The Enraged Hidden Sand

Konoha, Hokage's Office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's pipe had long since gone out. The desk before him was covered with battle reports and casualty statistics from Mount Kikyo.

He took a deep breath and suppressed his turbulent emotions.

The intelligence Inoichi had sent back was not only detailed, but also included his assessment: Hidden Sand's retreat was not a rout, but a shift from strategic offense to strategic defense. Something was very wrong.

"Hidden Sand's offensive has been repelled for now, but the price... was too great."

His voice was low. "Inoichi judged that Rasa had not gone all out. It was more like... a probing assault, or perhaps a feint meant to benefit someone else." He raised his head and looked at the core leadership before him—Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, Shimura Danzō, and several core Jonin who had just been urgently recalled.

"Danzo!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze sharpened.

"Activate Root's intelligence network in full! I want to know every move Hidden Cloud, Iwagakure, and Hidden Mist make, especially the deployment of their border forces! They can't possibly pass up this opportunity."

Leaning on his cane, Danzo's lone eye gleamed coldly beneath the shadows.

"Hmph, I understand, Hiruzen. They're merely sharks that have caught the scent of blood. Don't worry—when they extend their claws, Root will know immediately."

"I said from the beginning that we should have concentrated our forces, worked from within and without to detonate Hidden Sand's tailed beast, then charged straight in and crushed them to deter all those petty vermin in the ninja world. You're too soft, Hiruzen!"

"Danzo, I am the Hokage!"

"Hmph!"

Bang!

Shimura Danzō stormed out, slamming the door behind him in anger.

"Koharu, Homura."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was helpless and could only turn to his other two old friends and advisers.

"Immediately activate the wartime emergency plan. Mobilize every force we can mobilize. Call up five thousand Konoha reserve ninjas and prioritize reinforcing the Mount Kikyo defense line! Order every border outpost to enter the highest state of alert!"

"At the same time, request additional material and financial support from the Land of Fire's daimyo! This war... I fear it has only just begun."

His gaze turned toward the window, as though he could see storm clouds of war surging in from every direction.

"The victory at Mount Kikyo bought us a chance to catch our breath with flesh and blood. We must make good use of this time and prepare to face... the real war!"

The battle of Mount Kikyo was like a spark cast into a dry forest.

Hidden Sand's fierce offensive and its "failure at the final step" completely ignited the long-suppressed ambitions of the other three great ninja villages.

Konoha's weakness had been laid bare before the ninja world. A ravenous feast intended to carve up the strongest ninja village had already begun in the conference rooms of the other four great nations' upper echelons.

The flames of the Great Ninja War would no longer be limited to the clash between Wind and Fire. They were about to spread across the entire continent.

And that was precisely what those ambitious people yearning to profit from war had been waiting for. War profits, war profits—without war, where would the profits come from?

Some military-industrial conglomerate corporation: Why the hell did it feel like someone was calling me out?

At the border of the Land of Wind, within the Land of Rivers.

The dry wind swept up endless sand and dust as it passed over land ravaged by war.

Within a concealed mountain hollow, the atmosphere at a remaining Hidden Sand troop encampment was so heavy it seemed ready to drip with water.

The dim light of oil lamps illuminated several exhausted, frightened faces.

They were Jonin captains who had just retreated in defeat from the Land of Rivers front, as well as one of the few remaining Hidden Sand forces in the area whose organization was still relatively intact.

"Another... another squad has lost contact."

A Chunin responsible for administrative work reported hoarsely to Baki, who sat in the seat of honor.

His trembling finger pointed at a location on the map marked with a huge red X.

"The last message came from here. According to their patrol route, they should have reached the rendezvous point two hours ago."

Elite Jonin Baki, seated at the head of the table, had his brows tightly furrowed and a terrifyingly grim expression.

On the table before him lay a bloodstained scroll, covered in rushed, scrawled handwriting that recorded a series of alarming recent losses.

"This is already the seventh time Konoha has launched a siege against us this month!"

A scar-faced Special Jonin beside him slammed his fist into the crude wooden table, making the oil lamps sway.

"It can't be helped. Konoha's ninjas have too much of an advantage in reconnaissance. Whether we set ambushes or hide, those Byakugan users find us."

"Especially when their high-end combat power and numbers both surpass ours. All we can do is fight as we retreat."

"But we've reached the Land of Wind's border now. I refuse to believe that bastard Baiyun Zaojian would dare charge into our desert!"

"But... Captain Baki, fewer than three hundred men remain of our southern army. Konoha's purge forces have been far too ruthless!"

"Yes, especially that Konoha ninja named Uchiha Ran. I heard the Uchiha squad led by him has already captured nearly a hundred Hidden Sand ninjas."

"According to the intelligence sent back, we still haven't been able to analyze their methods of combat."

"Apart from traces of battle, there isn't even a single corpse at the scene. There are only... only signs of people being forcibly dragged away. Now our morale is low, and our supplies are insufficient!"

"Uchiha... Konoha Spark!"

Baki forced out the name through clenched teeth, his eyes filled with apprehension and uncontrollable fury.

That name had now become synonymous with humiliation among the Hidden Sand ninjas on the Land of Rivers front.

He paused, his voice carrying a tremor he did not notice himself.

"This cannot continue. Make a plan. Set bait and wipe out this Uchiha squad completely!"

The reason Uchiha Ran's squad operated so efficiently was simple: they often launched lightning-fast strikes when Hidden Sand squads were at their most exhausted or least vigilant.

Uchiha Ran used the Sharingan to instantly suppress the core combatants, while Uchiha Tetsuka and Inasui relied on superb taijutsu and Fire Release ninjutsu to swiftly clear the battlefield and seize control.

Finally, Uchiha Inada took out specially made ropes with powerful sealing effects and sealing needles, rapidly binding the unconscious captives like cargo, sealing their chakra, and then... "packing" them up and taking them away.

The entire process flowed smoothly, their coordination flawless. Practice made perfect.

Of course, the more crucial factor was Hidden Sand's cooperation.

In order to delay Konoha's garrison forces in the Land of Rivers, draw Konoha's attention, and prevent Baiyun Zaojian's purge forces from wiping them out in one sweep, Baki—

—directly adopted an elder's suggestion: break their forces into small units, strike separately, and use guerrilla tactics to hinder Konoha's logistics and sabotage its transport routes.

What he had not expected was that Uchiha Ran's squad was even better at guerrilla warfare, picking them off one by one.

And whenever those Hidden Sand ninjas tried to gather together for protection, they were immediately discovered by Hyuga Clan ninjas, drawing Baiyun Zaojian's larger forces in for a crushing siege.