As above, so below

Squadron Commander Yuma had been worried the entire way.

He was a Special Jōnin. Of the three squads assigned to him, two were led by Chunin, while one squad leader was actually a Genin: Mitaraishi Anko.

A little bean sprout of a girl, not even ten years old.

During their final rest before entering the target area, Yuma first summoned the two Chunin squad leaders, Inuzuka Hara and Tian Da, to ask for their opinions.

Some of the other ninja stood beside the surrounding trees. The more alert ones stood on tree trunks, watching their surroundings.

Tian Da glanced at Mitaraishi Anko, then at Uchiha Ling, and guessed that Commander Yuma knew nothing about this unusual squad.

Neither Mitaraishi Anko nor Uchiha Ling was the least bit anxious about not being summoned by the squadron commander. They simply went about their business.

Yuma told the two men, "When I first arrived at the front, the battlefield was still in the Land of Waterfalls, more than two hundred kilometers from the Land of Fire's border.

"As the fighting went on, our Hidden Leaf forces kept losing ground until we were pushed back to the Land of Fire's border.

"Last month, we nearly failed to hold even the border.

"What are your thoughts on this support mission?"

Seeing Yuma turn to him, Tian Da said:

"Commander, we're supporting five defense zones, Zones 16 to 20, spanning fifty kilometers in total.

"If we want to play it safe, we can use a five-four formation.

"We station our four squads between the five defense zones, two or three kilometers behind the line.

"That ensures each squad can reach either of its two neighboring defense zones immediately.

"If we want to be more aggressive, we can use a five-two-two formation.

"Two squads take positions behind