At the base, in the conference room:
Qingming sat at the table, his eyes half-closed, appearing to rest, yet his ears were keenly attuned, listening intently to the conversations around him. However, much to his disappointment, it seemed that no one knew more details.
Just as Qingming silently shook his head, a high-ranking Uchiha shinobi entered the room. This was none other than the base commander—Uchiha Kazuo.
Kazuo was as decisive as ever, wasting no time with idle chatter. He went straight to the head of the table and began briefing everyone on the situation.
Overall, the information he provided was similar to what the Konoha Chunin had conveyed, though it contained a few additional details.
It was precisely these details that convinced Qingming that this latest attack by Kirigakure was anything but a small skirmish.
If he could see this, then surely the border command would see it too. Thus, Nara Keiko dared not significantly draw forces from the central and southern lines, wary of falling into Kirigakure's trap of "luring the tiger from its den."
However, the northern front could not go unprotected.
As a result, the pressure now fell on their base, with the command ordering them to immediately deploy a portion of their forces to encircle Kirigakure's attack units from the rear.
When this order was announced, a special Jonin from the Nara clan spoke up, "Deploying forces from here? What if that's exactly what the enemy wants?"
The crowd was momentarily taken aback, then thoughtful expressions appeared on many faces.
Indeed, if the command was concerned about Kirigakure diverting forces from the central and southern fronts, the same logic would apply here; it was possible that their base was the enemy's actual objective.
In fact, in some respects, their base was even more critical.
The room fell silent for a moment before one of the Jonin spoke, "Nara Jonin is right; the enemy's ultimate target could very well be our base. Let's not forget what happened just half a month ago—this decision requires careful consideration."
Another Jonin chimed in, "Agreed, that's entirely possible."
"Indeed, we can't afford to be careless!"
As a few more people voiced their opinions, the conference room became increasingly noisy.
"Quiet!" Suddenly, a commanding voice rang out.
Uchiha Kazuo's gaze swept across the crowd, and everyone promptly fell silent under his piercing look.
Only then did Uchiha Kazuo speak, "The command has also taken these concerns into account. Therefore, they've only ordered us to send a hundred men for support, while the rest are to remain here and guard against a possible attack from Kirigakure."
"One hundred men?"
A Konoha Jonin hesitated, "Is that enough?"
"According to the intel from the command, there are four to five hundred Kirigakure shinobi assaulting the northern front. Can such a small force cut off their retreat?"
At this, Uchiha Kazuo gave a brief cough, then looked directly at Qingming. "The strength of our forces lies in their quality, not in sheer numbers. Qingming, the command specifically requested that you lead this team. Do you have any issues with that?"
Before Qingming could respond, another Jonin quickly interjected, "If Qingming Jonin leads the team, there shouldn't be any issues."
"Indeed, everyone's seen Qingming Jonin's strength; handling this task should be no problem," another person added in agreement.
Qingming's gaze swept over the two men, a flash of coldness glinting in his eyes. Although he didn't mind taking on such a task, that didn't mean he enjoyed being cornered.
These two had clearly worked together to put him on the spot, as if he'd be letting everyone down if he refused this assignment.
He wasn't sure if they were simply stirring the pot or if they were acting under someone else's orders, but it was clear they didn't have good intentions.
Scanning the rest of the room, he saw that most of the others seemed indifferent, adopting a "not my problem" attitude.
It was a sharp reminder for Qingming that this was a real world, with everyone having their own agendas; the world didn't revolve around a single person.
These thoughts flitted through his mind before he composed himself and addressed Uchiha Kazuo, "I'll lead the team, but I'll need a few people to assist."
"Name them," Uchiha Kazuo replied.
Without hesitation, Qingming pointed out four Jonin, including the two who had been trying to back him into a corner.
"Captain!" The two Jonin sprang to their feet, clearly about to object.
But before they could say more, Uchiha Kazuo raised his hand, cutting them off, and addressed Qingming instead. "Understood. The four of them will accompany you."
Uchiha Kazuo had noticed the faint antagonism the two Jonin had toward Qingming but paid it little mind. He believed that an Uchiha prodigy should face challenges; geniuses raised in a sheltered environment weren't truly great.
For this reason, he hadn't stopped them earlier when they voiced their opinions.
However, he also wouldn't allow them to get away with disrespecting an Uchiha without repercussions. If Qingming chose to retaliate, he wouldn't show the two any leniency either—after all, Qingming was a fellow Uchiha, and one couldn't just let others trample on the clan.
With matters settled, Qingming took the mission scroll, excused himself, and left.
The departure was set for half an hour later. Qingming planned to return to his quarters to gather any necessary equipment.
Though he had no concrete evidence, his instincts told him that this mission would be far from simple.
…
Soon, half an hour passed.
At the forward base's southern dock, Qingming and his team of one hundred shinobi boarded two ships, quickly heading for the northern border of the Land of Fire under the starlit sky.
Shortly after their departure, a shark surfaced from the water.
A figure emerged from the shark's mouth, dressed in a dark cloak with a mask that bore four marks resembling flowing water or mist—the symbol of Kirigakure.
Clearly, this was a Kirigakure ANBU member.
Looking in the direction Qingming's group had gone, he pulled out a scroll, hastily scrawled a coded message, then performed a hand sign to summon a slightly smaller shark.
After placing the scroll in the shark's mouth and patting its head, he sent it off.
After watching the shark disappear into the distance, the Kirigakure ANBU observed a bit longer before slipping back into the mouth of the first shark.
With a quick leap and a splash, the shark dove under the water, disappearing into the sea.
At this moment, Qingming was still unaware that his team's movements had been observed.
Even if he'd known, though, he wouldn't have been overly concerned.
To him, the chance of encountering trouble on this mission was at least ninety percent.
Not only were there potential issues with the two "teammates" whose motives were unclear, but Kirigakure itself was unlikely to let them reach their destination so easily.
After all, whether the assault on the northern front was a feint or a genuine attack, the four to five hundred shinobi there were real.
If Qingming's team reached their destination, they would trap Kirigakure's forces between two armies, putting the four to five hundred shinobi at risk of being entirely wiped out.
Even if Kirigakure succeeded in whatever scheme they had, they would still face heavy losses that might not be worth it.
Therefore, there was no way Kirigakure would allow Qingming's team to reach their goal without interference.
The enemy could potentially let them pass and then retreat themselves.
The command might even prefer such an outcome!
But in Qingming's view, this scenario seemed unlikely.
The true outcome, however, remained to be seen as events unfolded.
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