Hard-Countered, Mission Failed

"The Sand Shinobi are here, underground in the nine o'clock direction, approximately four hundred meters away. There are about two hundred of them." About ten minutes after retreating to the mouth of the valley, the Sensory Ninja shouted to everyone.

At this, everyone immediately became alert.

"Eight o'clock direction, approximately three hundred fifty meters away." (Using the sun as twelve o'clock.)

"Eight-twenty direction, three hundred meters away."

"Seven-fifty direction, two hundred meters away."

As the Sensory Ninja continued calling out their positions, everyone began making preparations. The Earth Style Ninja started forming hand seals, while those who did not know Earth Style tied Explosive Tags to their Kunai.

Flying Thunder God Technique! Yueguang Han clasped his hands together and used the Flying Thunder God Cannon Template. At the same time, a DJI Drone swiftly flew over from an altitude of more than three hundred meters.

"Seven-thirty direction, one hundred fifty meters away. They're coming out of the ground!" the Sensory Ninja shouted again.

The Sand Shinobi emerging from underground ahead of time did not surprise anyone. In large-scale ninja battles, if underground ambushes were that easy, the war would have ended long ago. On the contrary, large-scale underground ambushes were extremely dangerous. Once the enemy's Sensory Ninja detected their position and counterattacked with Earth Style, they could suffer heavy casualties or even be completely wiped out.

Both the Sand Shinobi and the Konoha Ninja understood this principle.

"Boom!" Following the Sensory Ninja's report, a dull sound like a drum immediately rang out. A ten-kilogram Explosive Package whistled through the air and flew toward the nine o'clock direction, covering a distance of two hundred meters.

"Boom!" Before the first Explosive Package had even landed, the second had already been launched.

"Watch the sky!" In the forest one hundred fifty meters away, Rasa had just led the Sand Shinobi out of the ground when a cry of alarm rang beside him.

Wind Style: Great Breakthrough! Beside Rasa, his clansman Luo Fei reacted quickly. A fierce gust of wind immediately blasted from his mouth toward the Explosive Package descending from the sky.

"Boom!" In less than half a second, a violent explosion rang out thirty meters above the forest. The blast covered an area more than ten meters wide, flames and white smoke spreading across the sky. The resulting shockwave even bent the trees below.

"That was close!" Watching the violent explosion in the sky, Luo Fei and most of the Sand Shinobi wiped at nonexistent cold sweat on their foreheads. They had already witnessed how terrifying this thing was. If it had landed among them just now, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Just as the Sand Shinobi were congratulating themselves on their quick reaction, the white smoke at the center of the explosion in the sky suddenly churned. Another Explosive Package came hurtling through the air at high speed. By the time it passed through the white smoke, it was already less than thirty meters from them.

"Run!" Seeing the Explosive Package about to land, it was already too late to form hand seals and cast a jutsu. Luo Fei could only shout a warning to his companions before fleeing outward.

"Boom!" In less than a second, a violent explosion rang out in the forest. Golden dust surged into the sky, while the blast sent the surrounding trees swaying wildly.

After the explosion, a wall of golden dust stood five meters above the Sand Shinobi's heads, covering an area twenty meters wide and perfectly blocking the entire blast. Rasa stood expressionlessly in place, an endless stream of golden dust surging up from beneath his feet.

"That was close!" Seeing the golden dust wall standing five meters above their heads, the Sand Shinobi once again breathed sighs of relief.

"That golden dust means he's the Sand Shinobi's Elite Jonin... Rasa." At the mouth of the valley, Yueguang Han watched everything through the Drone's camera. His expression turned solemn, and his voice was cold and serious.

"Rasa." Hearing Yueguang Han's words, Yueguang Xingye, standing beside him, also became solemn. He asked Yueguang Han, "Young Han, are you still confident?"

Yueguang Xingye knew that Rasa was a powerhouse no weaker than the Sand Shinobi's hero, Yakura, and might even be stronger. He was also exceptionally skilled in defense. Like Yakura, he was one of the strongest candidates among the Sand Shinobi to become the Fourth Kazekage.

More importantly, Yueguang Han's Bloodline Limit was severely countered by Rasa.

"He severely counters me—he completely counters me, in fact. I can't do anything to him at all, but he's extremely dangerous to me." Hearing this, Yueguang Han shook his head and said seriously, "If I naturally counter the Hyuga, then Rasa is undoubtedly the person who naturally counters me, at least at this stage. He counters me even more severely than the Earth Style Ninja do."

Yueguang Han could be said to have no way of dealing with Rasa at all. His Gold Dust was not only highly defensive, but could also move with him and provide constant protection. Yueguang Han had no way to break through Rasa's defenses. Conversely, although Rasa could not kill him, since he could constantly repair himself, a single Sand Burial would leave him helpless. With his weight of more than half a ton standing on Rasa's golden dust, sinking was the only possible outcome. It was even possible that Rasa's Magnet Style could control his body.

"Let's retreat! There's currently a two-to-one difference in our numbers, and Young Han's Bloodline Limit is severely countered by Rasa." Hearing this, Yueguang Xingye nodded and spoke seriously to the Konoha Ninja. If they could not win, there was naturally no reason to throw their lives away for nothing.

At this, everyone looked at one another and could only nod helplessly in the end. They had attacked this valley and confronted Sand Shinobi whose numbers were twice their own because they were relying on Yueguang Han's Bloodline Limit. It was precisely because of its strength that this mission had been undertaken.

Now that Yueguang Han's Bloodline Limit was severely countered by Rasa, they had lost their greatest advantage and support. The mission could already be declared a failure. Even so, no one suggested killing Rasa to regain their advantage. Trying to kill an Elite Jonin like Rasa among Sand Shinobi who outnumbered them two to one was practically impossible.

(Although Yueguang Xingye was the commander of this mission, the mission was jointly carried out by the Yueguang, Mitarashi, and Kurama clans. Therefore, Yueguang Xingye also had to consider the relationships among the three clans and could not forcefully decide everything.)

The leaders of the three clans reached an agreement within seconds. After the order was given, everyone immediately began retreating along the route they had taken to get there.

"Lord Rasa, they're retreating south." In the forest, the Sensory Ninja Feiyin immediately reported the Konoha group's movements to Rasa.

"Pursue them! Earth Style Ninja, stay ready to defend at all times. Wind Style Ninja, watch the sky." At this, Rasa immediately issued his orders and led the pursuit in the direction the Konoha group had retreated.