Before the Sunagakure Ninja Forces could finish assembling, Hanzō's troops charged in and launched a fierce attack. Fighting on home ground, the Amegakure ninja knew the terrain well and were accustomed to the weather. The newly arrived Sunagakure ninja had yet to adjust, and the attack caught them off guard. The Amegakure ninja quickly slipped through the gaps in their formation and began cutting them off from one another.
The Sunagakure Ninja Forces, which had never fully assembled in the first place, were scattered once again. This time, however, they managed to maintain some contact. Although the Amegakure ninja split the army into small squads, that was precisely the organizational structure best suited to ninja.
The situation looked dire, but this was when the difference in quality between the two sides became clear. No matter how far Sunagakure Ninja Village had declined, it was still one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. It had not fallen so low that Amegakure Ninja Village could push it around. Though each squad fought on its own, the individual Sunagakure squads performed far better than they had against Konoha's assault teams, fending off enemy attacks while drawing closer to nearby comrades.
Rain poured down, and the ground was muddy. The newly arrived Sunagakure ninja struggled at first, but as the fighting continued, they gradually learned to keep their balance in these conditions, fighting as smoothly as they would on level ground. The Amegakure ninja's advantage steadily vanished, and the Sunagakure ninja soon began to counterattack, killing the enemies before them one by one.
After the initial exchange of Ninjutsu, the distance between the two sides shrank, and the battle quickly turned to close combat. Here, the Sunagakure ninja's mastery of Wind Release gave them a tremendous advantage. Simply coating their ninja tools with Wind