Meanwhile, in the sky above.
Qing Ming also noticed the reinforcements arriving to support the Mist ninja.
Focusing his gaze, he quickly confirmed that these were the very same Mist ninjas he had previously battled alongside the Konoha forces.
Now, only fewer than seventy of them remained as they raced toward his location.
Looking further into the distance, Qing Ming spotted five Konoha jonin and approximately a hundred surviving Konoha chunin and genin relentlessly pursuing the Mist ninjas.
Without much thought, Qing Ming surmised that these groups must have detected the commotion here and had hurried over to join the fray.
However, now was not the time for a full-scale confrontation.
Although the battle between him and the Mist ninja below had appeared intense, most of the action involved the Mist's attacks, with him primarily evading and counterattacking only occasionally.
As a result, Mist's casualties were minimal.
If the two Mist squads merged forces, their combat power would increase significantly.
Conversely, Konoha's side, still awaiting Sano Nobuhisa's promised reinforcements, was left with fewer than a hundred ninjas. They wouldn't stand a chance against the enemy unless...
Qing Ming went all out.
But after his earlier efforts to halt Ao's approach and probe their abilities, he had already taken considerable risks and sustained injuries.
While these injuries weren't life-threatening, Qing Ming was unwilling to continue fighting while hurt.
After careful consideration, Qing Ming used the Communication Technique to order the Konoha forces en route to retreat for now.
Although the Konoha jonin were puzzled by the command, they obeyed Qing Ming without question, leading their troops to withdraw immediately.
Qing Ming designated a location about 1.5 kilometers south of the Black Stone Outpost as the next staging ground for the decisive battle.
At the same time.
The Mist ninjas below were still unaware of Konoha's movements. Ao and the others continued deliberating their next steps.
The main reason they failed to notice Konoha's retreat was that too little time had passed—and Qing Ming's presence overhead commanded their attention.
In essence, Qing Ming was bluffing.
But such tactics could only fool the enemy for so long.
As Ao activated his Byakugan for routine reconnaissance, he quickly realized something was off—despite their reinforcements having arrived, there was still no sign of the Konoha forces.
In fact, there was no trace of them within a kilometer radius.
This observation stirred doubt in Ao's heart.
He immediately instructed his team to remain vigilant against Qing Ming above while dispatching scouts to search toward the Black Stone Outpost.
In the sky above.
Watching the Mist scouts break away from the main group, Qing Ming knew his ruse had been uncovered.
Without wasting time, he beat his wings and launched one final attack on the Mist formation below.
This time, he kept his distance and unleashed the Wind Style: Great Breakthrough.
Familiar gusts of violent windstorm descended upon the Mist ninjas, causing them to react in alarm, scrambling to mount defenses against the incoming gales.
Chaos ensued as the entire Mist formation erupted into disarray.
The fierce winds made it nearly impossible to open their eyes, let alone mount an effective defense.
Only a group of Mist jonin managed to organize a dozen or so capable chunin to create a defensive formation that barely held against the storm.
Seeing this, Qing Ming changed his hand seals, descending slightly while deploying a technique they all knew too well:
"Water Style: Hidden Mist Jutsu!"
Instantly, thick mist began rising from all around, enveloping the area within hundreds of meters.
Leveraging the chakra-infused mist, Qing Ming pinpointed the concentrated Mist formation below.
Without hesitation, he bombarded them with consecutive Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu.
The fiery projectiles rained down like falling stars, exploding amidst the Mist ninjas and leaving casualties and chaos in their wake.
Alarmed by Qing Ming's reckless assault, the Mist jonin and chunin retaliated immediately.
The most effective way to dissipate mist was using Wind Style.
Unfortunately, their Wind Style wasn't powerful enough to counter the thick mist Qing Ming had infused with his chakra.
After some experimentation, they resorted to Water Style: Hidden Mist Jutsu to intensify the fog, diluting Qing Ming's chakra and making it harder for him to sense their movements.
The Mist ninjas, accustomed to such conditions, adapted quickly, relying on sharpened instincts honed in foggy combat—even without formal training in silent killing techniques.
Moreover, though Ao's Byakugan was slightly hindered by the chakra-dense fog, it still outperformed Qing Ming's Sharingan in clarity.
Under Ao's direction, the damage caused by Qing Ming's attacks began to diminish, while the danger he faced increased significantly.
Sure enough, a moment of carelessness saw Qing Ming struck by two poisoned kunai.
Were it not for his quick reactions, he might have also been entangled in steel wires launched by several Mist chunin.
Faced with escalating risks, Qing Ming finally decided to abandon his assault. He distanced himself from the Mist forces and flew toward the Konoha retreat path.
Moments later.
As Qing Ming neared the designated meeting point, he spotted a lone Mist chunin hiding below.
Narrowing his eyes, Qing Ming recognized the scout as one of the ninjas Ao had recently dispatched to track Konoha's movements.
"Well, this is a nice surprise," Qing Ming murmured, diving toward the ninja.
At first, the Mist chunin didn't notice anything unusual. But as Qing Ming closed in, the scout finally sensed the danger and looked up.
The sight of Qing Ming startled him, prompting an immediate reaction as he raised his kunai.
Unfortunately for him, the instant their eyes met, Qing Ming cast the Sharingan Genjutsu.
In a flash, the Mist chunin froze, his pupils losing focus as his mind was trapped in an illusion.
For Qing Ming, this outcome was expected.
With his current abilities, ambushing a chunin—especially one caught off guard—was almost guaranteed to succeed.
Whoosh!
Qing Ming descended before the frozen ninja.
Forming seals, he used Chakra Absorption Jutsu, grabbing the scout by the neck and draining his chakra.
Seconds later.
Qing Ming released his grip, letting the lifeless body fall to the ground. He took a moment to sense the additional chakra he had absorbed, nodding in satisfaction.
Without lingering, he confirmed his bearings and used the Body Flicker Technique to head toward the Konoha ninja.
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