Half an hour later.
Uchiha Haruki and his team returned to Eagle's Beak Cliff.
However, before they could even approach the base, a group of Konoha shinobi appeared and stopped them.
Clearly, the shadow clone Haruki had sent back earlier had already made defensive arrangements.
After confirming their identities, Haruki and his group were allowed to proceed and returned safely to the cliffside stronghold.
Haruki released the Shadow Clone Jutsu, absorbing all the clone's memories and fully understanding everything that had been arranged in his absence.
As it turned out, there wasn't much left for him to do.
The necessary tasks—such as recalling the patrol teams and contacting Kurozawa Naruki—had all been taken care of by his shadow clone. There was nothing more that required his direct involvement.
Given that, Haruki stopped concerning himself with unnecessary matters and turned his attention to the unconscious Mist Chunin beside him.
Standing up, he walked over and slapped the man's face a few times—smack, smack!—rousing him from unconsciousness.
Before the man could react, Haruki's Sharingan flared, and he cast Genjutsu: Sharingan Illusion, beginning to extract all relevant information about the Mist's current mission from his memories.
Time passed by slowly.
Haruki meticulously combed through the Chunin's thoughts. After some effort, he finally pieced together Kirigakure's strategy and objective.
First, he confirmed that although the Mist had sent a large force, this was still a probing attack.
And the focus of that test? Eagle's Beak Cliff, their base.
If the Mist could break through successfully, the probing would instantly escalate into a full-scale invasion.
At that point, reinforcements from Kirigakure would arrive immediately to join the assault.
But if the operation didn't go well, they would quickly retreat, preserving their forces for the next opportunity.
As for why they didn't conduct advance reconnaissance before attacking the base?
There were two reasons:
The base itself was easy to attack but hard to defend, so they didn't think much preparation was necessary.
The Mist had already breached this location twice before, gaining enough understanding of its layout to act confidently without additional scouting.
In fact, not scouting further served another purpose: it acted as a psychological tactic to wear down the defenders.
Over the past few days, Mist scouting squads had been spotted in other areas of the front—but not here.
That false sense of calm, ironically, forced the defenders to remain tense and alert.
So when the actual assault began, fatigue and psychological strain would likely lead to errors.
It was all part of Kirigakure's strategy.
"Hmph, what a twisted version of 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf,'" Haruki sneered.
Without hesitation, he cast a Chakra Drain Technique, and within seconds, drained the Mist-nin of all chakra, followed by his spiritual and physical energy.
Both depleted in moments—the man died on the spot.
Haruki waved his hand, signaling a nearby Konoha shinobi to remove the corpse, then returned to the main seat.
He turned to the others in the room and shared the intel he had just obtained, along with his analysis—so everyone would be mentally prepared.
As he was still speaking, a knock suddenly came from the door.
Knock knock knock!
"Come in," Haruki called.
A moment later, a Konoha Chunin pushed open the door.
Haruki glanced over and recognized him as the shinobi sent by the shadow clone to contact Kurozawa Naruki. The man had a flying-type summoning beast, which allowed fast communication with headquarters.
"What is it?" Haruki asked.
"Captain, we just received a message from Captain Kurozawa. Mist-nin activity has been detected in other locations too—not a lot, but enough to raise concern. He's currently assembling troops to cut off the Mist's retreat and asks that we delay them as long as possible."
Haruki nodded slightly. "Got it. You're dismissed."
"Yes, Captain!"
The Chunin bowed and left.
After the door closed, Haruki turned to the others. "Looks like the intel from that guy's memory was accurate. The forces attacking us are the Mist's main strike unit. Everyone, get ready and follow the plan."
"Yes, Captain!"
The group responded in unison and quickly dispersed to carry out their orders.
Haruki then closed his eyes quietly, conserving his strength for the upcoming battle.
To be honest, he wasn't too worried about it.
As long as the Mist wasn't going all-in with a desperate gamble, they had no chance of taking this stronghold.
And if this was just a test, he had complete confidence in holding the line.
Once reinforcements arrived—it would be the Mist's turn to suffer.
Another half hour passed.
The sun had long since tilted westward. Golden rays of sunset bathed the cliff, painting the terrain in shimmering light.
In just over an hour, nearly all patrol squads had returned to the base after receiving orders.
At this point, the number of Konoha shinobi stationed at Eagle's Beak Cliff had exceeded two hundred.
Though still outnumbered by the incoming Mist forces, it was no small gathering.
Haruki stood at the top of the cliff, calmly watching the four Mist warships slowly approaching from the sea.
Soon, the ships came to a stop.
From them, a dense group of figures disembarked—roughly three to four hundred Mist-nin.
Seeing this, Haruki didn't hesitate.
With a single leap, he jumped from the top of the cliff. As he neared the surface of the sea, a blue aura enveloped his body.
In the next instant, he landed steadily atop the water.
The glow was none other than Wind Release chakra.
Though Haruki hadn't yet officially developed a flying jutsu, he had toyed with the idea—and this was one of the results: an improvised technique combined with Instant Blade Technique.
With it, he could fall from great heights without injury.
Like just now—jumping from such a tall cliff, and yet landing perfectly.
This display clearly shocked the Mist-nin.
Before they could react, Haruki stomped the water's surface, launching himself forward like a cannonball—charging the enemy lines with overwhelming momentum, as if he intended to take them all on alone.
The Mist-nin wavered, confused and wary.
But soon, orders from their higher-ups snapped them to attention. Without hesitation, they surged forward to meet Haruki head-on.
As the distance closed, Haruki put away his blade, formed a series of rapid hand seals, took a deep breath—and released a powerful jutsu:
Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!
WHOOOSH—!
A violent wind erupted from Haruki's mouth, forming into a massive wind vortex.
It swept up seawater and rushed toward the Mist-nin ranks like a wind dragon.
Clearly, Haruki never intended to solo the entire enemy force. His earlier theatrics were a feint—a trick to get close enough to unleash this devastating jutsu.
If only he had had the chance to copy Kisame Hoshigaki's Water Release: Great Shark Bullet Technique—then he could've drowned the enemy outright.
Still, the wind dragon wasn't a bad alternative.
On the ocean, think of typhoons. Such natural disasters are not something humans can resist easily.
This jutsu consumed over 3,000 chakra points in one blast, and while its duration wasn't long, its raw power was immense.
For the Mist-nin, it was a serious problem.
Fortunately for them, shinobi have far faster reflexes than ordinary people. They could dodge or use various techniques to defend themselves.
Otherwise, casualties would have been catastrophic.
Still, it was enough to disrupt their formation.
And that's exactly what Haruki wanted.
At the same time, about 100 Konoha shinobi descended from the cliff behind him and charged forward in unison.
Haruki's strategy was simple: since the enemy had the advantage in numbers, and the cliff base was difficult to defend with its three sea-facing sides, why not strike first?
Attack while they were still disorganized, and crush their morale before the real battle began.