Rasa's Huarong Path

In the northern part of the West Forest District, the fifty thousand Sand Ninja who had been fleeing for their lives for several hours finally slowed down. It was not because they felt safe or exhausted, but because an obstacle had appeared on the path ahead.

Ever since the valley in the West River Mountains had been opened up, the vast amounts of rainwater and rivers accumulated in the Land of Rain had poured down through the valley mouth, naturally forming a river through the West River region that ran southward to the sea.

Since the northern part of West Forest lay close to the Land of Rain and West River and had low-lying terrain, it became the end point of one branch of that great river. Massive amounts of water and silt accumulated here, forming a gigantic lake-and-swamp terrain that nearly cut off the entire northern region of West Forest.

Fortunately, a stretch of Gobi desert in the middle of the marsh blocked part of the water flow. Beyond the Gobi lay the Green Mountains, and a long, narrow valley through their center became the only passage to the Land of Rain. Every year, quite a few merchant caravans traveled between West Forest and the Land of Rain through this valley.

For the fifty thousand Sand Ninja, this valley was now their only escape route. Crossing the marsh directly by walking on water with the Chakra Adhesion Technique was simply not an option. Due to the environment of the Land of Wind, Sand Ninja rarely trained in water-walking. Furthermore, they had fought for an entire day and traveled for several hours afterward; both their stamina and chakra were severely depleted. If they crossed the marsh directly, at least half of them would be unable to keep up. Thus, the