Konoha Main Camp, Command Tent.
Unlike the tense atmosphere of the war outside, the mood inside could almost be described as "leisurely."
Uchiha Kagami sat at the head of the table, meticulously polishing his ninja sword.
Yamanaka Inoichi had his eyes closed in meditation, as if he had already fallen asleep.
Akimichi Torifu was even more exaggerated. In front of him was a huge food box, and he was noisily devouring the rice balls inside, his mouth greasy.
The only one who looked like he was working was Nara Shikaku. However, he just let out a lazy yawn, propped up his chin, and looked at a moving light spot on the sand table in front of him, his eyes filled with the two words: "bored."
"Sigh... this is so boring," Nara Shikaku stretched and complained to Uchiha Kagami. "Lord Kagami, don't you think Lord Hokage is being a bit of a bully?"
Uchiha Kagami's hand, which was polishing the sword, paused. He looked at him in confusion. "Shikaku, what do you mean by that?"
"Isn't this like the teacher just slapping the standard answer on your face before an exam?" Nara Shikaku pointed to the light spot on the sand table representing Kitsuchi's unit, his face a picture of despair. "He even guessed with perfect clarity from which direction, at what time, and in what way they would dig their way here. There's no technical skill in this battle at all, no challenge."
Akimichi Torifu swallowed a large mouthful of rice ball and mumbled in agreement, "Yeah, yeah, I'm about to grow feathers from boredom. Shikaku, do you think we can make them pay for my rice balls after we catch them? I've eaten three extra boxes just waiting for them."
Yamanaka Inoichi didn't even open his eyes and said faintly, "Senior Torifu, you're just looking for an excuse to eat another box."
Uchiha Kagami listened to their conversation, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
Before the battle, Lord Hokage had indeed given him a "special tip." In that tip, he had described in detail a "subterranean surprise attack" tactic that Iwagakure was highly likely to adopt after their conventional attacks were thwarted. He had even marked the principles of the ninjutsu they might use, their tunneling depth, and the best location for the surprise attack with perfect clarity.
At the time, Uchiha Kagami had found it a bit incredible, but out of absolute trust in Lord Hokage, he and Nara Shikaku had still set up this inescapable net based on the tip.
Now, it seemed that Lord Hokage's wisdom could no longer be described as foresight; it was simply a "divine oracle."
"Alright, stop complaining," Uchiha Kagami said seriously. "The guests are about to arrive. Everyone, pull yourselves together and prepare to welcome them."
Just then, an Uchiha reconnaissance ninja flickered into the tent and knelt on one knee. "Reporting to Lord Kagami, Lord Shikaku! The target has arrived directly below the designated position. The energy reaction is rapidly increasing. Estimated to break ground in ten seconds! Everything is under control!"
"Got it," Nara Shikaku waved his hand lazily. "Tell everyone outside to stand back, so they don't get splattered with mud."
He stood up and slowly walked out of the tent.
At this time, a large open space had been cleared in the center of the camp. The surrounding Konoha ninja, far from showing any panic, were instead like an audience at a play, gathering in the distance and pointing.
"They're coming, they're coming!"
"Everyone, watch closely! This is the 'groundhog emerging from its hole' that Lord Hokage predicted!"
"Place your bets, place your bets! Guess in what pose they'll come out?"
Listening to the light-hearted teasing of his comrades around him, Nara Shikaku shook his head helplessly.
He stood with his hands in his pockets, looking at the center of the open space, and softly uttered two words.
"So stupid."
...
Boom—!
The ground suddenly exploded, and earth and stones flew!
Kitsuchi led the way, with his twenty most elite subordinates, breaking out from underground in an extremely cool pose.
"Hahahaha! Ninja of Konoha, feel the pain..."
Kitsuchi's heroic declaration was only half-shouted before it got stuck in his throat.
Because the scene he had expected—of panic and scattering—did not appear at all.
What greeted them was an empty field and hundreds of pairs of eyes... looking at them as if they were fools.
All the Iwagakure ninja were stunned.
What was going on? A welcome party?
Before they could react, a strange feeling came from the ground beneath their feet.
It wasn't solid earth, but a... sticky, swamp-like feeling.
"Not good! It's a trap!" Kitsuchi's face changed drastically. He immediately realized that they had rushed into a pre-modified area. The ground beneath their feet had long been mixed with some kind of clay by Earth Release, turning it into a terrifying mud pit.
"Trying to run? Too late," a lazy voice came.
"Ninja Art: Shadow Possession Jutsu!"
Nara Shikaku's shadow, like a venomous snake, instantly stretched and forked on the ground, connecting to the shadow under each Iwagakure ninja's feet with incredible speed.
"What...?!"
Kitsuchi only felt his body stiffen, and he completely lost control. He remained in the pose he had just broken out of the ground in, unable to move, and the confident smile on his face was completely frozen, looking incredibly comical.
His twenty subordinates behind him were also firmly held by the Shadow Possession Jutsu, each one turned into a statue in a different pose.
"Alright, my turn," Akimichi Torifu said, patting his stomach as he stepped forward.
"Partial Multi-Size Technique!"
Boom!
A giant palm, the size of a small mountain, descended from the sky with an irresistible sense of pressure.
The Iwagakure ninja were horrified, thinking they were about to be flattened into meat pancakes.
However, as the giant palm reached their heads, it suddenly slowed down, and then... gently, one by one, it picked them up from the mud pit like chicks and placed them neatly in the open space on the side.
The whole process was filled with an indescribable theatricality.
Then, Yamanaka Inoichi also made his move.
"Mind Body Switch Technique!"
Just to be safe, he casually controlled a seemingly stubborn Iwagakure ninja, made him voluntarily drop the kunai in his hand, then put his hands on his head and squatted on the ground.
With that, the battle was over.
From the moment Kitsuchi broke out of the ground to the capture of his entire unit, the whole process took no more than thirty seconds.
There was not a single scream, not a single drop of blood.
On the Konoha side, not a single person had even drawn their weapon.
Kitsuchi was bound by the shadow, unable to move his body, but he could move his eyeballs. He looked at the unscathed Konoha ninja around him, who were even pointing at him, and at the calm-faced Uchiha Kagami walking towards him, his face filled with disbelief.
A sense of humiliation, of having his intelligence completely crushed, made him almost spit blood.
He stared deadly at Uchiha Kagami and squeezed out a few words from between his teeth:
"How is this possible... how did you know?!"
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