More than an hour passed.
The atmosphere on both Konoha's and Iwagakure's sides grew somewhat tense, as though either side might strike at any moment.
The combat unit was naturally preparing to coordinate a full-scale assault with the other outposts. Iwagakure, however, had only one reason: their reinforcements were almost there.
Or perhaps they feared the unit would leave before then, so they intended to strike first and pin them down.
Nara Yijiu seemed to sense their intentions and changed the order to attack into an order to retreat.
A little thought made Nara Yijiu's true intentions clear. He was plainly exploiting the Rock Ninja's desperate desire to keep them there to lure them out.
Things went exactly as he had expected. His plan worked.
When the ninja in the Iwagakure camp ahead saw that they intended to leave, they immediately assembled their men, rushed out of camp, and pursued the combat unit.
It was not that Nara Yijiu's plan was particularly brilliant. Iwagakure simply had to act.
The reason was that the combat unit's frenzied slaughter the previous night had enraged Iwagakure's higher-ups. They had already issued strict orders for the ninja on the third defensive line to hold this Konoha force in place.
Precisely because of that, the moment the combat unit showed any intention of withdrawing, the Rock Ninja rushed out to stop them.
At this point, Nara Yijiu's plan was already halfway to success.
Without the advantage of fighting inside their own camp, the enemy would be much easier to deal with.
Still, it was only a slight advantage. A tough battle lay ahead.
This time, Iwagakure deployed a full two hundred men. Most were Chunin and Jonin, while Genin accounted for only a third of the total.
Their fighting strength was on an entirely different