Only I can make Konoha Village great again.

After walking for a while, the Fourth Raikage suddenly froze on the road.

He remembered.

The scene before us is exactly the same one that happened back then when the Iwagakure army pursued and annihilated the Kumogakure, ultimately forcing the Third Raikage to die from exhaustion.

No wonder he couldn't remember for so long, because this wasn't from the perspective of the Hidden Cloud Village.

The Fourth Raikage laughed, a sinister grin: "The Third Tsuchikage was arrogant, thinking that an army of ten thousand could surround and kill the Cloud Village ninjas. He just waited for news in the rear, which led to a crushing defeat."

"I won't follow that shorty's example. I'll always be on the front lines. As long as Orochimaru dares to show up, I'll crush you immediately and force you to abandon Konoha and run away."

"If you refuse to run away and instead try to emulate my father, then I'll just kill you!"

However, the Fourth Raikage miscalculated one thing: he could catch up with the Konoha ninja, but he could never surround or catch them.

Previously in the Land of Fire, he had felt the same sense of helplessness he felt as a child when he tried to catch fish with his bare hands, thanks to the Konoha ninjas under the command of Yamanaka Hatsukyu.

At the time, he could still deceive himself, thinking that it was the plains and forests of the Land of Fire, the environment most familiar to the Konoha ninjas, and that he had suffered because he had adapted to the environment.

But today is different. He is in the Land of Lightning, in the steep mountains he knows best, and he is still being completely outmaneuvered by the Konoha ninjas.

The three bait squads of Konoha, like the most skilled illusionists, would sometimes harass the Cloud Village ninjas in turn, sometimes gather together to surround and kill the fastest Cloud Village squad, and sometimes split into three, leaving the pursuers at a loss.

They also used the mountain terrain to set traps, using themselves as bait to lure the unfamiliar Moon Ninja into falling into their ambush.

They would also bypass the Cloud Hidden Army's rear, raid supply convoys, and set them on fire without killing anyone.

Instead, Konoha ninjas have largely stopped using traditional harassment tactics such as releasing explosive tags at night to create chaos or disguising themselves as Cloud Village ninjas to create chaos.

Many other Konoha ninjas were itching to try it, but Yamanaka Hatsukyu strictly forbade them from taking risks.

He said, "What's the point of taking the risk? One person, or a small team of three, harassing hundreds or thousands of enemies—isn't that just pure suicide?"

"Everyone, just follow my orders. As long as we maintain a unified approach, no matter how many enemies there are, I can guarantee that we will always be outnumbered and outmatched in every battle."

"You think you can win a war and return home alive? Why would you risk your life to give up something that might wake the enemy up in the middle of the night? Are you out of your mind?"

But does the mountain dweller really not plan a night raid on the ninth day?

Of course not, he just doesn't engage in ineffective harassing sneak attacks.

When the Cloud Village ninjas were able to get a full night's sleep for three consecutive nights, even the Fourth Raikage unconsciously relaxed his vigilance on the fourth night.

Yamanaka Chuji saw an opportunity and suddenly assembled three decoy units, forming a large army of a thousand men, to launch a surprise attack on the Moon Ninja camp.

The Konoha ninja's attack was resolute, without any hesitation or delay. Under Yamanaka Hatsukyu's command, they directly penetrated the weak points in the defenses, killing the Moon Ninja leader and some of the Moon Ninja's high-ranking members.

While beheading the high-ranking officials, the Konoha ninja set fire to the camp's supplies, then swiftly withdrew.

The Fourth Raikage, A, was furious upon hearing the news, but dared not rashly gather the Cloud Village ninja to provide assistance.

There was nothing he could do; he had been besieged and attacked by the mountain's Chu Jiu, and the experience had left him with a deep-seated trauma.

Once daybreak, the only people the Cloud Village ninjas can save are a group of Moon Village ninjas who have lost their supplies and are covered in dust, waiting for rescue.

Tsukishin asked, feeling wronged, "Why didn't you come to save us?"

The Cloud Village ninja explained helplessly, "The Leaf Village ninjas are cunning. They definitely didn't go far during their retreat. They must be lying in ambush nearby, waiting to ambush reinforcements."

Tsukishin was speechless.

They appeared to be persuaded, but in reality, they didn't believe it at all; they just didn't dare to confront the powerful Cloud Village head-on.

The Cloud Village ninjas also felt that the Moon Village was a small ninja village with little fighting power, and their willpower was so weak that it was contemptible.

This created a rift between the two sides, foreshadowing their later crushing defeat.

The Fourth Raikage instinctively ordered all units to strengthen their vigilance, dispatching numerous patrol teams and enhancing search capabilities to prevent being ambushed by Konoha ninja.

But these patrol squads became prey for the Leaf Village ninja.

The Konoha decoy squad, consisting of 300 Konoha ninja, can surround a patrol team of only three Kumogakure ninja, preventing them from even sending a signal.

Often, when Cloud Village ninjas saw a hundred times their number of Konoha ninjas, they couldn't even muster the will to resist. They would simply close their eyes, stretch out their necks, and offer themselves up for slaughter.

The Fourth Raikage had a splitting headache.

Scattered patrols will be wiped out by Konoha, concentrated pursuits will be played by Konoha, and you also have to be careful of night attacks.

He could only summon the high-ranking officials of the two ninja villages to brainstorm how to capture the Konoha ninjas and then completely eliminate them.

In the end, the vengeful leader of the Moon Ninja proposed: "If there are too few people, we will be surrounded and attacked; if there are too many, we will not be able to catch up. So let's divide them into just the right number, so that we can maintain our speed and agility while having enough fighting power."

The Fourth Raikage's eyes lit up immediately: "Alright, let's do it this way!"

The 18,000 pursuers were divided into six groups of 3,000 ninjas each, maintaining a distance that was neither too close nor too far from each other, like a large net to encircle the Konoha army.

This tactic worked.

The day after the tactical change, the Fourth Raikage received intelligence: "Lord Raikage, we've discovered traces of Konoha ninja!"

A glint of murderous intent flashed in Ai's eyes: "How many people, and how far apart are they?"

"Approximately three thousand people, definitely a large Konoha ninja army, they are retreating towards Thunder Canyon!"

Thunder Canyon is an important pass on the outskirts of Cloud Village. The canyon is flanked by towering cliffs, with a narrow valley passage in the middle, which is also divided in two by a river.

This place has a strategic location with rugged terrain, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. It is an important node for the defense of Yunyin Village.

The Konoha ninja retreated towards Thunder Canyon, but unless they were willing to abandon the supplies they were carrying, they would inevitably be blocked by the narrow passage.

However, abandoning weapons in the barren Land of Lightning would also be suicidal for the Konoha ninja army.

"Great! That's wonderful!"

The Fourth Raikage excitedly jumped to his feet: "Pass on my order! The nearest Fourth Pursuit Unit is to give chase! They must slow Orochimaru down!"

"I will lead the first, second, and third pursuit forces to provide support and rendezvous as quickly as possible!"

"The fifth and sixth pursuit teams should not go directly to Thunder Canyon. Instead, have them detour to the other side of the canyon and block the retreat route of the Konoha ninja."

"This time, I will annihilate all the Konoha ninja in Thunder Canyon!"

"yes!"

The combined forces of the Cloud Village and the Moon Village began their operation, some pursuing the enemy while others took detours, forming an encirclement centered on Thunder Canyon.

The Konoha army is within this circle.