Land of Earth.
Near the Hidden Rock Village.
"Finally, we're back."
A weary Hidden Rock Ninja looked at the city surrounded by mountains, a trace of relief on his face.
Having survived such a crisis, he felt content.
"Ah, this time we really lost face, defeated so badly," a Hidden Rock Ninja couldn't help but sigh.
The two-thousand-strong Ninja Squad was reduced to just over three hundred; in recent wars, that was probably the most brutal.
Facing their hometown within reach, most Hidden Rock Ninja in the squad had complicated emotions.
Even the jinchuriki Roshi felt the same way.
"Let's hope next time they send a more reliable commander," Roshi thought.
Roshi was normally very reclusive, with few friends; he didn't know most of the fallen Hidden Rock ninjas, and those he did recognize, he knew only by name.
However, those more than sixteen hundred fallen Hidden Rock ninjas were born and raised in the same village as him. It was impossible not to feel anything.
The ninja guarding the Hidden Rock Village gate seemed to have already been notified. They showed no surprise at the arrival of the Hidden Rock Ninja Squad and allowed them through after a brief check.
Generally, when a Ninja Squad returned to the village, the report was handled by the squad commander or other important management personnel, and the rest of the ninja were directly dismissed.
This time, many of the Jonin holding important positions, including the commander, were dead; the remaining few have insufficient rank and lack experience.
Seeing their conflicted expressions unable to come to a decision, Roshi directly supported Han and headed towards the Hidden Rock Ninja Hospital.
Although they two were the squad's top fighters, their ranks were not high, just pure fighters.
Roshi thought since it had nothing to do with them anyway, it's better to take Han to the hospital for treatment sooner.
After all, Han was seriously injured, and Roshi was partly to blame.
His Tailed Beast Ball was indeed meant to assist Han, but blowing him up was the reality.
Someone noticed Roshi leaving the squad and wanted to call out to him, but recalling the scene where Roshi's Tailed Beast Ball engulfed both the Hidden Rock and Konoha ninjas, they closed their mouth.
When Roshi was halfway, several Hidden Rock ninjas dressed as Anbu suddenly stopped him.
Roshi frowned slightly and asked, "What do you need? Han is injured, I need to take him to the hospital."
"You don't need to worry about Han; our people will ensure he gets the best treatment promptly," the leading Anbu replied coldly.
Then two Anbu behind him moved towards Han.
Although Roshi was somewhat displeased, he didn't interfere to avoid delaying the treatment.
Then, Roshi turned around, ready to go home, while the Hidden Rock Anbu vanished along the road.
After walking a distance, the Four-tails' voice sounded in Roshi's mind.
"They're tailing you."
Roshi furrowed his brows again, puzzled.
Shouldn't the Anbu be busy during wartime? They'd need to conduct espionage activities in various countries to obtain intelligence while guarding against spies from other ninja villages. Why waste manpower tailing him?
He, capable of using Complete Tailed Beast Transformation casually, wouldn't suddenly go berserk.
Roshi returned home, cleaned, and rested for a while. Around noon, he went out to buy groceries and cooked.
After eating, Roshi asked the Four-tails, "Are they still there?"
"They are," the Four-tails replied.
Roshi's displeasure grew as he washed the dishes.
Though they fought a losing battle, what did it have to do with him?
He already gave his all in the battle; had it not been for him, the two-thousand-strong squad might have been reduced to not just three hundred, possibly even completely wiped out.
At night, close to bedtime, Roshi asked again.
"Those people left, but new ones have arrived," the Four-tails replied truthfully.
Roshi couldn't hold it any longer; swapping shifts for round-the-clock surveillance, would they?
Roshi suppressed his inner anger and went to sleep.
Though his mood was awful, it was too late; stirring trouble now would greatly disturb others.
The next day.
After completing his morning routine and making himself breakfast, learning there were still people watching, Roshi directly asked the Four-tails for their location.
"They're underground, west of your house," the Four-tails replied.
If the Anbu hadn't used Earth Release Ninjutsu to enter the ground, the Four-tails might not have known. It was a tailed beast with lava power in its chakra, highly sensitive to earth energies.
Roshi walked towards the spot the Four-tails mentioned with a stern face, coldly saying, "Don't hide, I know you're here."
A breeze blew by, lifting some dust and grit, but the ground before Roshi remained empty.
"Lava Release: Scorching Stream Rock Jutsu!"
Roshi gathered Lava Release Chakra and rapidly performed hand seals, exuding a powerful aura.
"What are you doing!" Two Hidden Rock Anbu quickly emerged to intervene.
Roshi did kill quite a few Hidden Rock ninjas on the battlefield this time; they dared not risk Roshi actually using Lava Release to attack.
"I should be asking you, why surveil me constantly!" Roshi replied rudely.
"Is the Anbu so idle they can't focus more on intelligence? If not for an intelligence failure, the front line squad wouldn't have suffered such a defeat."
"That's not your concern; someone will handle intelligence. Moreover, we're protecting you," the Hidden Rock Anbu emphasized.
Their orders were surveillance, but obviously, they couldn't say that directly.