"Assemble the squads and move towards the south." After clearing away the nearby Konoha Ninja, Karatachi Yagura began leading the Ninja Squad in a shift.
Since entering the Land of Fire, they hadn't hidden their tracks much, foreseeing that Konoha would surely gather the Ninja Squad at the fastest speed to deal with them.
Given their position right next to the Konoha Ninja Squad from the Land of Hot Water, a slight move northward could trap the Konoha Ninja Squad fighting against Hidden Cloud from both sides.
Of course, Karatachi Yagura definitely wouldn't do this as it would benefit Hidden Cloud too much, and the convergence of powers from the Three Great Ninja Villages in a small country could easily lead to unexpected incidents.
On the march, Karatachi Yagura called over his two deputy commanders.
"Shingetsu, once we arrive here, you take your squad and leave, dispersing the squad to operate in this area," Karatachi Yagura said to Hozuki Shingetsu while pointing at a spot near Sea-Entering River Forest on the map.
Because the aim was to entangle the Konoha Ninja Squad and drain their energy, Karatachi Yagura decided to divide the squads into three large units, then subdivide each unit in different regions to engage in guerrilla warfare, playing hide and seek with Konoha.
Next, Karatachi Yagura spoke to another deputy commander: "Kawasaki, you'll be stationed at this position with your squad."
Hozuki Shingetsu and Momoguruma Kawasaki nodded in agreement.
"Without Minazuki Kan, who hindered us last time, we can definitely succeed and avenge our past disgrace!" Karatachi Yagura's lips curled slightly, feeling quite satisfied with his teammates this time.
Last time, he was truly speechless; the Seven-Swords Ninja shrank from seven to five inexplicably, and Minazuki Kan even sent himself away, equivalent to instantly losing two elite forces.
Then at each destination, one-third of the ninjas would depart, and when Karatachi Yagura arrived at his location, the Hidden Mist's rapid march was completed.
After organizing the force, Karatachi Yagura swiftly dissolved the squad as per the plan and personally led an elite team to hunt Konoha Squad.
Meanwhile, Konoha's actions proceeded as Karatachi Yagura predicted; shortly after they left, a squad of a thousand arrived in the northeastern Land of Fire.
However, an unexpected turn of events occurred for Karatachi Yagura; before he could take action, the Hidden Mist Anbu struck first, repeatedly acquiring intelligence on Konoha Ninja Squad as if cameras were installed on them.
This astonished Karatachi Yagura; they were in the Land of Fire, where Konoha had a home advantage, yet they managed to win the intelligence battle. Since when had the Hidden Mist Anbu become so strong?
This prompted Karatachi Yagura to consider changing tactics.
With such an intelligence advantage, guerrilla warfare was no longer necessary; leveraging the intelligence could completely catch Konoha Ninja off guard.
However, Karatachi Yagura, being a mature commander, did not act recklessly but sought approval from the Hidden Mist Village leaders far in the Land of Water.
And the response from the Hidden Mist Village leaders was simple, "Attack! Seize the opportunity to hit Konoha hard."
Upon receiving orders, Karatachi Yagura began setting up based on the intelligence.
He did not move his squad, but ordered the other two units to leave behind some ninjas for disguise, then consolidate the squads to set an ambush around Karatachi Yagura's area.
Additionally, Karatachi Yagura himself moved frequently to provoke.
"Daring to be so rampant in the Land of Fire, they must have some backing," Mitokado Homura noted calmly, planning countermeasures instead of getting angry upon hearing of Karatachi Yagura's movements, seeking out Konoha Ninja to kill based on strength.
He instructed the Intelligence Ninja to collect accurate data while devising plans to eliminate the Hidden Mist Squad.
"If they intend to play guerrilla war, then I'll capture the leader first," seeing through the Hidden Mist Squad's intent, Mitokado Homura swiftly formulated a battle strategy.
Currently, the Hidden Mist Squad mainly operated in three areas.
He thus divided the forces into two major units, leading one to encircle Karatachi Yagura's area, while the other surrounded the area closer to Karatachi Yagura's location.
This setup allowed for mutual support in case of unexpected events, given the ninjas' mobility, making it harder for Karatachi Yagura to escape.
Though the plan was in place, Mitokado Homura did not act recklessly; the plan's core is to kill Karatachi Yagura, thus the accuracy of Karatachi Yagura's location is pivotal, as a mistake would leave the Konoha Ninja Squad to be seamlessly defeated.
Only after obtaining precise intelligence from the Intelligence Ninja did Mitokado Homura initiate formal action.
Though completing the task swiftly was advised, caution outweighed speed.
Seeing Mitokado Homura's actions through intelligence, Karatachi Yagura showed a hint of regret, "Why wasn't it Habu Mokgetsu or Orochimaru coming?"
If it were Mokgetsu and Orochimaru, that would truly avenge his past disgrace.
...
On Monday, Yamato and Mokgetsu went to the Ninja Academy together.
It was the first day of school, even Sarutobi Hiruzen took time to come to the Ninja Academy for the entrance ceremony speech.
Entering the entrance ceremony hall, Mokgetsu brought out a small gift box and handed it to Yamato.
"This is your admission gift; it's a Kunai personally forged by me. You can open it to see if you like it," Mokgetsu said with a gentle smile.
"This isn't necessary, you've always been so busy, yet took the time to forge a Kunai for me," Yamato said, feeling overwhelmingly grateful.
Even if Mokgetsu had bought a standard Kunai from a shop, Yamato would have liked it because Mokgetsu had already been kind enough to him.
Of course, he was even happier with the more meaningful handmade Kunai, though he felt indebted to Mokgetsu.