"Lord Haseo, due to our earlier setbacks, we've already lost a significant portion of our supplies. At this point, if we recklessly advance into the Land of Water, regardless of what achievements we might attain, it would be difficult to maintain ourselves for long, unless..."
Hiashi Hyuga spoke respectfully by Lord Haseo's side.
Compared to just a few days ago, his appearance had visibly worsened. His cheeks were hollow, his spirit drained, and he looked parched and shriveled—as if aged far beyond his years. Even that once-lustrous mane of hair had thinned out considerably, showing early signs of premature baldness.
Unless they resorted to "subsisting on enemy supplies"—an old military strategy Hiashi left unspoken. However, if Konoha's forces planned to stay in the Land of Water for an extended period, then adopting such a wartime strategy would become unavoidable.
"It's fine," Haseo remarked calmly, "because we won't be staying in the Land of Water for too long. The military rations carried by the ninja will suffice." He had never intended to engage in prolonged warfare; the longer a war dragged on, the heavier the losses would inevitably be for both sides. A swift victory was a better choice for everyone involved.
Quick and clean beats dragging it out any day. Mist must agree with this idea as well.
After arriving at the Front Line, things unfolded as Haseo had anticipated—the Temporary Camp gradually reassembled around fifteen hundred shinobi. There might still be a few scattered Konoha ninja remaining in the eastern regions of the Land of Fire before we commenced our march, but Haseo thought there was no need to keep waiting for their return.
In fact, when the main force suddenly moved out, it effectively created more room for survival for the remaining ninja. After all, could Mist truly remain indifferent toward Konoha's troops rushing headlong into the Land of Water under someone like Haseo's command? At a time like this, could the Mizukage really remain calm enough to continue wiping out Konoha's retreating units?
Haseo would start by expressing his admiration, only to immediately call him a complete moron.
The full collection of Konoha's gathered ninja completely disregarded the massive forces that Mist had amassed along the coastline and directly chose to set sail to sea. Right now, the main forces marched across the ocean surface... Everyone understood this was essentially a counterattack against Mist. But specific details—like the exact tactical plan, intentions behind the attack, or mission objectives—remained unknown to any of the other ninja in the ranks, except for Haseo himself.
Because he just hadn't felt like explaining anything to anyone in the first place.
Moreover, there was reason to suspect whether Haseo himself even knew those operational specifics yet. As unpredictable changes arose beyond his plans, he probably would improvise new strategies on the spot, creating them spontaneously whenever needed.
"Lord Haseo, although our breakthrough through Mist's blockade went very swiftly—without giving the enemy any opportunity to resist—we easily tore open a gap and passed through the coastal area practically unscathed...
Yet even in this situation where we performed sufficiently well, Mist will still quickly discern our intentions. After all, our actions may directly threaten Mist, so the Fourth Mizukage will certainly deploy forces in pursuit."
Considering the communication capabilities between the Mizukage and Mist Headquarters, the Land of Water would undoubtedly receive news first and take preemptive action...
So, it's highly possible our forces will soon be caught in a pincer attack from both sides... This seems quite problematic, right?
Hiashi Hyuga seemed to have started adapting to his role as 'strategic advisor.' He kept analyzing the potential situations Konoha's main force might encounter next, offering thorough and insightful analysis.
Undoubtedly, some ninja were still harboring doubts about this sudden offensive operation.
However... Haseo had seemingly only ordered the Hyuga brothers to reconstruct the command system of the troops. He hadn't appointed them to any other roles.
This kid looks so emotionless, but Haseo didn't expect him to be this articulate.
"Hyuga, you handled your last assignment well. Now get out there and keep an eye on the marching forces. Understood?"
To Haseo, maintaining orderly advancement and retreat within the ranks meant effective command, so he considered Hiashi's work satisfactory—but that was limited solely to that particular assignment. Other matters didn't require his involvement.
"..."
Hiashi was stunned for a moment, then felt dejected, before obediently scurrying away... I bared my heart to the moon, yet the moon only shone upon a foul ditch.
However...
What's the rush? Haseo had always been a master planner. Whatever Hiashi had just thought of, Haseo had already anticipated and made prior preparations. There was no way he'd let his main force fall into a vulnerable double-envelopment scenario.
Besides, his plan wasn't as straightforward as the enemy imagined.
Haseo's advancing speed was extremely fast, fully displaying an intent to launch a lightning strike on the Land of Rain and directly head toward Hidden Mist. Thus, the Fourth Mizukage, bringing part of Mist's forces, anxiously chased after them in desperation.
