At that moment, Asuna, Maki, and Yamanaka Risa were positioned on the second line. Since the enemy was suspected of targeting Asuna and Maki, the other Konoha ninja naturally had a duty to protect them. Besides, both had expended a considerable amount of chakra during the initial fighting. Even with the Chakra Refining Technique and Chakra Storage Blocks, they could not fight indefinitely. Rotating with their well-rested comrades in the rear was still essential.
In fact, the opposing Iwagakure ninja also needed to rotate their forces. This was precisely why the Konoha First Ninja Squad had managed to hold out and even advance: their endurance surpassed the enemy's. However, the enemy's overwhelming numbers had left them in something of a stalemate.
Asuna was using a Chakra Storage Block to recover her strength. On a battlefield out in the wilderness, there was a limit to how many Chakra Storage Blocks they could carry, so deciding when to use them required careful planning.
Suddenly, she heard a scream. Turning, she saw a Konoha ninja knocked flying. The attacker was a powerfully built Iwagakure ninja whose skin was darker than most people's, like brick. His sudden burst of strength had torn an opening in the Konoha First Ninja Squad's defensive line. More than ten Iwagakure ninja appeared behind him and swiftly attacked, pinning down the nearby Konoha ninja in one fell swoop.
As the Iwagakure ninja advanced, the breach in their defenses widened. His cold gaze was fixed on Asuna a short distance away. With the Konoha ninja on the outer defensive line held down by the other attackers, those inside were mostly exhausted ninja who could no longer muster much ninjutsu. They could do little more than throw kunai.
To the Konoha ninja's astonishment, the sharp kunai bounced straight off the Iwagakure