The wind blew in from the north, carrying the coarse sand and dust unique to the border of the Land of Wind, as well as the sweet, fishy smell of fresh blood and the nauseating burnt smell of something charred.
The smell filled his nostrils, causing the stomach of the hidden Chunin, Ishikone was lying behind the pile of Iwagakure, to churn violently.
He buried his face in the cold, rough rock, his fingers digging into the cracks, his fingernails filled with mud, and he trembled uncontrollably. It wasn't from the cold, but from fear—a dread that seeped from the very marrow of his bones, an overwhelming terror.
My ears were still ringing, a mixture of the cries of my comrades during the retreat, my own heavy, bellows-like breathing, and...
There was also the incessant roar, like something coming from the depths of hell, and the burning illusion in the air as if flesh were still being scorched.
"Hey, Ishikone, Ishikone!"
Someone nudged him with their elbow, their voice extremely low and trembling.
Ishikone slowly turned his stiff neck and saw the face of the person in the Tsuchiya of his squad, covered in black ash and dried bloodstains. His eyes were wide open, filled with lingering fear.
"He... he didn't chase after us, did he?" Tsuchiya swallowed hard, the sound of his Adam's apple bobbing clearly audible in the deathly silent temporary hideout.
"No, I don't know..."
Ishikone's voice was so hoarse that he couldn't even recognize himself. He secretly peeked out from the crack in the rocks and saw that there were no fewer than thirty or forty people huddled together like frightened groundhogs in their relatively sheltered, rocky hollow. They had all just crawled back from that scorched earth hell to the south.
Almost everyone was injured, and groans, suppressed coughs, and painful moans rose and fell. Several were missing limbs, and some lay there, their faces burned beyond recognition, with only the faint rise and fall of their chests proving they were still alive.
Many others, like him, suffered only superficial injuries, but their eyes were empty, or filled with the bewilderment of surviving a catastrophe and lingering terror, their hands still trembling involuntarily as they gripped the Kunai.
Of the nearly two hundred members of the joint operation force that set out, less than one in ten survived to get here intact, and most of them were wounded.
Several surviving Jonin and Special Jōnin leading the group were arguing urgently and in hushed tones further inside, their faces growing increasingly grim.
"Captain Numata, and Brother Kurooka and the others..."
A young voice, choked with sobs, rang out nearby. It Ryota, Genin this year. His forehead was badly cut by a piece of gravel, and blood smeared half his face, making him look even more immature and miserable.
"Just like that, they're all gone? So many people just vanished in an instant?"
No one answered. Only heavy breathing, suppressed sobs, and the groans of the wounded echoed in the hollow.
The hellish image flashed uncontrollably through Ishikone's mind again—that kid from Sunagakure, who looked so young and had an injured arm in a sling, how did he suddenly become such a different person?
No, it turned into a monster! Red light and white mist emanated from its body, its eyes were blood red, and it moved so fast that they couldn't even see its movements. Captain Numata was a senior Special Jōnin!
Brother Kurooka's defense squad formed a combined earthen barrier that could withstand A-rank Ninjutsu.
And the result? That kid's flurry of punches, accompanied by flames, sliced through cheese like a scalding knife, instantly obliterating him and his defenses—burnt to ashes, leaving only a charred, smoky patch...
What kind of Ninjutsu was that? No, that wasn't Ninjutsu at all! It was pure, brutal, and destructive power that no human could possibly achieve! When did Sunagakure begin hiding such a monster?!
"That's forbidden magic, it must be forbidden magic! What did he eat, or what evil thing did he use!"
Beside him, a Chunin named Oishi, with a scar on his face, a broken arm, and Chunin strangled Taiseki with a cloth strip to stop the bleeding, growled through gritted teeth.
He was considered one of the braver ones in the group, but even his intact hand was trembling slightly. "I saw it! He put something in his mouth! That red light, that surge of power! Damn it, it's definitely an evil technique that drains your life force!"
So what if it's an evil practice?
Tsuchiya retorted with a tearful voice, which was rather loud and drew angry glares from several nearby people who looked like startled birds. He quickly lowered his voice.
"Captain Numata and the others are dead! So many of us, using all our combined Ninjutsu, couldn't stop him! That whole area is scorched earth!"
"Tell me, of the rest of us, who will stop that evil spell? Who the hell can withstand it even once?!"
These words were like a bucket of ice water poured over everyone's hearts. Yes, regardless of whether it's an evil practice or not, any practice that can kill is the most terrifying.
These men were usually considered skilled fighters in the village, having fought in numerous border skirmishes, killed Sunagakure, and been injured themselves. But never before had they felt death so close, so irrationally, and so utterly without any room for resistance.
