Somewhere within Land of Fire.
Boom boom boom!
There were roars and explosions one after another.
Between the flat wilderness and the complicated mountains, there are ninja figures constantly flashing in pursuit.
Viewed from a high altitude, Kakkō and thick smoke are rising one after another above the surface - and various ninja techniques are being used to intertwine and destroy the environment.
This is already the second day since Minato and Shikaku returned to the main force.
Under the leadership of Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Konoha army finally entered the ambush area set in advance by Sunagakure.
The reconnaissance team at the forefront, even though they were on guard, still accidentally touched some traps and were attacked by Sunagakure in the dark.
Immediately afterwards, the Konoha army followed, and the two sides soon began to fight.
Although the traps and traps of Sunagakure are relatively hidden, for the experienced Konoha Ninja, they can still be discovered and destroyed - but the number of people in the army is too large, and they are eager to rush to the border battlefield, so they don't want to waste time on it.
Therefore, some teams were still tricked.
Fortunately, Hiruzen Sarutobi had already been vigilant in this regard. Some of Konoha's troops were injured, but the number was very small - basically no bad impact was caused.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh--
On the ground, a large number of Konoha Ninja are chasing the Sunagakure that appeared.
It is said that they are fighting - but the combat power and military strength of the two sides are not at the same level at all.
Sunagakure, who was hiding in the dark, was killed almost in a short period of time.
"Lord Hokage--"
A team leader from Konoha came to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"How's the situation?"
Sarutobi asked.
"The number of Sunagakure is not large. It seems that they are a temporary force sent to ambush here. They have no strength to compete with us - many Sunagakure have been beaten and fled far away. Our people are chasing -"
The squad leader reports.
"Don't stop, the core team continues on its way."
Hiruzen Sarutobi was running while giving orders to the management of several surrounding armies.
"Yes!"
Several people obeyed the order and dispersed.
A Sunagakure force of this size is not worthy of Hokage's personal action.
After saying that, Sarutobi looked at the team leader nearby, "Where are we here?"
"Only the reconnaissance team has experienced some problems. The casualties of other personnel will have to wait for the statistics of the medical team - it should not be too many. The scope of Sunagakure's trap is not too large, and the damage it can cause us is within the controllable range. However, the density of the traps is relatively large, and it will take some time for our manpower to investigate and destroy them."
Having said this, the team leader showed respect, "Thanks to Lord Hokage for anticipating the enemy's move - our losses were minimized."
"Hmm--"
Sarutobi pondered for a moment and nodded, "After all, time is limited - Sunagakure suddenly attacked the border, fought a fast battle, and wanted to pursue efficiency and speed. They will not carry too many supplies - this is Land of Fire, not them Land of Wind - if they want to set up a large trap, they will not be short of consumables."
"Try to kill the enemy as much as possible. If you really can't catch up, don't pester them too much. Just drive them away."
Sarutobi ordered.
"Yes."
The squad leader heard this and left quickly.
This should be just a tentative strategy used by Sunagakure to deal with their Konoha army. It is not the core team. It makes no sense to invest energy in these remnants - this kind of combat design and troop quantity can pose a very limited threat to their army.
Sarutobi thought.
Time passed little by little.
The Konoha army continues to advance.
The main force of the army did not fight Sunagakure, but only sent a few Jonin. Relying on their numerical advantage, they led some grassroots ninjas to defeat Sunagakure's sneak attack force.
The effect was also obvious. In less than half an hour, the people below received the news that Sunagakure was defeated and all escaped.
This also shows that Sunagakure's battle failed!
Facing their Konoha counterattack, the enemy simply couldn't withstand it.
"Arai?"
Of course, Konoha's gains not only frustrate Sunagakure's actions.
Through some means, I also learned some information from Sunagakure.
Learned who the commander of the Sunagakure army was.
When I first heard this name, Sarutobi couldn't remember which character of Sunagakure this was.
After being reminded by people around me, I found out that he was the shadow guard and assistant next to Third Kazekage.
Elite Jōnin of Sunagakure.
"Is it him?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi was wondering in his heart while following the large army on the road.
This Arai is also the person who participated in the whole process of Second Shinobi World War.
In other words, if Sunagakure's series of tactical arrangements against Konoha were all made by this person, then during the last Shinobi World war, during the firefight between the two villages, Arai was present, and Sunagakure had no reason to be so strenuous on the battlefield.
Boom!
Just as I was thinking about it, there was an explosion in the distance.
It's the movement of Explosive Tag.
"What's going on?"
Sarutobi was shocked.
Then, he immediately looked to the side of the marching group.
Then they saw some black spots "shooting out from the horizon and approaching them."
"Lord Hokage--It's Sunagakure, here it comes again--"
After a moment, a captain passed by the fast-moving formation and said with an ugly expression.
"Still the same people?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi old face wrinkled and asked.
"Hmm--"
"Solve it quickly."
Sarutobi said seriously.
"Yes."
The latter turned around and obeyed.
Prepare to lead people to continue to clear out this group of Sunagakure remnant soldiers who are determined to be evil.
However, soon - these Sunagakure ran away again.
The enemy has no intention of fighting them Konoha to the death.
These Sunagakure sometimes gather and sometimes disperse.
It's completely a guerrilla style of fighting.
You know, even if there are only two or three Sunagakure hanging around under the nose of the Konoha army at this time, Konoha will definitely take action, and there is no way to ignore it.
But taking action means that Konoha's marching formation will inevitably undergo some changes.
It's okay once or twice, but if you keep being harassed so frequently" - even if it has no actual impact, it's still disgusting enough.
"The initial large-scale trap was not intended to weaken our people at all. It just made us mistakenly believe that their Sunagakure ambush failed. We also successfully passed the trap area, so we let down our guard a little - thinking that there would be no more ambushes or designs in the follow-up, at least within a certain distance-"
"It's a -- a psychological tactic."
Sarutobi soon realized Sunagakure's true intention and style of play in running this tactic.
The opponent's personnel are small and they are still operating dispersedly. In terms of flexibility, they are definitely far superior to their entire Konoha army.
And on the way here, we must have surveyed the surrounding environment and become familiar with the guerrilla and retreat routes.
In the following march, this Sunagakure team will definitely appear frequently - if they want to completely solve it, they must send troops to deal with it specifically.
And for the rest of the journey, let alone whether there are traps, even the abnormal noise caused by the sudden explosion of a Explosive Tag will affect the mentality of the entire army and put a layer of pressure on it.
This is like a mouse jumping up and down at the feet of an elephant. There is no actual threat, but it just makes you uncomfortable.
As soon as he thought of this, Sarutobi's eyes turned cold.
This tactic is a bit rogue, but it is very effective.
The junior named Arai had such sinister intentions that he felt a sense of displeasure even before they met him.