Unexpected Encounter

Two days later.

"How tragic." Hyuga Ao used her Byakugan to monitor the Rain Ninja ahead.

The Rain Ninja who had escaped Hanzō's Water Explosion after that battle had no time to treat their comrades before Konoha drove them onward.

Konoha's tactics were clear: use the Rain Ninja to restrict Hanzō, preventing him from breaking away from their forces and thereby limiting his poison.

After Konoha defeated the Rain Ninja in one wave, it continued driving them forward like sheep.

Konoha did not attack. It merely kept them under observation from a distance, denying them rest and slowly wearing down their stamina.

After a major battle, the Rain Ninja were exhausted in body and mind, low on chakra, and unable to control their injuries. Driven onward by Konoha like this, many collapsed after walking for only two days.

Konoha had initially expected the Rain Ninja to turn back and fight to the death, but unexpectedly, Hanzō merely ordered them to maintain their current formation and continue at Konoha's pace.

Konoha knew Hanzō was waiting for something, but it was not worried. When the Third Hokage had set out, the village had already had two thousand troops preparing to depart. Those were the forces prepared to invade the Land of Rain.

In the previous battle, Konoha's casualty ratio against the Rain Ninja during the initial phase had been roughly one to one. Before the Third Hokage arrived, Konoha and the Rain Ninja had each lost around eight hundred men.

After the Third Hokage arrived, the Rain Ninja lost another eight hundred amid a series of casualties.

Of the more than two thousand, only four hundred remained, but all four hundred were elite troops. That was why Hanzō could not bear to abandon them.

Over the past two days, Konoha's forces had split into two groups and taken turns resting while pursuing the Rain Ninja.

Konoha's plan was that, whatever Hanzō was waiting for, joining up with these four hundred remnants would affect it. Once that happened, they would cripple everything he was waiting for as well, then continue toward the Land of Rain and strive to settle the battle in one push, ending it swiftly.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! A volley of Kunai wrapped in Explosive Tags shot out and landed behind the Rain Ninja, forcing those at the rear to squeeze out more chakra and dodge forward once again.

"How is it?" asked Hori Noriyuki, the Jonin overseeing reconnaissance.

Hyuga Ao opened her Byakugan and observed the flames of the Rain Ninja's chakra.

"Every Rain Ninja is maintaining their chakra at the limit. If they're startled any further, they'll be frightened to death," Hyuga Ao replied.

After that battle, Hyuga Ao had been promoted to Chunin. Now, because she was a member of the Hyuga, she had been assigned to the reconnaissance team to monitor the Rain Ninja's condition.

"Good. Hahaha, having a Hyuga teammate sure is convenient," Hori Noriyuki exclaimed.

Hori Noriyuki had originally been a member of the Anbu, but he had left shortly before the war. He excelled at sensory techniques, Wind Release, and swordsmanship. Although he was a Sensory Ninja, his fighting style focused on close combat.

It was enough to make anyone sigh in amazement.

Hyuga Ao smiled faintly, then looked toward Hanzō again. The battle two days earlier had not affected him much. The flame of Hanzō's chakra had only dimmed slightly, which was also why Konoha had not chosen to devour the Rain Ninja directly.

No wonder he's called the demigod. His stamina really is astonishing. Hyuga Ao clicked her tongue inwardly.

Suddenly, countless flames of chakra broke into her field of vision. At a rough glance, there seemed to be a thousand of them.

Hyuga Ao's expression turned serious as she said to Hori Noriyuki, "Captain, enemy reinforcements are approaching. It's a thousand-man unit."

Hori Noriyuki slapped his palm. "Good! They've finally arrived. Fire the red signal flare and execute Plan Two!"

Whoosh! The red signal flare exploded in the sky. The earth seemed to awaken, and noisy sounds began to spread.

The thousand-man Konoha unit hanging behind the Rain Ninja rapidly pressed forward. Large-scale techniques began raining down, driving the four hundred Rain Ninja remnants toward the thousand-man unit that had arrived.

