 of the Hidden Leaf.

It was supposed to be a year of peace. But an unexpected upheaval erupted in Sunagakure.

The Third Kazekage had gone missing.

If it had just been a regular jōnin vanishing for a week or two, that would have been manageable. But this was the Kazekage—the head of the entire village. A Kage doesn't just disappear for no reason.

Every single day, a Kage has a mountain of affairs to handle. They can't simply dump their duties onto the elders and vanish. Once they realized he was gone, Sunagakure tried to suppress the news, sending out squads in secret to search for their missing leader.

But the scale of their mobilization was too large. Other nations took notice. A little probing was all it took to uncover the truth—

Whoa, the Kazekage had disappeared.

With their Kage gone, Sunagakure's strength dropped dramatically. The village was vulnerable, and the Land of Lightning—long an advocate of military expansion—jumped at the opportunity. The Land of Wind was attacked, and not only that...

The Land of Lightning declared war on both the Land of Earth and the Land of Fire!

The Third Great Ninja War had begun!

Konoha immediately entered wartime alert mode.

The Fire Daimyō deployed ninjas to the borders near the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Fields, establishing a defensive line against Kumogakure. One of the Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya, returned to the frontlines and was stationed at the border.

But just as everyone was focused on the threat from the Land of Lightning...

No one expected the Land of Wind, the one that had just been bullied, to suddenly launch a full-scale invasion of the Land of Fire.

Konoha was caught completely off guard.

After a swift emergency meeting among Konoha's upper ranks, another of the Legendary Sannin—Orochimaru—was dispatched to lead the counteroffensive on the frontlines between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind.

Shinku's team was among those sent to join the battle.

Ninjas are soldiers. The village raises them for moments like these—to defend their homeland in times of crisis.

Asuma and Kurenai had yet to officially pass the Chūnin Exams, but they, along with other genin, were promoted to chūnin for the war. Partly to boost morale, partly to project strength to the enemy.

And there was another reason...

Sending genin to the battlefield was practically a death sentence. By promoting them to chūnin, it made things seem a little less cruel—even if it was just for show. Konoha wasn't the only village doing this. Every shinobi village was playing the same game.

Fully equipped with kunai, shuriken, explosive tags, soldier pills, and other wartime essentials, Kiyosuke joined Shinku and the others as they headed to the frontlines of the Land of Wind. It was his first experience in real war, and honestly, he was a little excited.

So excited that he couldn't sleep on the first night.

War had always felt like a distant concept to him—something far off. But now it was here, suddenly and without warning.

In reality, this war was a continuation of the Second Great Ninja War. After years of recovery, the Five Great Nations had all regained their strength. The Land of Fire had profited handsomely from the previous war, drawing everyone's attention.

But now, they had lost both the White Fang of Konoha and Tsunade. Their military strength had plummeted.

Konoha was in a state of decline. Not just Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure— even Kirigakure, despite their isolationist tendencies, was watching from the shadows like a hungry beast.

All four great nations were eyeing the Land of Fire, hoping to bite off a piece.

Kiyosuke sighed at the thought, rolled over, and tried to sleep. There were plenty of elite jōnin standing guard. Newly promoted chūnin like them didn't need to take night watch yet.

After three days of travel, they finally neared the front.

Their group of Konoha ninjas was scheduled to report to Commander Orochimaru the next day.

That night, the camp was eerily quiet. Too quiet.

Suddenly, one of Konoha's sensory-type ninjas opened his eyes.

"Unknown chakra signatures approaching. Everyone, stay alert!"

Shinku immediately roused his three teammates, and they snapped into readiness.

"They're up there!"

The sensor pointed above them.

Just as he spoke, a barrage of kunai shot out from the darkness of the forest, striking several inexperienced Konoha ninjas.

They screamed in pain, collapsing to the ground and writhing.

Kiyosuke's sharp eyes caught the detail.

"The kunai are poisoned! Be careful!"

"Fire Jet!!!"

He launched a blazing punch in the direction the kunai had come from. Several figures leapt out of the flaming trees.

Clack! Clack! Clack!

Wood clattered loudly—distinct in the night.

A voice came from the darkness.

"Konoha... you won't be leaving here alive tonight."

"It's Sunagakure's puppet squad!"

One of the jōnin shouted as he deflected an attacker. The enemy was a puppet.

Sunagakure's puppetry techniques were famous across the world. That was one of their greatest strengths. A single puppet could be outfitted with countless mechanisms, many laced with poison. A skilled puppeteer could control multiple puppets at once, and their combined firepower was incredibly deadly.

"How many puppeteers are there, Kawakami?" Shinku asked.

The sensory ninja, Kawakami, responded quickly, "Three in total. Looks like a full squad."

Three puppeteers...

They had three Konoha squads here—twelve people total.

Three jōnin, one of them a sensory type. Going up against three enemy puppet masters... this was going to be rough.

Then Shinku said, "Kiyosuke, I'll leave it to you."

"Understood," Kiyosuke replied, stepping forward.

One of the jōnin frowned.

"Shinku, sending a kid who's only been a chūnin for less than a year? That's reckless. Don't send him to his death."

"No one can kill him," Shinku said solemnly.

Unless they figured out Kiyosuke's secret, there was no way anyone could kill him before he ran out of chakra.

Kiyosuke turned to Kawakami. "Please give me their positions."

Kawakami nodded. "There's one in the tree at one o'clock. Another at three o'clock. Last one at ten."

"Got it."

"Leave one alive," Shinku reminded him.

"Sure."

Kiyosuke dashed into the forest. In the dark night, a sudden blaze lit up the trees.

"Well well, kid," one of the puppeteers sneered. "If you've come to die, then hand over that little life of yours!"

His fingers twitched, sending chakra threads into his puppet. The puppet lunged forward, and the blade in its arm stabbed straight through Kiyosuke's chest.

"Damn it!" The jōnin who had warned Shinku earlier saw the hit and moved to intervene—but Shinku stopped him.

"Keep watching," he said.

"But he just—huh?"

The jōnin froze as he saw flames rise from Kiyosuke's "wound." The fire spread rapidly, setting the wooden puppet ablaze.

"What the hell?!"

The puppeteer hidden in the shadows was just as shocked. Fire danced across the spot where Kiyosuke had been stabbed, sealing the wound.

Flames erupted from Kiyosuke's hands. He hurled them toward the enemy—two fiery spears tore through the air and struck their target.

They pierced the puppeteer's body, incinerating his insides. He didn't even have time to scream.

One puppeteer down. Clean, efficient.

"Alright. Who's next?"

Without pause, Kiyosuke turned and charged toward the next one.

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Pls Drop some Power Stones

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