Half an hour later, after really failing to find any clues, the Hidden Rock Jonin leading the team returned to the Hidden Rock Squad camp and reported the situation to Kitsuchi and Rekiseki.
"Was it Habu Mokgetsu who won? Or that mysterious black‑robed man?" Kitsuchi asked hurriedly.
"With the intel we have, we can't be sure which side won, but most likely it was Habu Mokgetsu."
The Hidden Rock Jonin recounted what he had seen on the battlefield.
Kitsuchi and Rekiseki each asked the Hidden Rock Jonin a few questions; after he answered, the Jonin tactfully left the tent.
"Senior Rekiseki, I think we need to retreat to the western border," Kitsuchi voiced his thoughts.
That Susanoo, over eighty meters tall, had left an incredibly deep impression on him.
To defeat such a terrifying enemy, and still wield a wide‑area Wood Release Ninjutsu on top of that—Kitsuchi couldn't even imagine how much impact Mokgetsu could have now in a large‑scale war.
"Indeed." Rekiseki nodded.
Previously, Rekiseki had been single‑mindedly focused on making military achievements and advancing further, becoming part of the Hidden Rock leadership; ever since he was beaten half to death by Jiraiya last time, his desire to push forward had lessened quite a bit.
Now Rekiseki felt that staying alive was more important—besides, even without becoming high‑level leadership, he could already be considered to have achieved merit and fame.
Having settled on retreat, Rekiseki contacted The Hidden Rock Village to request instructions from the Tsuchikage.
Retreating to the western border of the Land of Grass was something they could decide on their own, but pulling out of the Land of Grass entirely, or continuing to push toward the Land of Fire's border—those were decisions only the Tsuchikage and the Hidden Rock leadership could make.
In the Land of Earth, Onoki quickly began reading the frontline intel as soon as he received it.
Halfway through, Onoki put down the report and, only after checking it several times, finally confirmed that this was urgent, important intel sent from the front, and not some draft of a Ninja novel.
"Habu Mokgetsu has mastered Wood Release, capable of unleashing a Wood Release that creates a forest in an instant. A mysterious black‑robed man stormed the battlefield to attack the Konoha Squad, and can also summon a Susanoo over eighty meters tall…"
Onoki laced his ten fingers together, rested his elbows on the desk, and revealed expressions of shock, puzzlement, and worry.
Because of one particular experience, he was not unfamiliar with the power known as Susanoo; he knew it was an ability of the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan.
Susanoo attacking Konoha's squads—that would mean Uchiha Ninjas attacking Konoha. Is this the Uchiha Clan staging another coup?
Even if it's a coup, they shouldn't be targeting the units outside; they should be going after the leadership.
Onoki analyzed for a long while, but still couldn't make sense of what was happening in Konoha.
"But what on earth is going on with this Habu Mokgetsu, actually mastering Wood Release, and his strength has skyrocketed too."
Onoki did not dwell too long on why the black‑robed Uchiha had attacked Mokgetsu; what he wanted now was to figure out just what kind of person Mokgetsu was.
In the past, while Mokgetsu had also been outstanding beyond ordinary people, he was still within the bounds of common sense; Onoki could treat him as another Sarutobi Hiruzen.
This time it was different. Mokgetsu hadn't just grown stronger—he had displayed an overwhelmingly powerful Wood Release.
Even that mysterious black‑robed man, whom Kitsuchi believed could easily wipe out a thousand‑man Ninja Squad, might have been defeated by Mokgetsu.
"Is Konoha about to produce another Senju Hashirama?" Onoki's expression turned very grim.
He would rather see Konoha bring forth two more Sarutobi Hiruzen than another Senju Hashirama.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was very strong, but Onoki felt that if he led a squad of elite fighters, he could definitely kill Sarutobi Hiruzen.
If the opponent were replaced with Senju Hashirama, then all Onoki could say is that people would die—but absolutely not Senju Hashirama.
Onoki had never faced Senju Hashirama head‑on, but he had fought Hashirama's defeated foe, Uchiha Madara.
Back then Onoki was still very young; he went to Konoha together with his teacher, the Second Tsuchikage, to discuss alliance matters, and ended up getting brutally thrashed by Uchiha Madara.
Onoki still vividly remembered that battle. He and his teacher were no match for Uchiha Madara at all; Madara kept a contemptuous expression the whole time and barely even looked at them properly.
Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama were strong to the point of qualitative transformation; before such powerhouses, numbers lost their meaning.
To annihilate a thousand‑man Ninja Squad, for them it was just a matter of unleashing a few Ninjutsu at full power.
"Reply to Rekiseki and have them temporarily station at the western border." After a bout of thinking, Onoki summoned the Hidden Rock Anbu and gave his order.
"Also have him send out small teams to conduct reconnaissance and confirm Habu Mokgetsu's status—whether he's dead or alive, in good condition or badly injured."
If Habu Mokgetsu was severely injured, Onoki would be willing to trade the Hidden Rock Squad in the Land of Grass for Mokgetsu's life.
If Konoha produced another Senju Hashirama, the threat to Hidden Rock would be far beyond what two thousand Ninja Squads could compare to.
During Senju Hashirama's tenure as Hokage, the Ninja World enjoyed long‑term peace and no wars because Hashirama desired peace.
When there's a choice, Onoki did not want to gamble on Mokgetsu's personality; Ninjas like Senju Hashirama were simply too rare.
"Also activate the spies in the Land of Fire. I need the latest battle situation for Konoha, as well as the internal situation in Konoha Village." Onoki continued.
He still wanted to know whether the Uchiha Clan had run into problems.
If Konoha happened to fall into internal turmoil at this time, he might be able to use intel about Mokgetsu as leverage to join with other Ninja Villages in a combined assault on Konoha.
There's a huge difference between attacking separately and launching a truly joint offensive.
Right now they were also attacking Konoha, but that didn't make them allies; on the contrary, Hidden Cloud and Hidden Rock were themselves in a state of war.