Puff~
A Mist Village warship seemed to break through cotton candy as it emerged from the thick white mist.
Next came the second, third, and eventually all of the Mist Village warships, each one leaving the area covered by the Water Release: Mist Concealment Technique.
At this point, it had been nearly half an hour since Qingming cast his technique.
In the sky, Qingming lightly flapped his wings as he hovered above, watching the Mist ninjas below who had finally broken free from the Water Release: Mist Concealment Technique.
At this moment, his face was extremely pale, as though he had just recovered from a serious illness.
The reason for this was simple: his chakra had been heavily depleted.
For the past half hour, he had been exerting all his energy to maintain the Water Release: Mist Concealment Technique, while the Mist ninjas were simultaneously using the same technique to contest control over the mist with him.
Fighting against several Mist Village Anbu and numerous Chunin and Genin, even though Qingming had an unusually large amount of chakra, the strain was too much to bear.
If it had only been maintaining the mist, it would have been fine. But in addition to controlling the mist, Qingming had to continuously adjust its coverage to ensure the Mist ninjas couldn't escape.
That's right, during this time, the Mist ninjas hadn't just been weakening his control over the mist; under Dazou Yushu's command, they were maneuvering the ships, trying to break through the mist.
This made it even more difficult for Qingming.
Only his incredible chakra reserves had allowed him to hold on for so long. For anyone else, they would have been completely drained by now.
But now, Qingming was nearing his limit.
While his chakra was gradually recovering, it was still far from its full potential.
At this stage, he knew he couldn't stop the Mist ninjas from moving forward anymore.
However...
Qingming glanced at the warships below, which were now crowded with Mist ninjas, and silently thought, "Indeed, destroying those two warships earlier was the right choice."
This time, the Mist Village had sent their elite forces to take the Black Stone Stronghold.
Ignoring what was happening with Aida Akiko for now, every warship was packed with ninjas.
Now that two of the ships had been destroyed, the remaining warships were even more cramped.
This would inevitably slow down their progress.
Additionally, with the time Qingming had already bought, it was enough for Zeno Nobuyoshi and others to return to the Black Stone Stronghold first.
At this point, he no longer needed to stop the Mist ninjas from advancing.
Qingming gave one last glance at the faraway sea, where the Konoha ninjas who had survived because of his earlier actions had all perished.
Clearly, the hope he had given them was nothing more than a "flower in the mirror, moon in the water."
"Only by becoming stronger oneself can one truly be strong. Everything else is an illusion," Qingming muttered as he withdrew his gaze, shook his head, and flapped his wings, flying in the direction of the Black Stone Stronghold.
Below, the Mist ninjas watched as Qingming flew away, their expressions mixed.
"Captain, do we continue?" asked Sakurai Mizuki softly.
Now that Qingming had left, it was clear his main objective had been achieved. It was obvious to anyone with half a brain that his purpose was to delay them.
In other words, the Konoha side was likely already prepared.
Even if they continued their advance, it was unlikely they would be able to capture the Black Stone Stronghold while it was still vulnerable, as they had originally hoped.
And if they attempted a full-on assault, given the fierce resistance from Konoha over the past two days, they would have little chance of success.
Furthermore, the other team had been ambushed and suffered heavy losses, meaning they wouldn't be able to provide much support.
In this situation, it was almost impossible for them to complete their mission. Was there really any need to keep pushing forward?
This wasn't just Mizuki's sentiment—it was the thought of many Mist ninjas.
However, when she asked, she received a firm response.
"Continue! Of course, we continue!" Dazou Yushu said resolutely.
He looked at Sakurai Mizuki and ordered, "Immediately send word to the team leaders. Tell them to organize their forces and proceed at full speed."
"Huh?"
Mizuki was stunned for a moment. She wanted to say something, but when she saw Dazou Yushu's serious expression, she immediately swallowed her words.
Unlike Konoha, where there was a more relaxed relationship between leaders and subordinates, the Mist Village, under the iron-fisted rule of the Third Mizukage, placed great emphasis on hierarchy.
