Kitsuchi led a team of Iwa ninjas, bypassing the main battlefield and marching swiftly through the forest.
This vast forest housed three to four thousand Konoha ninjas, this was Konoha's last stand.
If they could wipe out the enemy here, Konoha would have no strength left to fight back.
But this battle was different from previous ones.
The frontal assault had met Konoha's most fierce and stubborn resistance. After losing over a thousand comrades from the advance forces, the Iwa ninjas couldn't gain any advantage.
Kitsuchi's current mission was to lead a thousand-man unit to attack Konoha's rear while his father launched a frontal assault that required Konoha's full attention.
But this forest was incredibly vast, the largest forest on the border of the Land of Fire, and it happened to block the Iwa ninjas' advancing route.
Konoha ninjas excelled in gorilla tactics through the cover of the dense forest, while the Iwa ninjas were repeatedly hindered here.
Reaching a fork in the path, Kitsuchi temporarily halted.
It was easy to lose direction in this dense forest, so he questioned a ninja who had previously scouted the route.
"How much longer?"
"Very soon. Another half hour of full-speed marching and we'll be there."
Kitsuchi looked in the direction indicated, where the trees were so deep that he couldn't see the end.
"These trees are so tall!" a sudden exclamation came from beside him.
Several people gathered in front of a giant tree that required several people to encircle and stood a hundred meters tall, marveling at it.
This was a towering giant tree found only within the Land of Fire's borders, who knew for how many years it had grown.
But soon it would belong to the Iwa ninjas.
Once Konoha was destroyed, the Land of Earth's army could advance into the Land of Fire, and they would certainly be unstoppable.
"Continue forward," Kitsuchi shouted, taking the lead and speeding down one path at the fork.
The thousand-man unit behind him followed, moving through the dense forest like countless shadows.
Bang!
A sudden sound of unknown origin rang out.
The Iwa ninjas passing by that giant tree discovered that there was no towering tree beside them anymore, it was clearly a hundred-meter-tall giant!
Wielding a giant iron rod, it stood there looking down at them, like a god looking down at mortals!
"What is that thing?"
Before the Iwa ninjas below could react, the iron rod swept across with the force of a mountain!
Everything in its path was destroyed! Countless trees snapped, and Iwa ninjas hit by the rod instantly turned to pulp under this terrifying force.
"Ah!"
"Monster!"
Seeing this, Kitsuchi immediately shouted: "Organise the defense! It's Konoha ninjas! Quickly organize the defense!"
But as soon as he finished speaking, the ground suddenly began to shake, bringing with it a tremendous noise that made even the nearby trees sway uncontrollably.
Kitsuchi looked toward where the sound was coming from and vaguely glimpsed a dark shadow.
Only when it crushed the trees blocking its path did he realize it was a giant "wheel," rapidly spinning, carrying an unstoppable whirlwind, rushing and crushing toward where they were.
The "wheel" charged into the Iwa ninja formation, crushing countless ninjas.
Some tried to attack with jutsu but couldn't stop it.
With the iron rod sweeping and the giant wheel crushing, screams suddenly filled the air as the Iwa ninjas fell into chaos under these sudden developments.
Looking at the scene before him, Kitsuchi's mind was somewhat chaotic.
How many are ambushing us...
He looked around.
"Don't panic! Counter-attack! Quick, counter-attack!"
"Kill them! Kill them quickly!"
...
Main Battlefield
After an attack, the Iwa ninjas temporarily retreated.
The surrounding forest was devastated beyond recognition, with charred broken wood everywhere, the ground cracked with numerous fissures.
Even more horrifying was the ground littered with corpses, blood flowing into a nearby stream, dyeing it completely red.
Konoha ninjas were clearing the battlefield, recovering ninja tools that could still be used and checking whether any among the bodies were still alive.
The bodies of their comrades were moved to the rear, while the Iwa ninjas' were piled together to be burned later.
At this moment, several high-ranking officials of the Konoha forces gathered in an open space.
No tents had been set up and everyone met in the open air.
"How many casualties?" Sarutobi asked the person beside him.
"Still counting... estimated to be no less than 500."
Sarutobi nodded calmly. No anger or grief could be seen on his face now, as if nothing could move him anymore.
"Those who have lost their ability to fight should be sent back to the village immediately. Don't add pressure to the medical personnel here."
"Understood."
"The Iwa ninjas may launch another attack soon," Sarutobi continued.
"Reorganize the troops. Assign those who have lost all their teammates to other squads."
He then looked at the blond young man nearby: "Minato, take a team to strike the enemy forces from one side later. If you can disrupt their formation, that would be best."
After some thought, Minato replied: "No need for a team. I can go alone."
Sarutobi didn't insist and nodded in agreement: "Very well."
"As for the main battlefield, Fugaku and I will continue to lead."
"Shikaku, stay with Inoichi's sensory unit, and keep everyone updated on battlefield movements and provide command."
The high-ranking officials discussed how to proceed with the next battle.
Konoha ninjas were all busy with their own tasks.
Not far from the Hokage, several people led by Yamanaka Inoichi sat together, each wearing a strange device on their head connected to a large device nearby.
This was Konoha's sensory unit, monitoring everything within the forest. They could immediately detect any Iwa ninja who entered.
After helping transport the corpses, Kakashi walked alone to rest under a large tree, taking out some dried rations from his pack and eating silently.
Rin approached and sat beside him, unfastening her water bottle and handing it to Kakashi.
"There are too many wounded, we can't keep up," she sighed.
"There's no need to treat them now. Better to conserve energy for the upcoming battle," Kakashi said indifferently.
Rin shook her head: "Some are severely injured. Without treatment, their lives would be in danger."
Kakashi calmly looked at the busy people around: "They're all going to die anyway."
"But they shouldn't be dying because I didn't save them."
"..."
Half a leaf with burn marks slowly drifted down from the tree, caught by Kakashi in his hand.
Beside him, Rin also began eating, holding a rice ball and occasionally humming a tune while resting.
Kakashi heard laughter.
In the distance, two people walked side by side deeper into the forest, joking and making noise along the way.
Both men were very large, the kind that stood out in a crowd. They were members of the Akimichi clan.
"Where are they going?" Rin asked.
"...To ambush the enemy, I suppose," Kakashi pondered.
"Are they that happy about going to an ambush?" Rin laughed.
Kakashi couldn't figure out what kind of joke those people had shared that made them so happy.
"Maybe... it's because they won't be coming back."
"Oh." Rin nodded thoughtfully.
After finishing their rations, they continued resting against the tree.
Rin started reminiscing about school, how Kakashi always liked to separate from the group and sit alone under a tree at the edge of the playground.
Kakashi said that his classmates were all too childish, and he couldn't be bothered to play ninja games with them.
Rin argued that everyone wasn't childish at all; they were just doing what they liked to do, and they wanted to invite Kakashi but were always refused.
Kakashi said that at that time, he only wanted to train and didn't want to do anything else.
After he finished speaking, there was no response from Rin.
He turned to look and found that Rin had fallen asleep from exhaustion.
He hesitantly called out softly: "Rin."
"Hmm..."
"..."
Kakashi fell silent. Rin, with her eyes still closed, suddenly let out a light laugh: "Why did you stop talking?"
"Nothing... stay close to me during the battle."
"I don't want to hold you back and get you killed, though."
Kakashi was silent for a moment, then said;
"It doesn't matter anyway, we're all going to die."
Rin didn't reply.
She didn't want to see Kakashi die, so it would be better if they were separated during the battle.