A light drizzle fell from the sky, pattering against the leaves in the forest, gathering together, then dropping to the ground with a steady drip-drop.
The Rock Ninja party was hurrying forward at a brisk pace.
Suddenly, someone up ahead stopped in his tracks, looked down at the ground beneath his feet, and felt his soul nearly leave his body. He shouted sharply, "Fall back!"
Even as he spoke, he had already retreated.
The others, though they did not understand why, immediately sprang backward as well.
Just then, a chain of explosions suddenly rang out.
Up ahead, several crimson fireballs rose into the air. The high-temperature flames instantly evaporated the surrounding rainwater and set many trees ablaze.
"They're Exploding Tags!"
A Rock Ninja shouted.
The next moment, a fierce gust of wind came rolling in with waves of heat, blowing so hard they could barely open their eyes.
Just then, dozens of Kunai shot out from the shadows, hurtling straight toward the Rock Ninja squad.
"Careful!"
The leading Rock Ninja shouted, drew his Kunai, and swung it repeatedly, blocking the incoming Kunai from the front.
Seeing this, the other Rock Ninja followed suit, defending against attacks coming from all directions.
It had to be said that this group of Rock Ninja had solid combat instincts. Though they had been caught off guard, they quickly stabilized their formation, and no one died because of it.
There were not even many wounded, and none of the injuries were particularly serious.
Since the first wave of attacks had failed, Tanigawa Masaki decisively gave up on the idea of a head-on clash and issued the order to execute Plan B.
So-called Plan B was essentially guerrilla warfare: bog the Rock Ninja down in this forest so the other squad could get away from the