The issue, however, was this: while individual movement might not matter much, large-scale troop movements had inherent speed limitations. Therefore, Mist forces quickly found themselves playing catch-up—and falling further behind with each passing moment.
They were all Ninja—how significant could average speed differences truly be?
Despite driving his men relentlessly to pick up speed, the Mizukage's group still fell behind Konoha. The truth was…
"Mizukage-sama! Report!"
At this point, even without warning from scout ninjas, the Third Mizukage personally witnessed massive waves rising layer by layer from the ocean ahead. Eventually, they formed a towering wall connecting the clear sky, advancing forward with overwhelming force.
The Mizukage narrowed his eyes. He faintly spotted a tiny figure standing atop the wave crest—it was one of Haseo's Shadow Clones, seemingly left specifically to block Mist's advance.
Out on the open ocean, those relentless waves were near impossible to avoid. At this moment, the Mist forces led by the Mizukage had only one remaining option—to surf straight through.
"Watch yourselves! Brace for impact!"
The Mizukage's shout was barely audible beneath the roaring waves. Soon after, the deluge arrived right before their eyes. Then, like collapsing mountains, the colossal waves came crashing down with unimaginable momentum.
Gigantic "water droplets" crashed down, instantly churning the sea into violent chaos. The Mist squad was thrown into complete disarray. Some unlucky ones were knocked cold and sank without a trace… perhaps to surface again only days later.
The Fourth Mizukage kept his eyes locked on Haseo's Shadow Clone, but after this Water Release technique was completed, the clone just disappeared—its chakra clearly used up.
The Mizukage's attention appeared appropriately placed—but actually misplaced—because soon afterward, the scattered Mist ninja suddenly noticed something floating across the water in large quantities.
When they looked closer, it turned out to be a bunch of scrolls floating everywhere.
As waves pushed them about, some people unavoidably drifted closer, and when they got near enough, those scrolls promptly obliged by exploding dramatically.
Planting Uzumaki-style "Spike Mines" underwater was somewhat underhanded. Individual weapons had become floating mines, with fan-shaped shrapnel attacks still achieving tremendous results.
After all, there was no cover whatsoever on open water.
"Get away from those things!"
"Watch out!"
Shouts and explosions erupted one after another.
Even more annoying was that these "Spike Mine Scrolls" included both real ones and fakes, yet the Mist side had no choice but to treat everything as genuine.
An old dog can outsmart a clever pup.
Most of the damage happened right at the start. Once ninja realized the minefield danger, they could still avoid it. But amid turbulent waters, the scrolls floated randomly, making evasion simple—not difficult, just very inconvenient.
And all that hassle meant wasting a lot of time.
By the time the Mist squad extracted itself from that area and regrouped, at least an hour had passed.
The Mizukage increasingly suspected this was merely Konoha's delaying tactic rather than any true pursuit of heavy casualties—an indication possibly revealing Konoha's ruthless determination.
Matters in Kiri seemed ever more troubling. The Fourth Mizukage could only immediately lead his ninja team back toward the Land of Water.
Yet upon their hasty arrival in the Land of Water, the Mizukage sensed something off—the country felt too quiet.
When he finally reached Kiri, he found his own village... completely fine.
Just what in the world was going on? Where was Konoha's main force?
Therefore, when people get overly anxious, they inevitably fall into thinking traps, their stress narrowing reasoning into linear paths.
Soon a messenger ninja quickly provided clarification:
"Mizukage-sama, Konoha... Konoha's forces have cut off our retreat route. Right now, they're swiftly eliminating the remaining Mist ninja we left behind in the Land of Fire who hadn't yet returned."
"...Huh?"
Wasn't Konoha's main army supposed to be ahead? Why did it end up behind us... Wait—did Konoha switch directions? Sure, the sea's huge, but how could they pull off such a wide loop like that?
Well, Konoha's main force certainly could turn around—not only changing direction, but even reversing course entirely.
Firstly, the Mist forces were now scattered; secondly, those remaining in the Land of Fire had also received orders to regroup and were now gathering together.
In that case, there was no need to scour every inch of land—the cleanup process just got a lot easier.
Although Haseo displayed an offensive posture towards Mist, he never said he would launch an immediate attack.
No need to rush things—this can all be handled step by step. So what if we take our time with this?
Mist had invaded the Land of Fire with a sizable force—at least five to six thousand strong. Now, however, their numbers had been halved.
A considerable portion of their troops had been urgently recalled back to Mist by the Mizukage—they were the lucky ones. And as for the rest—since they were so eager to visit the Land of Fire, maybe they'd have to stay forever.
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