On a muddy mountain trail somewhere in the Land of Rain, hundreds of Konoha reinforcement troops were cautiously advancing.
"This doesn't really look like a scene from The Great Ninja World War,"
one person among the ranks remarked. According to common sense, during this ongoing war period, especially on the main battlefield of the Land of Rain, everything should have been extremely dangerous.
Yet ever since their reinforcement squad entered the Land of Rain, things had surprisingly remained calm.
Although part of it was because they took a more remote route, this level of peace just didn't feel right for a full-scale ninja war.
"That's only natural. The four major existing forces in the Land of Rain have just clashed in a large-scale battle. Even if they wanted to act again, they likely don't have the strength right now."
A man who looked like a squad leader spoke. He was a Jonin from the Sarutobi Clan named Chiyoha Sarutobi.
"For us, this is good news. If we did run into enemy forces, with our current strength, we wouldn't stand a chance."
Chiyoha Sarutobi continued. Although their force numbered in the hundreds, its composition wasn't particularly powerful.
Even the Third Hokage knew that there wouldn't likely be any major battles erupting on the Land of Rain front, so there wasn't much necessity to dispatch strong units here.
Its main mission was to reinforce Jiraiya's division and deliver wartime supplies.
Transporting supplies in ninja warfare was surprisingly easy. Thanks to the existence of space scrolls, the burden of marching with heavy loads was greatly reduced.
"Nevertheless, we must still act cautiously. After all, this is still the time of The Great Ninja World War."
Always staying cautious and obeying orders—that was the Sarutobi Clan's core belief, and Sarutobi Chiyoha, as a Jonin, naturally followed this creed thoroughly.
The hundreds of ninjas continued forward along the predetermined route...
...
One day later.
Among some low hills in the Land of Rain, Sakumo Hatake's reconnaissance squad arrived at this location.
Looking at the rolling forests ahead—not high, but continuous and undulating—Sakumo couldn't help letting out a slight sigh in his heart.
When they initially entered the Land of Rain, they hadn't chosen a detour, instead taking the shortest possible path to reach Jiraiya's division.
But this time was different. Since the route taken by the reinforcement team was unknown, sometimes, for concealment, they even chose some rugged trails.
After all, these supplies were far too important for them at present.
In fact, their limited food supplies had already run out less than half a day ago.
Fortunately, for thirty ninja, solving their own hunger problems in forested terrain wasn't a significant issue.
"Let's keep moving forward."
Sakumo said. For some reason, a vague sense of unease settled in his mind, giving him an ill feeling.
He formed this reconnaissance unit merely as a precaution, yet judging from the current situation, meeting up with the reinforcement squad within three days seemed almost impossible.
"Yes sir."
The squad members responded briefly. Namikaze Minato, serving as the vanguard scout, was walking at the forefront of the group.
Likewise, a frown creased his brow.
He personally witnessed the Iwa Ninja attack that day. Even now, Chiyoha Sarutobi still questioned who could have discovered Konoha forces' exact location without anyone noticing.
Even their own Amegakure — did they truly possess such capability?
"Minato, what's wrong?" At this moment, a slightly questioning voice came over. Standing not far behind Minato was Junko Watanabe, their sensor ninja.
The surrounding ninjas cast somewhat astonished glances at Junko. Normally, she kept people at arm's length.
However... it seemed she got along quite well with Minato.
"Uh... nothing." Minato immediately replied.
Perhaps this matter was just excessive worrying from him and Sakumo...
...
In the mountain forest, the Konoha reinforcement squad continued moving forward. Thick leaves blocked most of the rain, but as droplets hit them, they trembled and released bursts of water from above.
Unsurprisingly, these Konoha ninjas hated the drizzle — just like Tsunade had before them.
But this was the Land of Rain, where rain never ceased — much like the endless battles among ninjas.
The Great Ninja War was like a raging storm.
And daily struggles between hidden villages were like continuous drizzle.
Before long, they emerged from this small mountain.
Surrounded by peaks and facing familiar scenery again, everyone felt helpless.
They barely exited one mountain only to step immediately into another. The distance between these two mountains was merely dozens of meters.
This brief respite offered them a slight opportunity to catch their breath.
Chiyoha Sarutobi glanced sideways at the nearby mountain range. As he intended to withdraw his gaze, he vaguely noticed something out of place — a flash of cold gleam beneath thick branches and leaves.
Yet how sharp was the perception of a Jonin? Instantly, he sensed danger.
"Not good, we're ambushed!"
His shout snapped everyone to attention. The ninjas instantly got into a battle stance.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
At the same time, however, countless black shuriken rained down like torrents from both sides of the mountains.
So many shuriken flew that they blocked the falling rain, casting a dark shadow over the hundreds of Konoha reinforcements gathered within several hundred meters.
Due to terrain restrictions, even if outer ninjas tried shielding against the projectiles, gaps inevitably appeared, allowing attacks to reach inner members.
Within this mere tens-of-meters-wide space, the presence of hundreds indeed appeared rather crowded.
"Hong hong!"
"Hu!"
Still, the Jonin in the formation acted swiftly enough. Several [Wind Release] and [Fire Release] techniques swept outward together, creating an opening right through the hail of deadly shuriken.
Then dozens of surrounding ninjas leapt upward, knocking away those flying shuriken.
Dang! Dang! Dang!
Yet just as they knocked them aside, another round of shuriken volleys descended upon them once again.
Nevertheless, just like previously, hundreds of ninjas managed to withstand the attack.
There were only minor leaks now and then, but none posed a serious threat.
The barrage ended, but everyone stayed on edge. From the forests on both sides, figures stepped out—more than a hundred on each flank.
Chiyoha Sarutobi narrowed his eyes. The enemies were dressed as Suna ninja.
"Cursed, how did they find us here?" he muttered under his breath. Their route had clearly been remote and treacherous.
Yet in these mountainous regions, an ambush by Suna shinobi still occurred.
As he was thinking in shock, abnormalities began to appear around and even among certain members of the Konoha team.
As Chiyoha watched, one of the nearby ninja's hand—cut earlier by a shuriken—was slowly turning purple. His heart suddenly sank. Chiyoha gasped in horror.
"Were all those shuriken poisoned?!"
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