The Nightmare Begins

The Hidden Sand had eased its offensive over the past two days. After all, its reckless attacks on the front line in the preceding days had cost it far more than they had cost Konoha. The death of Dosa, the Third Kazekage's disciple, had also badly dampened the Hidden Sand's morale, and its troops urgently needed to rest. Just as the Hidden Sand was growing weak, Konoha suddenly launched a counterattack, forcing the Hidden Sand to send out troops to meet them.

Gusts of wind sent yellow sand swirling through the air. The shinobi from both sides faced off in the scorching desert. The Hidden Sand had sent out 8,000 men that day, and Konoha had roughly the same number. The spectacle was impressive.

As soon as the battle began, the shinobi specializing in ninjutsu on both sides unleashed a barrage of mid- and long-range techniques. Dozens, sometimes even hundreds, of shinobi used the same technique at once, producing astonishing effects. The battlefield roared without pause as Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, and even Water Release chakra clashed fiercely, casting dazzling light. Vast waves of chakra unleashed their savage power across the battlefield, mercilessly swallowing up the tiny figures caught in their path.

Konoha's shinobi were formidable in ninjutsu combat, so they naturally had the upper hand in the exchange. Once both sides had nearly exhausted their chakra, the ninjutsu units withdrew, and the Medical Corps rushed forward to rescue their wounded comrades, risking attack as they went.

"Charge! Everyone, move!" At the Konoha captains' signal, the Konoha shinobi waiting in the rear shouted and rushed forward. The two sides quickly collided in close combat. Konoha's attacks were ferocious. It seemed everyone had been holding back their anger, and the only place they could vent it was on the Hidden Sand.

"Lightning Style: Earth Flash!" A Konoha shinobi slapped the ground, sending the lightning in his hand racing along the earth toward the enemy. Three Hidden Sand shinobi were struck by the electric arc and collapsed, numb and paralyzed.

Another Konoha shinobi immediately pulled out a kunai, rushed over, and stabbed each of them twice. Blood poured from their wounds as the three cried out in pain. But he didn't finish them off. He chose a new opponent and continued his attack.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!" A massive fireball swept past, leaving the Hidden Sand shinobi leaping and flailing as they burned. "Hmm! Two seriously wounded." The Konoha shinobi nodded, satisfied with the results of his technique, then turned to attack other targets.

The Ino-Shika-Cho trio had joined the battle as well. They were all furious about Dan Katō's injury, and the Hidden Sand shinobi facing them were in for a brutal beating.

"Shadow Stitching!" Shikaku formed Hand Seals. A dozen shadows shot through a group of Hidden Sand shinobi, each one piercing an artery with pinpoint accuracy. Then Shikaku released the technique. The dozen or so men clutched their bleeding wounds, rolling and wailing on the sand.

"Partial Multi-Size Technique!" Choza's hand grew enormous, and he swatted several men away like flies.

"Choza, take it easy! Don't hit them so hard you kill them all!" Inoichi warned from nearby.

"Oh, right!" Choza nodded and switched to flicking them with his fingers. "Boing! Boing! Boing!" He sent the Hidden Sand shinobi restrained by Shikaku flying one by one, like marbles. They were indeed still alive—but every bone in their bodies was broken...

Similar scenes were unfolding all over the battlefield.

When Hidden Sand shinobi were crippled by ninjutsu, Konoha's men didn't rush over to finish them off. Instead, they let their comrades carry the wounded away. Konoha's shinobi used specially made kunai to inflict quick, precise wounds on their enemies. The Hidden Sand shinobi would then collapse, blood spurting from their wounds, and Konoha would leave them alone and move on to the next target. They even ignored the Hidden Sand's medical personnel, letting them treat the wounded and carry them off the battlefield.

Only then did the Hidden Sand realize something was wrong. In less than an hour, more than 800 of its 8,000 troops had been wounded, while only a little over 20 had been killed. Most of the wounded had lost the ability to fight because of blood loss.

The 800 or so wounded were quickly carried to the Medical Station by another 800 men. This immediately reduced the Hidden Sand's fighting force by a fifth, and Konoha, now with a numerical advantage, pressed its attack even harder. By the end of the morning, another 700 Hidden Sand shinobi had been wounded.

The Hidden Sand commander finally realized something was amiss and chose to retreat. More than 1,500 Hidden Sand shinobi had been wounded in total, and they were rushed to the Medical Station.

Chiyo was studying a map inside her sand house.

"Big sister, something terrible has happened!" Ebizo, usually so composed, burst into Chiyo's room, looking alarmed.

