The retreat of Iwagakure did not bring peace; instead, it was like drawing back a gap in a heavier curtain, letting in an even more suffocating sense of oppression.
The air around the Sunagakure camp was thick with the stench of burnt food, blood, and tension.
After the wounded were given basic first aid, they were placed in sheltered caves, while those who were able to fight quickly prepared, extinguished the remaining fires, and reinforced the fortifications.
No one showed any relief at repelling the enemy attack; instead, a deeper sense of solemnity prevailed.
The opponent's advance and retreat were well-organized, and their tactics were clear; this was by no means ordinary harassment.
Baki's instructions were concise. " Ryoma, take your men forward to the edge of the Rubble Slope to establish a forward observation post. Use the rocks for cover and set up chain-triggered traps, focusing on preventing Earth Release- burrowing attacks."
"Yan, your squadron is to ambush on the cliffs on both sides of the Ghost's Despair Canyon exit, equipped with heavy weapons and Explosive Tag. Do not expose yourselves without my orders. Reppu, camp defense is your responsibility. Expand the perimeter, especially underground."
While assisting Sada Sasori in rearranging more concealed puppet trigger mechanisms and tripwires around the camp, Shira also pushed her senses to the limit.
He discovered that the Iwagakure, earthy Chakra residue in the air, belonging to Iwagakure, had not completely dissipated. Instead, it lingered faintly among the rocks and sand around the camp, like ink dropped into water, in a more subtle and dispersed manner.
"Something's not right..." he whispered to Reppu beside him, "Captain, their Chakra traces... are too scattered, it doesn't seem like they all fled far away. Could it be..."
Before the words were even finished, a sudden change occurred!
"Pfft!" "Pfft!" "Pfft!"
Outside the camp, several puppet traps and tripwires that the Sada Sasori had just set up suddenly and without warning were triggered simultaneously!
But what was triggered wasn't a human figure, but quicksand!
Seven or eight sections of the ground collapsed without warning, turning into small, rotating quicksand pits with enormous suction!
Several guard golems and traps were swallowed up by the quicksand. More troublesome was that the appearance of the quicksand pits completely disrupted the planned defensive setup, creating a dangerous death zone around the camp.
"It's the Iwagakure's ' Earth Flow Technique '! They haven't gone far at all; they've been lurking underground, slowly altering the soil structure with their Chakra!"
Reppu's expression changed. This sophisticated and insidious use of Earth Release was clearly intended to destroy defensive fortifications and restrict the Sunagakure's operational space.
Almost at the same time the quicksand pit appeared, a sharp whooshing sound came from multiple directions! It wasn't Kunai Shuriken, but stone bullets!
Stones of varying sizes and sharp edges were launched at high speed from a distance and from hard-to-observe blind spots by some powerful Earth Release Ninjutsu or weapon, their trajectories unpredictable and their coverage wide.
Although a single explosive tag is not as powerful as Explosive Tag, it has the advantage of being numerous, continuous, and with no pattern to its landing point. It is purely for creating chaos and suppression, making it impossible for the Sunagakure to effectively organize a counterattack or easily leave the camp that has been torn apart by quicksand pits.
"Take cover! Find cover!"
Reppu howled, and with a swift motion, the blade cleaved away several stone projectiles that were hurtling towards the supplies.
The camp was thrown into chaos. The Sunagakure were forced to huddle behind rocks, tattered tents, and makeshift fortifications, listening to the "bang" of the stones hitting the ground and feeling the earth tremble from the impact of the quicksand and the stones.
In an instant, they were on the defensive and their morale was dampened.
"You bunch of cowards!"
The Asuka hid behind a Giant Rock, seething with rage. He wanted to retaliate with his Shuriken, but he couldn't find a clear target at all. The stone projectiles came from at least four or five different directions, at great distances.
"We can't just sit here and wait to die!" Shira pressed herself against a recess in the rock wall, her brain racing, brainstorming.
Iwagakure changed their tactics, shifting from nighttime raids to ranged harassment and terrain disruption, aiming to wear them down, exhaust them, and trap them. This stalemate must be broken.
He focused intently on his senses. The sound of the stone bullet cutting through the air was broken down into more subtle layers in his ears—the sharp whistling of the stone cutting through the air, and the turbulence created by the friction between the stone and the air.
Right, airflow!
Shira examined it carefully. A fist-sized, sharp-edged stone bullet was spinning at an odd angle, heading towards the back of Chunin teammate who was struggling to maintain a small defensive Earth Release. The Chunin was focused on maintaining his Ninjutsu and had no time to pay attention to anything else.
There was Kunai to block! Shira's eyes narrowed, and her body reacted instantly!
