Fifty Konoha ninja left the front-line camp in dispersed squads of four. Each squad first moved a certain distance toward Konoha before assembling at a predetermined location in central Fire Country.
Since sporadic clashes between Konoha's Eastern Front and Mist had already begun, such small-scale movements were daily occurrences at the camp. These activities wouldn't raise suspicion even if detected, as such actions were considered routine.
Mist scout ninja had absolutely no way of passing through Konoha's front-line camp to infiltrate deeper into western Fire Country—they simply didn't possess the capability. Otherwise, the Eastern Front set up by Haseo would have proven utterly useless.
Once the fifty-man unit assembled, Haseo made his appearance. After identifying himself, he immediately proceeded with the mission briefing without unnecessary delay.
Most of these ninja had no prior knowledge about this operation.
However, the presence of Haseo—the supreme commander—indicated that this unit carried important duties. It wasn't until his explanation, though, that they realized just how crucial their task was: bypassing Mist from behind and launching a surprise attack on enemy lines from the sea?
No one could have possibly predicted such a mission before hearing it.
Nonetheless, these were carefully selected warriors with strong mental fortitude. Upon learning they were about to embark on a life-or-death mission, most still managed to stay calm—the presence of Haseo himself as their leader helped steady their nerves.
If even a supreme commander-level ninja wasn't afraid of death, what reason did ordinary shinobi have for hesitating?
Moreover... charging through enemy lines has always been a dream cherished by warriors. This kind of outlaw-style boldness—"if we're going big, let's go all the way"—struck a chord deep within every heart.
Although the number of Mist ninja wasn't nearly as large as one might imagine, facing thousands of enemies still meant being outnumbered more than tenfold.
Overall, after learning the mission details, the Konoha ninja who had initially felt tense and pressured now became noticeably more relaxed. Though still dangerous, removing the mystery made the task seem far more acceptable.
It's one thing to order soldiers to their deaths—it's another entirely when the commander walks that same path alongside them.
The squad spent half an hour organizing their thoughts and calming their nerves. Once everyone fully grasped the mission requirements and maintained clear awareness, Haseo immediately led them southward.
Their route required extreme caution. The team would enter the ocean from southern Fire Country—the continent's southern coastline—then circumvent Bear Country at the southeastern edge of the continent before turning west to approach Mist frontline positions from behind.
Now the entire sea has become Mist's supply line, so in theory their control over that area is extremely strong. However, precisely because of this, if Haseo's team could complete such a flanking maneuver without alerting Mist, then the subsequent battle would definitely achieve a surprise effect.
Haseo had also reserved sufficient time for his flanking operation. Three days later would be when Konoha Eastern Front officially launches its attack against Mist, and his unit needed to enter the battlefield after the frontal assault began.
Therefore, they had three full days to reach their target location.
This timeframe was actually quite generous.
And under normal circumstances, as long as they completed "stealth movement," then their mission would already be half successful.
Conversely, if they were discovered midway, it would basically mean total failure.
If their unit was discovered, there was a backup plan: Haseo would lead them into open-sea combat with Mist, stalling time and drawing attention. At the same time, he hoped Konoha's frontline would successfully ambush the enemy from behind.
Frankly speaking, this approach was far more difficult, since Mist would hardly ignore such a large-scale operation by Konoha's frontline. Nevertheless, Haseo needed to create a pincer attack from both sides.
Fortunately, Haseo's unit included many Hyuga ninja. With their Byakugan, Konoha could detect enemy movements from a great distance ahead of time. Once gaining an intelligence advantage, the unit could accurately bypass Mist's surveillance zones... This Byakugan truly felt unfair on the battlefield.
He saw the enemy—but they never saw him.
Even worse for Mist. The Third Hokage emphasized stability on Konoha's Eastern Front. This approach relied on maintaining an intelligence advantage over the enemy. With this advantage, they could remain stationary and react accordingly. Under such guidance, the number of Byakugan users in Haseo's unit exceeded standard proportions.
The old man, the Third, certainly hadn't expected the "stable" Eastern Front to be this aggressively proactive.
But regardless, this was when the Hyuga ninjas could play a crucial role... Haseo's raiding party consisted of only fifty people, yet among them were eight Hyuga ninja.
Sixteen Byakugan eyes shone particularly brightly, ensuring the enemy remained completely blind. Both sides relied heavily on scout ninja, but the effectiveness of these scouts differed greatly between sides.
