Western Land of Grass.
In a forest close to the Land of Earth, four Hidden Rock Ninjas were cautiously patrolling the surroundings.
Although the Hidden Rock Ninja Squad had not suffered losses in their battles with the Konoha Ninja Squad, the orders from the high-ups were to shrink their forces and try to lure the Konoha Ninja towards the Land of Earth.
So now, the Hidden Rock Ninja Squad had basically retreated to the west bordering the Land of Earth, using force preservation as their primary strategic action.
"I really don't know what the higher-ups are thinking. Our Hidden Rock forces are strong and robust, so why do we keep retreating against Konoha?" A Hidden Rock Chunin, seeing the calm surroundings, complained.
He was very dissatisfied with the current war strategies of the Hidden Rock Village. Since the start of the war, the Hidden Rock had only used a tenth of their strength in war, constantly concealing their true power.
In his opinion, it wasn't necessary to deploy ten thousand troops. Taking advantage of Konoha's focus on the Hidden Mist's invasion, dispatching just five thousand ninja squads would have been enough to seize Konoha amid the chaos.
Yet the high-ups remained indifferent, letting the Hidden Cloud and Konoha oppress them.
"Maybe they intend to lure the enemy into the Land of Earth and then take advantage of the terrain to more easily eliminate the enemy," responded a slightly chubby Hidden Rock Ninja beside him.
"It's overly cautious. Right now, countries are warring with each other; it should be the best time for Hidden Rock to become the strongest ninja village."
Clearly, he also had some complaints about the current warfare strategies of Hidden Rock.
After all, having the power to counterattack or even defeat the opponent but constantly retreating was frustrating.
"Let's not say too much, the higher-ups have their considerations, we just need to execute the orders properly," advised Sumashi.
Unlike the two Hidden Rock Ninjas criticizing the higher-ups, Sumashi also felt frustrated but trusted the higher-ups.
A very simple truth: if the Hidden Rock Village profits, the high-ups will gain far more than ordinary Hidden Rock Ninjas.
Therefore, the high-ups are surely more eager for victory than they are.
After Sumashi spoke, the atmosphere within the team immediately quieted down. Although they were all old friends, Sumashi, unlike the other three, was a Special Jonin and also the team leader.
Joking around was fine normally, but when executing missions on the battlefield, there must be a hierarchy.
Whoosh whoosh!!
Suddenly, the sound of kunai tearing through the air came, and kunai shot towards them from all directions.
The Hidden Rocks then realized that several Konoha Ninjas had appeared around them without them noticing.
Sumashi was incredibly surprised. He had just inspected very carefully and thought there were no people around. Could it be they had used some advanced stealth ninjutsu to hide nearby from the start?
No time to think much, Sumashi hurriedly used chakra to enhance his body and dodge.
The attack came so suddenly, he didn't have time to perform hand seals and use ninjutsu to defend.
Puff!
Although the three Hidden Rock Chunins also tried their best to dodge, there were too many kunai, too fast, and soon their bodies were pierced all over with kunai, falling to the ground unable to move.
"We can only retreat." The pain from the wound made Sumashi frown slightly, swiftly performing hand seals to gather chakra.
He hadn't completely dodged the surprise attack just now from the Konoha Ninjas, sustaining some injuries.
So Sumashi had no thoughts of immediately avenging his teammates and fighting the Konoha Ninjas to the death.
The enemy not only outnumbered them but were also in full strength. Staying meant certain death.
"Earth Release: Earth-Splitting Palm!"
Sumashi concentrated chakra in his palm and struck the ground fiercely.
Rumble!!
Under the effect of Earth Attribute Chakra, the ground cracked rapidly, and chunks of earth and stone flew towards the Konoha Ninjas.
Simultaneously, the cracking ground stirred up a cloud of dust, obstructing vision.
Swoosh!
Taking advantage of the Konoha Ninjas' evasion, Sumashi utilized Instant Body Jutsu to distance himself and fled without looking back.
He needed to bring back the intelligence about the Konoha Ninjas.
However, Sumashi, who had been running all the time, didn't notice that the "Konoha Ninjas" who ambushed them only pursued for a short while before stopping and watching him disappear into the distance.
Once Sumashi's figure disappeared completely, the "Konoha Ninjas" merged into the ground and vanished into the forest.
This scene not only occurred in the western Land of Grass but also in the southern Land of Grass where Konoha Ninjas were stationed.
However, in the southern Land of Grass, it was the Hidden Rock Ninjas ambushing the Konoha Ninjas.
These frequent small ambush events gave headaches to both ninja squad leaders, each suspecting the other of having intentions to start another big war.
"These Konoha Ninjas are too cunning, they don't dare to enter the Land of Earth, only carrying out assassinations near the border!" Rekiseki, slapping the office desk inside the camp, wore an unhappy expression.
As the captain of the Hidden Rock Demolition Squad and a prominent figure in the Hidden Rock, he could now only watch as unfavorable news for the Hidden Rock kept coming, feeling furious.
Yet Rekiseki really didn't have any good solutions because the decision of Hidden Rock's high-ups was to defend, to play the pig to eat the tiger, to lure the enemy in deeply.
"We should consult with the higher-ups, things can't go on like this. Many people in the squad have quite a bit of resentment." Iwakura suggested.
Rekiseki nodded, he had already thought of this.
Either retreat directly to the Land of Earth and hide, enduring the shame from the Ninja World, but nothing else would be affected.
Or go to war directly with the Konoha Ninja Squad, fight fiercely, win and gain fame, lose and continue to play the pig.
Between these two choices, Rekiseki felt either was better than staying in this uncertain status at the border.