"How much farther is it to Rakuyō City?"
This was already the unknown number of times that Fukada Yuto had asked the same question.
"Not far. About two more hours of travel," his adjutant Kojima Tetsuya replied patiently.
"Only two hours…" Fukada Yuto frowned deeply.
"That's actually very close… but I keep having a bad feeling. The Sand Village came this time well prepared. They won't let us retreat safely so easily…"
"But the enemy behind us hasn't accelerated their pursuit," Kojima Tetsuya said, puzzled.
"If I were the enemy commander, and I already knew my opponent's movements, I wouldn't just send three legions to drive them away," Fukada Yuto said seriously.
"I would definitely set a trap or attempt to surround and annihilate them."
"But so far, the enemy hasn't made any move."
"And that's exactly what worries me," Fukada Yuto replied.
"So far they've done nothing—just hanging behind us. Because of that, I can't read their intentions."
"…Should we expand the alert perimeter further?" Kojima suggested.
"We already have a 10-kilometer alert radius… If we expand it any more, we simply won't have enough manpower."
Although 1,400 troops sounded like a large force, they currently had to guard against enemies appearing from any direction. Moreover, sensory-type ninja were rare, and they truly didn't have enough people to form more scouting squads.
"Besides, throwing all our forces into reconnaissance only scatters our strength. If we encounter a breakthrough battle and can't concentrate our forces quickly, we'll collapse under the first wave of attack."
Ninja assigned to reconnaissance were usually experienced chūnin or special jōnin, the backbone of warfare in the ninja world. Pulling too many of them away from the main force and stationing them on the outer perimeter was not a good strategy.
Ninja warfare placed heavy emphasis on ambushes and lightning strikes. Battles could erupt suddenly at any moment.
When the enemy's blade is thrust toward your chest, but you don't have enough defensive strength, what then?
Just then, a Konoha reconnaissance squad reported:
"Commander Fukada! A Sand Village unit has appeared on our right flank. Approximately five battalions, distance 10 kilometers, currently approaching rapidly."
"So they're finally making their move?" Fukada Yuto had not yet made a decision when new intelligence arrived.
"The left flank has also detected a Sand Village unit—about five battalions, 9.7 kilometers away, rapidly approaching."
"On the front, 9.6 kilometers away across the river, we've discovered approximately three Sand Village legions."
"What?!" Fukada Yuto exclaimed in shock.
It wasn't just that both flanks were being pincered—over a thousand enemies had already moved around in front of them.
And the location 9.6 kilometers ahead corresponded to a river on the map. Normally, if the Konoha army wanted to cross the fast-flowing river, they would have to use the bridge.
But now more than a thousand enemy troops were stationed on the other side, their jaws wide open, waiting for them to walk straight into the trap.
"Stop!" Fukada Yuto immediately ordered the army to halt.
This massive, well-trained Konoha force instantly stopped advancing.
"Change direction—attack eastward!" Fukada Yuto decided to use the five Sand battalions closer to the Land of Fire's interior as the breakthrough point. His plan was to circle through the inland territory of the Land of Fire and then return to Rakuyō City.
However, as they gradually approached that Sand unit, they discovered that the surrounding trees were becoming increasingly sparse…
Under normal circumstances, in the Land of Fire, which was dominated by mountains and forests, such terrain should not appear.
"Rumble—!"
Suddenly the ground ahead began to tremble violently.
"What is this?!" Kojima Tetsuya exclaimed in shock.
"…The Sand Village is altering the terrain," Fukada Yuto said heavily.
"They know we have excellent sensory ninja and won't fall easily into their traps… so they're doing it openly, forcing us to change our direction of advance."
"Rumble—!"
Another earth-shaking tremor came from behind them. That was another Sand force composed of five battalions, cutting off the Konoha army's retreat.
Now the only remaining directions were:
-The Southwest Canyon, where three Sand legions were still pursuing them
-The direction of Rakuyō City, where another three Sand legions awaited them…
"Advance at full speed—go around the sand field ahead!" Fukada Yuto ordered. His thinking was simple: Konoha absolutely could not start a battle here. Surrounded on all sides and with no reinforcements—how could they fight?
They had to find a way to bypass the Sand Village's sand blockade line. As long as they escaped this encirclement, they would have room to maneuver again.
It was time to compete in speed.
However, several breakout attempts soon ended in failure, and the reality shocked him. The Sand ninja force of only five battalions was astonishingly fast, at least a full step faster than their large army.
It was likely an elite force composed mostly of chūnin or higher.
His 1,400-man regular force included many Genin; he couldn't simply abandon them to save himself.
"Enemy ahead—less than 1 kilometer away. We are about to make contact with three Sand Village legions," reported the adjutant Kojima Tetsuya.
That report completely shattered Fukada Yuto's idea of continuing to avoid battle.
If they kept running without forming a battle formation, they would soon face attacks from four directions amid total chaos.
"Hold position! Regroup! Establish defensive lines and prepare for battle!" Fukada Yuto issued the combat order. Then he asked his adjutant:
"The request for reinforcements has already been sent, right?"
"Yes. With Akutsu's speed, he should reach Kikyo Castle by today."
"Then we'll hold the line until the reinforcements from Kikyō Castle arrive!"
In the dense forest ahead, Sand Village ninja began appearing one after another, filling the woods. Everyone understood that a brutal battle was about to begin.
Suddenly, nearly a thousand black kunai shot into the sky.
"Take cover!"
Soon those deadly weapons traced perfect parabolic arcs and fell onto Konoha's position like rain.
It was a long-distance kunai barrage from over 200 meters away…
..
Meanwhile…
Beside a small stream in the interior of the Land of Fire, a streak of bright red blood dyed the previously clear water.
"A Konoha forehead protector… how nostalgic," said an old man with long white hair slowly.
"Cough… cough… who exactly are you…? Why do you have the Sharingan… cough… and can also use Wood Release?" the Konoha ninja struggled to say.
The moment he realized someone was in front of him, his body had frozen completely, unable to move.
It was a Sharingan genjutsu.
He could only watch helplessly as several wooden branches easily pierced through his body.
His life was fading away.
Who… was this person…?
"That useless Tobi… couldn't even deal with a few jōnin… forcing this decaying body of mine to come out personally…"
The old man's eyes were ancient yet sharp.
Then he asked softly:
"Konoha ninja, what's your name?"
"…Akutsu." The ninja was about to lose consciousness.
"Akutsu… when you see Hashirama, give him my regards."