The first thing the Hidden Rock Ninja did upon regrouping under the cover of the Tailed Beast Ball was to send intelligence back to the Hidden Rock Village.
Thanks to the good weather, Onoki was initially in a good mood.
Upon learning the news from the Land of Grass battlefield, he went to check with a smile.
Because recently, the news from the Land of Grass battlefield had mostly been victories, even Onoki was a bit surprised at the smooth trend.
Despite facing the lineup of the Yellow Flash and one of the Sannin, Jiraiya, the Hidden Rock Squad led by Rekiseki managed to defeat Jiraiya's troops without sustaining any losses.
"The intelligence squad fell into Konoha's trap, suffering heavy casualties?" Onoki's previously upturned lips curved downward.
"Hmm? How many troops are left?" Onoki couldn't believe the number on the encrypted scroll.
He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and reopened them, but the number remained unchanged, still three hundred twenty-three, with no additional digits in front.
Bang!
Onoki couldn't help but punch his desk, his face showing disbelief.
It was a full two thousand ninja squad, two thousand ninjas, not two thousand samurai or ordinary people; how could they suffer one defeat and drop to three hundred twenty-three?
Onoki felt faint; a ninja squad of two thousand now reduced to just over three hundred.
The Hidden Rock had been developing cautiously for a long time, accumulating a force of twelve thousand ninjas, only to lose about one-sixth in a single defeat.
His initial plan was to leverage the advantage of numbers for a minor victory against Konoha, depleting Konoha's ninja forces, and then, after Konoha sent reinforcements, stage a small defeat and continue to closely observe the situation.
Onoki could accept a death toll of five hundred, as true combat needed to be fought; losses were inevitable.
But losing almost a thousand seven was something Onoki found hard to accept.
Among these seventeen hundred ninjas were Jonin and the Hidden Rock Demolition Squad's elite; how long would it take for the Hidden Rock Village to train so many ninjas again?
Onoki read through all the intelligence with a heavy heart.
If he were to conclude, it was that Iwakura's eagerness led the squad into the abyss.
The biggest responsibility definitely lies with Iwakura, as he was the acting commander who issued the orders.
And since Iwakura is already dead, no matter how much blame he shoulders, Iwakura can't disagree.
"Recall all of them," Onoki issued the order.
Although three hundred ninjas are not a small number, since the two thousand ninja squad was defeated, leaving the remaining three hundred behind is tantamount to further sacrifice; it's better to call them back directly.
After all, such a significant incident cannot be borne by just one deceased individual.
Following that, Onoki swiftly convened a high-level meeting to inform all the Hidden Rock's leadership of the latest battlefield intelligence.
After reviewing the intelligence, Hikaru's forehead was drenched in cold sweat.
At the time of sending reinforcements, he had analyzed the benefits of sending reinforcements in detail.
Now the frontline squad suffered heavy losses, in which he bore part of the responsibility.
Because if he hadn't stepped out to support the reinforcement, even if the Hidden Rock's troops in the Land of Grass all perished, the loss would not have reached a number like one thousand seven hundred.
"The casualties are nearly one thousand seven; how many graduating classes from the Ninja Academy will be needed to train so many qualified ninjas? I said at the time that maintaining the status quo was the most prudent choice!" Hidden Rock elder Bokka glanced at Hikaru and Shigeaki, expressing dissatisfaction.
Bokka still remembers clearly how Hikaru and Shigeaki had rebutted him back then.
Now, seeing Hikaru and Shigeaki's guilty looks, Bokka seemed angry on the surface but was secretly delighted.
Hikaru subconsciously looked toward Onoki, but Onoki showed no intention of speaking.
Hikaru adopted a thoughtful expression, then spoke:
"Elder Bokka, that's not how it should be said. Although the casualties showed our losses were significant this time, it doesn't mean our strategy was flawed.
Previously our squad had pushed Konoha's troops into disarray, proving that our main strategy was correct."
"It was only that the individual executing the mission encountered unexpected circumstances; Iwakura lacked the maturity of Rekiseki and thus fell into Konoha's trap.
If Iwakura had not made that reckless move, our plan would have been perfectly executed."
Indeed, the overall trend of this Hidden Rock war was similar to what Hidden Rock wanted: winning first and then losing; it's just that the loss was too vehement.
Due to different commanders for the victories and losses, Hikaru cleverly credited the victory to their plan, while the blame for the loss was pushed onto the now-deceased Iwakura.
"Moreover, our critical fighting force, Jinchuriki, also showed issues, recklessly performing Complete Tailed Beast Transformation in the midst of the squad, using Tailed Beast Ball against the Konoha Ninja, which is simply deliberate killing!
I suggest a psychological evaluation be conducted on Roshi; he may have been influenced by the Tailed Beast Chakra and become deranged."
"If Roshi could properly use his power to fight for the Hidden Rock, then even if the squad can't defeat Konoha's forces, breaking through shouldn't be a problem."
Hui deftly shifted all the blame onto Roshi.
