"So, it was a failure after all," Qingming murmured as he watched the shark disappear without a trace.
Whoosh~
A figure appeared beside him. "Qingming, are you alright?" the person asked.
Upon hearing this, Qingming withdrew his gaze and turned to look at the newcomer, shaking his head as he replied, "I'm fine. Tiehuo, what about you?"
Indeed, the person was none other than Uchiha Tiehuo.
At this moment, Tiehuo was completely drenched in blood, looking extremely ferocious. However, Qingming could sense that his life force remained stable, indicating that he hadn't sustained any serious injuries. In other words, most of this blood must have been from enemies.
Just as he thought this, Uchiha Tiehuo patted his chest and said, "Those weaklings? How could they possibly hurt me?"
"Mm."
Qingming nodded in agreement, not too surprised. He had sparred with Tiehuo several times and was well aware of his strength—ordinary jonin were no match for Uchiha Tiehuo. Though the team sent by Kirigakure was strong, Tiehuo had managed to tie down their strongest two, so it was only natural that he remained unharmed.
Looking past Uchiha Tiehuo, Qingming glanced at the rest of the group. Out of the original hundred-person team, less than sixty percent had survived. This was a clear indication of the formidable strength of the enemy.
"Huh?"
Suddenly, Qingming noticed that the two special jonin he had insisted on bringing along—who had always shown subtle hostility toward him—were now missing.
After a brief inquiry, he learned that the two had died on the battlefield.
"Well..." Qingming shook his head, feeling speechless. He had originally planned to deal with them secretly, but now they were gone. It seemed the matter had taken care of itself.
With that, Qingming stopped thinking about the two and instead began to consider their next steps.
Based on Kirigakure's reaction, it was likely that their objective had already been achieved. As for whether the northern defense line had been breached or if Kirigakure's raiding force had successfully retreated, that remained uncertain.
At present, their ships had been destroyed, meaning they could no longer reach the battlefield in time. Furthermore, after such a fierce battle, the troops needed rest, making it even less likely that they could make it in time.
After some thought, Qingming decided not to rush. He gave the order: "Everyone, take a ten-minute break. After ten minutes, we will depart again and continue heading for the northern defense line."
Yes, he planned to carry on with the original mission. No matter the situation, unless given a clear directive, continuing with the original plan was the safest choice.
As for the possibility of being labeled as lacking leadership skills for making the wrong decision, Qingming didn't care. After all, he didn't like leading teams. If this meant he would be excused from such tasks in the future, that would be even better.
Unfortunately, that possibility was slim.
In the ninja world, it was ultimately strength that mattered. His leadership skills might be criticized, but his combat ability was beyond question. As long as things weren't too extreme, such tasks would likely still fall to him. At least in unexpected situations, his raw power would allow him to protect more people.
Just like this time—if another jonin had been in his place, not only would they have failed to repel figures like Hoshigaki Kisame, but it would have been a miracle if they hadn't been wiped out entirely.
These thoughts flashed through his mind, and before long, the ten minutes were up.
After tending to their wounds, the team followed Qingming as they set off toward their destination.
The route they took was different from the direction Snow Wind and the others had fled, which further confirmed Qingming's suspicion that Kirigakure's mission had already been accomplished. If they had retreated, they should have headed toward the northern battlefield to assist the raiding force, not vanished without a trace.
"I wonder what Kirigakure's true goal was in this large-scale operation?" Qingming pondered as he walked, the others following closely behind him.
The recent battle had claimed many lives, but it had also weeded out the weaker members. As a result, their pace was slightly faster than expected.
Around two hours later, Qingming and his group arrived at the coastline, where they saw Konoha's defense forces.
As he had anticipated, the battle here had already ceased.
Only the cleanup crew remained. Their arrival startled these troops, who feared that Kirigakure might be launching a counterattack. It wasn't until Qingming and his group revealed their identities that the tension eased somewhat.
Soon after, Qingming met the commander of the northern defense line, Kurozawa Seiju, and received some devastating news.
Qingming stared at the jonin sitting behind the desk, abruptly standing up as he asked, "What did you say? The forward base has been breached?"
Indeed, Kurozawa Seiju informed him that, not long ago, Kirigakure had attacked and taken down the forward base Konoha had established in the Land of Waves.
Seeing Qingming's disbelief, Kurozawa Seiju nodded firmly and said, "The Anbu has confirmed it. The forward base has been breached, and nearly all the ninja stationed there were wiped out."
"Ha... Hoo..."
Qingming took a deep breath and then asked again, "When did this happen?"
"Two hours ago," Kurozawa Seiju replied.
"Two hours ago..."
Qingming murmured to himself, and he immediately recalled the retreat of Kisame and the others. The timing matched up.
At that moment, he had suspected that Kirigakure's goal had already been achieved.
Now, it seemed he was right—their objective had indeed been accomplished, but it wasn't what he had originally thought: they hadn't breached the northern defense line or abandoned the attack. Instead, the forward base he had been guarding was the true target.
Seeing Qingming remain silent, Kurozawa Seiju continued, "Based on the current intelligence, we can confirm that Kirigakure's primary goal was to attack the forward base. Everything else, from the ambushes on our side to the interception you faced, was merely a diversion. Their goal from the beginning was always that base."
Qingming nodded in agreement. This conclusion wasn't hard to reach. After all, there were still over two hundred people at the forward base when he left, and with the terrain advantage, Kirigakure couldn't have just decided to attack it on a whim.
"I wonder if things would have been different if I had stayed behind..."
This thought suddenly crossed Qingming's mind but was quickly suppressed. He had no desire to experience such a dangerous situation.
Seeing how quickly Kirigakure had acted this time—faster than the last—it was clear they had been well-prepared. In that situation, unless he used his Mangekyō Sharingan abilities, he would likely only be able to cause a little trouble for them. Defending the base would have been nearly impossible.
After all, even the Third Raikage had been worn down and killed, let alone him now.
Shaking his head, Qingming stopped dwelling on it and turned to ask Kurozawa Seiju, "So what do we do next?"
Now that the forward base had been lost and the Kirigakure forces attacking the northern defense line had retreated, for the time being, they truly had nowhere else to go.
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