They've Come to Fight

No one came the next day.

By noon on the third day, he saw through the Eye of Sand three Iwagakure ninja wearing red short-sleeved shirts, following the villagers from before up the dried-up riverbed.

Lin Chongshu immediately sprang into action.

He controlled the sand and gravel to carve Kusagakure's emblem onto the surface of the sand wall, then planted a flag in the ground.

Kusagakure's emblem was crudely drawn in charcoal on the white cloth, while the reverse bore a line of large words: "Requisitioned for the Kusagakure Chunin Exams. Destroyers will die."

He then dismissed the Water Clone. His real body wrapped itself in sand and slid down from the back mountain.

The first step was complete.

He was not worried that Iwagakure would sit still. If Amegakure had encountered this situation, Hanzo might have endured it, since he was currently busy with his internal conflict against Pain.

But Iwagakure was different. They had lost to Hidden Leaf Village in both Ninja World Wars, and they were already holding in their anger. They had also long coveted the Land of Grass.

Now Kusagakure had jumped right in their faces—cutting off their water source at their doorstep, beating their villagers, and planting a flag.

I can't beat Hidden Leaf Village, but I can't beat you either?

After leaving the Land of Earth, Lin Chongshu rushed overnight back to the town at the edge of the Land of Grass.

Security was strict during the Chunin Exams, with patrol ninja constantly moving around the outskirts.

He took the bodies of those genin and chunin out of the sealing scroll. The corpses were already badly mangled. Some had half their bodies crushed by the Sand Binding Coffin, while others had half their chests charred by Jugo's hand cannon.

He threw the bodies in the area outside the village entrance, then controlled the sand and gravel to carve six large words into the ground: "Enter the Land of Earth, die."

After finishing, he hid and deliberately stirred up sand and dust to create a commotion.

Someone shouted, "Who's there?" in the darkness. Lights converged on the area. Then someone saw the bodies, someone read the six words, and someone began calling loudly for others.

Lin Chongshu did not look back. He wrapped his body in sand, burrowed underground, and retreated toward the border where the three countries met.

He was not worried that Kusagakure would fail to identify the bodies. Though they barely looked human anymore, they would surely have ninja hounds, sensory ninja, or some other means to confirm who the dead were.

Once they confirmed that this squad was the team assigned to the Land of Earth border, along with the six words at the village entrance and Karin's mother's disappearance—

Kusagakure's first reaction would definitely be that the Land of Earth had killed them for entering its territory, then abducted the Uzumaki Clan medical ninja.

In truth, this kind of scheme of provoking both sides could quickly be exposed if the two parties were willing to sit down and negotiate.

But what Lin Chongshu was gambling on was the time difference.

By tomorrow night at the latest, Iwagakure's people would definitely come.

And today, Kusagakure's Chunin Exam candidates had been killed by Iwagakure right outside their own testing grounds. They had even died so horribly. What would the other candidates think?

When Kusagakure's genin saw their comrades' bodies tossed at the village entrance and the words "Enter the Land of Earth, die" carved into the ground, their first instinct would surely be to grip their kunai tight and seek revenge.

If they did not take revenge now, what would they do if the enemy came for them next?

Both sides were simmering with anger. As long as even the slightest accident happened tomorrow, they would definitely start fighting.

Early the next morning, around ten Iwagakure ninja set out.

Their leader was a jonin, and the chunin behind him all wore dark expressions. Their water source had been cut off, their villagers beaten, and the other side had even planted a Kusagakure flag on the riverbank.

The report from the village had only requested a C-rank bounty, but for a small country daring to provoke them so openly, Iwagakure's higher-ups directly elevated the incident's severity. They sent a jonin to lead the team, intending to teach the other side a lesson.

They did not even deliberately conceal their tracks. They wanted Kusagakure to see them.

Over in Kusagakure, the atmosphere was completely different.

The Chunin Exams had been urgently suspended. All candidates were withdrawn into the village, while every chunin originally patrolling outside the examination grounds had been recalled to the village entrance, standing ready behind the fortifications.

The person in charge of the Chunin Exams was a special jonin in his forties. He had already sent someone to urgently deliver the news to the daimyo of the Land of Grass.

