Somewhere on Konoha's front-line battlefield.
Boom!
Amid the massive explosion, a hill as tall as a finger shattered with a roar within the rising dust cloud. Chunks of rock scattered in every direction, crashing down onto the ground around the hill like a torrential rain, covering the sky and earth as they pelted the trembling ground with sharp cracks.
"Captain, haven't they come yet?"
At that moment, in a Konoha trench several meters below the hill, four ninja were huddled together, crouching on the ground with their hands over their heads to shield themselves from the falling rocks. One of them could not help but speak up.
"Hold on!"
Hearing his teammate's words, the bearded middle-aged captain gritted his teeth. Several fragments had struck his hands, leaving them throbbing with pain.
"At this rate, we won't be able to hold out."
Another Konoha ninja endured the pain of the rocks striking him and spoke.
"No matter what, we have to hold on until reinforcements arrive!"
The middle-aged captain kept his defensive posture, hands over his head, and glanced upward toward the top of the trench. His brow furrowed tightly.
At this rate, we really won't be able to hold out!
Reinforcements... haven't arrived yet?
Anxiety burned in his heart.
This was a critical point along the front-line defenses. If their position was breached, the enemy would be able to charge straight through and attack their logistics camp, as well as another defensive line even weaker than theirs. The battle situation, which had only begun to improve, would take a sharp turn for the worse. Konoha might never recover.
Crack!
Clatter!
As the explosions gradually died down, the stones pouring into the trench began to lessen as well. Dust slowly drifted over, and in an instant, the trench was shrouded in