Yushi looked at Haruki with emotion.
A child not even half his age, yet so determined to say he would protect them.
[Ding!]
[System detected Yushi's Affection Value +2000.]
[Ding!]
[System detected Suzaku's Affection Value +2000.]
[Ding!]
...
[A total of 40,000 Affection Value has been collected, and your companion Cursed Spirit, Rika's rank has increased to 81.3%.]
Haruki's already bright smile became even more radiant.
Joining the surprise attack plan was indeed dangerous, but high risk meant high reward.
Take a gamble, turn a bicycle into a motorcycle!
Haruki was very satisfied with Rika's growth progress. Once the surprise attack plan began, he would be able to harvest a lot of emotional value from it.
Thinking this way, Haruki immediately felt full of hope.
"Good!"
Hanzō made the final decision, "Haruki will join the surprise attack plan."
Under Hanzō's organization and Yushi's summary, and after everyone's discussion, the surprise attack plan gradually took shape.
First, there was the infiltration team, including Haruki, led by Jonin Isoname, with a total of fifty ninjas, carrying salamander venom and a large number of explosive tags, cutting in from a weak point in the quicksand area, with the goal of destroying the sentry posts and logistics of Sunagakure's border defense line.
Secondly, there was the feint team, led by Jonin Miozawa, with a total of twenty ninjas, creating chaos in the direction of the main gate of Sunagakure's border defense line to attract the attention and firepower of the border Sunagakure ninjas.
Finally, there was the assassination team, led by Jonin Hiruma, with a total of fifty ninjas, who would begin attacking the Sunagakure ninjas from the rear after the infiltration team entered the defense line, working with the infiltration team and feint team to encircle and eliminate the border Sunagakure ninjas from different directions, occupying the entire border defense line.
Once the surprise attack plan succeeded, a signal would be sent out, and the reception team, waiting outside the Amegakure camp, would enter Sunagakure's border defense line, begin systematically clearing out enemies, and transform Sunagakure's border defense line into Amegakure's defense line.
"Begin action."
As Hanzō's words fell, all the ninjas in the tent moved.
Jonin Isoname waved at Haruki, and Haruki came to his side.
Isoname was a steady middle-aged ninja. He patted Haruki's shoulder and said, "I'll need your help next."
Haruki nodded, duty-bound. "Okay."
Walking out of the tent, Haruki saw piles of arm-thick wooden sticks.
Yushi explained to Haruki, "Chairs are too heavy, controlling wooden sticks should be easier."
Haruki nodded.
Controlling wooden sticks was indeed easier than controlling chairs, and it consumed less Cursed Energy.
But...
Riding on a wooden stick might be a bit uncomfortable, right?
Who cares!
Anyway, it wasn't Haruki's discomfort. Haruki stepped forward and injected Cursed Energy into the wooden sticks one by one.
The ninjas who needed to cross the quicksand area all stepped forward and took a wooden stick.
Haruki stood beside Isoname, who nodded to him. "You're good to go."
Haruki rode on his broom and activated his technique.
The Amegakure ninjas slowly ascended, and the novel sensation of flight made them unable to contain their excitement, looking left and right.
As they got further and further from the ground, the ninjas dared not move around anymore, obediently gripping the wooden sticks beneath them.
A fierce wind scraped across Haruki's face as he controlled the wooden sticks beneath everyone, flying towards the nearby border of the Land of Wind.
The closer they got to the Land of Wind, the lighter the color of the ground became, and sand gradually replaced soil.
"Stay alert."
Isoname raised his voice, his words piercing through the wind and reaching the ears of the Amegakure ninjas behind him.
The Amegakure ninjas crouched low, unmoving, staring straight ahead, their bodies tense.
The infiltration team and assassination team fully entered the Land of Wind, but because they were flying within the clouds, they didn't attract any attention.
Below was an endless, rolling sea of sand. The wind shrieked in the ninjas' ears as it swept past.
Haruki saw the quicksand area not far away. Looking down from high in the sky, he couldn't even see the edge of the quicksand area, indicating how astonishingly large it was.
As far as Haruki's eyes could see, there was only a monotonous yellowish-brown, as if a behemoth was lurking within the sand layers, ready at any moment to devour anything that dared to step foot there.
Haruki controlled all the wooden sticks to stop in mid-air.
"We have reached the quicksand area." He said to Isoname beside him.
Haruki rode steadily on his broom. They were at least five hundred meters above the quicksand area on the ground.
Isoname looked at Hiruma on the other side and said, "After we enter the Sunagakure border defense line camp and launch our attack, you can enter the Sunagakure border defense line camp."
Hiruma nodded silently.
"Get ready, we are about to cross the quicksand area."
After reminding everyone, Isoname nodded to Haruki. "You can proceed."
Haruki nodded, fully focused, staring intently at the rolling sand sea ahead, meticulously maintaining his Cursed Energy output.
All the ninjas' figures moved again, flying forward.
The strong wind messed up Haruki's short hair, revealing his smooth forehead.
The power of this quicksand area even affected the high altitude.
Upon entering the airspace above the quicksand area, the surrounding air currents became turbulent.
Haruki increased his Cursed Energy output, maintaining the stable flight formation of the wooden sticks.
The wooden sticks carrying one hundred ninjas, as if pulled by invisible threads, closely followed Haruki, skillfully navigating through the turbulent air currents and wind vortices.
The quicksand area below them was like a living ocean.
Huge sand dunes slowly moved, silently collapsing as they moved, forming bottomless swirl.
The strong winds created turbulence that made the wooden sticks violently bumpy.
Haruki frowned, controlling the wooden sticks to continue ascending. The further away from the quicksand, the less it was affected by the quicksand.
The ninjas, who had been swaying unsteadily on the wooden sticks, finally stabilized themselves.
Haruki gripped the broom, his Cursed Energy output astonishingly stable.
[Ding!]
[System detected Isoname's Gratitude Value +2000.]
[Ding!]
[System detected Hiruma's Gratitude Value +2000.]
...
[A total of 36,000 Gratitude Value has been collected, and your Cursed Spirit Land God's rank has increased to 69.1%.]
Haruki raised an eyebrow.
Maintaining the stability of the wooden sticks in the turbulence often required him to expend more Cursed Energy. To reduce Cursed Energy consumption, he controlled the wooden sticks to fly higher and higher, escaping the control of the turbulence.
He didn't expect that by doing so, these ninjas would misunderstand him.
The process of flying over this quicksand area was longer than Haruki had imagined.
No wonder the ninjas of Amegakure had no way to deal with this quicksand area.
The outline of the defense line camp set up by Sunagakure in the Land of Wind appeared in the yellow sand.
The tall watchtowers standing in all directions were like coiled venomous snakes, vigilant of their surroundings.
Looking back at the terrifying quicksand behind them, Isoname exclaimed, "Thanks to Haruki, otherwise we really wouldn't know how to cross this quicksand area."
[Ding!]
(End of Chapter)
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