He was the Third Raikage's subordinate. Having followed the Raikage through years of war, he was experienced and cautious in his actions.
Unlike Hidden Sand and Hidden Rock, Dodai didn't rush to advance the front line. Instead, he first observed the battlefield's movements and had the scouting units repeatedly confirm the terrain and trap locations.
The small-nation and wandering shinobi dragged in to make up the numbers were the unlucky ones.
They had the largest numbers but the weakest strength. They had neither the institutional restraints of the major villages nor sufficient intelligence support.
They were more like a disorganized rabble driven forward by profit.
And Hidden Sand and Hidden Rock had almost simultaneously come up with the same idea—send those small-nation teams ahead to test the waters...
"All of you, come over here and move out first. We'll support you from behind." With a blank expression, a Hidden Sand messenger delivered the order to a small-nation team of more than ten people.
"Why do we have to go first?" The team's leader's expression changed. "We're completely unfamiliar with this terrain. What if we step on—"
"If you're unfamiliar with it, take a few more steps." There was no room for negotiation in the messenger's tone. "You were brought here to help, not to watch the show. Otherwise—"
He said no more, but the puppets behind him, controlled by puppet masters, were already itching to move.
The small-nation shinobi backed away several steps in fright, cold sweat beading on their foreheads. They could only brace themselves and scout the path ahead.
At the same time, they prayed that their luck would be better and that they wouldn't step into an Explosive Tag trap.
Unfortunately, that was impossible. There were plenty of traps along the way, scattered far apart. There was