At the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Grass, natural mountains and ravines formed a perilous barrier, separating the two countries with a natural boundary.
The border between the Land of Earth and the Land of Grass, however, was flat and wide open. Its natural buffer zone was a stretch of Gobi, dotted with rocks of all sizes and overgrown with weeds, with nowhere to take cover.
A fortress stood there, more than thirty meters tall. Its outer walls were layered with pathways like terraced fields, and it had hidden trenches and interconnected caves. It stretched for over a kilometer. This was the Rock Ninja border fortress.
The Hidden Leaf troops arrived and moved in. The Rock Ninja had not bothered to defend the fortress at all; they had simply fled to the rear.
The ninja force led by Uchiha Kin had been too powerful. The Rock Ninja had lost their nerve and no longer dared even to hold the fortress. So Uchiha Kin and his men had gotten it for free.
The Rock Ninja had also made a clean getaway, leaving absolutely nothing behind. The entire fortress contained nothing but walls and spaces created with Earth Style Ninjutsu. Once the troops had settled in, Uchiha Kin finally had a rare moment of free time, and he took a careful look around the fortress.
The fortress suited the Rock Ninja's style of ninjutsu perfectly. Its defenses were formidable, and its caves, passageways, and key positions had all been designed to work especially well with Earth Style.
Uchiha Kin wondered, How would I break through a fortress like this? Then, a moment later, he realized he was overthinking it.
They could simply use chakra to cling to the surface and run up as if on level ground. They could still use the Phoenix Sage Fire tactic, and if they reached the cave entrances, the Fire Dragon Jutsu would be even more effective. That would be perfect. A rush of flames would pour inside and set the whole interior ablaze.
He had looked over the layout of the caves. Their passageways had no right-angle turns, nor did they have U-shaped bends to guard against poison gas or Water Style attacks.
Compared to the tunnels he had visited in his previous life, the Rock Ninja's were more three-dimensional, but in practice they were just flashy. In terms of technical sophistication, they were hardly worth mentioning.
Minato came out of one of the fortress's cave entrances and spotted Uchiha Kin. After three consecutive Body Flickers, he was at Kin's side. "What do we do next?" he asked, his voice full of anticipation.
"Wait a moment... We'll stay here and wait for the Rock Ninja envoy, then hold the first round of negotiations. After that, we'll march on Qingshi Town and begin the second round."
"Huh?" Minato looked confused.
The Tsuchikage was furious. Floating above the others, his red, bulbous nose had grown rounder, bigger, and redder. "Damn it! That was our border fortress, and you abandoned it and ran!" He wanted to throw something in his anger, but there was nothing around.
The Kannagi Bridge, built with such effort, had been blown up, and the supply line leading to the Land of Fire had been destroyed. The vanguard had suffered heavy casualties and been routed by just over three hundred Hidden Leaf ninja. They had fled in panic all the way here.
Ōnoki was about to lose his mind!
"How did they win?" Ōnoki demanded. "How did you lose?" he asked again. At last, Ōnoki posed the ultimate question: "Even if you left ten thousand pigs there for them to kill, they couldn't finish them all, and yet you..."
A massive, burly man said nothing as he handed Ōnoki a palm-sized rock.
Ōnoki reflexively went to throw it, but lowered his head and saw what he was holding. He turned to the big man. "Where'd this come from?"
The man looked guileless and scratched the back of his head. "I... I just picked it up behind us. You looked like you wanted to throw something, and there wasn't anything around."
"You picked it up, did you?" Ōnoki furiously tossed the rock at him, then turned back and demanded, "Tell me. How did you lose?"
How had they lost? The Rock Ninja commander was just as baffled. The Hidden Leaf's tactics had seemed unremarkable; they had merely used large-scale troop formations. But exactly how had they lost...?
He couldn't say. He could only lower his head. "I have failed to live up to your cultivation, Tsuchikage-sama! Please, punish me!"
Ōnoki's nostrils flared and contracted dozens of times before he said irritably, "Why would I punish you?" The most pressing issue now was the trouble in the north, not... "Enough. Go get some rest." Ōnoki dismissed him. Floating in the tent, he drifted back and forth for a while before calling in a ninja.
She had gray, spiky hair and looked like a tomboy. She wore a red, sleeveless long vest and had a pair of emerald-green eyes.
"Mei, take my guard unit with you. Make the Hidden Leaf stop advancing, and tell them we want to negotiate..." Ōnoki suddenly looked ten years older.
"Yes!"
A group of Rock Ninja, weary from their journey, arrived at the border fortress that had once belonged to them. Now, however, it was occupied by Hidden Leaf ninja.
"Why did our elite forces lose? There were only a little over three hundred of them!" One of the Tsuchikage's guards was bewildered and felt deeply aggrieved. Ghost Blossom said coldly, "Be quiet... The details don't matter right now. The result is that we lost."
She gestured for the guards to follow. Once they got closer, she stopped and called out loudly, "I am Ghost Blossom, envoy of the Rock Ninja, here by order of the Tsuchikage. I request an audience."
Uchiha Kin was writing a little handbook on battlefield first aid. Nonō, Dai, Qingshan Yi, Minato, and the others were working there too, and they all heard Ghost Blossom's voice. Uchiha Kin smiled at them. "They're here." He then had someone invite Ghost Blossom inside.
Leading her guards, Ghost Blossom entered the central command post of the fortress and saw several people busy at work, especially Uchiha Kin, seated in the place of honor.
The boy sat casually, yet an oppressive presence like a mountain and an unfathomable aura like an abyss radiated from him. He was like a tiger.
"Rock Ninja envoy, state your purpose!" Uchiha Kin said with an air of indifference. Nonō and the others also stopped what they were doing and turned to look at the Rock Ninja delegation.
Ghost Blossom raised her voice. "The Rock Ninja have come seeking peace. We hope to reach an agreement with the Hidden Leaf on a ceasefire..."
Uchiha Kin smiled. "The Tsuchikage must be having a hard time right now. A group of Cloud Ninja led by the Third Raikage are fighting on the soil of the Land of Earth... I imagine their attacks have become even more ferocious."
"Lord Kin, such rhetoric is of no use in negotiations," Ghost Blossom said.
"Do you know why the Cloud Ninja's attacks suddenly grew stronger? Because I gave them information..."
"Lord Kin, why would you do that? The Cloud Ninja are enemies of the Hidden Leaf too."
Uchiha Kin said, "Sorry, I don't make a habit of educating my enemies or helping them improve their understanding. Go back with that question. We can negotiate—but have the Tsuchikage come here. Tomorrow. No exceptions."
Before you continue