Ten minutes earlier.
On the other side, after emerging from the forest, the Mist Ninja team was nearing the valley.
Suddenly, a Mist Jonin in the crowd stopped in his tracks and asked a Mist Chunin standing beside him, "How long has it been since the last message from the forward reconnaissance team?"
The Mist Chunin seemed a bit stunned at first, before checking the time and replying, "About seventeen minutes."
Upon hearing this, the Mist Jonin's expression changed several times. The reason was simple: according to their regulations, reconnaissance teams were required to send a message every fifteen minutes, and if the situation was urgent, they could increase the frequency. However, no matter the circumstances, the frequency could never decrease.
Now, two minutes had passed beyond the expected communication time. Assuming there was no low-level mistake like misjudging the time, the only possible reason for the delay was that something had gone wrong.
And what kind of trouble could they be facing?
In an instant, both the Mist Jonin, who had asked the question, and the Mist Chunin who answered, both looked up at the sky.
Faintly, they saw a small black dot, seemingly circling above them. But both of them knew that it wasn't just any dot; it was the Uchiha Jonin from Konoha, known as the "Ghost Sword" — Uchiha Qingming.
They had been under surveillance this whole time.
Now, with the disappearance of their forward reconnaissance team, the most likely explanation was that Konoha was behind it.
Once this realization dawned, the Mist Jonin who had originally spoken immediately raised his right arm and shouted, "Everyone, stop moving!"
Upon hearing his command, the entire Mist Ninja team stopped and instinctively looked around, on high alert.
Shush, shush, shush~ Several figures appeared in front of him, all upper ninjas from the team.
They turned to look at An Tian Qiujiao and asked, "Captain An, what's going on?"
Without wasting any time, An Tian Qiujiao immediately explained that the reconnaissance team had failed to send their report.
Everyone present was no fool, and they immediately understood the gravity of the situation.
A moment later, someone suggested, "Should we send another small team to investigate?"
Before he could finish, another ninja interrupted, saying, "One team is too few. If we're going to send someone, we should send several teams to avoid losing everyone."
Others nodded in agreement.
Indeed, if the reconnaissance team that had entered the valley was dealt with by Konoha ninja, sending only one team was far from sufficient.
But if several teams were sent, it would be a different story.
Even if they weren't a match for the potential enemy, the chances of at least one team sending back vital information were much higher.
At least then, they could make plans in advance.
Hearing their suggestions, An Tian Qiujiao didn't hesitate and immediately agreed.
Soon, six small teams were dispatched from the Mist Ninja group, grouped into three pairs, each heading in a different direction: left, center, and right, making their way toward the valley.
At first, everything seemed normal.
But not long after, there was an explosion from the forest to the right of the valley.
This sound was very familiar to everyone—it was the unmistakable noise of an explosive tag going off.
Immediately, the entire Mist Ninja team went on high alert.
Meanwhile, on the other side, upon hearing the explosion, Sano Nobuhisa immediately understood that their initial plan to completely ambush the enemy was no longer possible.
Luckily, he hadn't expected the plan to succeed entirely.
After all, this valley was too ideal for an ambush. As long as the Mist leadership was a little more cautious, it would be impossible to catch them off guard.
But then why had he hurried to this spot?
The answer was simple: to seize the advantage of the terrain.
After all, this valley was located on the only direct route from Feiyu Town to Heishi Town.
It wasn't far, but if they had to take a detour, even ninjas would take at least half an hour or more.
Indeed, the Mist Ninja had not rashly charged into the ambush, which meant their ambush wasn't as effective as they'd hoped.
But they could still work on luring the enemy into their trap.
This wasn't impossible.
It was clear that the Mist Ninja had split into two teams, advancing in parallel. They clearly intended to launch a two-pronged attack.
This required strict timing for both teams to arrive.
That meant the Mist forces could neither afford to detour nor wait for too long.
Given the disparity in visible strength between the two sides, Sano Nobuhisa estimated that even if the Mist Ninja sensed something was wrong with the valley, they would likely press forward, being extra cautious.
What he needed to do was give them that chance.
At this thought, Sano Nobuhisa immediately ordered Yamashita Aoi to send a message to the other teams, instructing them to stick to the plan.
The plan was simple: most of them would stay hidden, not moving, leaving only a small portion of the force to deal with the Mist Ninja's probing attacks, creating the illusion that there were only a few Konoha teams in the area, which would tempt them into walking into the trap.
Sure enough, after the Mist Ninja noticed the reconnaissance teams' failure to report back, An Tian Qiujiao dispatched another group to confirm that there were only a few Konoha squads in the valley. He then ordered the entire Mist team to proceed.
It wasn't that An Tian Qiujiao didn't consider the possibility that Konoha might be luring them in; it was just that there wasn't enough time to investigate further.
Moreover, as he saw it, in the face of overwhelming strength, any schemes or traps were secondary.
Unfortunately for him, he seemed to have overlooked one key point—what if they didn't manage to hold out long enough?
This was the exact scenario that Sano Nobuhisa was counting on.
Both sides were brimming with confidence.
However, while Sano Nobuhisa's confidence came from Uchiha Qingming, a Jonin whose strength far surpassed ordinary ninjas, An Tian Qiujiao's confidence? He hadn't considered the possibility that their side might not last long enough to turn the tide.
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