On a muddy mountain road somewhere in the Land of Rain, hundreds of Konoha reinforcements were moving cautiously.
"This doesn't feel like a ninja war," one person in the team remarked. According to common sense, in a war, especially on the main battlefield in the Land of Rain, it should be extremely dangerous.
But ever since their reinforcements had entered the Land of Rain, things had been surprisingly calm. Although this was partly due to the remote route they had chosen, the tranquillity still seemed odd for a ninja war.
"That's natural," said a man who looked like the leader. He was from the Sarutobi clan, named Sarutobi Chiba. "The four largest forces in the Land of Rain just had a large-scale battle. Even if they want to make a move, they're probably too drained to do so."
"This is good for us. If we really encountered enemy forces, it'd be hard to fend them off with our strength," Sarutobi Chiba continued. Despite the fact that their group numbered in the hundreds, their strength wasn't particularly high.
Sandaime Hokage knew there wouldn't be any major battles on the Land of Rain's battlefield, so there was no need to send a stronger force. The purpose of these reinforcements was only to replenish Jiraiya's troops and transport supplies.
The transport of ninja supplies was actually quite convenient, with the use of storage scrolls greatly reducing the burden of marching.
"Still, we have to remain cautious," Sarutobi Chiba reminded them. "After all, this is a time of war."
Being cautious and following orders strictly was the family motto of the Sarutobi clan, and as a senior ninja, Sarutobi Chiba adhered to this creed.
Hundreds of Konoha ninjas continued moving along the designated route.
One Day Later
A survey team led by Hatake Sakumo arrived at a small mountain range in the Land of Rain.
Looking at the rolling hills and forests ahead, Sakumo sighed inwardly. Although the mountains were not high, they stretched one after another into the distance.
When they had first entered the Land of Rain, they hadn't taken a detour, opting for the shortest route to reach Jiraiya's troops as quickly as possible. But now the situation was different. The reinforcements had chosen an unknown, concealed route, even picking rugged paths to remain undetected.
After all, the supplies they were carrying were vital to Konoha's forces.
In fact, just half a day earlier, Sakumo's team had consumed the last of their food supplies. Thankfully, it wasn't difficult for thirty ninjas to forage for food in the mountains and forests.
"Let's keep going," Sakumo ordered. For some reason, a sense of unease lingered in his heart, giving him a bad premonition.
He had formed this survey team out of caution, but at this point, it seemed almost impossible to meet the reinforcements within the next three days.
"Yes," the team members responded. Minato, leading the way as the scout, walked ahead of the group, a frown creasing his forehead.
He couldn't shake the memory of the Rock Ninja attack. To this day, he still wondered how their precise whereabouts had been discovered without Konoha's knowledge.
"Minato, is something bothering you?" a voice asked from behind. Suzuka, the team's sensory ninja, was walking not far from him. The surrounding ninjas turned slightly, surprised by her words. Normally, Suzuka kept her distance from the others, but it seemed she was on good terms with Minato.
"Uh, it's nothing," Minato replied quickly.
Perhaps he and Sakumo were worrying for no reason.
Meanwhile, the Konoha reinforcements pressed on through the forest. The dense leaves above them caught most of the rain falling from the sky, only for it to trickle down, causing the leaves to tremble before the water dropped onto the soldiers below.
Like Tsunade before them, these ninjas from the Land of Fire despised the drizzling rain of the Land of Rain. Yet, in this land, the rain never ceased—much like the endless battles of the ninja world.
War was like a storm.
Surrounded by mountains, the Konoha reinforcements trudged onward, their spirits dampened by the repetitive scenery. Every time they passed one mountain, another appeared almost immediately after, the two peaks separated by only a few dozen meters.
This brief respite gave them a moment to catch their breath.
Sarutobi Chiba glanced at the mountain range to the side, about to turn away when he saw something glinting—something that shouldn't have been there, hidden among the branches and leaves.
As a senior ninja, his instincts kicked in, and he immediately recognized the danger.
"Watch out, there's an ambush!" he shouted.
His warning snapped everyone to attention, and the Konoha ninjas instinctively went on high alert.
Swish, swish, swish!
From the mountains on both sides, a barrage of dark shurikens rained down on them like a storm. The dense volley of shurikens was so thick it blocked out the falling rain, casting a dark shadow over the hundreds of Konoha reinforcements.
Because of the narrow terrain, the ninjas on the outer edge struggled to deflect all the incoming shurikens, leaving gaps through which the ninjas in the center were vulnerable to attacks from above.
With such a large group packed into an area with only a few dozen meters of space, it was difficult to maneuver or take cover.
Boom!
Huh!
However, the Jonin in the group reacted quickly, unleashing several wind and fire ninjutsu to carve a gap through the incoming shurikens.
Dozens of Konoha ninjas jumped into action, deflecting the shurikens that had made it past the initial defense.
Clang, clang, clang!
Just as they fended off the first wave, another volley of shurikens came flying in. But, as before, the hundreds of Konoha ninjas worked together to block the majority of the attack.
While a few shurikens slipped through, they caused no major damage.
The volleys finally ceased, but the Konoha reinforcements remained on high alert. From the mountains and forests on both sides, more than a hundred figures emerged, revealing themselves.
Sarutobi Chiba narrowed his eyes. The enemies wore the uniforms of the Sand Village.
"Damn it, how did they find us?" Sarutobi Chiba cursed inwardly. The route they had taken was remote and rugged—carefully chosen to avoid detection.
Yet, here they were, ambushed by the Sand Village in the middle of nowhere.
Just as he was trying to make sense of the situation, something strange caught his attention. Several Konoha ninjas nearby seemed to be acting oddly.
Sarutobi Chiba glanced at a ninja beside him and saw that the wound on his palm—caused by a shuriken—was gradually turning purple.
His heart skipped a beat. "Were those shurikens… poisoned?"
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