Whether they could break through back then was unclear, but now it's time to assign blame, the critical part is that it sounds reasonable.
"Indeed, someone like Roshi as a Jinchuriki is too dangerous and must be strictly monitored. If necessary, we should extract the Four-tails and choose a new Jinchuriki," Shigeaki agreed with a nod.
With so many ninjas dead, an explanation needs to be given all around, and since Roshi has such obvious flaws, there's no reason not to pin the blame on him.
Shigeaki and Hui analyzed the situation extensively, trying to share responsibility for the high-ranking Hidden Rock personnel among the squad.
Ultimately, the core idea was that their plans and direction were not flawed; it was during actual execution that the squad fell short.
Bokka remained silent, choosing not to add insult to injury, despite usually having different political views; a little sarcasm now would suffice.
"Let's pause on the matter of the squad's defeat for now; what we need to focus on is the strength Konoha has shown in this war," Onoki said.
Assigning blame is important, but more important than assigning blame is analyzing the enemy.
Defeating other Great Ninja Villages and making the Hidden Rock the top Ninja Village is the real priority.
"Habu Mokgetsu is going to be the major enemy for the Hidden Rock moving forward," Onoki stated seriously.
He brought out a stack of dossiers and threw them at the Hidden Rock high command.
The high command picked them up to read, discovering they were personal files on Mokgetsu, recording all the intelligence the Hidden Rock had gathered on him.
"His first appearance on the battlefield was two and a half years ago on the Land of Grass battlefield. At that time, his power was only slightly stronger than Gari's, and during fights with Jinchuriki, he could only serve as support," Onoki explained.
He has been very focused on Mokgetsu and Namikaze Minato, and now knew Mokgetsu's information by heart.
"But when he appeared last year on the Hidden Mist Battlefield at the east coast of the Land of Fire, his strength was far beyond before.
The renowned Ice Release Ninja Minazuki Kan, along with the Seven-Swords Ninja of the Hidden Mist, encountered his team. The result was only two of the Seven-Swords Ninja survived, whereas most ninjas, including Minazuki Kan, were killed by Habu Mokgetsu."
"Furthermore, in the subsequent wars, the stronghold of the Hozuki Clan, Hozuki Zangetsu, was also killed by Habu Mokgetsu. Mokgetsu even joined forces with Orochimaru in a major battle to slay a Jinchuriki whose Tailed Beast was rampaging."
"This happened in just one year."
As the high command of Hidden Rock reviewed Mokgetsu's intelligence and listened to Onoki's explanation, they instantly pictured a super genius.
"As of this year, he continues to grow stronger at an astonishing rate," Onoki continued solemnly.
"His Ice Release was first revealed during the battle with the Hidden Mist last year, and now he can freeze a Jinchuriki. The most powerful Ice Release can instantly kill a dozen Jonin."
"Even the incompletely Tailed Beast transformed Roshi was powerless against his Water Release."
With a deeper understanding of Mokgetsu, the Hidden Rock high command found it increasingly astounding.
They had seen young powerful ninjas before, like Konoha's Namikaze Minato.
But compared to Mokgetsu, Namikaze Minato seemed far more normal. Before his battlefield massacre, Namikaze Minato was already a renowned Jonin.
Yet each time Mokgetsu appeared, his strength surged dramatically, as if he had reached a period of rapid growth—truly frightening.
"This year, during battles with our squads, he rarely used Fire Release. But remember, he earned the title 'Blazing Sun' on the Hidden Mist Battlefield, where Fire Release was his previously best Ninjutsu."
"I have no doubt he can become like the Third Hokage, mastering all Chakra natures. If he reaches the Third Hokage's realm, he will be even more powerful due to mastering Ice Release and Flying Thunder God Jutsu."
With Onoki's description of Mokgetsu, the Hidden Rock high command broke into a cold sweat.
The Third Hokage is already exceptionally powerful, and no ninja in the current Ninja World dares claim they can definitively defeat the Third Hokage.
If Mokgetsu achieves a superior form of the Third Hokage, he would likely be recognized as the Ninja World's number one.
Seeing the expressions of the high command, Onoki slightly nodded.
If, after saying this, the high command still doesn't recognize the threat Mokgetsu poses and continues to regard him merely as a Namikaze Minato-like figure, Hidden Rock is truly finished.
"If there is an opportunity to kill Habu Mokgetsu, it's worth sacrificing even a two-thousand-ninja squad!" Onoki stated earnestly.
Becoming a souped-up version of the Third Hokage is as significant as the resurrection of Senju Hashirama or Uchiha Madara in today's Ninja World.
The Hidden Rock high command unanimously nodded in agreement.
A two-thousand-ninja squad can be trained over time, but a genius like Mokgetsu, with such high potential, might not appear even in a hundred years.
They believe that even if it costs a three-thousand-ninja squad to take Mokgetsu's life, it wouldn't be a loss.
On this day, Mokgetsu ascended to the top of Hidden Rock's must-kill list.