Uchiha Ren wasn't surprised when he heard the news.
They had already anticipated such a situation.
After all, that was five thousand Iwagakure shinobi. If Iwagakure simply allowed Konoha to wipe them out without intervention, that would be the truly strange thing.
Shikaku Nara had already prepared for the possibility of Iwa sending reinforcements.
To destroy the retreating Iwagakure force, the five hundred Konoha Border Defense shinobi stationed at Tenchi Bridge, together with the four pursuit squads led by Ren and the others, would already be sufficient.
After Ren's units set out, Shikaku also organized another one thousand shinobi from those cleaning the battlefield at Kikyō Mountain Fortress to reinforce them. They were probably still on the way.
However…
Neither Shikaku nor Ren had expected that Ōnoki himself would personally lead the reinforcements.
Generally speaking, the Kage of a hidden village rarely left their village.
Since taking office, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, had almost never left Konoha except to report to the Fire Daimyō.
As for Kumogakure, Sunagakure, and Kirigakure…
Those were special cases.
Sunagakure's foundation was too weak, and their number of powerful shinobi was too small. The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, not only had to personally fight on the battlefield to stabilize the situation—rumor had it he even had to mine gold to subsidize the village's finances.
Kumogakure was even more straightforward.
Their Raikage were practically battle maniacs. Leaving the village to fight in wars was routine.
Kirigakure, meanwhile, was suffering from fierce internal conflict between Bloodline clans and ordinary shinobi. The internal strife had weakened the village so severely that the Mizukage often had no choice but to take the field personally.
Thinking it over, Ren suddenly realized something amusing.
Among the Five Great Villages…
Konoha's Hokage might actually be the unusual exception.
Meanwhile, deep within the Land of Grass.
A battered and exhausted Iwagakure army of over a thousand shinobi was fleeing rapidly through the forest.
Despite their chaotic retreat, the formation still maintained a certain level of discipline, constantly guarding against attacks from their flanks and rear.
Suddenly—
Several figures rushed upstream through the formation and quickly arrived beside the Iwa squad commander.
"Captain!"
"Near Tenchi Bridge, we've discovered traces of Konoha shinobi!"
"They've already built defensive positions and are waiting for us!"
"What?!"
The Iwa commander's expression changed drastically.
"Konoha shinobi? Aren't they supposed to be behind us? Why are they appearing ahead of us?!"
Because the scout's voice was somewhat loud, many nearby Iwagakure shinobi overheard the report.
Within moments—
The news spread like wildfire.
"It's over…"
"It's all over!"
"Our retreat has been blocked!"
The revelation swept through the entire army like a storm.
The fragile morale they had barely managed to restore collapsed instantly, replaced by overwhelming despair.
The Iwa commander glared fiercely at the scout but suppressed the anger in his heart and continued asking,
"How many enemy shinobi are there?"
"And has Tenchi Bridge been destroyed?"
The scout quickly replied,
"There are at least four hundred Konoha shinobi—about ten squads."
"As for the bridge…"
"I looked from a distance. It doesn't seem to have been destroyed."
The commander's eyes lit up.
As long as the bridge still existed, there was hope.
That meant morale could still be salvaged.
He quickly realized Konoha's strategy.
Konoha had intentionally left Tenchi Bridge intact.
They were using the bridge as bait—a path of survival—to weaken the Iwagakure shinobi's will to fight desperately.
And the truth was…
From yesterday until now, Konoha had been using this exact strategy.
They repeatedly dangled a "path of escape" in front of the Iwa army, herding them forward like stray dogs chasing a bone—while gradually splitting them apart and destroying them piece by piece.
Even though the commander understood the scheme, he had no way to counter it.
Because that "bait" was also their only hope of survival.
Taking a deep breath, the commander suddenly shouted loudly,
"You all heard it!"
"Tenchi Bridge hasn't been destroyed!"
"And the Konoha shinobi ahead number only four hundred!"
"But we still have over a thousand men here!"
"The situation isn't as hopeless as you think!"
The exhausted Iwagakure shinobi lifted their heads.
Seeing their attention return, the commander continued shouting.
"Think about your parents!"
"Think about your wives and children!"
"They're still waiting for you to return home!"
"If you want to live—then we must break through the enemy line at Tenchi Bridge!"
"Our numbers are overwhelming!"
"As long as we smash through Konoha's defense, we live!"
"And by then…"
"We might even turn around and wipe out the Konoha forces chasing us!"
"Revenge our fallen comrades!"
The words struck like a shot of adrenaline.
Even though the Iwagakure shinobi were already exhausted to the brink, a new surge of strength erupted within them.
"Fight them!"
"Better to die fighting than run like this!"
"Even if I die, I'll take a Konoha bastard down with me!"
Seeing morale rising again, the commander nodded with satisfaction.
He raised his hand and shouted,
"Full speed ahead!"
"Objective—Tenchi Bridge!"
At the same time…
Elsewhere in the forest.
After finishing his discussion with Guruguru and confirming there was no additional intelligence, Uchiha Ren finally waved him away—firmly refusing to answer Guruguru 's ridiculous question about what exactly the feeling of "needing to use the bathroom" was like.
Once Guruguru disappeared, Ren led the pursuit squad onward without delay, racing toward the Land of Grass.
They had no time to waste.
The Iwagakure reinforcements were expected to arrive within a few hours.
If they wanted to eliminate the remaining Iwa forces, it had to be done before those reinforcements arrived.
Several hours later.
Dawn began to brighten the horizon.
And the battlefield around Tenchi Bridge was about to erupt.
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