At the border between the Land of Grass and the Land of Fire, the armies of Iwagakure and Konoha faced off.
On Iwagakure's side, a burly man with tawny skin stood at the head.
Looking at Konoha's eight hundred-odd troops, he roared harshly:
"You Konoha shinobi, hand over whoever attacked our supply lines, or today we fight to the death!"
Mimura Hamaki stood at the very front of the formation, his expression grim.
Hearing the other man speak, he shouted back:
"Pah! You Iwagakure scum invaded our Land of Fire without cause, and you still dare spout such shameless nonsense.
"If you withdraw now, I can let your attacks on our shinobi slide."
The Iwagakure commander opposite him was named Higashi Shibito.
Hearing Mimura Hamaki's words, he immediately roared in anger.
"What a load of stinking bullshit! If Konoha hadn't pushed us too far, would we have stationed our troops here?
"Your name's Mimura Hamaki, right?
"Get Hiruzen Sarutobi here. I want to ask him why he's bullying our Land of Earth!"
Mimura Hamaki grew angry as well.
"Higashi Shibito, you're an established jōnin, yet you speak so crudely.
"Stop making unreasonable demands. Withdraw your troops at once before you damage relations between us."
While Mimura Hamaki and Higashi Shibito traded insults, more and more troops gathered on Iwagakure's side.
Mimura Hamaki's expression grew increasingly grim.
The jōnin on Konoha's side noticed it too.
One jōnin leaned close to Mimura Hamaki's ear and whispered:
"Jōnin Mimura, Iwagakure already has over fifteen hundred troops. Waiting any longer will put us at a disadvantage."
Mimura Hamaki remained silent.
Another jōnin suggested:
"How about striking first?
"The longer we wait, the worse it gets for us."
For the moment, Mimura Hamaki could not make up his mind.
If they waited any longer, the