That wasn't a battle; it was a massacre, a one-sided, despairing crushing.
"Enough! Quiet down!"
A low growl, barely suppressed with anger, came from inside.
The argument temporarily ceased, and Jonin, one of the deputy commanders of this joint operation, Akado with a thick bandage wrapped around his shoulder and a fresh bloodstain on his face, walked to a slightly higher spot in the middle of the depression, accompanied by two equally disheveled Special Jōnin.
His face was pale, but when his eyes swept over the crowd, they carried an imposing aura of forced composure.
"What's all the noise about? Trying to attract the pursuers from Sunagakure?"
Akado's voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly to everyone's ears, "They've just been through a major battle and are exhausted, so they might not chase us. But if you keep shouting like this and attract the attention of other Sunagakure, none of us will leave here alive today!"
Everyone tensed up, and the groans and whispers instantly subsided, leaving only more suppressed breathing.
Akado gasped for breath, glanced at the dozens of defeated soldiers, and felt a chill run through him.
Nearly two hundred people set off, three full-strength squadrons plus auxiliary troops, carrying specialized equipment for guiding energy in the " Heart of the Bedrock " and a large number of Explosive Tag. They were in high spirits, feeling that taking down the Sunagakure camp that had been harassed and worn down for several days was a sure thing, and that they could also complete the preliminary exploration of the " Heart of the Bedrock ".
But what was the result? First, the diversionary forces on the east and west flanks were cunningly countered and suffered considerable losses. Then, the vanguard was forcibly broken through by a reckless and exceptionally powerful elite Sunagakure Village squad. Finally, that utterly incomprehensible monster appeared.
Of those who escaped here, only about thirty are still able to move, plus a dozen or so seriously wounded.
The commander and two other Jonin dead, seven or eight Special Jōnin and more than twenty Chunin are also Chunin, and all the special equipment is gone. I don't know how to explain this loss to Lord Kitsuchi and Lord Tsuchikage.
"Captain," Taiseki struggled to sit up, looking at Akado, his voice hoarse, "What do we do next? How are we going to explain this when we get back?"
Akado paused for a moment, not answering directly, but instead asking an injured Chunin charge of documents beside him, "What was the most important requirement of the mission order issued by Lord Kitsuchi before we set off? To repeat it."
The chuuni, Chunin the pain in his leg, struggled to recall and whispered, "It's about reconnoitering the specific combat composition and defensive resilience of the Sunagakure reinforcements, seizing the opportunity to inflict maximum damage, weaken their manpower, and completing the mapping of energy ripples and initial interference deployment around the ' Heart of the Bedrock ' to create conditions for subsequent anchoring operations. The operational principle is 'flexible attacks, avoiding unnecessary stalemates, with the primary objective of obtaining key intelligence and effective casualties.'"
"Hmm." Akado nodded, his gaze sweeping over everyone. "Have we completed the reconnaissance of combat strength composition and defensive resilience?"
"..." Everyone was speechless.
Completed? Absolutely "completed"! They forced everyone to reveal their trump card, a deadly one that can wipe out anyone!
Defensive resilience? The sheer force of those Sunagakure lunatics' final counterattack, especially that monster, their resilience was terrifying!
"To inflict maximum damage?" Akado continued, his tone flat.
"We... we lost so many people, Captain! The losses are too great!" a Genin said, his voice trembling with tears.
"I'm asking about Sunagakure." Akado looked at him coldly.
The Genin fell silent. How many Sunagakure did they kill?
The initial night raids and days of harassment did yield some advantages, but the subsequent counterattack, especially after the appearance of that monster, certainly resulted in casualties for Sunagakure, and probably not small, but it definitely didn't reach the point of "maximum" damage to their manpower.
The enemy's top-tier combatants, including Jonin like Baki and Ryoma, are still around, and they also have quite a few mid-tier fighters.
As for themselves, they were almost completely wiped out.
"The mapping and jamming of ' Heart of the Bedrock '..." Akado continued, his voice even lower, before they could answer, "When we harassed them before, we completed part of the mapping. The jamming setup, equipment, and most of the Explosive Tag were left on the battlefield. But in that battle just now..."
He paused, his gaze turning south, as if he could pierce through the rock to see that scorched hell and the underground energy-rich point deeper within, known as the " Heart of the Bedrock."
"That monstrous Sunagakure Genin, and his last move."
Akado's voice carried an indescribable complexity, "You should have all felt it when you retreated. The earth was trembling, not just a normal tremor, but the earth's veins were groaning."
" The Chakra in the air is as chaotic as a pot of boiling water. The energy ripples of ' Heart of the Bedrock ' have definitely been violently disturbed, and may even have experienced unpredictable dissipation or rampage."