"What happened?" Chiyo was astonished. Her younger brother rarely lost his composure like this.

"Big sister, hurry to the Medical Station! If we're too late, it'll be too late—the place is about to collapse!" Ebizo said, pulling Chiyo along as he ran toward the Medical Station.

Chiyo was stunned when she arrived. The Medical Station was overflowing. The beds and chairs were packed with wounded, and people were lying in the corridors and even in the doctors' offices. Injured shinobi crowded all the way outside the entrance. Countless wounded lay in the open space, their cries and moans unceasing. The huge area was packed, and a faint smell of blood hung in the air.

"Doctor! Doctor, hurry! My comrade won't stop bleeding!" a shinobi shouted, calling for help.

"My leg's broken! Please, save me!" someone cried out.

"My comrade's been burned! Someone, help!" another man yelled. Shouts rang out across the entire courtyard, and everyone was clamoring as if trying to outdo one another in volume.

"Let go of me! I have to see the next patient!" A medical worker pushed away several shinobi clinging to him.

"Doctor! See to my side first!" "No, I got here first!" "Stop arguing! My younger brother's injuries are the worst! Doctor, please, go see him!" "Doctor, the wound on my leg won't stop bleeding!"... Several shinobi fought over one doctor, soon shoving and wrestling with one another.

"One at a time! Keep order!" Chiyo rushed forward and separated them. When everyone saw that it was Chiyo, their commander, they didn't dare cause trouble and quickly backed away.

"Go treat the next patient! Give priority to the most seriously wounded!" Chiyo ordered the doctors.

"Yes, Lady Chiyo." The doctor hurried away.

Chiyo immediately summoned the person in charge of the Medical Station, her face so dark it seemed to freeze. "What in the world is going on?!"

"Lady Chiyo... Konoha attacked fiercely today, but for some reason, they only wounded our men instead of killing them. They even let us carry them back for treatment. We've had 1,500 wounded in just one morning. Konoha is also using a new kind of kunai. The wounds fester if they're grazed, and if someone is stabbed, the bleeding won't stop. It's very difficult to staunch the bleeding or stitch the wounds." The person in charge wore a pained expression as he spoke, handing Chiyo a Tri-blade Kunai to examine.

The medical shinobi in charge of the Medical Station were all incredibly frustrated. It had been overflowing for hours, and they were completely swamped. Everyone had a mountain of problems to solve, and they were at their wits' end.

Chiyo examined the kunai closely, then sniffed it. "It's poisoned. The toxin makes the wounds fester quickly, but it isn't hard to treat. This kunai leaves a triangular wound when it pierces someone. It causes heavy bleeding, and the wound is difficult to stitch. Konoha is so underhanded!"

"Yes, most of the wounded here were injured by these kunai," the person in charge quickly agreed.

"Have people prepare an antidote first. Tell the Medical Corps to use more healing techniques to stop the bleeding." Chiyo made her assessment and issued her orders.

"Um... Lady Chiyo, the people in the Medical Corps are out of chakra. There were too many wounded, and they'd nearly used it all up while giving first aid on the battlefield."

"What?! Then use bandages, gauze, and hemostatic agents! Here are the materials needed to prepare an antidote. Hurry and find someone to make it!" Chiyo was exasperated.

"Yes! I'll go right away!" The person in charge slunk off.

Chiyo began treating the wounded. She had only treated a few patients when dozens more arrived, waiting for her. She didn't even have time to catch her breath.

Just then, a Hidden Sand shinobi hurried over. "Report! Lady Chiyo, we're running out of blood packs!"

"What? Notify the main supply station and have them send us blood packs!" Chiyo was furious. Why was nothing available when they needed it? Something was going wrong everywhere.

"Yes, ma'am." The shinobi left.

Chiyo treated another patient and was about to catch her breath when yet another shinobi ran up and knelt in front of her. "Report! Lady Chiyo, we don't have enough ingredients for the antidote. We can only prepare 300 doses!"

"What are you people doing? Hurry and get more from the main supply station!" Chiyo was already exasperated as she gave the order.

"Yes, ma'am!" The shinobi hurried away.

The moment he left, a third shinobi rushed over. "Report! Lady Chiyo, we've run out of gauze at the Medical Station! What do we do?"

"..." Chiyo was at a loss for words.

Chiyo spent the entire afternoon treating the wounded herself. Seeing more than a thousand people still lying in the open space made her scalp tingle. The wounded were crying out, and the Medical Station was shrouded in gloom.

