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Sending so few people to set up an ambush – was that a bit overconfident?
These few people wouldn't last until reinforcements arrived.
"Forget it. Set up some traps, then head back. This is pointless."
The fast-moving force that had cornered the Third Raikage didn't appear. Instead, they'd sent a bunch of small fry.
Thinking about it, it made sense. No matter how talented Itachi was, Ōnoki wouldn't treat him like the Third Raikage. It was already something that he'd set up an ambush specifically for Itachi.
Expecting Ōnoki to deploy main forces for this kind of job was unlikely unless it was Uchiha Kazuki himself.
But could Iwagakure grind him down like that? Kazuki was curious.
"Yes, sir."
Itachi left immediately, returning to the battlefield. He gathered local materials, plus what he carried, set up several traps, then followed Kazuki away.
"Sir, this is the intelligence I've collected on the battlefield lately."
Itachi respectfully handed the intelligence scroll to Kazuki.
Sitting on a rock, Kazuki opened the scroll and began reading.
Seeing this, Itachi quietly slipped away, went hunting, skillfully prepared the game, and placed it on a makeshift grill. He even pulled various seasonings from a sealing scroll.
These were prepared for Kazuki, backup supplies.
If Kazuki didn't take his own seasonings, Itachi's backups would come in handy.
At this moment, Kazuki wasn't focused on the barbecue. He was reading the intelligence Itachi had gathered.
Itachi had collected all kinds of information – patrol schedules, patrol areas, hidden sentry positions. He'd even drawn a simple map, with 'X' marks indicating areas already cleared.
Looking at it, the map was covered with 'X' marks.
Kazuki couldn't help but smile.
"No wonder Iwagakure calls you the Blood Crow. You've taken out quite a few of them."
Ōnoki was probably going to be hurting for a while.
"This is good intelligence. Though not very useful, it shows Ōnoki intends to drag this out with us."
"Right. The main battlefield is in the Land of Waterfalls, not here. But with these kinds of forces, they're kind of looking down on us."
Decision made. When I get back, I'll have Orochimaru turn up the pressure on Ōnoki.
You old bastard, do you really think just sitting at the camp will keep everything stable?
Nothing's that easy in this world. Since you aren't afraid of attrition, we'll just consume a few more of your people.
Decision happily made.
The smell of roasting meat wafted from the cave. Kazuki wasn't worried about the smoke or smell attracting enemy attention. After following Itachi around for days, he could finally sit down for a proper meal.
While Kazuki was comfortably eating barbecue under the stars, Ōnoki was in a foul mood.
The ambush force was completely wiped out. Not a single survivor.
If he hadn't inspected the site himself, Ōnoki might have suspected Kazuki had intervened and taken them out.
But after careful observation, Ōnoki confirmed it had nothing to do with Kazuki. It was all Itachi's doing.
"Seems this old man underestimated Uchiha Itachi."
According to his plan, the initial ambush force would only need to stall Itachi. Not necessarily cause him much trouble, just hold him in place. Then the reinforcing force would surround him.
At that point, even if Itachi could fly, he couldn't escape.
Unfortunately, he'd been a bit presumptuous.
When he arrived with his forces, all he saw was a battlefield littered with corpses and devastation.
"Tsuchikage-sama, all traps have been cleared. The bodies have been stored in sealing scrolls. Should we track the enemy's trail?"
Ōnoki might be black-hearted, but he also had some dignity.
With his own people's corpses everywhere, if he didn't collect them and bring them back, it would demoralize the village's ninja.
Even if sealing the bodies consumed many scrolls, Ōnoki had to grit his teeth and give the order.
"No. It's too late. I underestimated Uchiha Itachi's threat level. The enemy may have left the trail deliberately, hoping we'll follow."
The ambush had failed, meaning the enemy had seen through their intent.
Chasing now was pointless.
Even if they did, they might fall into an ambush themselves.
Would Konoha set an ambush? Ōnoki wasn't willing to gamble.
"Sir, Iwagakure's defensive line has started moving back."
Such important news couldn't be hidden from those on the front lines. The information was immediately sent to Orochimaru.
Reading the intelligence scroll, Orochimaru wore an amused smile.
"Seems the Blood Crow has dealt Iwagakure quite a blow. For them to voluntarily pull back their defenses, their losses must be significant."
What should I do?
Play it steady or...
Hesitating for no more than five seconds, Orochimaru, with absolute confidence in himself, licked his lips.
"Pass my orders: advance. If Iwagakure pull back, we will pursue. Don't give them much breathing room."
Press the attack relentlessly. No need for hesitation.
You retreat, I pursue. You retreat, I attack. Don't think that just because I prefer to play dirty, I won't clash with you head-on.
The key point was: Konoha willing to clash, while Iwagakure did not.
So Iwagakure would inevitably suffer. Plus, their recent losses had already exceeded Ōnoki's tolerance. The defense line's retreat was inevitable.
They had lost any initiative in this war.
Now, all Ōnoki could hope for was stability.
A full-on fight with Konoha was clearly irrational. Iwagakure could only hope to stabilize the situation, then let the outcome be decided on the Land of Waterfalls battlefield.
If they won there, Ōnoki would have the confidence to sit down with Konoha and discuss ending the war.
If they lost there, negotiations would be irrelevant. They could simply surrender.
"Tsuchikage-sama, Konoha's defense line is constantly advancing. If this continues, we'll lose all initiative in the war."
"Pull back further. Place the final defense line on the border. Konoha won't attack into our territory."
Ōnoki didn't hesitate. He gave the order decisively.
He wouldn't follow Orochimaru's tempo.
You want to press the attack? Then I'll retreat all the way.
If you dare, bring your main force and attack the Land of Earth.
If he don't, then the situation would stabilize.
"Everyone, from the moment Kumogakure declared war on us, the initiative was no longer in our hands. This old man hopes you understand: the Land of Waterfalls battlefield is our main target. The village cannot afford another large-scale war with Konoha. Stabilizing the situation is enough for us."