In battles between ninja, the beginning usually involves mutual probing—testing each other, figuring out the opponent's strengths and weaknesses, then launching a fierce attack once a flaw is identified.
Not like Shimizu, who opened with ultimate moves right from the start.
This kind of chakra-draining combat style, one that disregards cost, is actually very unwise. Among ninja, the greatest taboo in battle is excessive chakra consumption.
If your chakra is exhausted and you still fail to achieve your objective, that spells disaster.
Moreover, the ninja world is full of unpredictability. No one can guarantee that the next moment won't bring a sudden twist.
At last, Shimizu saw Team 6 and Mercury arriving belatedly. He had been waiting for them.
"I have a mission for you."
The slightly fatigued expressions on the five faces instantly vanished. They had thought this battle would amount to nothing more than playing a minor role.
Unexpectedly, they could still be of use.
"Help me retrieve my two kunai and the eight flying needles from my shuriken. As fast as possible. We don't know when Hidden Sand reinforcements might arrive."
"Retrieve the kunai and the shuriken needles?" Rakusui looked astonished.
Mercury was baffled. What kind of mission was this?
Shimizu immediately took out a kunai and a shuriken to demonstrate, explaining, "The kunai look like this—about one-third heavier than standard ones. As for the shuriken, the tips look like this. There are eight of them in total. Combined, they form two shuriken. They're scattered across this battlefield—possibly inside bodies. We need to retrieve them quickly."
"…Understood." The five departed to carry out the order.
In the past, Shimizu had to retrieve these thrown chakra weapons himself. He remembered that during his fight with Nagato, he hadn't even been able to recover them.
Now it was much simpler—just assign someone else to do it.
Being the one in charge… didn't feel too bad.
Bunshi, standing nearby, continued, "Since the path has been cleared… I plan to head north next and rendezvous with the main force on the western battlefield. Captain Kuryu, what do you think?"
"I intend to loop south and return to Rakuyō City."
"You intend to investigate the situation here?" Bunshi immediately grasped Shimizu's intention.
"Yes. Although I don't believe Konoha would make such a massive oversight, the facts force us to accept it."
It was already known that an entire Hidden Sand legion had made its way into this canyon. But what about the unknown forces? How many more could there be?
How had they slipped through unnoticed?
If this wasn't clarified, and the same situation occurred again—what if next time it was Shimizu's unit that got ambushed?
"From the moment we learned at dusk that a Sand puppet master had appeared, I realized this wasn't something just the few of us could handle," Bunshi said. "I've already requested reinforcements from the main forces to the west. If they move fast, they should be here by tomorrow."
The western main force was Konoha's large army led by Orochimaru and Tsunade, currently confronting the Hidden Sand's primary forces on the front lines.
It was also the nearest major Konoha force to their location. If they moved fast enough, a round trip could be made within a single day.
"I see. So reinforcements will arrive by tomorrow evening. If we stay here…" Shimizu fell into thought.
"Stay here?" Bunshi sensed that the powerful young man before him seemed to have a new plan in mind.
"Captain Bunshi, what do you think about us staying?" Without waiting for a reply, Shimizu continued, "We can keep scouting enemy movements while waiting for reinforcements. At the same time, we set up explosive tag traps in advance. If a large Sand force appears, it'll buy us enough time to retreat."
"Tell me your specific plan."
Shimizu's strategy was actually quite simple: before reinforcements arrived, they would gather as much intelligence as possible—enemy distribution, numbers, and even attempt to determine their objective.
As for retreating, they could simply plant enough explosive tags along this essential route leading to the Land of Rivers.
Bunshi immediately agreed and promptly assigned people to begin preparations.
"By the way, where are your other team members?"
"They're searching the southern area for survivors from the Third Division. Once their mission is complete, they'll return to Rakuyō City on their own."
"Do you have any information about the Third Division?" Shimizu wanted to know their current situation.
"I have two ninja from the Third Division here, but both are seriously injured. According to them, the entire Third Division is effectively wiped out. Their captain has also fallen."
"This Hidden Sand attack really was too sudden…"
The two fell silent. Faced with such an overwhelming and unexpected disaster… any of their three ANBU divisions would have struggled to survive.
ANBU ninja were indeed elite, but the Hidden Sand had launched a full legion assault—360 fully staffed ninja—against a single Konoha division of merely 36 ANBU.
The disparity in strength was simply too great.
"Regarding the explosive tags , how about setting two?" Bunshi suggested. "I'd like to establish two defensive lines. The first here, and the second further north where the path narrows."
"Place all the explosive tags at the second line. Use them all at once. The element of surprise only works best the first time. After that, they'll be on guard. On the retreat path, we only need to place a few scattered ones to serve as a psychological deterrent."
"I'll follow your lead." Bunshi decisively abandoned the idea of two defensive lines. Shimizu's earlier display of strength had earned his full confidence. He immediately ordered the explosive tag trap to be set.
"If the enemy numbers are overwhelming, we retreat immediately. The jonin will cover the rear. Ensure everyone withdraws safely and bring them all back to Konoha—no one left behind."
"That's exactly what I was thinking," Bunshi replied with a smile.
Suddenly, Mercury appeared beside them and urgently reported, "Enemy sighted! Seven o'clock direction. Approximately 80 ninja. Distance: 1,500 meters."
How was it that every time enemies appeared, it was in such significant numbers?
They currently had only this many people, and not all were at full strength. Facing 80 enemy ninja would be a tough battle.
"We have 23 here, and you have 6. That's 29 in total—not entirely without a chance," Bunshi said eagerly. They had buried nearly 200 explosive tags.
If they could successfully lure the Hidden Sand ninja into the trap and seize the right timing, they could eliminate more than half of them in a single strike.
Before leaving, they would destroy this Sand unit—avenge their comrades from the Third Division…
"My weapons?" Shimizu asked instead, more concerned about that at the moment.
Those were money—his life savings over many years…
And they were tactical weapons that couldn't easily be replenished during wartime.
"All recovered."
"Good. Then let's lure them straight into the trap and see how it works," Shimizu said, deciding they could fight.
After all, if they couldn't win, they could still retreat. The path ahead of them was already wide open—no enemies blocking the way.
And he still had roughly four-fifths of his chakra remaining…
As long as he didn't go overboard again, it would be enough to handle this battle.