He did not know what Iwagakure intended to do either. They had killed Kusagakure's people yesterday, and today a jonin-led team had crossed the border. No matter how he looked at it, they seemed prepared for a full-scale battle.

The village's genin and ordinary residents had already been moved to the rear. Only chunin and a handful of special jonin-level examiners remained at the entrance.

Three chunin were dispatched to negotiate with the Iwagakure force first.

An Eye of Sand hovered high overhead, taking in every movement of both groups.

Lin Chongshu had not left after dumping the bodies last night. He had spent the night burying Explosive Tags and kunai traps on both sides of the dirt road between the village entrance and the border, then retreated to wait in the shadow of an abandoned earthen wall.

Within the Eye of Sand's vision, more than ten Hidden Stone Village ninja were rapidly advancing, while Kusagakure's three chunin were walking out from the village entrance.

The distance between the two groups grew shorter and shorter.

When they were less than four hundred meters apart, the Eye of Sand silently dispersed, turning into a wisp of fine sand that burrowed into the dirt on both sides of the road.

Boom! Boom! Explosions erupted first on Iwagakure's side.

Flames and sand shot into the sky, while the kunai buried in the dirt sprang out at the same time.

"There's a trap! Scatter!"

"Was this trap set by Kusagakure? They've got some nerve!"

Before the smoke had dispersed, several more muffled blasts sounded as the traps on Kusagakure's side were triggered as well.

The Iwagakure jonin grabbed the chunin beside him and leaped backward. Several kunai grazed past his forehead protector.

He steadied himself, his brow furrowing.

He noticed smoke rising from Kusagakure's direction as well. If Kusagakure had laid the trap, why had their own side been hit too?

But before the smoke cleared, footsteps sounded from the other side, drawing closer and closer.

Kusagakure's three chunin were driven forward by the explosions behind them, while Iwagakure's dozen-plus ninja charged out of the blast smoke.

The two groups collided on the wrecked road.

Both sides gripped kunai. Both were splattered with dirt thrown up by the explosions. Their faces were filled with shock and suspicion.

Kusagakure's chunin shouted, "Enemy attack!" while Iwagakure's chunin shouted, "Trap!"

Though everyone had doubts, with less than thirty meters between them, if the other side struck first, they would not even have time to form hand seals.

There was no way to stop and question each other at a time like this. Losing the gamble meant death.

The Kusagakure chunin had already formed their hand seals. The instant the Iwagakure jonin saw them, he stopped thinking. Whoever struck first had the advantage. Only the living would have a chance to learn the truth.

"Earth Release: Rock Pillar Spear!" The Iwagakure jonin instantly formed seals, and several sharp rock pillars burst from the ground, stabbing fiercely toward Kusagakure's three chunin.

"Wind Release: Wind Cutter!" The Kusagakure chunin attacked almost simultaneously. Blades of wind surged from their palms, slicing the first two rock pillars into fragments.

But the third rock pillar stabbed in from the side, scraping through one chunin's ribs and knocking his entire body flying.

"The Land of Earth is attacking!" The shout came from the direction of the village entrance.

The village entrance instantly erupted into chaos.

Villagers who had been arranged to wait in the rear for evacuation began surging uncontrollably out through the back entrance.

The Chunin Exams official stood atop the village entrance fortifications, his face even darker than before. The daimyo's orders had not yet arrived, but Iwagakure's jonin had already attacked.

He swiftly scanned the battlefield. The three chunin sent to negotiate were being suppressed, and one had already been injured.

If they did not send troops to support them now, none of the three would make it back.

He gritted his teeth and ordered the people beside him, "Genin, protect the villagers and evacuate them in groups! Chunin, move forward and provide support. Bring our people back first!"

The chunin gathered at the village entrance immediately split into two groups. One remained behind to organize the villagers' evacuation, while the other charged straight out.

But when Iwagakure saw more Kusagakure chunin rushing out, they immediately judged them to be reinforcements joining the battle. The Iwagakure jonin promptly ordered the attack range expanded.

Lin Chongshu hid in the shadow of the abandoned earthen wall, watching the flames at the village entrance burn ever brighter.

This was the moment he had been waiting for.

He straightened the Kusagakure chunin forehead protector on his head, adjusted his facial contours with sand and gravel, and quietly climbed over the earthen wall on the side of the village.