Because of the urgency, after the four finished cleaning up the battlefield, they did not take the Sunagakure corpses with them. They only found some valuable items on the Sunagakure people, then packed up and concealed their movements before heading towards the heart of the Land of Rivers.
Not long after they left, other Sunagakure troops arrived at the scene.
Their location was some distance from this stronghold, but not very far. After sensing the battle taking place here, they rushed over immediately, only to find that the battle was already over when they arrived. The scene was devastated, and they couldn't even see a trace of the enemy.
Left with no other option, they could only explore the battlefield, searching for any clues the enemy might have left behind.
A Sunagakure with strange face paint said to the people around him, "Go check if there are any valuable clues left on this battlefield."
"Yes, Captain!" Upon hearing their captain's order, the Sunagakure Village ninjas immediately began to act.
Seeing his subordinates busy at work, the Sunagakure captain didn't sit idle either. He walked to the ruins of the base, looked at the rubble cleared by Ninjutsu, and the wet corpses of Masatake and the Masatake found by his teammates, and fell into deep thought.
Yesterday, he received a message from the captain of the base, Masatake, saying that four Konoha ninjas were lurking around the base and that he had set up an ambush, waiting for the Konoha ninjas to fall into the trap.
He also asked Masatake if he needed any support, but Masatake refused outright.
Why did Masatake and his men, who set up the ambush, all die, while the Konoha Ninja who were ambushed showed no signs of injury?
He didn't understand. In his mind, the Sunagakure squad led by Masatake was quite strong, ranking among the top in their own Sunagakure forces. They had eight members, while the enemy had four.
They outnumbered the enemy by a factor of two. Moreover, they were in the shadows while the enemy was in the open. With so many advantages, how could Masatake and his men possibly lose?
Thinking of this, a thought flashed through the mind of the Sand Village captain: Could it be that Masatake and his group had encountered Minato Namikaze, a famous and powerful ninja from Konoha?
However, the Sand Ninja Captain shook his head in denial. From the marks Masatake, he could tell that they were killed by a ninja skilled in Water Release. As far as he knew, Minato Namikaze was not skilled in Water Release.
So, among the famous ninjas of Konoha, who are also skilled in Water Release techniques?
Orochimaru?
That's not right either. Orochimaru has been under the watchful eye of Sunagakure ever since and has never left Konoha's command post.
After much thought, the Sunagakure captain still couldn't figure out who the Konoha Ninja who killed Masatake and his group was. Just as he was worrying, he noticed that the entire battlefield was still covered in traces of Water Release. He suddenly wondered if it was possible that the Konoha Ninja was skilled in Water Release wasn't from Konoha Ninja, but from another village, such as Kirigakure.
Judging from the residual effects of Water Release Ninjutsu at the scene, the person who used Water Release Ninjutsu not only possessed strong Water Release skills but also had a massive amount of Chakra.
He had never heard of such a person in Konoha, but there was such a person in Kirigakure.
He had heard that one of the new generation of ninjas in Kirigakure was known as the " Tailless Tailed Beast," which could explain the phenomenon on the battlefield today.
Furthermore, the elite ninja policy upheld by Kirigakure perfectly exemplifies the strength of four ninjas defeating eight ninjas of the same rank.
Why would the people of Kirigakure travel such a long way to help Konoha attack their stronghold?
The Sunagakure captain racked his brains, when suddenly a thought flashed through his mind. Could it be that the Kirigakure people attacked their stronghold to further provoke a war between Sunagakure and Konoha, forcing both Sunagakure and Konoha to commit more troops to the battle, and then let both Sunagakure and Konoha suffer heavy losses before Kirigakure could reap the rewards of victory?
The more the Sunagakure captain thought about it, the more he felt that his guess might be the truth behind the battle.
"No, this information must be reported to the officers at the front."
Thinking this, the Sunagakure captain instructed his subordinates, "Get ready quickly, I've discovered important intelligence that needs to be reported to the higher-ups."
Hearing their captain urging them on, the members of the Sunagakure Village squad quickened their pace, and after finishing everything, they followed their captain back to the front-line camp.
After the Sand Village captain and his squad arrived at the Sunagakure's forward camp, the Sand Village captain immediately went to the command post, knelt on one knee, and reported to Rasa, who sat at the head of the command post, " Lord Rasa, our base near the Land of Rivers was destroyed by ninjas. According to the message passed by the deceased Sunagakure Village squad leader, Masatake, four Konoha Ninja killed them. However, I found traces of numerous Water Release Ninjutsu at the scene. I suspect there might be more to Masatake's death than meets the eye."
After listening to the report from his subordinates, Rasa, who was sitting at the head of the table, showed a slight change in his expressionless face. He said to the kneeling man, "Bring out the bodies of Masatake and the others. I want to see them."
Although Rasa himself is not skilled in Water Release, he has fought against Kirigakure before and has some understanding of the injuries caused by Water Release.
Upon hearing Rasa's words, the Sunagakure captain Masatake from the scroll. Thus, eight soaking wet corpses appeared before Rasa.
Rasa left his seat, walked over to the eight corpses, and squatted down, feeling the wounds on the bodies with his hands. He sensed that six of the corpses had clearly been killed by powerful Water Release, but he couldn't quite figure out what had happened to the other two.
In his view, the corpse's injuries—fractured bones and shattered internal organs—could only have been achieved under two circumstances.
One type is the Superhuman Strength displayed by Princess Tsunade of Konoha, and the other is the Blunt Sword Kabutowari, one of the Seven Ninja Blade of Kirigakure.
Tsunade left Konoha long ago, and there's no record of anyone in Konoha inheriting Tsunade Superhuman Strength, so it could only have been done by someone from Kirigakure?
Rasa had some guesses in his mind, but to truly confirm it, he needed to send the body back to the village and let the internal intelligence personnel see if they could obtain any accurate information from it.
Rasa's expression was unusually serious as he addressed his subordinates, "Send these corpses back to the village quickly and get confirmation from the village's Intelligence Division. Right now, these are all just our guesses, but if it really was Kirigakure's doing, we will absolutely not let them get away with it."
"Furthermore, if they really are from Kirigakure, then their purpose is definitely not simple, and they won't end the attack so easily. They only hope that the hatred between us and Konoha will grow stronger, ideally so that Sunagakure can Yamato Konoha, resulting in a draw, which Kirigakure can then reap the benefits of."
If it was indeed the people of Kirigakure who attacked them, intending to fuel the war between Sunagakure and Konoha, then Kirigakure must pay the price.