On the sixth day after Shisui requested reinforcements, the Mist Ninjas halted all actions. Their scale of harassment was even less than a typical Ninja conflict during normal missions.
On the seventh day, the reconnaissance ninjas sent by Shisui reported that the reinforcements had arrived eighty miles from the camp.
At the speed of ninjas, they could cover that distance in just a few hours at full effort.
"At their speed, I estimate it will take them another two days to cover that distance!"
Uchiha Kai, hearing the report, couldn't help but laugh in anger and mockingly said.
Shisui nodded; even he had to admit that Kai was right. However, he didn't mind and instead took out a long-prepared letter from his pocket.
"That's fine, let them be. Brother Kai, I have a letter for you. Please deliver it personally to Commander Nara and request new orders. Be sure to bring the letter back by tomorrow."
"No problem, just leave it to me! I'm not one of those weaklings who can't even move!"
Kai took the letter without asking further, grinning before immediately setting off.
"Have you thought this through? Once you take action, it will surely provoke their hostility."
After Kai left, Sima Yi, who had been reading, slowly spoke up.
"Yes, sensei, I've thought it through. For the sake of the village, I must save my family. Konoha cannot continue to fall into the hands of these people."
The delayed reinforcements made Shisui see these people's true colors once again. If the Hidden Mist had really sent reinforcements, who would care about the Uchiha's survival? Who would care about the safety of the Front Line?
Sima Yi nodded in relief, glad that Shisui had finally recognized his rightful stance. With this, the upcoming journey to Konoha would have a chance of success!
"Since that's the case, do as you see fit."
"Yes, sensei."
In the dead of night, Uchiha Kai sprinted hundreds of miles, bypassing the reinforcements to reach the Kuro Town camp, where he met Nara Suzaku.
Seeing Uchiha Kai arrive in the middle of the night sent chills down Nara Suzaku's spine, and he was alarmed.
Could it be that the Hidden Mist really has significant plans? Has the Front Line broken?
"Commander Nara, this is a letter sent by Squad Captain Shisui. Please read it and reply as soon as possible." Uchiha Kai's serious expression confirmed Nara Suzaku's suspicions.
His heart sank as he hurriedly took the letter to read.
The letter stated roughly: "It has been confirmed that the Hidden Mist has no reinforcements, but their elite ninjas have been harassing the Front Line day and night for several consecutive days.
Our forces are insufficient to cope with the harassment, and the reinforcements have yet to arrive, making it difficult for our army to maintain full coverage.
I request to retreat to the rear to await reinforcements. Please make a decision, Commander Nara."
Is that all?
Since the Hidden Mist has no follow-up forces, why even send reinforcements? They clearly just want to annoy them; it poses no real threat.
After reading the letter, Nara Suzaku stood frozen in place, unable to believe his eyes. After carefully reading it again to confirm he hadn't misread, he turned his gaze towards Uchiha Kai.
After a long moment, he suppressed the urge to lash out and convened a discussion with the Jonins from various divisions, ultimately making a decision.
"Allow Uchiha Shisui to retreat to the second line for vigilance and wait for the subsequent troops to arrive before returning to Konoha!"
The Jonin from various divisions nodded in agreement; since the Front Line didn't need reinforcements, they could confidently head back to Konoha.
Only Utatane Kaori was dissatisfied. Her nephew had already been sent to the Front Line, and he would only be able to return with the Uchiha, meaning the villagers of Konoha wouldn't remember his appearance.
But considering the timing, it was unlikely they could call him back now, as the reinforcements were probably nearing.
Uchiha Kai didn't care what Utatane Kaori thought; after receiving the orders, he turned and hurriedly made his way back to the Front Line.
Meanwhile, in the Land of Whirlpools camp, Ao also received a piece of secret intelligence.
"Konoha's reinforcements? Where did you get this information?"
The intelligence was brought by his assistant, but their reconnaissance ninjas had all been killed; how could they possibly obtain such news?
"Someone deliberately delivered it, likely similar to the last night raid on the rear camp, perhaps even the same person."
The assistant didn't care about the source of the information since they couldn't trace it anyway; he was more concerned about whether the news was accurate.
"Although the last night raid yielded some results, we also suffered heavy losses, so we should be cautious this time."
Another assistant expressed concern; the losses of a dozen teams were not a small matter.
Ao maintained a serious expression. He finally understood why the previous commander had agreed to the last night raid; it turned out Mizukage had been planning something since then.
He sighed, burned the intelligence, and then said, "The information should be true."
"So what if it's true? With the Uchiha watching on the Front Line, we can't get past them."
"This is true; let's forget it. We're already short on manpower, and Mizukage-sama's orders might..."
At this moment, they really didn't want to go after any Sharingan; they just wanted to return to the village as soon as possible. The resentment from those bloodline ninjas below was becoming increasingly difficult to contain.
Although Ao had his own thoughts, he had to abandon them when he saw that everyone else disagreed.
However, early the next morning.
"What did you say? The Uchiha are retreating?"
The three in the tent were shocked. Why would they withdraw their troops when everything was fine?
Ao could hardly believe it and immediately brought people to the Front Line to use Byakugan to observe.
"They really have retreated. Are they pulling back to the second line or returning to Konoha?"
If they were returning to Konoha, that would be quite insulting; they hadn't even left yet!
"Perhaps they're going to the second line."
The Uchiha camp was fifty miles in front and behind the first line, with the second line fifty miles beyond that.
Ao glared through Byakugan, pondering the intelligence from last night.
"Hahaha, a heavenly opportunity! It seems that the internal conflicts within Konoha are no less than ours."
He understood what the other side meant. This kind of behavior, betraying a partner, was shameful to him, but he had no choice but to act according to their thoughts.
After all, they were of the same kind!
"Gather everyone; we'll make our move tonight!"
...
"Squad Captain Rikito, it's getting dark. There are still thirty miles to the camp. Shouldn't we hurry to arrive before nightfall?"
The expressions of the dozen or so Squad Captains were grim as they stared at the young man before them. Even if they didn't want to support the Uchiha, they didn't want to appear this inept.
As ninjas, covering less than thirty miles in a day was almost embarrassing, having to scout the surroundings almost every few steps made their intentions too obvious.
"No need. The closer we get to the Front Line, the more cautious we must be. Traveling at night is too dangerous. If we let the Mist Ninjas take advantage of us because of that, who will take responsibility?"
Utatane Rikito's expression was calm; he had a set of arguments prepared over the past few days to handle these ordinary ninjas.
"With Uchiha people guarding the Front Line, how could there possibly be Mist Ninjas here?"
The others did not dare to offend him, and upon hearing this, they all fell silent. Only the young members of the squad were very dissatisfied and kept murmuring, but they were quickly silenced by the others.
At night, Utatane Rikito had someone light a campfire to cook. Although he spoke of caution, his actions showed no signs of it at all.
"Setting a fire here? They really don't take us seriously!"
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