With so many Hyuga present, the unit encountered no issues during their advance. They halted after a day and a half.
"Lord Haseo, we've already arrived at our designated position," soon reported Hyuga Soei to Haseo.
"Hmm, our journey has been very smooth. What we need to do next is patiently wait—the signal from the front will come naturally...
You'll still have to work hard next—you Hyuga alone must take responsibility for vigilance before the battle starts. Since we've stealthily reached here undetected, no matter what happens from now on, we absolutely must remain 'off the radar.'"
Haseo never really liked playing turtle like this. What he truly enjoyed were things like "tactics," "plans," and "arrangements"—well-thought-out strategies that could methodically achieve set goals.
Although he loved making plans the most, he also ended up breaking them the most often.
Even his current act of playing turtle was part of a plan.
To put it plainly, Haseo considered himself extremely rational, yet in reality, he preferred acting on emotion. Worse still, he was completely unaware of this tendency in his own behavior.
So while his plans looked great on paper, they usually fell apart in practice.
However, this time, since the entire war situation in the Land of Fire and the lives of thousands of ninjas were at stake, Haseo treated this plan with utmost seriousness. So far, everything had gone according to plan without any human-caused accidents occurring.
They just waited here peacefully.
...
After Haseo secretly disappeared from the front lines, actual control over the camp passed to Uzumaki Shikou. All orders now came through her, but no suspicion arose among the ninja because— even when Haseo was present at the camp, these responsibilities had always been handled by Shikou anyway.
The war directives had already been issued beforehand; what they lacked was merely an exact timing.
Thus, on the morning of the third day, the command was finally given:
Konoha's Eastern Front would launch a major attack against the Mist forces that had infiltrated the Land of Fire, set for eight o'clock that same day. The objective of the operation was to crush the Mist forces and completely drive them out of the Land of Fire.
Instructions were transmitted one after another. Since preparations had already been made and only awaited such a signal, Konoha's ninja acted swiftly.
A mere few hours' notice was sufficient.
Since the battlefield lay within the Land of Fire, Konoha's camp didn't have to worry about attacks from behind, so almost all combat-ready ninja sprang into action at once, rapidly advancing toward the Mist frontline in formation.
"All hands on deck" left the camp, leaving behind only non-combat units such as Medical Support and Logistics.
Though the scale of this battle might not be considered especially grand, overall, it was still quite impressive: Konoha ninja spilled out from the camp, a vast tide of dark figures, advancing without a sound.
Perhaps their Supreme Commander sometimes acted rather eccentrically, but when the team moved, it was truly majestic—cold-eyed and resolute.
Of course, Mist immediately noticed Konoha's movements. In theory, such a battle could break out at any moment. Yet when it suddenly erupted, they still found it somewhat surprising.
Konoha's battle formation concentrated its main force in the center while deploying many small squads outward—those smaller teams aimed to overwhelm and eliminate Mist's reconnaissance units using sheer numbers.
As for the central force, their only task was clear—to approach Mist's camp as quickly as possible before the enemy could mount an effective response.
The flanking forces and various advanced squads protected the central formation until they successfully closed in right before Mist's frontline.
Come on!
Though Konoha's attack came unexpectedly, the Hidden Mist ninja were not afraid. Just as they were waiting for Konoha's main forces to advance so they could mount a counterattack, Konoha's offensive abruptly ceased.
A line of ninja stepped forward in unison and formed identical hand seals at the same time.
As everyone knows, the Hidden Leaf Village in the Land of Fire has a unique and enduring tradition—the Will of Fire burns on without end—a philosophy that has fueled generations of shinobi...
This has cultivated numerous highly skilled and outstanding Earth Release ninja.
Haseo had meticulously assembled a specialized unit trained to execute a large-scale coordinated Earth Release technique:
[Earth Release: Great Moving Earth Core]!
The foundation beneath the Hidden Mist camp was instantly lifted entirely upward, then rapidly tilted downward toward the sea surface.
Lord Haseo's intention was crystal clear—you enjoy seizing territory from the Land of Fire? Then I shall return this very piece of land directly to you. However… you still must return exactly where you came from.
Through the coordinated efforts of the Earth Release ninjas, a mountain range appeared as if conjured from nothingness.
Then, the entire mass of lifted earth began to tilt backward, plunging toward the ocean.
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