Front Lines

"Click!"

The bones snapped with a crack, and a large amount of blood spurted out. The Sand Ninja's resistance froze instantly. The headless corpse lay silently in the mud. A light drizzle fell silently from the sky, quickly washing away the bright red color, and the smell of blood disappeared without a trace in the rain.

After wiping the blood off the blade onto the clothes of a Sand Ninja, Otome sheathed her gleaming Wakizashi.

"Wow, why are there Sand Ninja here? Isn't this the only way to the main camp?" Katsuki picked up the Sand Ninja's head, tugged at her collar, and wrung out a handful of water. "Ugh! My clothes are soaked, this is so annoying... I hate rainy days."

He cursed the damn weather angrily with a gloomy face, but the small raindrops continued to fall from the sky, doing nothing to change the situation.

"It's precisely because this is a necessary route that the Sand Ninja came here!" Nawaki walked over carrying two severed heads. "As long as they can take down our supply transport force, I think the Sand Ninja are willing to pay some price."

"Damn it!"

Katsuki sighed, tossed the severed heads to Nawaki, and sealed them away. These were all battle merits, and they couldn't be wasted.

"So, are there any other Sand Ninja?" Otome walked up to Katsuki and asked softly.

"Hmm... let me see... that's it. There are only these three teams within a five-kilometer radius." Katsuki opened her eyes and said with considerable regret.

"Really? That's a real shame!"

The Otome twisted her tied-up hair, squeezing out the excess water, and a look of displeasure appeared on her delicate face.

That's only natural. In this terrible weather, being sent out to scout ahead is bad enough, but to have your raincoat destroyed in the battle is really frustrating. However, putting aside the unpleasant weather, getting nine Sand Ninja heads is pretty lucky.

With Katsuki's Mind's Eye of the Kagura, they easily spotted the Sand Ninja squad lurking nearby. The three of them worked together and quickly wiped them out.

"Let's go back!"

Katsuki waved his hand. As a Chunin, he was the leader of the squad and in charge of directing this reconnaissance mission.

The three retreated, and the headless corpse attracted a pack of hyenas with a keen sense of smell. The Land of Rain is home to a large number of hyenas, who act as scavengers on the battlefield, disposing of any corpses that cannot be disposed of in time. Especially in recent years, with frequent battles, the number of hyenas has increased exponentially.

"Lord Sakumo, the Sand Village's offensive has intensified again, and we've suffered heavy losses these past few days..."

"I know reinforcements will arrive soon... No matter how great the losses, we must hold on. If we are defeated here by the Sand Ninja, our troubles will be even greater."

In the tent, Sakumo put down the list of the dead, feeling a throbbing vein on his forehead. No matter how many times he saw that densely packed list of the dead, his heart was always heavy. Even though he had fought on the battlefield for many years and killed countless people, he still didn't like his current job.

"Those bastards from the Sand Village don't care about the dead at all!"

The boy with the pineapple-shaped hair couldn't help but curse. After Shikaku Nara was transferred back to the village, he sent his son over. Shikaku began to handle various chores in place of Shikagami. Although he was young, he was quite mature in his work and lived up to the Nara clan's bloodline.

The Nara clan's young man, known for his laziness and high intelligence, still couldn't suppress his anger as he watched the number of casualties increase day by day.

"Thank you for your hard work, Shikaku."

Sakumo patted Shikaku on the shoulder. Thanks to the little guy's help, he wasn't bogged down in all sorts of trivial matters and could still draw his sword and charge into battle when needed, instead of being trapped in the rear commanding the troops.

"However, it's really strange. The Sand Ninja's offensive is too fierce. If this continues, the Sand Ninja will be wiped out sooner or later. The Sand Ninja's movements... are very unsettling." Shikaku frowned deeply, clutching the statistics sheet in his hand.

"Are you saying the Sand Ninja have other plans?" Sakumo frowned as well. He also noticed that the Sand Ninja's current offensive was very abnormal, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what the problem was.

"I'm afraid that's the case, but I still can't figure out what they're up to." Shikaku gave a wry smile.

"Let's wait and see for now. War is ultimately about strength. It won't be easy for the Sand Ninja to close the gap with us using tricks." Sakumo rubbed his temples. "Anyway, we can't come up with a solution for the time being. Shikaku, I'll have to trouble you with the reinforcement arrangements. They should be arriving soon."

"Okay, I understand."

Shikaku nodded, then began to write furiously.

Sakumo lifted the curtain and stepped out of the main tent. What came into view were thousands of Konoha's tents, neatly arranged in front of the mountain. Patrol ninjas patrolled back and forth in the camps. Beyond Konoha's camp was a large plain, which was also the battlefield where the Sand Ninja and Konoha had recently fought.

In recent days, the Sand Ninja have been surging in like a tide, only to retreat again after leaving behind a trail of corpses against Konoha -solid defense. This cycle repeats itself endlessly, with the Sand Ninja attacking like madmen, completely disregarding the number of casualties.

This put immense pressure on them, forcing them to redeploy more manpower for support. After all, this was the most crucial point in resisting the Sand Ninja's attack; if the small mountain beneath their feet were captured, there wouldn't be much advantageous terrain left for them to defend.

Although creating mountains from flat ground is not difficult with enough Earth Release ninjas, the sturdiness of artificially created mountains cannot compare with that of natural mountains. A few waves of Ninjutsu can cause an artificial mountain to collapse instantly.

Therefore, this area cannot be lost.

"What exactly are these turban-wearing men up to?" Sakumo gazed at the dark plain through the light drizzle, his heart heavy.

The vast plains were barren, where the Sand Village and Konoha had clashed several times. Every inch of soil reeked of blood and smoke, and was riddled with craters of all sizes, all dug by Ninjutsu or Explosive Tag.

There were probably too many deaths; the soil was soaked in blood and turned black, and the continuous rain could not quickly cleanse the land.

"Sakumo- senpai, is something on your mind? Be careful not to catch a cold from getting soaked in the rain."

Jiraiya, wearing a large straw hat, walked over.

"Oh... I was careless, I was thinking about something." Sakumo belatedly wiped his face, retreated to the tent entrance, and stood under the protruding awning. "Jiraiya, is there something you need?"

"Yes, my apprentice is arriving today." Jiraiya smiled smugly.

"Arrived... you really are something else..." Sakumo shook his head irritably, then suddenly raised an eyebrow, "Wait a minute, when did you take on an apprentice?"