As such, once Dazou Yushu made a decision, even the Anbu leaders had to fully obey.
Mizuki didn't dare defy him. She immediately began the technique to convey Dazou Yushu's order to all the other warship commanders.
Soon, the entire Mist fleet began to move.
Standing on the deck of the central ship, Dazou Yushu stared absentmindedly at the several warships ahead and behind him.
The reason he ordered them to continue was for three reasons: First, he wasn't willing to give up on this opportunity. Deep down, he still had some hope.
He hoped that Konoha's actions wouldn't be as quick as expected, giving them a chance to capitalize on the situation.
Second, Aida Akiko's team was currently heading toward the Black Stone Stronghold. If they retreated now, those who remained would undoubtedly be surrounded and wiped out.
Dazou Yushu wasn't willing to take such losses.
Third, it was the village's orders.
Others might not be aware, but Dazou Yushu knew that the Mist Village's actions on the southern front near Konoha were not going well.
Though they had gained some territory over the past two days, Konoha's resistance had been fierce.
Furthermore, there was intelligence indicating that Konoha might have some sort of plan to counter their forces.
Thus, the Mist Village did not want anything to go wrong elsewhere. They needed to ensure that no Konoha ninja could reinforce the southern front.
For this reason, Dazou Yushu and his team of feint attackers could not retreat, even if they couldn't capture their intended target.
This was the main reason for launching the assault just two days after hearing that Aida Akiko's team had been ambushed.
Initially, Dazou Yushu had hoped to break through Konoha's defenses at the Black Stone Stronghold and gain a significant victory, but now, things had developed to this point.
Now, he could only take things one step at a time.
"Sigh~"
He sighed softly and muttered, "What a pity."
...
Meanwhile, some distance away.
After flying several kilometers, Qingming was about to continue his journey when suddenly, his body shook, and a realization dawned upon him.
"What's this?"
He was momentarily stunned, but then felt a surge of joy. He quickly descended in altitude and landed on the surface of the sea.
Standing on the water, Qingming closed his eyes and began to carefully recall the insight that had just flashed in his mind.
After a moment, he opened his eyes.
"Panel."
With a thought, Qingming opened his proficiency panel.
There, the level of Wind Release: Wind Wings had quietly increased from Lv4 to Lv5.
It turned out that, during his flight just now, Wind Release: Wind Wings had accumulated enough proficiency to break through to Lv5.
The realization he had just experienced was precisely the key to unlocking Lv5 of Wind Release: Wind Wings.
With a thought, Qingming quickly performed the hand seals and cast the technique—Wind Release: Wind Wings.
Whoosh~
A pair of pale blue chakra wings appeared behind him.
Qingming glanced back. The appearance of the chakra wings was nearly identical to the Lv4 version, but inside...
Qingming gently flapped his wings, and immediately, he soared into the sky.
Then came a dazzling display of aerial maneuvers.
His movements were clearly much more agile than before, able to change direction at sharp angles with ease.
Additionally, the flying speed...
Lv5 marked a transformation for any ninjutsu, and Wind Release: Wind Wings was no exception.
After reaching Lv5, his flight speed had doubled.
His speed jumped from 40 meters per second to 100 meters per second. While still some distance from supersonic speeds, it was certainly impressive.
A speed of 100 meters per second translates to 360 kilometers per hour, which was far faster than a car!
At this speed, only Minato Namikaze's Flying Thunder God Technique or the Cloud Village's Tensou Technique could surpass him.
As for others, such as Rasa's Magnet Release: Gold Dust, Onoki's Super Light-Heavy Rock Technique, the Star Village's Peacock Secret Arts, the Mist Village's Six-Tails Foam Technique, or the Takigakure's Seven-Tails wings... none could catch up.
And this was only his Lv5 level. As Wind Release: Wind Wings reached even higher levels, his speed would only increase.
By then, he would be nearly impossible to catch.
Furthermore, he would enjoy even greater freedom.
"Indeed, it's all about grinding!" Qingming murmured to himself, flapping his wings again as he flew toward the Black Stone Stronghold.
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