Being led by the nose in the situation below, Konoha had no choice but to pursue the Sand Village's split-up fighting force. This caused the battlefield to expand across every border region, no longer concentrated in one area but divided into numerous small battlefields with considerable distance between them.
And this was exactly when the true killing moves began to emerge.
These were the Sand Village's trump cards: the medical ninja and the new medicines.
A system of power built specifically for this moment.
The intention behind dividing the battlefield was to disperse Konoha's main force and lead them toward the vicinity of the Sand Village's previously established garrisons along the border.
Those positions had been converted into temporary battlefield treatment points and rescue transfer stations for the Sand Village's medical ninja. A battlefield that remained too concentrated would make the medical ninja vulnerable to targeted enemy attacks.
By dispersing the engagement across multiple smaller fronts, the medical ninja were shielded from direct threats while their flexibility on the battlefield increased significantly.
Even better, the Sand Village could leverage the secrecy of those original Konoha strongholds to provide the medical personnel with a degree of protection that Konoha, at least in the short term, could not react to in time.
They had not expected the Sand Village to be capable of playing this kind of game.
On another part of the battlefield, a hundred-man Sand Village squad had drawn a group of Konoha troops away from the main engagement. Yuji moved with them and thought through what was now unfolding.
Looking solely at the number of medical ninja within the Sand Village, it was the highest among the Five Great Villages at this point in time. Over the years, through his teaching and training, many new practitioners had emerged.
Beyond that, even the combat-ready ninja had been regularly educated in relevant medical knowledge, taught how to handle different categories of injuries that might occur on the battlefield.
After the new medicines had been developed, he had also personally instructed the village's ninja in their application, because battlefield situations could be complicated and medical ninja could not always reach the injured in time.
Self-preservation was equally important.
Furthermore, every Sand Village ninja had been equipped with medical supplies that had never existed in this world before, battlefield medical instruments included.
These were all components of the Sand Village's completely new medical system. For the past year, the village had been investing more effort and resources into this infrastructure than into almost anything else.
The time had come to see how this new industry performed and what value it could deliver on an actual battlefield.
In this great battle against Konoha, almost all Sand Village members were carrying specially made first-aid kits, primarily for treating external wounds. Injuries that were more serious or specialized would require treatment at a base station. In this respect, Konoha was at a clear disadvantage.
Moving the wounded from the battlefield was dangerous and difficult, their base had already been captured by the Sand Village, and their medical resources and personnel were insufficient by comparison.
The only thing that could have changed that equation was Tsunade.
But Tsunade was not here.
"Lord Yuji, they are coming."
After reaching the designated area, Yuji's group quickly established positions and concealed themselves throughout the forest, preparing to intercept the pursuing Leaf Village team. A Sand Village ninja dropped down from a nearby tree and delivered the report.
Yuji made a gesture. The ninja immediately returned to cover.
Then Yuji drew out his ninja tool. The Military Music Dream.
His purpose in dividing the battlefield, beyond maximizing the village's medical capabilities, was also to thoroughly demonstrate the value of this tool.
In a concentrated battlefield, the situation and the number of people in any given area were too complicated, with too many competing factors pulling attention in different directions.
But once the battlefield was dispersed into smaller independent engagements, the situation in each zone became clear and manageable.
Based on this approach, he could maximize the combat power of his squad and eliminate enemies efficiently within a short window of time.
Then he could quickly reposition and move to another small battlefield, accumulating significant total casualties across the Leaf Village's scattered forces with astonishing efficiency.
He understood the entire battlefield like the back of his hand, including the locations of those hidden strongholds that the Leaf Village was currently unaware of. Konoha needed time to fully grasp the situation on the expanded and fragmented battlefield, and that time was something they did not have.
In truth, the best counter-strategy available to the Leaf Village against the Sand Village's shifting formations was to resist being drawn out, keep the main force together, and maintain their concentrated formation.
Doing so would appear to allow the Sand Village to escape or retreat without consequence, but over time Konoha would defeat every border stronghold in sequence and ultimately force the enemy out of the border entirely, achieving complete victory.
However, that approach would take at least several days. And that was clearly not what Konoha intended. What they wanted was to use their full strength to repel the Sand Village army as quickly as possible.
They did not want a prolonged engagement.
As the battle continued, Hiruzen's strategic thinking had become clear. He wanted to inflict devastating losses on the Sand Village with a lightning-fast concentrated assault. In Konoha's eyes, the Sand Village army's overall fighting level and capability were clearly inferior to their own.
Konoha was being overconfident.
And now, observing the large number of Konoha ninja approaching nearby, Yuji did not move rashly into the ambush area. Instead he held a short distance back, watching quietly.
The Konoha forces appeared extremely cautious, having sensed danger.
What they did not know was that every move they made was being observed. The further they advanced, the deeper they moved into the effective range of the ninja tool.
With cold eyes, Yuji slowly raised the flute to his lips and began to play.
The melody resonated through the air, and invisible sound waves instantly penetrated the forest, spreading outward toward where the Leaf Village team and the others were positioned.
The enemy's cries reached the ears of the Leaf Village's senior ninja, whose expression changed drastically.
"It is an illusion! Be careful!"
But the warning came too late. Many teammates fell from their tree branches, their consciousness hazy or completely hypnotized.
"Attack!"
On the other side, moving even faster than the initial wave of the technique, the Sand Village forces that had already been arranged and waiting in position surged forward like a tide, charging straight into the Leaf Village's ranks.
The counterattack had begun.
In an instant, the two groups clashed fiercely. However, the Leaf Village's side, their judgment clouded by the military music and their coordination disrupted, was completely routed. They could not mount any meaningful resistance. Almost the entire team was heavily wounded or cut down by the Sand Village forces.
In just over fifteen minutes, what could have been a long and bloody engagement ended decisively and quickly. The Sand Village suffered very few casualties yet annihilated the entire Leaf Village team.
Yuji then ordered a few Sand Village ninja to clean up the scene, collect certain bodies to bring back to their base, and led the others toward the next small battlefield.
The entire forest was engulfed in flames spreading across multiple fronts simultaneously. A scorching battle with no clear sign of which side held the advantage overall.
It was already past midnight.
In a quiet section of the forest, Hiruzen, having just swept through a group of Sand Village ninja, stood looking weary. His helmet and battle uniform showed light damage. He frowned, bent down, and picked up a medicinal pill from a corpse.
"This is one of the Sand Village's special medicines."
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes, his mood heavy.
Because judging from the current battlefield situation, the Sand Village seemed to be holding even with Konoha, and had even reversed from an initial disadvantage into something approaching an advantage.
According to his prediction, fighting up to this point, Konoha's military strength should have pushed the Sand Village into a clearly disadvantaged position where withdrawal would be their only rational option.
The actual situation was nothing like what he had anticipated. After the battlefield divided and fragmented, the situation had immediately become abnormal.
"Where is the problem?"
The old man's brow furrowed deeply as he turned the pill over in his hand and thought.
Relying solely on supportive medicine could not possibly have produced this kind of battlefield reversal on its own. That much was clear.
The Leaf Village had long since studied the effects of the Sand Village's new medicines. Although the results were genuinely astonishing and the quality outstanding, they had not yet reached the level of healing ninjutsu that defied natural limitations.