The Land of Grass, situated between the Lands of Fire and Earth, was not a particularly fortunate nation. Despite having a ninja village as its military force, compared to its two neighboring countries, it possessed neither a powerhouse who could be called a demigod nor a Tailed Beast as a strategic weapon. This inevitably determined the Land of Grass's status.
Since the end of the Warring States period, the Land of Grass had adhered to a policy of harmonious diplomacy, engaging with surrounding great powers. Relying on its honed diplomatic skills, it skillfully navigated between different factions, always obtaining the intentions of other countries at the earliest opportunity and adjusting its national policy according to their ideas to ensure its survival.
During the First Great Ninja War, because the Lands of Earth and Fire formed a military alliance, the Land of Grass was very fortunate not to be affected by the war. Like a fair-weather friend, they supplied grain and weapons to both sides to curry favor with the great powers, acting very submissively throughout. After the war ended, they did not suffer any harsh treatment.
However, now, the Land of Grass would no longer have such luck. The reason was simple: the two countries that were military allies back then were now facing each other as enemies. After more than thirty years of peace, the Land of Grass could finally no longer remain neutral and had to consider its stance, which would determine its future path.
In the court of the Land of Grass, the Daimyo gathered all the ministers to discuss how the Land of Grass should conduct itself. The most fundamental point was that the Land of Grass could not truly intervene in the struggles of any great power. The strength of the Land of Grass was too weak; no matter which country ultimately won, the losing country could still severely punish the Land of Grass for "aiding and abetting evil."
As the Land of Grass was most adept at dealing with other nations, it could clearly perceive the subtle maneuvers of the Third Tsuchikage of Iwagakure. This old fox was extremely cunning; even if he didn't act openly, he would still cause trouble secretly. Being targeted by him was not a good choice, but the other side was equally formidable.
The Land of Fire, or rather, Konohagakure, had always upheld righteous wars and never showed mercy to countries that engaged in aggression or acts of aiding and abetting evil. Even for reasons of national strategy, if they couldn't completely wipe them out, the great nations that had been defeated by the Land of Fire back then were all restricted and did not live very comfortably. Over the past twenty years or so, the power gap between the Land of Fire and other countries had grown wider and wider, partly due to the treaties established after the First Great Ninja War.
Regardless of whether the Land of Fire won or lost, even if they couldn't punish the Land of Earth, which was the aggressor, couldn't they still punish the Land of Grass for aiding and abetting evil? Or were they to expect the Land of Earth to willingly protect them? The ministers of the Land of Grass felt this seemed somewhat unrealistic.
As it stood, the Land of Grass was in a no-win situation. No matter which side it leaned towards, the outcome would not be good. The best option was clearly to help neither, but without making either side feel a lack of sincerity.
"Everyone, do you have any good ideas at all?" The Daimyo of the Land of Grass was extremely anxious, because at this moment, the Land of Earth's army was approaching in full force, and would reach the border of the Land of Grass within a day. They had less and less time, yet the ministers before him still couldn't reach a conclusion.
As the Daimyo of the Land of Grass grew increasingly anxious, the ministers seemed to reach a consensus. The most respected minister stepped forward and reported to the Daimyo of the Land of Grass: "Your Highness, according to the results of our discussions, we believe we should feign defeat and cede the operational territory to both the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth. This way, from the perspective of the Land of Fire, we have done our utmost but are unable to resist due to insufficient strength, which can be considered an explanation. As for the Land of Earth, as long as they perceive that we are intentionally retreating, they will understand the country's intentions, and presumably, they will not hold Your Highness accountable."
The Daimyo of the Land of Grass heard this, pondered for a moment, and then nodded. This method sounded good, although it leaned somewhat towards the Land of Earth's position. Konohagakure had always valued its reputation.
Even if they realized that the Land of Grass was intentionally retreating, they couldn't take any overt action. And if they acted covertly, they would have to consider the impact on their reputation if exposed. As for the Land of Earth, Iwagakure, having tasted the benefits, would likely not punish the Land of Grass. Although there was the hidden danger of Konohagakure, upon closer consideration, it might be the best solution.
