Once the battle plan was set, Ronin led his men halfway around Ring Mountain until they were directly in front of the Purple Fruit Tribe's stockade.
Only then did he see two simple watchtowers on the southeastern slope, with two figures moving about on top. Their defensive awareness was a little stronger than that of the Cyan Bamboo Tribe.
According to Wodun and Dandy, the Grey Soil Tribe was the "head" of the Tripartite Alliance, and it was also geographically closest to the Black-collar Tribe.
If the Black-collar Tribe wanted to attack the Cyan Bamboo or Purple Fruit Tribes, they would have to pass through the Grey Soil Tribe's territory. Otherwise, they would have to take a long detour through the mountain forests.
Ronin thus guessed the watchtowers' purpose was to monitor for enemies approaching from the southeast—namely, the Black-collar Tribe taking the long way around.
