Sunagakure Ninja Village already knew that the Konoha ninja had arrived ahead of them, so they did not rush to attack. As they established their camp, they waited for the Land of Wind's samurai army to assemble and dispatched intelligence ninja to infiltrate the Land of Rain and gather information on the Enemy Forces. That was their first priority.
With the Enemy Forces' deployment still unclear, Kagami Uchiha could not act rashly either. He likewise sent intelligence ninja out to investigate. Thus, the first clash between the two sides took place among their intelligence ninja. There were no great disturbances; everything unfolded in silence. Only the reports delivered to their desks one after another revealed how fierce this hidden struggle truly was.
Within three days, Kagami Uchiha received a highly valuable piece of intelligence: the Enemy Forces would launch their first full-scale offensive within two days. Their goal was to tear through the border defenses, enter the Land of Rain, and turn the territory they occupied into a foothold for their second offensive.
Based on the intelligence they had gathered, Kagami Uchiha and Hanzō discussed matters for an entire night and settled on a basic battle plan. Orders were passed down to every squad under their command, instructing them to prepare for battle. A fierce clash would soon be upon them.
Asuna and Mizuki's squad was assigned to Hatake Sakumo, who would lead them personally. Following the principle of three members per squad, he assigned a newcomer to join them. She was a girl from the Yamanaka Clan named Yamanaka Risa, a highly capable descendant of a trusted line closely tied to the clan head's family. That was why Hatake Sakumo had chosen her.
Yamanaka Risa excelled in both the Mind Body Switch Technique series of secret techniques and her