Ultimately, everything was because the Land of Grass was too weak, and its upper echelons were all indecisive. They could neither firmly side with Konohagakure like the Land of Rain nor deter other nations from easily intervening like the Land of Waterfall. Of course, this was because the former had Hanzō at its helm, and the latter possessed a Tailed Beast.
Thus, the Daimyo of the Land of Grass hurriedly sent orders to the border town's defending soldiers. To make the act more convincing, and fearing that the samurai's acting skills might not be sufficient, he also dispatched the Land of Grass's ninjas to assist, with the ninjas taking the lead. This would undoubtedly cause conflict between the samurai and ninjas, but there was no other choice.
When the frontline soldiers received the order from the capital, they were all a bit confused. The capital's demand was for them to lose, and to lose beautifully, but without making it look like an intentional retreat to outsiders. This was a great test of the samurai's quality. Although they could imagine that those ninjas would be even better at deception than them, the frontline samurai officers still felt a surge of displeasure; being trampled upon by ninjas was never a pleasant experience.
Of course, what needed to be done still had to be done. The capital promised that even if they retreated, no one would be held responsible. There would be some superficial punishment for other countries, but there would also be compensation. Therefore, even though the samurai officers disliked being commanded by ninjas, they could only choose to endure.
Soon after, the army of the Land of Earth had reached the border of the Land of Grass. The vanguard was the ninja squad from Iwagakure. The ninjas of Iwagakure were most skilled in Earth Release ninjutsu. Even if an individual's power was limited, when they collectively used Earth Release, they could unleash powerful forces that could alter terrain. Therefore, Earth Release was the most suitable ninjutsu for dealing with city walls, besides Lightning Release.
Iwagakure's initial plan was to secretly infiltrate near the border town, use Earth Release to open a path, with one group assassinating the ninjas or samurai officers inside the town, and another group of Iwagakure ninjas ushering in the Land of Earth's samurai to forcefully suppress the town.
During the First Great Ninja War, Iwagakure had mastered this tactic, which played a significant role in breaching the towns of the Land of Lightning, allowing Konoha ninjas to avoid the effort required for sieges. Now, it was the Land of Grass's turn to experience this strategy.
As the reconnaissance team scouted ahead, they captured ninjas from the Land of Grass. At first, they didn't think there was any problem; after all, before a war began, it was primarily a contest between the reconnaissance ninjas of both sides. They had originally intended to interrogate them for intelligence, but unexpectedly, the other party immediately confessed, stating that they represented the Land of Grass and wished to cooperate.
At this point, the reconnaissance ninjas could not act on their own initiative, so they brought the captured Grass ninjas back and explained the content of their cooperation. After organizing the information, it was sent to Henghe, the commander of this Iwagakure ninja unit. The latter smiled after reading the Land of Grass's request.
"Heh, I was wondering why the Land of Grass was so unyielding, not responding at all to the conditions the village offered. I thought they were like those guys in the Land of Rain, steadfastly siding with Konohagakure," Henghe sneered. "Now it seems the Land of Grass is still the Land of Grass, always a wavering fair-weather friend. Can't they just openly support us?"
"Sir, do you think the Land of Grass is truly sincere?" the adjutant beside him asked.
"Perhaps, perhaps not." Henghe did not immediately make a judgment. As a ninja, he naturally understood that deception was an important skill required for the profession. If one believed everything the other party said, they would suffer losses sooner or later. "Have someone interrogate the prisoner. Release one person to relay our message back. If they are truly sincere, they will agree to our terms. Hmm, we also need to send ninjas to investigate and confirm the situation."
Following Henghe's orders, Iwagakure's message was relayed back to the border town: if the Land of Grass's army was truly willing to hand over the town, they should show an attitude of obedience. Of course, as a condition for cooperation, Iwagakure ninjas would conduct a trial attack to ensure the Land of Grass's army "retreated" in defeat.
