February 14, before dawn.
Gajarin, Iwagakure's "Rock Eel," led six elite Stone Ninja into hiding near the Kannabi Bridge outpost.
Gajarin had earned the title "Rock Eel" through his mastery of the Earth Style: Hidden Fish Technique. Like a fierce yet patient eel, he moved without a sound and killed with a single strike when he ambushed his prey!
At that moment, Gajarin moved along the perimeter of the group, continually softening the surrounding earth so that when the others used the Earth Style: Hidden Fish Technique,
they could conceal themselves more effectively.
The other six members of the team were an impressive lineup-
Not only were they all Iwagakure Jonin, they included the jinchuriki Roshi and the Tsuchikage's son, Kitsuchi, who was also Gajarin's prized pupil.
"Teacher, how much longer until we reach the Kannabi Bridge outpost?" Kitsuchi asked anxiously.
"Don't rush. In half an hour, we'll reach the limit of my Earth Style: Hidden Fish Technique. Roshi, charge straight out then, and you'll be able to attack the outpost's central sealing formation," Gajarin explained.
To avoid alerting the Konoha Ninja, Gajarin had specifically warned the others not to perform any sensing on their own. He alone would monitor their surroundings.
Sensing the outside world while underground relied on the component of Earth Style chakra transformations that corresponded to "earth vibrations." Akaseki called it "Earth Pulse."
Gajarin was highly accomplished in this field as well.
Kitsuchi was not actually impatient. Rather, he sounded worried as he said, "Teacher-what my father said was-"
Just as Akaseki had predicted, Ōnoki's orders were merely to force the Konoha Ninja at Kannabi Bridge to retreat. Reclaiming the Land of Grass would count as a victory. Otherwise, with the Land of Grass remaining under Konoha's control-and becoming increasingly bound to Konoha-Ōnoki was growing uneasy.