"What's the situation now?" Qingming asked Shenda Yinghe.
Upon hearing this, Shenda Yinghe immediately handed over his telescope and said, "The four warships are still advancing. It seems they're planning to head straight for the Forward Base."
This answer did not surprise Qingming. He nodded, took the telescope from Shenda Yinghe, and looked in the direction indicated.
The moon was exceptionally bright tonight, allowing Qingming to easily spot the four warships from Wuyin Village. They were now closer to the rocky watchtower but were not approaching; instead, they formed an angle with this location and were heading toward the Forward Base of the Land of Waves.
Indeed, it appeared that they were likely intent on directly assaulting the base. This meant his task was to wait for the battle to erupt and then launch a surprise attack from the rear, thereby buying more time.
At this moment, every minute he could delay increased the chances of his main body returning. Therefore, it was crucial to prolong the situation for as long as possible.
However, as he contemplated this, he suddenly noticed several dark figures jumping off the ships.
"What the—"
Qingming quickly lowered the telescope and activated his Sharingan. Although the long-distance vision of the Sharingan was average, his enhanced perception allowed him to discern important details.
"Just as I thought, it's Wuyin ninjas!" Qingming realized, thinking, "Are they coming this way?"
Indeed, the Wuyin ninjas who had jumped off the ships were skimming across the surface of the water, heading directly toward them. Behind them, other Wuyin ninjas were also jumping ship from the remaining three vessels.
Ultimately, a team of nearly fifty ninjas was approaching.
This made Qingming's expression turn grim.
Seeing his demeanor, the others quickly asked, "Captain, what's wrong?"
"The enemy has discovered this place," Qingming replied tersely.
"What?"
Others reacted with a mix of anxiety and calm as they turned to look in that direction.
Thanks to the bright moonlight, they could also make out dark figures racing toward them.
Qingming picked up the telescope again, carefully observing the ships' movements. He noticed they were still advancing toward the Land of Waves, which made him feel somewhat relieved.
The ships not turning around indicated that, although the enemy had discovered them, they did not consider them a significant threat.
Fifty enemies were still within an acceptable range.
With this thought in mind, Qingming immediately ordered, "Everyone, prepare for battle!"
"Yes, Captain!"
The others responded promptly.
However, before they could move, Qingming added, "Be careful; once the battle begins, focus on delaying them as much as possible. After those ships have moved further away, unleash your full power and annihilate this enemy force."
Qingming arranged things this way to prevent the Wuyin ninjas from calling for reinforcements if they found themselves struggling and, of course, to buy more time.
The Konoha ninjas clearly understood his first point and quickly replied, "Understood, Captain!"
"Good."
Qingming nodded, allowing them to prepare.
As for the potential inability to provide timely support to the front lines, Qingming was not overly concerned.
After all, they were holding off an enemy force that outnumbered them significantly; what more could they do?
There was no way he could just hand the fight over to them!
Thus, Qingming was untroubled about any subsequent repercussions.
Right now, all he hoped for was for his main body to return quickly.
A few minutes earlier, on the other side.
Qingming, after hours of traveling, finally crossed the strait and arrived in the Land of Waves.
He rushed toward the Forward Base, but as he approached, he sensed something was off.
In the dead of night, when the base should have been silent, it was abuzz with activity.
From what he could see, it appeared they were constructing defensive lines.
In an instant, Qingming understood that the enemy was preparing to attack.
Since he was unaware of the shadow clone's situation, he did not rush in but instead used Transformation Jutsu to assume a different identity.
Utilizing his familiarity with the base and his adeptness at concealing his presence, he infiltrated the base and returned to his quarters.
He opened the hidden compartment beneath his bed and retrieved a piece of paper on which the mission details of the shadow clone and various plans were written in kanji.
This was a contingency he had prepared in advance to guard against such situations.
It seemed this preparation had not been in vain.
"The Third Watchtower... to delay time?" Qingming murmured. He focused chakra to ignite the paper in his palm, reducing it to ashes.
Without any pause, he then stealthily exited the base, found a secluded spot, and jumped into the sea.
After swimming for a while, he surfaced and walked on the waves, heading toward the Third Watchtower from another direction.
Approximately twenty minutes later.
Qingming arrived near the Third Watchtower.
Before he could get closer, he heard the sounds of combat.
A wave of chakra fluctuations indicated that the fighting was intense.
Concerned that his shadow clone might not hold out, he prepared to increase his speed.
However, the next moment, a surge of memories suddenly flooded into his mind.
Qingming quickly halted, scanning through these memories.
As expected, they were from the shadow clone.
Having only skimmed through the past three days of memories, he now focused on the events of tonight, especially the final moments before the clone's demise.
Moments later, he opened his eyes and muttered, "So it was her!"
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Tobirama Mei gazed at the sudden dispersal of Qingming's shadow clone into chakra smoke and felt a jolt of alarm, thinking, "So it was a shadow clone!"
Immediately, she scanned her surroundings, seemingly wary of the real Qingming springing from some hidden place.
However, she found it perplexing that Qingming's main body had yet to appear.
Indeed, it was Tobirama Mei who had eliminated the shadow clone.
The clone, having depleted much of its chakra after three days of existence, was unable to withstand the pressure from a powerful opponent like Tobirama Mei.
Though she was still somewhat inexperienced and lacked battle experience, her possession of two kekkei genkai and abundant chakra made her a formidable opponent.
As a result, the shadow clone's vulnerabilities, particularly its weaker capacity to absorb damage, were quickly exposed under her extensive long-range attacks.
While the shadow clone struggled to adapt, attempting to close the distance and limit Tobirama Mei's use of ninjutsu with swordsmanship, it ultimately failed.
Despite knowing the clone was known as the "Demon Sword," Tobirama Mei would not let it get close.
Consequently, the shadow clone was gradually worn down and ultimately met its end.
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