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"Screech—"
The blade was pulled out, and scarlet blood splattered on the ground.
Sawara Kiri wiped the traces of blood from his cheek, scanned the surroundings with his Six Eyes, and after confirming that there were no enemy Chakra reactions within a three-kilometer radius, he waved to the others behind him.
Yakushi Nonō, who had the weakest stamina, immediately leaned against a tree trunk and sat on the ground, panting heavily.
Megumi consciously dug a temporary smokeless stove on the ground, preparing to have lunch there.
Their squad had been fighting continuously for fifteen hours and had not eaten or drunk anything yet, so their stomachs had long since growled.
Minato patted Sawara Kiri's shoulder:
"I'll take over the lookout for now, Kiri, you go rest for a bit."
He said, pointing to his eyes as a hint: "It must be tiring to maintain that for so long, right?"
Sawara Kiri was startled upon hearing this.
He hadn't expected that the first person to notice the abnormality of his eyes would be Minato.
However, it was reasonable.
Although not highlighted in the original work, Namikaze Minato, who could freely shuttle through countless spatial markings, was an excellent sensory Ninja even without considering his other abilities.
It was just that his abilities in this area were overshadowed by his other, more outstanding aspects.
After spending a long time with him, it was inevitable that the faint Chakra fluctuations in his eyes would be detected.
Fortunately, the current Sawara Kiri no longer felt anxious about being discovered for such a small matter.
"Indeed."
"Then I'll leave it to you."
Sawara Kiri returned a relaxed expression, turned around, and went to collect some firewood.
Minato looked at his back and smiled helplessly:
"He's still pushing himself too hard."
"Kiri-kun."
It was the sixth day since the full-scale engagement began.
A battlefield of over a thousand people was something Sawara Kiri had never experienced before, and the feeling was completely different from small-scale combat.
In a vast combat zone, everyone needed to maintain a long period of vigilance; even if they had just won a battle, they had to immediately throw themselves into the next one, and even a moment to catch their breath felt precious.
The name 'Forest Meat Grinder' was well-deserved.
Even for the Sawara Squad, most of the people they encountered were not even opponents, but the constant nervous fatigue brought by continuous fighting was real.
After a whole day of fighting, only when they ate, the slight warmth of food entering their stomachs made them feel truly alive.
"After resting for a while longer, I plan to return to the base."
After gulping down his meal, Sawara Kiri leaned against a tree trunk and spoke to the others.
Minato frowned slightly: "Didn't the forward command order us to patrol here for ten days?"
"Supplies should still be enough."
Violating the command post's orders during wartime was no small matter, let alone retreating.
"There's no harm in getting more supplies; it's not like we're becoming rogue Ninja," Uchiha Megumi calmly stated her position.
Since Kiri said so, there must be a reason.
Sawara Kiri smiled at her, then continued: "It's not just for supplies, but because of Sunagakure."
"Hmm?" Minato looked at him.
"Didn't you notice?" Sawara Kiri pointed to the traces of battle in the distance. "We've been here for six full days. There have been three medium-sized encirclements, and the logistics convoy has started completely avoiding this area."
"This indicates that Sunagakure's forward command has roughly mapped out our area of activity."
"However, until now, we haven't encountered a single named Sunagakure strongman."
"This situation should have exceeded the forward command's expectations."
"…"
Minato furrowed his brows; it really was the case.
These past few days, when Sunagakure Ninja saw them, they would shout in terror, "Flame Blade? It's Kakashi Hatake!"
However, no famous strongmen had appeared to confront them.
Strong against strong, weak against weak.
This was one of the unspoken rules of Ninja World warfare.
Because in this world, there really were many monsters who could, by themselves, wipe out an entire hundred-man squad.
If there were no other strongmen to fight them, it would eventually turn into a competitive, two-way slaughter.
In the end, all the Villages would suffer heavy losses, and only the strongmen would live well.
