Facing the casualty numbers reported by his comrades, the Jonin of the hill felt increasingly heavy-hearted.
As the commander of the camp, he was thoroughly familiar with the situation there. Before the attack, their camp, including the wounded and their resting ninjas from the village, had around 90 people.
Though his comrade's report was only a rough estimate, the situation was far beyond what he had expected.
He didn't foresee that a single round of the enemy's surprise attack would cause them so many casualties. However, not all the news was grim. His comrade continued:
"Although the survivors are not many, those who made it through are mainly the more alert ones. These individuals are the strongest in the camp! Among them are even two Jonin who were resting in the camp."
This was quite typical. Even though Tōshirō's sudden ambush was very abrupt, seasoned veterans on the battlefield sensed it right away.
When the sound of the high-speed dive echoed, some Iwagakure ninjas woke up, but Tōshirō and his team were too fast to allow them any time to prepare.
Although many comrades couldn't be saved because of the large number of explosive tags, some managed to evade the first wave of explosions and hide, quietly observing changes in the stronghold.
The following scene, however, frightened them greatly!
Those hiding underground were better off, whereas those on the surface suffered significant damage from Tōshirō's sound-based illusion techniques.
Even so, in an experimental attack initiated by the hill Jonin, many Iwagakure ninjas managed to rescue several comrades.
"Are there any sensor ninjas among the survivors? Without them, we'll be in big trouble. The opponent's illusion techniques are too strong. Just probing the situation above through secret techniques almost got me.
Rushing into an attack without pinpointing the enemy's true body will make it difficult to gain any advantage, even if we have the upper hand in numbers!"
Attacking the illusion-focused ninja's true body is the most effective strategy.
"The sensor ninja who survived is Ryō."
"Ryō, is it? If I remember correctly, he's the only sensor ninja on duty tonight. Hopefully, this time he can redeem himself!"
The sensor ninja bore the most responsibility for the enemy's successful raid on their camp. If it were in the wilderness, no one would blame them. However, being caught unawares within a camp that had a sensory barrier was clearly dereliction of duty.
If not for the urgent situation, and it not being the time to assign blame, he would have already wanted to kill that person with a single slash to quell his anger.
If the opponent couldn't assist in the upcoming battle, there would be no need for him to continue living in this world.
The Iwagakure ninjas are united but do not keep idle men!
"Our opponent this time is..."
"The enemy this time is from the Uchiha squad!"
Before the hill Jonin could finish his sentence, his subordinate completed it for him.
That wasn't all; his subordinate continued:
"A comrade just scouted the area. The entire camp is enveloped by a barrier..."
Upon hearing this, the hill Jonin gave his comrade a deep look. Even underground, such proximity made it clear he was being stared at.
His subordinate's meaning was evident.
"I know about this Uchiha squad. They have gained considerable fame in the past one or two years. Aside from their leaders, most of them are just young brats.
Given our situation, as long as we take down their leaders, the rest will be a piece of cake!"
He didn't underestimate Tōshirō's team; he was just stating the facts.
A team composed entirely of Uchiha members was, of course, a prestigious target on this battlefield, coveted for the accolades they could bring.
Their basic information had been meticulously studied by these Iwagakure ninjas.
Though they couldn't understand why the squad was made up predominantly of 'kids,' it didn't stop them from fantasizing about claiming Tōshirō's head for the rich rewards in their main camp.
Indeed, the Iwagakure main camp had put up a tempting bounty on these Uchiha ninjas.
Included, but not limited to, money, ninjutsu, and rank.
This awareness made Tōshirō even more cautious, silently cursing their 'Dance King' for causing all this trouble.
"Yes!"
The reporting ninja secretly sighed in relief. He had been thoughtless in directly expressing his thoughts but was relieved that the hill Jonin let it slide.
"Go make arrangements, especially for Ryō. Have him reflect well. Any further mistakes and he won't need to live anymore!"
The hill Jonin didn't think much of his subordinate's blunder. Fear is a basic human instinct, especially after a sudden attack. Such thoughts are understandable.
However, the next steps required utmost caution. Although their opponents were young, the power of their Sharingan made it so he could harbor no underestimation.
On the surface, as time ticked away, the severely injured Iwagakure ninjas who couldn't move were mostly cleaned up by Flame and his team.
At this time, they grouped in threes, vigilantly observing their surroundings, especially the underground.
Each of them wished they could glue their eyes to the ground to detect those hiding below.
Unfortunately, the solid earth blocked out not only Tōshirō's sound-based illusion but also rendered Flame and his team's Sharingan useless.
There was no helping it; Iwagakure's earth-release techniques truly dominated the ninja world in this regard.