Half an hour later.
Qingming opened his eyes.
Around him, nearly twenty people were either crouched or standing. Some had their eyes tightly shut, gathering strength for the upcoming battle, while others were chewing soldier pills to replenish their depleted chakra. A few were cleaning their ninja tools, hoping to increase their odds in the fight to come.
In short, everyone was silent.
It wasn't until he opened his eyes and stood up that all eyes turned towards him.
Qingming scanned the faces of those around him, finally landing on three unconscious individuals. These three were wrapped in bandages, and despite having recently received treatment from Qingming's level 8 "Healing Technique," they still looked half-dead.
There was no doubt that they were severely injured.
They were fortunate to have been spared by the hurried retreat of Terumi Mei and her companions; otherwise, they might have died at the hands of a stray Mist ninja.
In their current state, they couldn't participate in the upcoming battle. Qingming also had no intention of leaving anyone behind to protect them.
So, from here on out, it was a matter of luck for them.
If they encountered a Mist ninja support team after they left, or faced some other danger, they would simply have to wait for their demise.
As for taking them along? Please, they were going into battle, not for a picnic. Bringing them would only increase the danger.
"Hope they fare well," he murmured to himself before turning his attention to the others, his expression turning serious. "Are you all ready?"
"We're ready!" everyone replied in unison.
"Very good!" Qingming nodded and ordered, "Let's move out!"
"Yes, Captain!" the group echoed.
Without saying anything further, Qingming shot out of the watchtower in a flash, landing on the water's surface and racing towards the forward base.
Behind him, the Leaf ninjas followed suit, jumping out of the watchtower and skimming across the water to stay close on his heels.
Before long, the watchtower was left with just three severely injured unconscious Leaf ninjas, while the ocean was now filled with the rushing figures of a dozen ninjas.
On the other side.
In the Land of Waves.
At the forward base, Leaf ninjas and Mist ninjas clashed in a chaotic scene, with more than four hundred ninjas combined wreaking havoc.
It was not just the forward base that was affected; the surrounding area of two or three kilometers had essentially become a battlefield, filled with sounds of fighting and screams.
Initially, the Leaf ninjas held some advantage due to the terrain and their prior preparations.
However, as time passed, this advantage gradually waned and turned into a stalemate.
Now, they were essentially on the defensive.
The reason for this was simple: the Mist Village, after a long period of silence, had launched an all-out attack, deploying only their elite forces.
Thus, despite being at a numerical disadvantage and fighting on enemy territory, they managed to turn the tide.
Fortunately, the third watchtower had detected the enemy's movements in advance, allowing the forward base to prepare.
Had the enemy approached unnoticed and caught them off guard, the situation would likely have been much worse.
In the worst-case scenario, it could have led to a complete collapse.
However, even with these advantages, the forward base couldn't hold out for much longer; they were simply yet to reach a critical point.
Once that threshold was breached, the casualties on the Leaf side would escalate sharply.
At that point, it would be too late.
In the depths of the base.
The Uchiha Jonin in charge looked at the battle reports coming in from the front lines, his brow furrowed.
After a moment, he turned to a Chunin responsible for relaying messages. "What's the status of the assault team from the third watchtower?"
"Report, Captain. The Jonin Kanda from the third watchtower just transmitted that they have already set out," the Chunin responded.
At this point, he hesitated, then added, "However…"
"Hmm?"
Noticing the Chunin's hesitation, the Uchiha Jonin raised an eyebrow and prompted, "Just say what you need to say."
"Yes, Captain!" The Chunin perked up and continued, "Captain, the third watchtower has recently come under attack. They currently have fewer than twenty remaining troops, all of whom are injured. Given the circumstances, even if they arrive in time to provide support, it may not have much impact."
He had been quite tactful with his wording.
In truth, he felt that their involvement would be nearly useless.
However, upon hearing this, the Uchiha Jonin chuckled. "If it were anyone else, it wouldn't matter much, but Qingming is different."
"Ghost Sword Qingming?" the Chunin hesitated.
"Exactly him!" the Uchiha Jonin confirmed.
While others might doubt Qingming's strength, thinking that the achievements promoted by the Uchiha clan might have been exaggerated, the Uchiha Jonin knew the truth was even more astounding.
For example, during the ambush led by the three-man ninja blade group, Qingming had hardly sustained any serious injuries throughout the battle.
In fact, he had even had enough strength left to heal others afterward.
All of this demonstrated that Qingming had yet to unleash his full potential.
Based on his past performance, if he truly went all out, his strength could increase even further.
Thus, despite the third watchtower having fewer than twenty people remaining, the Uchiha Jonin still held high hopes for them.
Or rather, he had high expectations for Qingming.
As for the others…
Truth be told, the Uchiha Jonin didn't care much.
Right now, he just hoped Qingming would arrive quickly.
At this moment, the battlefield lacked a figure capable of stabilizing the situation.
Once Qingming arrived, he would immediately become the focal point, boosting morale and disrupting the enemy's offensive rhythm.
The Uchiha Jonin firmly believed that the genius of the Uchiha clan could achieve this.
At that time, Qingming had no idea that he was being held in such high regard.
He was currently on his way.
Meanwhile, Terumi Mei and her group had already arrived.
After reporting the situation to the leading Mist ninja, they received new orders to lead a part of their forces to continue intercepting the incoming Qingming.
However, Qingming had long anticipated that the enemy would retreat to the main battlefield, and he knew that his intelligence would inevitably be leaked.
Thus, how could he not prepare for this contingency?
As he approached the forward base, five kilometers out, he led his team on a detour towards a different direction—the route he had stealthily taken to reach the rock watchtower earlier.
This allowed him to avoid any potential ambush from Terumi Mei's group.
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