He looked at the clerk, Chunin: "This is crucial information to record. 'The energy in the target area is experiencing severe disruption due to an unknown high-intensity battle, suspected to be related to an unknown dangerous unit in Sunagakure. Its destructive power is immense, and it may cause extraordinary interference with the earth's ley lines energy.' This is extremely important battlefield intelligence!"
"The captain means..." Taiseki seemed to understand something.
"The mission order said, 'Seize the opportunity,' 'Do your best,' 'Avoid unnecessary stalemates.'" Akado licked his dry, chapped lips, which were covered in scabs.
"But it didn't say we had to fight to the death, nor did it say we had to achieve all the objectives to be considered successful. We've uncovered the most crucial, unexpected, and dangerous intelligence— Sunagakure possesses an unexpectedly strong will to resist and a high level of command, with formidable figures like Baki and Ryoma,"
He paused for a moment, then continued, "There is also an unknown, extremely dangerous unit that is suspected of possessing terrifying forbidden techniques or a special bloodline, capable of single-handedly destroying enemy positions and interfering with the earth's ley line energy."
"We also inflicted considerable casualties on the enemy's manpower and unexpectedly triggered a dramatic energy shift in the ' Heart of the Bedrock,' which in itself constitutes a form of 'interference,' albeit in an uncontrollable manner. This is enough to warrant a detailed and substantial report."
He looked at his men, some sitting and some lying in the hollow, his eyes carrying the weariness of a veteran of the battlefield, yet also an undeniable resolve:
"Continue fighting? What are we going to fight with? Just these few dozen wounded soldiers? Most of our ninja tools are exhausted, our Chakra is depleted, and our morale is shattered. Should we go back and get reinforcements?"
"By the time reinforcements arrive from the main camp, Sunagakure's reinforcements will probably be there as well. And if that monster recovers, or if Sunagakure has more than one of these monsters, who among you wants to try and see if he still has that kind of pill? Or do you want to face a berserk ' Heart of the Bedrock '?"
Everyone instinctively shivered, and some of the seriously wounded even showed expressions of despair.
"But Captain Akado, are we just going to retreat like this?"
Another surviving Special Jōnin frowned, his face filled with resentment. "Such heavy losses, and we're just going back like this? What about Lord Tsuchikage...?"
"Smack!"
Akado slammed his hand on the nearby rock, aggravating his wound and causing his lips to twitch in pain, but his eyes grew even colder. "Then what do you suggest?! Lead the brothers to charge again? To die alongside that Red Eye monster and the rampaging ley lines?!"
"The core of the mission is to gather intelligence and inflict effective casualties, not to let all our brothers die here in vain! The intelligence we bring back—about that monster, about the leyline anomaly—may be far more valuable than annihilating that Sunagakure unit itself!"
"Withdrawing now is in accordance with mission principles, preserving remaining forces, and sending back crucial intelligence! It's about 'flexibility,' not a rout! Understand?!"
He was panting heavily, his gaze sweeping over the Special Jōnin and the other core members who were still somewhat hesitant.
Under his intense gaze, the Special Jōnin finally lowered his head in dejection and fell silent. The others also silently looked away.
"Pack it up!"
Akado no longer hesitated, enduring the pain to stand up straight, and ordered, "Those with minor injuries take care of the seriously injured, and gather and distribute the usable ninja tools and Military Rations Pill."
"We'll take a longer route, retreating in batches from ' Scorpion Gully ' and ' Bone-Splitting Trail ' back to Forward Base Number Three. Keep a close eye out along the way; Sunagakure might send elite scouts to pursue us. But I judge that their primary task right now is to treat the wounded and strengthen their defenses; pursuing them further would be too risky."
He glanced one last time at the south, at that desolate wasteland shrouded in the increasingly bright morning light, yet still seemingly shrouded in an ominous aura and restless energy.
That little monster from Sunagakure, that devastating attack, and the " Heart of the Bedrock " that was accidentally disturbed.
This matter is far from over, and it may be many times more troublesome than anticipated. But it's no longer something that this group of defeated soldiers should consider or be able to handle.
"Action!"
The order was given, and the survivors in the depression began to help each other up, tidying up their meager remaining equipment. Although fear and confusion still lingered in their eyes, they had gained some direction.
Thirty-odd Iwagakure Ninja, along with a dozen or so severely wounded men unable to walk, split into several groups and, like a pack of wounded wolves, silently and swiftly disappeared into the more rugged, dark, and cold depths of the rocky ravines to the north.
Only the wind remained, still carrying dust, the stench of burning, and a faint, burgeoning aura of Natural Energy, sweeping across this borderland that had just devoured over a hundred lives, altered certain things, and temporarily returned to a state of apparent desolation.