Apart from the well-trained Chakra Samurai, who possessed chakra, the ordinary samurai were being run in circles by the ninjas' unusual methods. The Old Officer who had spoken up against the plan earlier groaned inwardly. He had lived a long life, and although he was still only a Junior Officer, he had seen plenty.
When facing a ninja unit concealed in the woods like this, leading a large force inside was certainly not the best approach. The complex terrain of the forest was the ninjas' domain, not the samurai's.
Generally, senior officers would send an elite squad to investigate, bombard the woods with concentrated ranged attacks, or set the forest ablaze to deprive the ninjas of their hiding places.
If they refused to use any of those methods and insisted on taking the entire army inside, that could work too. As long as the army was large enough to fill most of the forest, it could likewise limit the ninjas' options and force them into a head-on confrontation. But that approach was far too clumsy. No intelligent officer would choose it.
The Chakra Samurai clearly were not that intelligent, because they charged straight into the woods. Although many followed them out of fear, some stopped midway and moved sluggishly, plainly waiting to see how things unfolded.
Having nearly been killed by the Chakra Samurai earlier, the Old Officer had instinctively followed them inside, only to soon find himself led astray by the ninjas' genjutsu. Once he gradually calmed down, he began considering what to do next.
The Old Officer had resented the Chakra Samurai for a long time. His brush with death had finally unleashed all the anger in his heart. He might have been a mild-mannered man, but even mild-mannered men could lose their tempers.
"What do we do,