Prelude to the Great Battle

Three squads, including Mo Jingxian's team, totaled sixteen people.

Facing the overwhelming barrage of wind blades, the seven of them joined forces to unleash Earth Style: Earth Wall.

"Rumble!"

A twenty-meter-long earthen wall rose abruptly from the ground.

Immediately following, a series of "thwip" sounds rang out.

The Earth Wall held for only two seconds before collapsing with a thunderous crash.

Dust filled the sky, swirling wildly and instantly obscuring everyone's vision.

"Swish, swish, swish!"

Several dark figures surged out from the dust and smoke, meeting the fierce attacks head-on.

"Rotation!"

The hidden weapons flying from all directions were deflected, and Ayako Hyuuga came to a halt before retreating urgently.

Mo Jingxian darted out from behind her, the two crossing paths.

Taking advantage of a gap in the enemy's assault, Mo Jingxian charged between two puppets.

He activated his Nintaijutsu, and the temperature within a ten-meter radius around him plummeted.

The joints of the puppets became sluggish due to the low temperature, and their master could only watch helplessly as that freak dismantled his prized possessions with his bare hands.

Before leaving, he planted a few Explosive Tags, and amidst the sounds of explosions, the enemy lost sight of him once again.

For three days, the attacks from the Sand Ninja had come in wave after wave, keeping the combat frequency at its absolute peak.

The enemy utilized their numerical advantage, which was several times greater, to launch rotating offensives, severely draining the stamina of the Konoha ninja.

With the army pressing down on them, even Konoha, whose individual ninja were generally superior to the Sand Ninja, had lost large swathes of territory over the past three days.

For a time, the Sand Ninja's offensive was like a rising tide.

"Retreat!"

Nara Shikuta's order was issued, signifying the loss of yet another defensive outpost.

The three squads provided cover for one another, withdrawing in an orderly fashion so that the enemy gained no real advantage.

At Outpost 17, during the team's brief rest, two more squads joined them.

The current situation was such that small-scale duels had vanished, and large-scale group combat had become the mainstream of the battlefield.

This was the result of the battlefield's own evolution after both sides had fought for so long.

"Make the most of your time to rest!"

Nara Shikuta scanned his team members.

"The enemy will catch up at any moment; those who don't want to die had better not act on their own."

Even the usually mild-mannered Jonin Shikuta spoke with a biting, frigid tone.

It was clear how intense the fighting was and that the situation was far from optimistic.

Mo Jingxian thought as much.

Individual ability was greatly diminished in group combat; even he would likely perish here if he were not careful.

As long as one wasn't strong enough to change the course of the war single-handedly, anyone caught in a concentrated barrage faced an almost certain death.

The group's condition was not great, and even with the supply of Military Ration Pills, it was impossible to keep up with the massive consumption.

Relying on the recovery of his water element, Mo Jingxian now had less than one-third of his chakra remaining.

Logically, with the battle having reached this point, they should have returned to camp to rest long ago.

But looking at Jonin Shikuta's demeanor, there was no sign of that intention whatsoever.

This was quite intriguing.

Mo Jingxian rolled the thoughts over in his mind and moved between Ayako and Shinju.

He whispered, "Stay close to me later, and whatever you do, don't fall behind."

Shinju wanted to say something, but was stopped by a look from him, while Ayako gave a slight nod.

No one was a fool; with the war having reached this stage, the first decisive battle was likely not far off.

In a battle between tens of thousands of ninja, surviving required not just strength, but also luck.

And as for Mo Jingxian, was he not the very luck of those two?

The attack came even faster than imagined; within ten minutes, the ninja of both sides collided once again.

The Sand Ninja led the assault, while the Konoha ninja retreated as they fought, with one vibrant life after another falling on the battlefield.

The fighting continued until nightfall, when the Sand Ninja finally withdrew their forces.

Mo Jingxian leaned against a tree, too exhausted to move even a finger, completely drained of all energy.

After resting for only four hours, Mo Jingxian was stealthily awakened by Nara Shikuta.

The man gestured for him to remain silent.

Following that, he carefully woke the remaining four members of the squad.

A moment later, the six-man ninja squad vanished into the dark woods.

Mo Jingxian did not know what the captain intended to do, but he only needed to obey orders.

He did not yet have the strength to sit at the decision-makers' table, so it was normal that he had not received information in advance.

The group used the cover of night to travel southward.

When they neared the place where Mo Jingxian had been forced by Karura to jump into the river, the team turned east, creeping toward the border of the Land of Wind.

Nara Shikuta gave no specific instructions, and the six followed in silence.

From midnight until dawn, they finally arrived at a secret stronghold just before the sun rose.

"Rest where you are for the day. No one is allowed to leave this cave."

As soon as the captain finished speaking, Mo Jingxian collapsed and fell asleep.

Regardless of the mission, one had to restore their energy to have a higher chance of survival.

He was not the captain; the rest of the matters were not for him to worry about.

Though they were resting, no one dared to sleep soundly.

Especially at a time when two nations were at war, and given their current location was not far from the border of the Land of Wind.

It truly lived up to the saying Mo Jingxian had once uttered—one had to sleep with one eye open.

The cave was located on a cliffside in a mountain ravine, its entrance hidden by vegetation, making it extremely discreet.

The interior was not large, just enough to squeeze in six people, so to speak... one had to hold in even a fart.

After finally enduring until dusk, Captain Nara Shikuta finally made a move.