He didn't activate his powers, but instead focused all his coordination and explosive force on his right leg. Using his waist as the axis, he delivered a fierce and extremely sharp spinning kick, not at the stone bullet, but at a slightly protruding, palm-sized thin rock on the rock wall beside him!
"Crack!"
The thin rock fragment was precisely kicked in half and flew out at an extremely fast angle. More importantly, the power and angle of Shira's kick generated a strong and concentrated leg wind!
This artificially created, directional airflow interacted with the flying thin rock fragments, forming a smaller, more noticeable, and directional airflow disturbance, like an invisible hand precisely "pushing" the stone projectile aimed at a teammate!
"Laugh--!"
The stone projectile's trajectory was slightly deflected, grazing the Chunin's shoulder before striking the sand beside him and kicking up a cloud of dust.
The Chunin broke out in a cold sweat, turned around and looked at Shira, his eyes filled with gratitude and astonishment.
Success! Although the effect was slight and required excellent eyesight, prediction, and body control, it proved that even without relying on Chakra, one can influence airflow to some extent and thus interfere with the trajectory of flying objects simply through Taijutsu and extreme control of power and angle!
This is precisely the quick wit that Shira unleashed under pressure, combining her perception of wind and sand with her Taijutsu training!
" Shira, well done!"
Seeing this, Reppu's eyes flashed with admiration, and he immediately roared, "Everyone, use the surrounding environment to create obstacles! Don't try to withstand the attack head-on! Sada Sasori, can your puppets even move?"
"Quicksand has trapped most of the ground mechanisms, but there are still a few suspended ones!"
Sasori responded, his fingers moving rapidly. Two small, lizard-like reconnaissance golems emerged from a crevice in the distant rock wall and began crawling toward the general direction from which the stone projectiles were coming, attempting to locate the enemy.
However, Iwagakure's cunning was beyond imagination. The two puppets had only crawled less than fifty meters when the ground beneath their feet suddenly lit up with a barely perceptible yellowish-brown light.
"Buhao! It's ' Earth Release: Rock Stealth Explosion '! There are Explosive Tag buried underground!" Sada exclaimed.
"Boom!"
Two small explosions, mixed with debris, blasted the two expensive reconnaissance golems to pieces. The enemy had even anticipated their counter-reconnaissance tactics and set a trap!
Ding! You have achieved the achievement: Puppet Destroyer!
The long-range stone projectile harassment continues unabated, the quicksand area is slowly expanding, and there may be more Iwagakure lurking underground. Going out to scout is extremely risky, while holding the camp means being passively attacked...
The situation seemed to have reached an unsolvable stalemate. A shadow fell over the hearts of the Sunagakure members, as their stamina and Chakra continued to be depleted in meaningless defense and tension.
"Any news from Ryoma?" Baki's voice remained calm as he inquired of a Chunin in charge of communications.
"A signal came Jonin Ryoma, reporting that several long-range throwing points of the Iwagakure Rubble Slope, but the personnel were scattered and using the rocks for cover, making them difficult to eliminate quickly. They were also being suppressed by sporadic stone projectiles, slowing their advance."
Just when Sunagakure seemed to be at a loss, a deafening roar and a loud crashing sound of rocks breaking suddenly came from the northeast corner of the camp, the direction that Iwato was responsible for defending!
Suddenly, the bald giant, Yan, appeared, seemingly unaffected by the stone projectiles, and charged fearlessly to the edge of the camp near a quicksand pit.
His fists, covered in thick earth-style Chakra, slammed into the hard ground beside the quicksand pit with a roar, like two giant hammers!
" Earth Release: Exploding Fist Technique! Open it for me!"
"Boom!!"
The earth trembled violently, and a huge crack spread forward from the point where his fists landed. The intense tremor even temporarily disrupted the stable structure of the Chakra at the bottom of the quicksand pit, causing the quicksand pit to suddenly stop rotating and its suction force to decrease significantly!
At the same time, a powerful shockwave propagated forward along the ground, loosening the ground in a distant area and vaguely revealing the Chakra wires buried there, connected to the Explosive Tag!
"Hahaha! I've finally found you!" Iwa stared with his big, round eyes, locking onto the soft ground. He threw another punch from a distance, the Chakra -infused wind from his fist lifting up the ground to reveal the disguised Iwagakure Ninja below, as well as more untriggered " Rock Stealth Explosion " Explosive Tag.
Yan used the most brute force and direct method to forcibly destroy a key terrain trap, even forcing out an ambush point!
Although he himself was grazed by several pebbles, his shoulder bleeding profusely, he was completely oblivious, instead letting out a wild laugh, "Hahaha! You cowardly rat hiding your head and tail, come out and exchange a few blows with your Grandpa Yan!"
This incredibly brave act was like a shot of adrenaline in the otherwise dreary camp! The spirits of the Sunagakure members lifted.
"A great opportunity!"