The Land of Grass.
This was where Iwagakure and Konoha were now fighting at full scale.
Neither side wanted to wage war on its own soil, so the battlefield was pushed into the Land of Grass instead.
Iwagakure acted as the attacker, while Konoha took the defensive position.
As for what the Land of Grass thought about all this—that didn't matter at all. No one among the two great powers cared.
Just a small country.
The Grass Village was nothing like the Rain Village in terms of backbone. The moment Konoha and Iwa started fighting here, Grass ninja immediately went into hiding, showing zero intention of defending their own country.
A stark contrast to the Land of Rain.
The Rain Village was already on the verge of driving three great nations back, while Grass Village had been playing dead this whole time.
"ANBU Root, codename squad—fully arrived."
Crow led the group to report to the local commander first.
The current head of the Nara clan.
Nara Shikashi.
Shikashi was staring down at the map spread across the table. He turned his head slightly, glancing at the Root members filling the command tent.
"Root, right?"
Crow nodded. "Yes."
Recently, Root had been making contact with the Ino–Shika–Cho clans, trying to secure manpower support.
The Nara and Akimichi clans had remained unmoved, but the Yamanaka clan had quite a few members showing interest.
Though it was still only at the contact stage, Shikashi was naturally aware of Root's existence.
He looked back at the map, pondered for a moment, then said:
"Go reinforce the northeast sector. There are many Iwa ninja there, and Takigakure has also shown signs of movement."
"Your main task is to hold back Iwagakure's attacks, and at the same time monitor Takigakure. If they show any intention of attacking Konoha, you are responsible for stopping them."
Takigakure was an oddity among minor villages.
It was also the only small village that the Five Great Nations took seriously.
After all, their former leader had shamelessly managed to obtain a tailed beast from Senju Hashirama.
They were the only minor village to ever possess a tailed beast.
Whether Takigakure had strong ninja or not was unclear—but the power of a tailed beast was unquestionable.
That alone was enough to make the great villages wary.
Otherwise, why would neither Konoha nor Iwagakure pass through Takigakure's territory, even though it lay between the Lands of Fire and Earth?
A Takigakure that possessed a tailed beast had the power to enter the war.
As the defending side, Konoha naturally had to stay alert to any unusual movement from Takigakure.
"Takigakure, huh…" Hyuga Arin stroked his chin.
He remembered that Takigakure dropped items from One Punch Man.
So how exactly were those drop tables connected?
Still, this assignment was obviously the most dangerous one.
A single mistake could mean facing two villages at once.
No wonder Root members were so loyal to Danzo later on—being shoved into the most dangerous positions like this would do it.
Shikashi rubbed his temples and waved his hand.
"Go."
"Yes!"
The Root members vanished.
Shikashi continued rubbing his temples.
The biggest problem right now was that the Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, had personally appeared on the battlefield, causing heavy losses on Konoha's side.
Reinforcements from Root alone wouldn't change the situation.
They needed someone who could stand up to Ōnoki.
Ōnoki never moved alone either—he always appeared with large forces.
Shikashi wanted to hunt the Tsuchikage down, but there was simply no opportunity.
The man combined recklessness and caution perfectly.
Whenever Konoha tried to surround him, he would immediately take to the air and retreat.
He never fought Konoha head-on.
Even a Kage could be worn down to death if surrounded by countless ninja.
Konoha didn't currently have anyone who could single-handedly counter Ōnoki.
But if the Ino–Shika–Cho trio acted together, they could still hold him back.
The Konoha front hadn't collapsed yet—they were just at a disadvantage.
But the breach of the defensive line was only a matter of time.
Shikashi had no better options now. All he could do was continue requesting reinforcements from Konoha.
…
The Land of Grass was mostly plains.
On the southeastern front, Konoha ninja had already constructed trenches, and the two sides were exchanging ninjutsu nonstop.
Some Iwa ninja attempted to flank from the sides, only for Konoha to immediately dispatch intercepting units.
If they went any farther, they would enter another frontline entirely.
The fighting between Iwagakure and Konoha was intense.
At this moment, Root members appeared inside the trenches.
A Sarutobi clan jōnin with a thick beard looked at the newcomers.
"Reinforcements from ANBU?"
Crow nodded silently. When operating outside, Root always used ANBU identities.
"We're short on manpower to block the flanks. We need your help. Those skilled in ninj—"
"BOOM!!"
A massive earthen sphere smashed down not far from the trench, sending up a deafening explosion.
Konoha ninja immediately began forming seals.
"Wind Release: Thousand-Faced Wind!"
Countless small wind blades surged forward.
Several powerful enemy ninja attempted to charge the trench directly, and Konoha responded at once by sending out interceptors.
They clashed amid overlapping ninjutsu, exchanging blows at high speed, until the surviving Konoha ninja quickly retreated.
The Sarutobi jōnin finished what he had been saying:
"Those proficient in ninjutsu stay. As for assignments, decide among yourselves—I won't micromanage."
He didn't know these people well anyway.
"RUMBLE—!"
The ground suddenly began to shake violently.
Three Iwagakure jōnin used the smoke of battle as cover to approach, activating ninjutsu together, intending to wipe out the trench in one strike.
"Stop them!!" the Sarutobi jōnin roared.
Numerous Konoha ninja rushed forward.
Two of the Iwa jōnin stepped up to counterattack, buying time for the one in the middle to continue casting.
For a moment, Konoha couldn't break through their defense.
The trench wasn't occupied only by jōnin—there were many chūnin and genin inside as well.
"Fire Release: Grand Flame Art!" a Sarutobi jōnin shouted.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!" the Iwa side responded in haste.
"RUMBLE—RUMBLE—!"
The ground shook even more violently.
Many people could barely keep their footing.
The trench they had dug was being attacked from both sides.
"I'll handle it."
Hyuga Arin suddenly spoke.
"You can solve this?" The Sarutobi jōnin frowned and turned to look at him.
So many people couldn't deal with it—what could a single ANBU member do?
ANBU were secretive, but that didn't mean they were stronger than frontline jōnin.
"I specialize in long-range strikes."
Arin weighed a kunai in his hand.
"Let him do it. There won't be a problem," Crow added.
He had personally witnessed Arin's long-range killing power.
Crow quickly made hand signs to the Root members, assigning tasks.
In an instant, all Root operatives disappeared.
"Then try," the Sarutobi jōnin said to Arin.
At this point, they had no choice. If the trench fully collapsed, their last advantage would be gone.
Arin activated his Byakugan, piercing through layers of clashing ninjutsu to lock onto the Iwa ninja still channeling techniques.
The enemy's ninjutsu was massive—it required setup time.
And during that time, they couldn't move.
"Locked on."
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