At this very moment, inside the main camp of Iwagakure's forces, several Iwagakure jōnin were kneeling on the ground, quietly listening to instructions.
Standing at the head were two Iwagakure shinobi.
One had wild, spiky hair and wore the standard uniform of the Iwagakure demolition troops.
The other had an orange ponytail and carried an air of eccentric artistry about him.
Don't underestimate these two.
The first was none other than Gari, the shinobi famed for his Explosion Release.
The second was Deidara, the clay-explosive ninja who had not yet defected from Iwagakure and would later join Akatsuki.
At this moment, the two were standing around a table, discussing tactics.
"Nagato and the Akatsuki members will definitely head to Konoha for help," Gari said calmly, analyzing the situation.
"We've already dispatched a large number of Rain Village jōnin to set up an ambush there."
"But given Nagato's strength, he should be able to break through their combined assault. And with that mysterious Uchiha—Uchiha Feng—helping them…"
"They should be close to the border between the Land of Rain and the Land of Fire by now."
As a high-ranking shinobi, Gari spoke with the composure of someone who always planned several steps ahead before acting.
"Yes," Deidara nodded, equally calm.
"The only real variable is this Uchiha Feng."
"According to the intelligence shared by Kumogakure, he not only possesses the Flying Thunder God—a space-time ninjutsu—but also an extremely high-burst Rasengan."
"And precisely because of that, the Iwagakure high command dispatched the two of us—Explosion Release users—to personally lead the demolition squad."
Don't underestimate Deidara either.
In the original story, when he fought the Fourth Kazekage Gaara, Deidara relied heavily on cunning and strategy.
Otherwise, breaking through Gaara's absolute defense would have been nearly impossible.
In terms of combat talent, Deidara's genius was something ordinary people simply couldn't match.
"Our priority is to eliminate Uchiha Feng," Gari said coldly, his eyes flashing with killing intent.
He turned toward the kneeling jōnin. "Have everything I told you to prepare been readied?"
The Iwagakure jōnin nodded heavily in unison, their eyes filled with icy resolve.
If any Konoha high-ranking official familiar with Iwagakure were present, they would be shocked to discover that—
These jōnin were all members of the Iwagakure Demolition Corps.
Yes. The Demolition Corps.
One of Iwagakure's trump-card units, whose status rivaled even the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
They were simply more low-key—or rather, anyone who ever encountered them usually got blown to pieces before they could spread the legend.
"All we need to do now is wait for them to walk into the net," Gari chuckled, full of confidence.
"Art is an explosion," Deidara grinned excitedly.
"I'll make sure Uchiha Feng dies beautifully… artistically! Hmm!"
Who knew how thrilled they were to receive this mission.
"Oh? The problem is—I'm already in your net,"
a voice suddenly rang out without warning, echoing through the camp.
"And yet none of you noticed."
Only then did one of the Iwagakure sensory ninja finally detect Ning Feng's presence.
"This is bad! A powerful enemy has infiltrated—his chakra is terrifying…!"
Before he could finish speaking, the Iwagakure jōnin all retreated in unison.
Even Gari and Deidara stepped back two paces instinctively.
Being able to bypass a sensory ninja and appear without a trace—this alone was enough to make them extremely cautious.
In truth, it wasn't that Ning Feng possessed some special chakra-concealment technique.
Rather, he had remained far away and used Wood Release: Wood Clone, listening in on every word.
And what delighted Ning Feng even more was this—
With the combination of Wood Release and Flying Thunder God, as long as the trees were created by his Wood Release, he could treat them as Flying Thunder God markers.
In other words, once he eventually used a technique like Deep Forest Emergence, the entire forest would become his space-time domain.
He could teleport anywhere within it at will.
Utterly broken.
"Attack! What are you standing around for?!"
Gari and Deidara exchanged a glance and immediately issued the order.
In battles like this, even jōnin were often used to probe the enemy.
Since this was their first encounter with Ning Feng, Gari and Deidara were extremely cautious—sending subordinates to test him was the safest choice.
The Iwagakure jōnin looked at one another, then rapidly formed hand seals.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
"Earth Release: Heavenly Drop Lid!"
The ground shook violently.
Towering earthen walls erupted around Ning Feng without warning, while a massive stone lid descended from above, slamming down toward him.
Ning Feng didn't rush to act.
His Mangekyō Sharingan swept sharply across the battlefield.
There were over a dozen Iwagakure jōnin present.
At first glance, it seemed like more than ten had cast the jutsu—but in reality, only five had actually done so.
The remaining jōnin were feigning action, using false movements to make him lower his guard—
Waiting for the perfect moment to strike him from the shadows.
"No wonder they're one of Iwagakure's ace units,"
Ning Feng couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Compared to them, the jōnin of the Rain and Cloud villages were far less refined—often charging in blindly, perhaps out of overconfidence.
Just then, Ning Feng noticed something else.
Gari, who hadn't moved until now, suddenly placed his hand lightly on the ground.
In an instant, the Earth-Style Wall and Heavenly Drop Lid around Ning Feng became saturated with the aura of explosive tags.
Clearly, getting even a little too close would result in being blown into fragments.
But Ning Feng was the kind of person who, once he made a move, never gave the enemy a second chance.
Flash!
A kunai suddenly appeared beside Gari's ear—
And in the next instant, Ning Feng was already standing atop it.
🌟 The story is already written… waiting to be unleashed.
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