The army in the border town naturally dared not refuse, and quickly responded. They began to act according to Iwagakure's demands, first by rotating the guards on the city walls and mobilizing the troops within the town to the locations requested by Iwagakure. The conclusions drawn from Iwagakure's interrogation of the Grass ninjas were no different from before, and coupled with the actions of the Land of Grass's army and the conclusions reached by the reconnaissance ninjas, Henghe finally confirmed the sincerity of the Land of Grass.
"In that case, we must return the favor and not let Konoha ninjas discover that they are giving us the town, right?" Henghe said, while ordering the Iwagakure ninjas to use Earth Release on the town. Unlike the anticipated goal, the purpose of this Earth Release was renovation.
The residents of the Land of Earth had their own adapted style for defensive town fortresses, so the towns in the Land of Grass also needed some degree of renovation. Of course, to outsiders, the Iwagakure ninjas appeared to be destroying the town. In reality, they were merely removing parts they disliked, while preserving the usable areas.
Henghe felt a sense of relief. If they had to launch a forced attack, who knew what might be destroyed. Now that they could obtain the town peacefully, they could maximize the renovation. Although Earth Release was very suitable for construction, it still required a supporting foundation. Earth walls built without a foundation would quickly collapse, and having Iwagakure ninjas create the foundation themselves would be a waste of time.
Just as the Iwagakure ninjas were dismantling the walls, the samurai troops of the Land of Earth rushed into the city. The Land of Grass's army inside the city "frantically" took up their weapons to resist the enemy, but were unable to hold out, retreating steadily. Apart from a few who escaped the town, the rest were either captured or "killed in battle."
Thus, the Land of Earth seized this town defense line without shedding blood, and was able to occupy it. Looking at the inner city, which was almost undamaged, Henghe nodded slightly. Since the Land of Grass had such an attitude, their only enemy left was Konohagakure. With the covert cooperation of the Land of Grass, Iwagakure could also gain a certain advantage.
"Good, now it's our turn to show what we can do," Henghe said with a smile.
In the following days, the army of the Land of Grass had almost no decent achievements against the large army of the Land of Earth. More and more territory was occupied by the Land of Earth, and in the occupied territories, the Iwagakure ninjas began to construct their own defensive fortifications. Especially since the Land of Grass offered no resistance or interference, they built them very easily, quickly erecting a dense and formidable defensive fortress, which connected with the original towns of the Land of Grass, like an impregnable bulwark.
As for the captured samurai of the Land of Grass, Iwagakure released them through a trade, exchanging them for a large amount of supplies from the Land of Grass, which could be considered using their remaining value.
Under such circumstances, by the time the Konoha ninja forces arrived, Iwagakure had already established a solid defense line in the Land of Grass. Fortunately, the Land of Grass dared not go too far, and a certain degree of standoff and tug-of-war was still necessary. Even so, Iwagakure had already built a huge advantage.
Just like the "rock" in the village's name, Iwagakure advanced slowly with this steady tactic, using solid defense lines as a backdrop, while resisting the enemy's attacks, and searching for weaknesses in the enemy army. Then, they would seize the opportunity to act, slowly wearing down the enemy's strength.
When the Konoha ninjas learned about Iwagakure's current situation, they were greatly surprised. Although some felt that the Land of Grass's response was problematic, the current situation clearly left no time to dwell on that point. Instead, they should consider how to confront Iwagakure. Faced with the now solid defense line, ordinary combat methods would be unable to break through.
"Currently, Iwagakure's advance speed is neither fast nor slow, but we cannot let them continue like this. We must strike at their morale and halt their progress," said Inuzuka Shigeru, the commander of the Fourth Ninja Squad. As a member of Fumori Masaki's squad, he was known for his steady temperament, yet fought with the wildness inherited from his clan. His strength was not the greatest in the Fourth Ninja Squad; older members included Uchiha Setsuna, and younger ones included Hatake Sakumo. However, considering a combination of experience and strength, he was the most suitable candidate. After all, Uchiha Kagami was concerned about the former acting rashly again, and the latter lacked sufficient war experience. Coupled with Fumori Masaki's trust in him, he was entrusted with this important mission and sent here.