Due to the significant increase in speed, Qingming, who initially estimated it would take him twenty minutes to cover the distance, arrived back in less than ten minutes.
Outside the Black Stone Base.
On a position, Senmoku Tetsuichi immediately approached Qingming when he saw him safely return.
In the sky, Qingming noticed Senmoku Tetsuichi.
However, he did not descend but instead used the 'Mind Communication Technique' to convey what had happened over the sea. He informed him that the main force of the Mist Ninjas would likely not arrive before Sano Nobuyuki's return.
However, he did not let down his guard. Qingming could not be certain whether Ozawa Yushi would take a risk, abandoning his main force, and send a small unit across the sea to attempt a surprise attack on the Black Stone Base.
Although this possibility seemed unlikely, it was crucial in wartime to avoid being careless.
So, despite the low probability, he had to alert them.
After hearing Qingming's warning, Senmoku Tetsuichi immediately reassured him, "Don't worry, we won't be careless."
"Mm," Qingming nodded, and after disconnecting the 'Mind Communication Technique,' he flew toward the south, where Yasuda Akiko and the others were heading.
Watching Qingming leave, Senmoku Tetsuichi didn't waste any time and immediately began preparing to deal with any potential small units from the Mist Ninjas.
······
Meanwhile, south of the Black Stone Base.
Yasuda Akiko and his group, still some distance from the Black Stone Base, finally received the intelligence sent by Ozawa Yushi.
Looking at the information in his hands, Yasuda Akiko's face darkened.
Initially, he thought the situation was bad enough, but he hadn't expected it to be even worse than he had anticipated.
"Damn Uchiha Qingming," Yasuda Akiko gritted his teeth as he crumpled the information in his hands.
According to the intelligence from Captain Ozawa's side, their plans had been thwarted by Qingming's interference, and they could no longer arrive at the Black Stone Base first.
So, the plan to launch a combined attack was no longer feasible.
Captain Ozawa had ordered him to adjust their course immediately, avoid the Black Stone Base for now, and wait until they met up with Ozawa Yushi's group before launching a joint attack.
This made Yasuda Akiko feel deeply frustrated.
Although he had more or less given up on the idea of a surprise attack on the Black Stone Base, he had still hoped for a miracle to happen.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have headed straight for the Black Stone Base.
But now, Ozawa Yushi had explicitly told him that a miracle was impossible.
This had crushed his morale completely.
After a long time, Yasuda Akiko finally recovered.
He turned to Yokoyama Yukio and, with a tired tone, said, "Yukio, inform the sub-teams to prepare to change direction."
After the lesson from the previous encounter, Yokoyama Yukio didn't waste any time. He immediately went off to make preparations as soon as he heard Yasuda Akiko's order.
Soon, the direction of the Mist Ninja's advance shifted slightly. Although they were still heading toward the Black Stone Base, they veered slightly off course.
At this rate, they would eventually bypass the Black Stone Base, emerging east of it near the coastline.
Behind them, Yamashiro Aoi and the others were confused by the sudden change in direction but followed along anyway.
By now, they had more than just two sub-teams; the rapid response force sent by Sano Nobuyuki had already joined them.
So, they no longer worried about any trickery from the Mist Ninjas.
······
Time passed quickly.
About five minutes later.
Qingming appeared above the Mist Ninja's force.
"Eh?" Qingming said, sounding puzzled as he looked at their new course.
But after a moment of thought, he quickly understood their plan and deduced the sequence of events.
Shaking his head, Qingming didn't dwell on it. After circling overhead a few times, he moved on, soon finding Yamashiro Aoi and the others.
From them, Qingming learned of the whereabouts of Sano Nobuyuki's main force.
As he had anticipated, though they wouldn't make it to the Black Stone Base before Yasuda Akiko and his group, they would definitely arrive before Ozawa Yushi's forces.
That was good enough.
Below, Yamashiro Aoi, after relaying the latest information, immediately asked Qingming about the situation inside the base and whether the other team of enemies had arrived yet.
For both questions, Qingming didn't hold back.
Speaking quickly, he spent a little time summarizing the situation inside the base and also told them about his recent actions, preventing Ozawa Yushi's group from reaching the Black Stone Base before them, which reassured them.
Sure enough, after Qingming told them that the other Mist Ninjas were unlikely to arrive before them due to his interference, everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.
After some further exchange, Qingming left, flying toward Sano Nobuyuki's main force.
Having done all this, Qingming needed to report back to Sano Nobuyuki, not just for credit but also to communicate intelligence. If the other side made any rash decisions due to a lack of information, he would be the one cleaning up the mess. Qingming didn't want to waste time on that, so it was better to prevent such problems from the start.
Additionally, he needed a safe place to recover his chakra, and where better than among the main forces?
Thanks to precise intelligence and the speed of his LV5 'Wind Release: Wind Wings,' Qingming quickly found the main force.
After reporting the relevant information to Sano Nobuyuki, Qingming excused himself, claiming he needed time to recover his chakra, and blended into the main force, moving with them.
······
Before long.
Half an hour passed quietly.
Qingming and the others finally returned to the Black Stone Base.
As he had feared, the small-unit surprise attack by Ozawa Yushi had not occurred, and the situation inside the base was just as it had been when he left half an hour earlier.
Now, with the arrival of the main forces, the pressure on Senmoku Tetsuichi and the others had decreased significantly.
As for Yasuda Akiko and his group, according to the latest information from Yamashiro Aoi, they were now positioned east of the Black Stone Base, near the coastline, seemingly waiting for Ozawa Yushi's forces to arrive.
Upon hearing this, Sano Nobuyuki briefly considered whether to take advantage of the situation and encircle or drive off these Mist Ninjas.
But after careful consideration, he decided against it.
The primary reason was that after a major battle and the subsequent march, most of the Leaf Ninjas were already very fatigued.
In such a situation, a hasty attack carried too much risk.
Moreover, based on the latest intelligence, Ozawa Yushi's fleet was about to arrive, and there wasn't enough time to deal with the Mist Ninjas.
So, it was better to conserve their energy for the upcoming battle.
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