'But how is this possible?'
'Ryuji had only just arrived a few minutes ago and didn't even know who the enemy commander was.'
'How could he possibly read the enemy's psychology so thoroughly?'
'Isn't that just nonsense?'
Looking at the young man surrounded by the crowd, Pakura found it increasingly unbelievable.
They were all the same age. Why was he so outstanding?
Although, she was already used to it.
...
Rasa flew over from the opposite peak on a golden sand cloud.
First, he looked at Ryuji being praised with a complicated gaze, then coughed twice, interrupting the celebration.
"Although the battle is over, our mission is not yet complete."
Everyone stopped cheering and turned to look at Rasa.
"There are still enemy remnants who infiltrated the village..."
Before he could finish speaking, a massive cloud of Iron Sand rose from the village, like a dark cloud obscuring the sky.
Seeing everyone look back, Rasa opened his mouth, then said, "Alright, it seems Third Kazekage-sama has safely awakened and dealt with the remaining enemies inside the village. But our task is still not done."
"Cleaning up the corpses?"
A Chunin in the crowd asked.
"The Genin can stay behind to clean up the corpses. Remember to finish them off first, then retrieve them."
"Then what do we do?"
"Pursue the enemy."
"Are you joking?" Pakura pushed through the crowd to stand before Rasa, questioning him. "Including the newly graduated Genin, we have less than eight hundred people. What are we going to pursue ten thousand enemies with?"
The others remained silent, but all looked at Rasa with expressions that seemed to say, "Are you stupid?"
This made him very uncomfortable.
However,
Out of so many people, he was the only one who had thought of it. That feeling of intellectual superiority was particularly satisfying.
"Have those on outside missions returned?"
At this moment, someone in the crowd asked.
Rasa, immersed in the feeling of intellectual superiority, felt a jolt in his heart and sharply looked at the person who asked.
It was that handsome young man with strange armor and reddish-brown short hair, Ryuji.
'Had this guy figured it out too?'
"Not yet. None at all."
The Shinobi responsible for the watchtowers all replied the same.
"Then there's no problem. Everyone, get ready to pursue the enemy!"
"Wait, what does that mean?"
Seeing Pakura pulling at him and pressing for an answer, Ryuji sighed deeply. "Did all your brain development go to your chest?"
"Ryuji!"
"Alright, alright, stop it. It's wartime, a critical moment where every second counts. Don't mess around!"
After finally calming down Pakura, who was ready to hit him, Ryuji breathed a sigh of relief.
He looked around and saw everyone watching him, so he explained, "The order to terminate missions was sent out yesterday evening. At the speed of messenger hawks, they could fly across the entire Land of Wind within five hours."
"Under normal circumstances, by early morning, a large number of our comrades should have returned."
"After all, everyone understands how dangerous it is for the interior and borders to be empty. They wouldn't risk their comfort, deliberately waiting for dawn to travel back."
"But not a single one has returned so far."
"Exactly. Not a single one has returned. Why is that?" Ryuji scanned the surroundings, hoping someone would think of it.
"They fell victim to the enemy!" Pakura made a guess, then instantly became convinced, unable to hold back her grief and anger. "Damn it, we absolutely cannot let those bastards off easily!"
"Ah, is that so? Did Matamaru also fall victim?"
"My child also participated in this external search mission!"
"Damn Iwagakure, Kumogakure, Amegakure, Kusagakure… I won't let you off!"
Looking at the grief-stricken and angry Sunagakure's Shinobi, Ryuji felt speechless.
'Could it be that the decline of Sunagakure is simply because its Shinobi are... well, not the brightest?'
However, as Ryuji looked around, he noticed quite a few people were deep in thought, and some had expressions of sudden understanding.
Clearly, they had thought of the real reason.
"Quiet, all of you!" Rasa couldn't help but roar, silencing the scene. "Use your stupid brains to think properly! The enemy force is so large, and they are in the flat, open desert. They can be seen from kilometers away. Even a pig wouldn't just run straight into them!"
"There's only one entrance to the village, but it was blocked by the attacking enemy."
"Those returning couldn't get in at all."
"Their best choice was to gather forces outside, then attack from the rear."
"But now that the enemy has retreated, we still don't see anyone returning!"
"Idiot, they went to pursue the enemy."
Pakura couldn't help but give a disdainful look to the person who asked, then looked up at the sky. The sun was fully out now. "At this time, not too many would have returned yet. But the desert is our territory. It's time to let the other villages experience the essence of desert warfare."
"Yeah!!!"
The Sunagakure's Shinobi's morale soared as they roared.
Ryuji sighed and said to Pakura, "I won't be joining this pursuit. Please keep an eye out for special Shinobi for me. Try to preserve the bodies as intact as possible."
"Huh? You're not going?"
"This is a guaranteed victory. It's not very interesting. I have more important things to do."
The desert environment is harsh, with many deadly zones.
Even people who live in the desert year-round cannot guarantee a 100% safe return every time they travel, let alone these outsiders.
Perhaps some among them understand the desert, but they definitely won't know it better than those who live in it.
By continuously harassing and skillfully guiding them...
Utilizing the desert's special environment and weather, if half of this Allied Force manages to escape, they can consider themselves blessed by the gods.
If they encounter a major sandstorm... they'll all die.
This is also why everyone got excited when Pakura said it was time to show the other villages what desert warfare was about.
It's essentially a one-sided slaughter.
…
"I am deeply sorry. The Magnet Release user escaped." Gin stood before him, full of self-blame.
Ryuji was surprised. "That guy managed to escape from you?"
The Magnet Release user, Toroi... although he has a big reputation, in reality, he's just that.
As long as one knows the effect of his Kekkei Genkai, avoid touching his weapons, and avoid being magnetized, they'll be fine.
Even if their body gets magnetized, with Gin's strength, she could completely shatter his subsequent attacks.
"I was solely focused on dodging the giant shuriken he threw and neglected the surrounding buildings..."
At the time, Gin was in hot pursuit. At a corner, Toroi launched a sudden counterattack.
Of course, the attack didn't succeed.
Gin jumped onto a nearby water tank to dodge.
But that was exactly Toroi's plan.
That water tank had already been touched by Toroi and given a negative magnetic charge.
When Gin jumped onto it, she received a positive magnetic charge.
The two were attracted and stuck together.
Although Gin quickly smashed the water tank and gave chase, Toroi took the opportunity to use the surrounding steel structures, giving them a negative magnetic charge, making it nearly impossible for Gin to move, allowing him to escape.