Because treatment had been delayed, more than 40 Hidden Sand shinobi had died on the battlefield, while over 280 had died in the Medical Station. The death toll was still rising. The situation only improved after blood plasma arrived from the supply station and the antidote was ready.

"Big sister, Konoha is truly despicable and cunning! They've actually turned our own tactics against us! They're inflicting serious wounds on our fighters to sap our strength, while also draining our supplies, all to cripple the Hidden Sand's logistics and medical services. Damn it! The enemy may even attack the transport convoy!" Ebizo was furious. He'd thought the Hidden Sand was ruthless, but Konoha was even worse. The Hidden Sand had come up with this tactic first, and now Konoha had turned it back on them, rubbing their faces in it.

Chiyo looked at the chaotic hospital and sighed. "Sigh, they may already be doing exactly that..."

Chiyo's guess had been right. Konoha's harassment squad was already attacking the transport convoy in the desert.

Just moments earlier, Konoha shinobi had used Water Release Ninjutsu beneath the desert to create a small patch of temporary quicksand. One of the Hidden Sand's transport trucks had accidentally sunk into it. The entire convoy had to stop while the shinobi frantically dug away the sand to get the truck out. They couldn't just leave a whole truckload of supplies behind. It took two hours before they finally managed to dig the truck out.

Unfortunately, the nightmare had only just begun. The Hidden Sand convoy then ran into a string of Konoha's traps. Sometimes they would trigger a mechanism and get injured by several kunai flying out from the side. Other times, a few Explosive Tags buried in the road would suddenly detonate, blowing up a truck. Some even missed their footing and fell into pits filled with sharp spikes.

Even more maddening was Konoha's endless "sparrow harassment." A Konoha shinobi would suddenly appear using the Body Flicker Technique, throw a handful of kunai with a string of Explosive Tags attached, blow up a truck, and immediately escape underground with Earth Style.

Elsewhere, another Konoha shinobi would leap out and use an Earth Style technique. Earth Spears rising from the ground would damage the wheels of two trucks, and in the blink of an eye, he would vanish again.

Every so often, a shinobi would rush out and try to assassinate one of the transport personnel. Whether the attempt succeeded or failed, the shinobi would immediately disappear in a puff of white smoke. Konoha's shinobi were all using Shadow Clones; they had no intention of fighting head-on.

The Hidden Sand convoy had only traveled 10 kilometers, but it had already been attacked more than ten times. It kept stopping and starting, and the convoy's captain was on the verge of collapse.

The nighttime harassment was even worse. Inside a hidden tent deep in the desert, more than ten Konoha shinobi were resting. Three Konoha shinobi came in, confirmed their identities to the sentries, then found places to sleep.

Meanwhile, three shinobi were woken by their comrades. "Time to get up and go to work!"

The rested Konoha shinobi stretched. "It's finally our turn. You all get some good rest. We'll take turns and wear those guys down!" The three shinobi finished speaking, walked out of the tent, and disappeared into the desert.

Soon after, the Hidden Sand convoy's camp was attacked. It was a miserable time for the Hidden Sand shinobi.

"Clang, clang, clang, clang!" Someone was banging gongs and drums and shouting wildly, waking everyone up. Elsewhere, Konoha shinobi suddenly appeared and started a fire. An Explosive Tag–tipped kunai was thrown into the camp, while a small Fire Style technique set a tent ablaze. By the time the Hidden Sand shinobi chased after them, the Konoha shinobi had already vanished—or were simply using Shadow Clones to wear them down.

Sometimes Konoha shinobi would throw a Flashbang, and the Hidden Sand shinobi would rush out to stand guard. They would wait for ages without anything happening. Once the Hidden Sand shinobi finally relaxed and went back to sleep, the Konoha harassment squad would suddenly appear and assassinate several guards...

In short, Konoha's plan was to keep the entire Hidden Sand convoy awake all night. When the Hidden Sand shinobi got up in the morning, every one of them had dark circles under their eyes. They had no idea how many enemies there were, where they were, or what was going on, while they themselves had been left utterly exhausted.

After a full day, the convoy had traveled only 18 kilometers—slower than an ordinary person would walk.

After learning what had happened to the transport convoy, Chiyo was even more anxious.

"Big sister, Konoha's trying to run us into the ground!" Even the usually shrewd Ebizo was frustrated.

"Notify the convoy to travel through the night as much as possible. They can rest properly once they get back!" Chiyo issued the order helplessly.

"Send an elite unit to escort the convoy! Tell everyone to stay on high alert!" Ebizo added.

But did the Hidden Sand think that was the end of it? The nightmare had only just begun!