Battle of the Fire Temple

The Battle of the Fire Temple (火ノ寺合戦, Hi no Tera no Kassen) was one of the early conflicts during the Second Shinobi World War, and the second stage of the "Invasion of the Leaf". It was one of the first major turning points of the war.

Prelude
Following the humiliating defeat of at the hands of, the Third Hokage, , ordered all of the available Konoha shinobi to fortify the , where he was sure  and his remaining men would gather. He then withdrew all Konoha shinobi from the Land of Mountains to increase Konoha's chances in the face of the Sunagakure invasion. Upon reaching the Temple, Sakumo quickly realized he didn't have time to catch his breath. Sunagakure soon launched an offensive, aimed at finally killing the man who had fought on even grounds with their jinchūriki.

Battle
With the assistance of the monks at the Fire Temple, Konohagakure put up an amazing fight against the Sunagakure invading forces. Thanks to the monks' ability and their  technique, the Konoha shinobi were able to control the battle; until the Shukaku jinchūriki entered the fray. Once again, Sakumo charged forward to face the jinchūriki, leaving the monks and the other Konoha shinobi to deal with the Sand shinobi.

The tide of battle changed quickly upon the jinchūriki's use of the technique, which covered the temple and the surrounding area in a thick blanket of sand, allowing the Sand ninja to use their special sand techniques, as well as the jinchūriki to use more of Shukaku's powers. Realizing the need to continue the battle despite the odds, Sakumo continues to fight his jinchūriki foe until an opening is presented. He then use the on the jinchūriki, sealing off his access to Shukaku's chakra and abilities.

Without the ability to transform or utilize sand any longer, the jinchūriki retreats from the battle. Nevertheless, Konoha and the monks realize they are outnumbered and beaten, so Sakumo calls for a strategic retreat.

Aftermath
The battle proved to be the first major turning point of the war. Without their jinchūriki's special abilities, Sunagakure was severely weakened in terms of power. Furthermore, despite their superior numbers, Sunagakure suffered more losses than did Konohagakure or the Fire monks. While Sunagakure had the opportunity to occupy the Fire Temple, they chose against it, knowing that Konohagakure was likely to send a large reinforcement battalion to the Temple, and Sunagakure had already suffered a large dent in it's forces. Instead, the Sand ninja pulled back and began planning their next move.