In the middle of the night, with the bright moon hanging high in the sky, four Konoha ninjas were chatting idly on the seaward side of Eagle's Beak Cliff.
Suddenly, one of them appeared to have noticed something and pointed at the distant sea, exclaiming, "Captain, look, what is that?"
The captain of the small team immediately turned to where the other was pointing.
Out in the vast ocean, several small dots were rapidly approaching.
He squinted his eyes, carefully examining the situation.
In the next moment, his expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly shouted, "Quick, send a signal—it's an enemy attack!"
However, no one responded.
A faint scent of blood drifted into his nostrils.
Sensing something was off, he instinctively looked behind him.
To his shock, two figures in black robes and masks had appeared behind him without his noticing.
At the same time, his three teammates had their throats slit.
"Anbu of the Mist?"
Looking at the two masked figures, with curved lines resembling flowing water or mist on their masks, Ikeda Goshi muttered in surprise.
As he spoke, he tried to retreat.
But it was already too late.
Shing~
The sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh rang out.
One of the Mist Anbu swiftly shoved a kunai into Ikeda Goshi's chest.
Poof~
Blood sprayed from Ikeda Goshi's mouth.
He gritted his teeth, trying to warn his comrades, but before he could utter a word, another kunai flew in and sliced through his throat, silencing him forever.
With that, the entire team of four Konoha ninjas was wiped out. They never had a chance to send out a signal.
Once the job was done, the two Mist Anbu exchanged glances and nodded to each other.
Without giving a second glance to the four corpses on the ground, they headed toward the deeper part of Eagle's Beak Cliff, toward the direction of the base.
After walking a short distance, two more figures suddenly emerged from behind a large rock.
These two were also clad in black robes and masks—two more Mist Anbu.
Seeing the newcomers and smelling the faint bloodstain on their bodies, the Anbu who had killed Ikeda Goshi's team spoke with a raspy voice, "How's it going?"
His voice, muffled through the mask, was even more guttural.
The new arrivals responded, "Everything went smoothly. The lookout has been taken care of."
Konoha had stationed more than just the four visible sentinels.
In fact, besides Ikeda Goshi's team, there was another hidden squad tasked with monitoring the surrounding area.
With this setup—one visible and one hidden—it would normally be enough to issue a warning if anyone attempted a stealth attack.
However, this time, the Mist Village sent only its elite Anbu. Their strength far surpassed that of the two Konoha squads, and the Konoha ninjas never had the chance to react.
Moreover, with the Mist Village having remained quiet for some time, the Konoha ninjas let their guard down.
Combined, these two factors led to the current situation.
After confirming that both the visible and hidden sentries had been eliminated, the Mist Anbu team did not press on but instead concealed themselves and quietly awaited the arrival of the main force.
Their task was to ensure Konoha did not discover the main force's presence too soon. Now that the task was complete, they had no intention of taking any unnecessary risks.
Their approach was, indeed, the right one.
While they had easily dispatched Ikeda Goshi and his team, that did not mean they could move forward unimpeded.
The closer they got to the base, the tighter the Konoha defenses became. Any further advance would likely expose their location.
At that point, Konoha would surely notice them. Fortunately, these Anbu were seasoned operatives, and they knew better than to take any chances.
With their actions now complete, the Mist Anbu team waited in silence, knowing that their mission had successfully delayed any Konoha response.
For the time being, they were completely undetected.
And that was exactly what allowed the Mist to strike the unsuspecting Konoha force.
Back in the base, Qingming was in a deep sleep.
At a certain moment, a sharp whistle suddenly pierced the night air.
Qingming's eyes snapped open, and his three-tomoe Sharingan activated instantly.
He grabbed a nearby scabbard and sprang up from his bed.
Boom~
A violent explosion rang in his ears.
Qingming immediately recognized the sound—it was the explosion of a detonating tag.
The next sound to reach his ears was a cacophony of shouts and the clash of battle.
"Mist Village?" Qingming murmured to himself.
In the blink of an eye, he was outside his room.
He spread out his sensory perception and immediately detected the presence of numerous unfamiliar chakra signatures.
After a few quick jumps, he reached the highest point of the base and looked out over the area.
There, he saw a dense cluster of Mist ninjas. The number was overwhelming—easily more than five or six hundred.
Looking at the retreating Konoha patrols, Qingming wasted no time. His hands moved rapidly through a series of hand seals, and he activated his ninjutsu—Wind Release: Wind Wings!
In the next instant, his feet lifted off the ground, and he soared toward the battlefield.
Flying over the fighting forces below, Qingming went straight to the rear of the Mist forces.
He saw the Mist ninjas still gathering, and without hesitation, he formed more hand seals and unleashed Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu!
A fireball the size of a fist shot from his mouth, rapidly expanding until it reached a diameter of four or five meters, crashing into the Mist forces.
Sensing the intense heat overhead, a Mist genin looked up and muttered, "What is that?"
Boom~
The massive fireball exploded on the ground, turning the area into a sea of flames and engulfing several Mist ninjas.
The agonized cries of those burned alive echoed through the air as they writhed in the flames, their bodies twisting like demons in pain.
This hellish scene immediately stunned the surrounding Mist ninjas.
However, Qingming did not wait to see their reaction.
His only goal was to delay the Mist Village's advance as much as possible.
By doing so, he hoped to buy enough time for the Konoha ninjas inside the base to organize a defense.
If he failed, the entire base would be at risk of falling.
Qingming quickly changed direction, looking down at the area where the enemy was concentrated. Again, he formed hand seals and cast Fire Release: Dragon Fire Jutsu!
A torrent of flames burst from his mouth, forming a fire dragon that rushed into the crowd below.
The screams of pain rang out once again.
Qingming did not linger to assess the damage. His chakra wings flared behind him as he flew off to another location.
Fire Release: Dragon Fire Jutsu!
Once again, a fire dragon hurtled into the Mist forces.
Without stopping, Qingming moved from place to place, continuously unleashing his ninjutsu and causing chaos in the Mist's rear ranks.
He never stayed in one location for too long, making it difficult for the Mist to retaliate.
At the same time, he kept disrupting the Mist's advance, stalling their progress and preventing them from getting any closer to the base.
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