As the moon set and the sun rose, the second day arrived.
After a night of bloodshed, Konoha and Iwagakure finally ceased their mutual slaughter at dawn, having paid a similarly heavy price.
As Qingming had predicted, Iwa Shinobi, lacking proper command, shifted from their usual aggressive offensive stance to a more defensive position.
Ideally, this would have been the perfect opportunity for Konoha to counterattack.
Unfortunately, the sustained attacks from Iwagakure over the past period had inflicted significant losses on Konoha, leaving them too depleted to launch a counteroffensive.
The Konoha ninjas, worn down by Iwa Shinobi's relentless tactics, were in urgent need of rest.
After much deliberation, the village leader, Dazuma, ultimately abandoned any plans for an offensive, opting instead to maintain a necessary level of harassment while reserving the rest of their energy for recovery.
Initially, Qingming thought that this period of calm would last at least ten days to half a month.
However, to his surprise, just a week later, tranquility was shattered.
That afternoon, Qingming was in the western mountain stronghold, utilizing "Healing Palm Technique" to channel Yang Release chakra and enhance his body, when suddenly a figure rushed in.
Knock, knock, knock!
The simple wooden door was knocked on loudly.
Irritated, Qingming opened his eyes and called out, "Come in!"
Creak~
The door swung open, and a Konoha Chūnin entered hurriedly.
"Captain! We just received word from the mountains below that Iwagakure is mobilizing. The command center wants us to prepare for defense," he said quickly.
"Iwagakure is moving?" Qingming furrowed his brows and asked, "What exactly is happening?"
"I'm not sure," the Chūnin replied, shaking his head.
Seeing this, Qingming waved his hand. "Alright, gather everyone and assemble them. Also, inform the other Jōnin to arrange defense assignments."
"Yes, Captain!"
The Chūnin responded before quickly leaving.
As the strategic commander of this stronghold, Qingming was the nominal leader of all the personnel here, with several Jōnin serving as squad leaders under him.
Typically, tasks such as defense and patrol were delegated to these Jōnin leaders.
As for himself, he was usually either looking for "Chakra Batteries" or training, rarely dealing with specific matters—this time was no exception.
Watching the Chūnin depart, Qingming waited patiently for over a minute.
Once his Yang Release chakra was fully expended, he grabbed the short sword beside him and, in a few quick movements, leaped to the treetop of a nearby large tree.
With a thought, Qingming activated his Sharingan.
In the next moment, the scene below the mountains entered his view.
Although the Sharingan was inferior to the Byakugan in long-distance observation, under such unobstructed conditions, it could still see quite far.
In Qingming's line of sight, Iwagakure had already gathered their forces.
They were divided into three groups, with one heading straight toward the Fuyuliu stronghold, clearly intending to clash head-on with the Konoha ninjas.
Another group was veering north, seemingly planning to attack the northern mountain stronghold.
As for the third group, they were making their way toward Qingming's position.
He could see them bypassing the Fuyuliu stronghold, following a southern plain, and drawing an arc directly toward him.
Seeing this familiar attack route, Qingming felt puzzled. "Haven't they changed their command? Why are they still using the same old tactics?"
If it were just one or two commanders being replaced, Qingming could understand this situation.
However, a week ago during the decapitation operation, they had nearly wiped out the entire command structure of Iwagakure.
In such a drastic turnover, the team's style couldn't possibly remain unchanged, and their attack strategies wouldn't remain intact either.
After all, each commander has their own ideas, and it is impossible for them to be exactly the same as their predecessors. Therefore, when combined, the changes would only increase.
Yet, the current situation clearly defied logic.
"What is going on here?" Qingming murmured to himself, perplexed.
After a moment, he shook his head, no longer pondering the matter. With a leap, he returned to the ground, preparing to patiently await the approach of Iwagakure.
As the saying goes, "When the enemy comes, one must meet them; when the water comes, the earth must be covered."
Since he couldn't make sense of it, he decided to stop worrying. No matter what schemes they had, in the end, it would all come down to strength.
Without sufficient power, even the most cunning tricks would amount to little.
Twenty minutes later, Qingming received word that his subordinates had engaged the enemy.
He also learned that the enemy had split into three groups, advancing toward the mountaintop from the left, middle, and right directions.
After contemplating, Qingming instructed the other Jōnin to organize the defenses while he swiftly headed toward the dense forest on the far right.
He planned to circumvent Iwagakure's left flank and launch a surprise attack from behind.
This way, he could disrupt Iwagakure's attack rhythm, delay their progress, and also probe the enemy's strength.
However, events unfolded beyond Qingming's expectations.
He initially thought that the Konoha ninjas on the front line could hold out for a while, but to his shock, the middle line was breached in less than five minutes, forcing the left and right defenses to retreat as well to avoid being cut off by Iwagakure.
"What the hell is happening? Why was the defense broken through so quickly?" Qingming questioned in his mind.
Connecting through the "Telepathy Technique" to a special Jōnin from the Yamanaka clan, he quickly learned, "It's the Four-Tails Jinchūriki. He is hiding within the attacking forces."
"What?"
Qingming's expression changed as he immediately asked, "Are you certain?"
"Absolutely!"
The Yamanaka ninja replied firmly. "They broke through our defenses with a powerful Lava Release technique. No one could withstand it."
Upon hearing this, Qingming fell silent. After a moment, he said, "So this is their plan."
Indeed, from the Yamanaka ninja's description, Qingming could roughly guess the scheme of Iwagakure's new commander.
The reason they employed the former tactics was partly to lower their guard and partly to conceal their true intentions, leaving Konoha unclear about the situation.
Then, they would take advantage of this opportunity to deploy the Jinchūriki hidden among their ranks, using overwhelming force to seize the two strategic high points guarding the Fuyuliu stronghold.
Yes, two points.
If his deductions were correct, the Five-Tails Jinchūriki should currently be among the Iwagakure forces attacking the northern mountain stronghold.
In fact, just like the Four-Tails, he might have already breached the defenses.
However, at this point, speculating on the matter was of little consequence.
What mattered most was how to stop them.
Unlike the Four-Tails, the Five-Tails Jinchūriki, Han, wielded Lava Release, which dealt devastating damage to flesh and blood.
Moreover, with his "Lava Release Chakra Mode" protecting his entire body, standard methods would be ineffective against him. Unless one could drain him like the later Kirigakure ninja, Kisame Hoshigaki, it would be challenging to deal with him.
Unfortunately, Qingming's repertoire of jutsu did not include any water-based techniques that could counter him, which made the situation quite troublesome.
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