Driven forward, the Rain Ninja saw the Iwagakure forehead protectors across from them and felt a wave of despair. But then they heard Hanzō say, "Our Iwagakure allies have come to receive us."

The Rain Ninja were overjoyed and hastened forward to join the Iwagakure forces.

Dong Siren looked at the Rain Ninja remnants in surprise and asked, "Lord Hanzō, what happened to you?"

Hanzō snorted coldly. This defeat had enraged him. He asked, "Where are the Sand Ninja and the forces led by Yajima Seiji?"

Dong Siren replied, "The Sand Ninja and Rain Ninja are both behind us. Now that they've seen the signal flare, they should be arriving soon."

On the other side, Konoha discovered upon drawing near that the forces before them were actually Iwagakure. Jiraiya ordered, "Stop advancing."

Jiraiya stared at the Iwagakure forces ahead, bristling with killing intent and fully equipped. Knowing that they came with hostile intentions, he summoned a messenger toad to call for reinforcements. Then Jiraiya stepped forward and said, "Iwagakure has appeared within our territory. What do you intend to do?"

Dong Siren secretly observed the Konoha forces ahead. We can't take them head-on, he thought.

He immediately called for reinforcements and ordered, "Have the Sand Ninja and Rain Ninja circle around."

"Hahahahaha!" Dong Siren stepped out from the crowd. "Nothing at all. We Iwagakure heard that the Rain Ninja had clashed with Konoha. Since we're all neighbors, we came specifically to mediate."

"Oh? But the way you're dressed doesn't look like you came to mediate," Jiraiya said, pointing at the Iwagakure forces.

"Ah, well, how could we dare to mediate without a little strength?" Dong Siren put on an embarrassed expression.

Jiraiya sensed that something was wrong. The other side was stalling for time, and there were enemies behind them as well. With the hand behind his back, he signaled the troops to prepare to retreat. "In that case, we'll be leaving first. We can discuss this another day."

With that, he waved his hand. "Retreat!"

Seeing that the situation had been exposed, Dong Siren ordered, "Iwagakure, hold them back!"

Jiraiya turned around. "Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"

A massive swamp stretched across the gap between Konoha and Iwagakure, cutting the Iwagakure forces off.

Seeing this, Dong Siren snorted coldly. "Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall—fall!"

A towering earthen wall rose up, then collapsed, forming a bridge over the Yomi Swamp.

"Damn it!" Jiraiya cursed under his breath. "Set up traps!"

Konoha quickly began setting up traps to hinder the Iwagakure forces.

Dong Siren waved his hand. "Demolition Team, move out!"

The Iwagakure Demolition Team advanced, blasting a path open with explosions.

Hearing the explosions behind him, Jiraiya clearly realized that this could not continue.

The Warning Bell in his heart rang wildly. His instincts told him that they would be in trouble if they failed to widen the distance immediately.

He flipped out a scroll. "Release!" He tossed it, and a massive amount of Toad Oil surged from within. He ignited the Toad Oil with Fire Release, creating another wall of flame.

The Iwagakure forces reached the wall of flame. Numerous Iwagakure shinobi joined their techniques together. "Earth Style: Earth Core! Earth Style: Fissure Palm!"

The ground coated in Toad Oil sank, then was covered by a slab of earth. Without slowing, the Iwagakure forces continued their pursuit.

Seeing how urgently the Iwagakure forces were trying to bite down on them, Jiraiya knew that the other pursuers must be nearby. He surveyed the surrounding terrain and spotted a small mountain. "Up the mountain."

The Konoha forces immediately turned and began climbing. After they reached the hilltop, Jiraiya asked Hyuga Ao, "Ao'er, your Byakugan can see the farthest. Take a look around and see if there's anyone else nearby."

Hyuga Ao swept her Byakugan across the area. "Teacher Jiraiya, there are no large enemy forces within five kilometers. However, there are scattered shinobi all around us. They seem to be scouts."

"Good." Jiraiya nodded and ordered, "Everyone, establish a defensive position here!"