More than half an hour later, Qingming and his team returned to Eagle's Beak Cliff. Before they could approach the cliff, however, a group of Konoha shinobi appeared to stop them. Evidently, the shadow clone that returned ahead of them had already arranged for a defense team.
After verifying their identities, Qingming and his companions made it safely back to their base atop the cliff. Releasing the Shadow Clone Technique, Qingming absorbed the memories from his shadow clone, making himself instantly aware of all its actions and arrangements.
He quickly realized that there was nothing more for him to do. The shadow clone had already taken care of everything, including calling back the patrolling teams and contacting Kurozawa Shokuki. With everything in place, Qingming turned his attention to the unconscious Mist Chunin beside him.
Walking over, he slapped the Mist ninja awake. Before the Mist Chunin could gather his senses, Qingming had already activated Genjutsu: Sharingan, guiding him into recalling all intelligence related to this mission.
As the minutes ticked by, Qingming carefully examined the Mist ninja's memories, piecing together the Hidden Mist Village's plans and objectives.
First, it became clear that although Hidden Mist had sent a considerable force, this was still a probing attack. The primary focus of this test was their base at Eagle's Beak Cliff. If they managed to break through, this probing effort would instantly escalate into a full-scale invasion. In that case, the Hidden Mist reinforcements would promptly join the fight. If the assault didn't go as planned, however, they would swiftly withdraw to preserve their strength and regroup for the next assault.
But why had they attacked without a preliminary reconnaissance? There were two reasons. First, Eagle's Beak Cliff was a location that was relatively easy to attack and difficult to defend, which meant there was little need for extensive preparation. Secondly, the previous two breakthroughs had provided the Hidden Mist with sufficient intel on the area, rendering additional reconnaissance unnecessary. In fact, they had kept this base under no surveillance for days as a way to lower their guard.
Even with no Mist ninjas around to harass them, the defenders would still be on edge, making it more likely they'd slip up when the attack finally came.
"So, they're using a 'Boy Who Cried Wolf' strategy, huh?" Qingming sneered, placing a hand on the unconscious ninja's shoulder and casting Chakra Absorption Technique. In seconds, he drained all of the Mist Chunin's chakra, and soon after, his mental and physical energy. The rapid depletion of both soon claimed the ninja's life.
Qingming waved to a Konoha ninja nearby, who took the corpse away. He then resumed his seat, sharing the intelligence and his thoughts with his companions so they'd be fully prepared.
As he spoke, there came a knock at the door.
Knock, knock, knock!
"Enter."
The door opened, and a Konoha Chunin stepped in. Qingming recognized him as the ninja who had been sent by his shadow clone to contact Kurozawa Shokuki. This ninja also had a flying-type summoning creature, allowing him to quickly reach the Konoha command center.
"What's the situation?" Qingming asked.
"Captain, Captain Kurozawa just sent word. There have been sightings of Mist ninjas gathering at other locations as well, though not in large numbers. He is already assembling forces to intercept the Mist ninjas retreating from here and has asked us to hold them off as long as possible."
"I see." Qingming nodded. "You're dismissed."
"Yes, Captain!" The ninja replied and quickly exited.
Once the door was closed, Qingming turned to the group. "It seems the intel from the Mist ninja was accurate. This is indeed Hidden Mist's main force. Everyone, make your preparations and proceed as planned."
"Yes, Captain!"
The team saluted and swiftly exited the room to make their preparations. Qingming then closed his eyes, conserving his strength for the upcoming battle.
In truth, he was not particularly concerned about the fight ahead. As long as the enemy didn't go all-in, there was no way they would take this base. As a probing attack, he was fully confident in holding them off. And once the reinforcements arrived, these Mist ninjas would face a grim fate.
Another half-hour passed.
The sun was already sinking below the horizon, and the warm, golden light of dusk bathed the ground below.
After more than an hour, the teams that had been out on patrol had all returned to Eagle's Beak Cliff. Now, over two hundred Konoha ninjas were gathered there, a number far less than the approaching Mist ninja, but still formidable.
Standing atop the cliff, Qingming looked at the four Hidden Mist warships slowly advancing across the sea, his mind completely calm.
Soon, the Mist ships stopped, and a dense wave of figures disembarked, three to four hundred in number by a rough estimate. Without a moment's hesitation, Qingming leapt down from the cliff. As he neared the water's surface, a faint green glow enveloped him, allowing him to land steadily.
This glow was none other than Wind Release chakra. Although he hadn't yet started developing a flight jutsu, he'd given it some thought. This green glow was a side product of his Blink Sword Technique. With it, he could leap from great heights without suffering any harm, as he had just now when he jumped from the cliff.
His effortless landing left the Mist ninjas astonished.
Without waiting for them to react, Qingming pushed off the water, launching himself toward them like a missile, exuding an unstoppable force.
This display left the Hidden Mist ninjas more doubtful than ever, though their hesitation was quickly dispelled as orders from their leaders spurred them into action.
As the two sides drew closer, Qingming suddenly sheathed his blade, forming hand seals with both hands before taking a deep breath and unleashing Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!
From his mouth burst a powerful gust, forming a whirlwind that stirred up waves of seawater as it surged toward the Mist ninja ranks. Clearly, Qingming had no intention of single-handedly taking on an army—his earlier actions had been a mere distraction to get close enough to release this wind cyclone.
It was a pity that he hadn't had the chance to copy Kisame Hoshigaki's Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave technique back then. If he had, he could've swamped his opponents in a wave. Nevertheless, the wind cyclone was still highly effective.
Recalling the havoc of a typhoon at sea, Qingming had imbued Wind Release: Great Breakthrough with over three thousand chakra points, creating an effect powerful enough to disrupt the Hidden Mist ranks, if only briefly.
For the Mist ninjas, however, it was a serious problem.
Even though shinobi's reflexes allowed them to flee or use jutsu to protect themselves, the disruption was enough to scatter their formation.
And this was exactly what Qingming wanted.
The moment he acted, around a hundred Konoha ninjas descended from the cliff and charged toward the Mist forces.
Qingming's strategy was simple. Since the Mist outnumbered them and Eagle's Beak Cliff was challenging to defend, it would be more effective to strike at the Mist forces while they were still unprepared and knock their morale down first.
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