As the sounds of slaughter at the main battlefield in the Throat of the Raging Sands gradually gave way to cheers of victory, a silent yet even more brutal battle had just ended deep in a sandstone ravine, dozens of miles away from the main battlefield and off the main routes.
This was the final destination of the surprise attack squad led by Dan Katō on their "Feigned Retreat" mission.
At first, everything had gone more smoothly than they could have imagined.
Taking advantage of the enormous chakra fluctuations and the attention drawn by Hatake Sakumo's fierce battle against Wenshu and his wife on the right flank, the elite Konoha squad slipped through Sunagakure's outer defenses like a venomous snake vanishing into the shadows, successfully infiltrating the area near its supply lines.
With lightning speed, they destroyed two supply stockpiles and a communications relay station, causing considerable chaos and creating favorable conditions for the battle at the front.
Yet just as they prepared to follow the plan and penetrate deeper toward a suspected command post, hunter and prey abruptly traded places.
Boom!!!
The towering sandstone cliffs on either side shuddered violently. Countless glittering golden grains poured down as though alive-not ordinary sand, but heavy, razor-sharp gold dust infused with special chakra!
"An ambush! It's Magnet Release!" Dan Katō's expression changed sharply, and he shouted, "Tighten the defenses! Inoichi, scan the area!"
The squad reacted instantly, forming a circle with their backs to one another.
Inoichi Yamanaka closed his eyes tightly, spreading his powerful mental perception outward like ripples on water.
A moment later, his eyes snapped open, and a trace of alarm entered his voice. "More than fifty! They've surrounded us! Their leader is-his chakra is enormous, with strong magnetism and killing intent-it's Rasa!"
Before he finished speaking, a young