Then the morale of the Village would crumble.
What kind of war would that be?
Not only that.
Following Sawara Kiri's line of thought, Namikaze Minato noticed more and more anomalies.
Logically, Sunagakure, despite having a numerical advantage and logistical disadvantages, would normally want to exert all its strength to achieve a quick victory.
However, why had there been no signs of a full-scale deployment until now, but instead a continuous war of attrition?
What exactly were they plotting?
Just as Sawara Kiri and the others noticed the problem on Sunagakure's side.
In the southwestern border of the Land of Fire.
"Is this plan… really okay?"
Yakura looked at the Sunagakure Sealing Squad, who were working in groups to break the Sealing Technique around the distant mountains, and spoke anxiously to the two people beside her.
"It's been six days since we infiltrated, hasn't it?"
"If the effect after breaking the seal isn't as good as expected, all the food consumed during these days of standoff at the front line…"
"This is a necessary sacrifice." Rasa, who stood beside her, had a stern expression. "At a time like this, the more trouble Konoha has, the more our chances of victory increase."
"For that, any sacrifice is worth it."
Rasa, a disciple of the Third Kazekage, was one of the main initiators of this mission.
In fact, leading a squad of about a hundred people deep into the Land of Fire's interior, even for powerful Jonin like them, carried significant risks.
However, it was a necessary undertaking.
Seeing that Yakura beside him was still somewhat displeased, Rasa's tone softened slightly and he continued: "This intelligence was purchased by us at a great price from Hidden Mist."
"It is rumored that what is sealed here is a monster that yearns to destroy the entire Ninja World."
"In the past, even the powerful Senju Clan, unable to kill it, had to team up with the Sarutobi Clan to seal it through a sneak attack and bury it in the center of this mountain."
"It has been nearly a hundred years since then."
Monzaemon, with his white beard and hair, also became interested by what he said: "Even the Senju Clan couldn't kill it?"
"What is that monster?"
He had witnessed the strength of the Senju Clan even before the Village was founded; those guys' Chakra levels were ridiculously high, and their vitality was as tenacious as insects.
Even setting aside Senju Hashirama, who was called the 'God of Shinobi,' the strength of other clan members was enough to directly confront the Uchiha Clan, who possessed the Sharingan—strongmen like Senju Tobirama were not uncommon in the history of the Senju Clan.
What exactly was it that even they couldn't kill?
"I don't know."
Rasa, seeing the elder speak, became slightly more respectful: "For some reason, the intelligence obtained by Hidden Mist is extremely secretive about 'its' identity. Its origin, method of creation, and abilities are all unmentioned."
"It only states in the scroll that it is an entity that desires to destroy the Ninja World and possesses terrifying power."
"Of course, it might also have been concealed by Hidden Mist."
However, Rasa did not have too much doubt about the authenticity of Hidden Mist's intelligence.
In recent years, Hidden Mist, through unknown means, had always managed to obtain a lot of highly classified intelligence from Konoha, and had sold it extensively through underground channels, earning a lot of money and causing Konoha considerable headaches for a while.
Therefore, their reputation in the intelligence world was actually quite good.
"Hmph!"
Monzaemon spat disdainfully: "Those damned scoundrels from Hidden Mist just love to play these schemes."
"How much longer will it take for these kids to break the seal? I heard from the Village's intelligence that a young man from the Hatake Clan has appeared on the front lines, and this old man wants to meet him!"
Rasa gazed at the mountains, pondering for a moment:
"Three days."
"At least three more days."
Monzaemon sneered, and the scars on his face layered up, wriggling like a centipede:
"Hmph."
"Then we'll wait three more days."
Upon hearing this, even Yakura, who had the most objections, couldn't help but fall silent.
If it was for the Village, all sacrifices and expenditures were worth it—she, too, was willing to give everything for the Village.
She only hoped that the power of this sealed demon would be worth their waiting these days.
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