"How are things looking?"
Inside a private room on the second floor of the inn, Kurokawa asked Qingshui.
"I've received information from our intelligence personnel. The main battlefront has already begun, but Konoha's Tsunade hasn't appeared. Our destination is the city's western tavern. The tavern's warehouse is actually Konoha's true logistical base."
Qingshui poured himself a cup of tea and began to speak.
"Excellent. The last location is clear. We reconnoitered the western part of the city this morning. We'll make our move tonight, starting with this one."
Kurokawa planned.
"It's hard to say. I saw someone in the casino and noticed signs of them using Transformation Jutsu. After several probes, I suspect she might be Tsunade."
In truth, Qingshui hadn't probed at all.
But someone who could lose sixty-something games in a row? In the Ninja World, that would probably only be Tsunade and the First Hokage.
Kurokawa's brows furrowed instantly.
"Are you sure it's Tsunade?"
"There's a certain probability. I think it's worth being wary."
Qingshui said to Kurokawa.
Although, according to the original storyline, Tsunade developed hemophobia after Kato Dan's death, that was in the original timeline. Qingshui didn't know if his arrival would cause a butterfly effect. Logically, he shouldn't have the ability to alter the flow of time, but what if?
If Tsunade didn't have hemophobia, then it was possible their entire squad could be wiped out by her.
However, since Tsunade hadn't appeared on the front lines but had come to such a rear area, it was highly probable she still suffered from hemophobia and couldn't engage directly. There might be an opportunity to probe, but Qingshui didn't want to risk his life doing so. A Kage-level expert was still a Kage-level expert; even with hemophobia, their offensive power was still formidable.
"Is Tsunade back in the second line to oversee logistics? Or did a spy betray us? No, this mission is absolutely confidential. Besides the five of us, only Lady Chiyo and Lord Ebizo know. Could it be that Orochimaru anticipated our moves?"
Kurokawa's brows tightened, and he fell into deep suspicion. Orochimaru had repeatedly anticipated their actions on the battlefield before, setting traps for the Sand Village's people.
"We should change our battle plan."
Ishido said, looking at the marked locations on the map.
"Captain Ishido is right. I suggest making the Horocastle stronghold the last one we attack. We'll depart immediately, arrive at Red Mountain City before dark, destroy their stronghold directly, and then immediately relocate, continuing to attack the other two locations overnight. Konoha, after being attacked, will surely send people to investigate and strengthen the protection of the Horocastle warehouse. That's when we'll make our final attempt."
Qingshui said after some thought.
"You also said that our previous actions are bound to alert them. Konoha will definitely strengthen its defenses. By then, it might not be so easy to take them down."
Kurokawa shook his head.
Qingshui smiled slightly.
"Alerting the enemy can, in many situations, also become a feint. And a feint can also be a deceptive move, feigning an attack to the west but actually striking south."
"Tell me your plan."
Kurokawa said seriously.
"It's simple. I heard there are rogue ninja and missing-nin who escaped from places like the Land of Rain. Those people are our best proxies, but it'll cost some money."
"After that, we can…"
Kurokawa and Ishido exchanged glances after hearing Qingshui's plan.
"It has a certain feasibility. I suggest we carry out the mission according to Qingshui's plan."
Ishido nodded to Kurokawa.
"Alright then, pack up our equipment. We'll leave Horocastle immediately and divert to Red Mountain City!"
…
…
Night fell, and thick, dark clouds obscured the moonlight.
Qingshui and the others had arrived at Red Mountain City well before sunset and had rested briefly, recovering their Chakra. In the sky, a creature with a wingspan of nearly three meters spread its wings, soaring.
Qingshui, wearing a Sand Eagle made from the fur of a chameleon Summoning Beast, flew through the air.
His ability to manipulate air currents and the Sand Eagle were a perfect match! Aside from taking a little time to ascend during takeoff, when gliding in the air, he could directly use his air manipulation ability to provide lift and propulsion for the glider, and precisely control its direction.
"I never would've thought Qingshui could make a Puppet that could carry people and fly, and it seems to have excellent altitude and range too."
Kurokawa stood in the yard of an abandoned house, watching the figures pass overhead.
"At the start of this Ninja World War, Sky Ninja Village allied with Heat Haze Ninja Village, intending to provoke the Five Great Nations and form a Sixth Great Nation. They were jointly attacked by the five villages. After that, the five great villages used the Heat Haze Ninja Village's legacy to revolutionize the Explosive Tag manufacturing process. But when we defeated Sky Ninja Village, some of their people escaped with their core technology. The information we could obtain was extremely limited. I never expected that after so many years, someone would recreate this technology."
Ishido stood beside Kurokawa, arms crossed, a look of emotion on his face.
He was over forty years old and had participated in the wars that destroyed Heat Haze Ninja Village and Sky Ninja Village.
He was also a Puppet Master and knew how precious such technology was.
In the sky, Qingshui moved a finger, extending a mechanical arm from the Sand Eagle on his back using Chakra Threads.
At the end of the mechanical arm was a telescope made of high-purity crystal.
Combined with Qingshui's ability to extract residual information from the wind, it was enough to make him an excellent aerial scout.
"Base personnel... twenty-three people, Chakra levels unknown, strength evaluation unknown. Nine of them are wearing Konoha's green vests, indicating Chunin level or higher... route planning..."
Qingshui surveyed the small town below. After flying for more than ten minutes and gathering enough information, he landed in the uninhabited area outside the city and stealthily made his way back.
Landing inside the city would have been too flamboyant, too conspicuous.
"How are things?"
Ishido asked Qingshui.
Qingshui recounted his reconnaissance results one by one, including the appearance of each person.
"Only one person needs attention—the bald man with the short beard. His external features match Mito Kadoma Yuma of the Mito Kadoma clan. He's a Special Jonin, said to be quite skilled."
Pakura pulled out a small booklet and pointed to a sub-frame in the upper right corner of one page.
This was a ninja alert list. Every ninja village created such a booklet for other villages, recording the appearance and names of over a thousand ninjas.
Even the strongest large village, Konoha, only had a little over two hundred Jonin. The entire Ninja World only had a few hundred Jonin in total. For this Mito Kadoma Yuma to be on this list, he must be a relatively powerful Special Jonin.
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