He took out a map and spread it flat on the ground.

The rest of the squad gathered around, and Shikuta placed his finger on a point in the southeast of the Land of Rivers, near the Land of Wind.

"This is our current location."

He looked up to scan the group, then moved his finger north, landing on the border between the two countries.

"Here, the estuary of the Wangchuan River, has many tributaries and a complex water system, making it very convenient to infiltrate the Land of Wind."

Mo Jingxian understood; it was a mission to infiltrate behind enemy lines.

No wonder the level of secrecy had been kept so high.

Shikuta's next words confirmed this.

"According to reliable intelligence, Sunagakure is organizing a batch of supplies to be transported to the front lines via Sandstone Millet."

The map was marked in great detail; Sandstone Millet was north of the Wangchuan River, over a hundred kilometers away.

That area belonged to the interior of the Land of Wind.

"Our mission—destroy these supplies. Do you have any questions?"

"What is the enemy's garrison strength? With just the six of us, what are our chances of success?"

Hayama Shirakumo raised the critical question.

Shikuta seemed confident, answering calmly:

"The Sand Ninja's escort force will not be large. If we catch them by surprise, we have a great chance of destroying these supplies."

To increase credibility, Captain Shikuta provided further analysis.

"The Sand Ninja have a total of twenty-five thousand ninjas. They have dispatched twelve thousand to fight us, eight thousand are guarding the line against the Rock Ninja, three thousand remain in Sunagakure, and the rest must be distributed along the border, so..."

"The interior is empty," Mo Jingxian added.

"Correct. It is not just a matter of troop strength; this route is a newly opened path for the Sand Ninja. Our spies have not been exposed. With a calculated strike against an unprepared enemy, the success rate increases by another twenty percent."

After the discussion, everyone's confidence grew significantly, and everything Nara Shikuta said was indeed factual.

Looking at it this way, the probability of success was quite high.

The final question: the ambush site.

Tekuno pointed to a section of a canyon and said, "This place is simply perfect as an ambush site."

Indeed, with cliffs on both sides and only one road for entry and exit.

Once the enemy transport team entered, it would be like catching turtles in a jar.

If they added an aerial assault on top of that, there was no way the enemy could turn the tables.

The others stared at the map and nodded involuntarily, fully agreeing with the location Tekuno had chosen.

"If we can think of this, couldn't the enemy think of it too?"

Mo Jingxian raised an objection, then pointed to the front and back of the canyon on the map to explain:

"Apart from this canyon, the rest of the land is flat as a pancake. If you were a Sand Ninja, what would you do?"

That was true. If they were the Sand Ninja, they would definitely scout this area thoroughly; they had to ensure nothing went wrong.

The group fell silent for a moment, but there were no other suitable ambush spots besides this one.

Shikuta patted Mo Jingxian on the shoulder and encouraged him, "Keep going."

Mo Jingxian didn't hold back, pointing his finger at the exit of the canyon.

"If you ask me, it should be right here.

Think about it... when is a person most relaxed? Naturally, it's after they have passed through danger."

He tapped his finger there twice, then said decisively:

"Since there isn't a suitable ambush point, we will lie in wait within the enemy's blind spot of thinking."

"Clap, clap, clap!"

Nara Shikuta clapped his hands a few times.

"A brilliant statement. How come I never noticed you had talent in this area before?"

With the matter settled, Captain Shikuta cracked a rare joke.

"Isn't it because I learned from the captain? Am I right?"

Mo Jingxian bumped his shoulder against Shinju Ishikawa, signaling him to play along.

"Right, I can testify to that. He used to be an idiot."

The teammates' muffled laughter was even more mocking, but it swept away the pre-battle tension entirely.

With the objective clear and the retreat route agreed upon, the group seized the time to rest and recharge.

The weather was on their side; tonight, thick clouds obscured the moonlight.

Beside a river valley not far from the border of the Land of Wind.

Mo Jingxian and his party crept to the riverside, hiding themselves within clusters of tall grass.

"The enemy's first patrol squad is two kilometers away. The second squad is expected to arrive here in five minutes. No other enemies detected for the time being."

Ayako Hyuuga kept her Byakugan active; the Sand Ninja's defensive layout was riddled with holes.

Mo Jingxian had become somewhat accustomed to relying on his teammate's Byakugan; it was truly too convenient to use.

"Cross the river. Advance with caution."

The six of them moved like ghosts, treading across the water to bypass the first line of defense without making a single sound.

The second line of defense did have an extra squad of Sand Ninja, and their patrol routes intersected with one another.

However, in the eyes of the Byakugan, all of this became nothing more than pieces laid out on a chessboard.

The infiltrating team appeared to be walking a tightrope, but in reality, they were composed and unhurried.

In less than an hour, they had already broken through the second line of defense.

Having passed this point, they had officially entered the territory of the Land of Wind.

The journey ahead would require them to be even more methodical.

Once exposed by accident, what awaited them would be total annihilation.

The six of them submerged into the river, holding hollow bamboo tubes in their mouths.

Using the cover of night, they traveled upstream along the riverbed, finally arriving at a field of jagged rocks before dawn the next day.

Traveling during the day was too easy to expose, so Nara Shikuta decided to lie in wait here for the day.

The stone forest was severely weathered, and most of it had already collapsed.

Only a few remained standing on this land, stubbornly refusing to fall.

They looked like fearless spears, thrusting toward the sky with an unyielding conviction.