The moment Ning Feng finished speaking, Kakashi and the others' expressions changed slightly.
Inuzuka Hana, who was responsible for sensory duties, froze for a split second. She quickly formed hand seals, channeling even more chakra into her nose, and only then did she sense the presence of danger around them.
Immediately, she looked at Ning Feng in astonishment. She hadn't expected this kid to be even more sensitive than a sensory-type ninja.
Kakashi and Uchiha Itachi were equally shocked, staring at Ning Feng in disbelief.
After all, from beginning to end, they had never seen Ning Feng display any sensory abilities—yet his perception was this terrifying.
He had sensed the threat even before a member of the Inuzuka clan did.
Seeing everyone so stunned, Ning Feng obviously couldn't say that he was a player who could see enemies' HP bars moving.
So he spoke calmly instead, "I was just making a deduction. If we were already being watched back in Konoha, then once we entered the Land of Rain, it was inevitable that even more people would be watching us."
"And I also noticed that the area around this place is filled with strongly fragrant flowers and plants. That would definitely interfere with the sensory abilities of smell-based ninja. If I were them, I would choose to strike here as well."
Who would have thought that once Ning Feng opened his mouth, even Uchiha Itachi—who had lived with him for so long—would be utterly astonished.
As for Kakashi and Inuzuka Hana, it went without saying.
For a ninja, the most important skills were intelligence gathering and analysis. Ning Feng had deduced the presence of Hidden Rain shinobi solely from the surrounding vegetation—this level of intellect far exceeded their expectations.
Although they, as ANBU members, also possessed such analytical ability, to see someone on their very first ANBU mission analyze things so clearly and methodically…
This was the first time they had ever encountered such a case.
"That's right," Inuzuka Hana nodded slightly. "The surrounding flowers and plants really do limit my sense of smell and affect my perception."
The way she looked at Ning Feng had clearly changed.
If, before this mission, they had still thought of Ning Feng as a burden—someone who would just tag along and reap the benefits—
Then from this moment on, they truly began to regard Ning Feng as a teammate, and a rock-solid one at that.
"The only thing we can't confirm now is the strength of these Hidden Rain shinobi," Kakashi said, giving Ning Feng a deep look before decisively issuing orders. "We'll gather intelligence first, then launch our attack."
"Number 7, you specialize in genjutsu. Set up illusions and try to extract the information we want from the Hidden Rain ninja."
"Number 8, use your sensory abilities and report the coordinates of every Hidden Rain ninja."
"Number 9, your perception and analytical abilities are exceptional. Act as firepower support."
As expected of an ANBU squad leader who had survived countless life-and-death situations—within moments, Kakashi had assigned roles to everyone.
Everyone nodded heavily, and Ning Feng was in full agreement.
Battles between Konoha ninja and those of other villages were different from internal Konoha conflicts. Against ninja from other villages, one had to obtain intelligence on the enemy before launching an attack.
Between shinobi villages, what both sides truly competed over was the depth of intelligence they possessed.
This was also one of the reasons why, in later years, Jiraiya had chosen to die after encountering the Six Paths of Pain—just to transmit their intelligence back to Konoha.
After all, the secret techniques mastered by ninja from the various hidden villages were far too numerous and diverse. Engaging them without intelligence was no different from courting death.
Shua shua shua!
As soon as Kakashi issued the orders, everyone vanished in streaks of light.
Although Ning Feng had yet to learn one of the advanced Body Flicker Techniques, under Shisui's guidance over the past few days, his running speed had already become astonishing—more than enough to keep up with the team.
Truth be told, this being his first mission, Ning Feng felt quite nervous. But thinking about the presence of Itachi and Kakashi, he calmed down considerably.
"They're here!"
Suddenly, just as Ning Feng was thinking, Inuzuka Hana caught a scent.
At that instant, whether it was Kakashi, Uchiha Itachi, or Ning Feng, all of them took up extremely concealed positions, ready to strike at any moment.
"There's one person midway up the stairs on the first floor of the inn. His steps are slow—he'll reach the midpoint in about two seconds!"
"There's another on the top floor of the second level—he'll reach us in roughly three seconds."
"The remaining three Hidden Mist ninja are positioned around the inn. They're expected to break into the first floor in a few seconds!"
As a powerful sensory-type ninja, Inuzuka Hana rapidly relayed the information.
Kakashi nodded slightly and signaled to Uchiha Itachi and Ning Feng with his eyes. "Eliminate them all. Remember—do not use any conspicuous ninjutsu."
In the next instant, following Kakashi's command, Ning Feng flashed forward. At the exact moment the Hidden Rain ninja reached the second floor, Ning Feng dropped down—
—and ended his life with a single kunai strike!
"Congratulations! You have successfully killed a level 34 Hidden Rain chūnin!"
"You have obtained 40,000 EXP!"
"Congratulations! Your teammate has successfully killed a level 37 Hidden Rain chūnin!"
"You have obtained 20,000 EXP!"
"You have leveled up to level 25!"
"You have leveled up to level 26!"
…
Almost instantly, all the Hidden Rain ninja who had rushed in were silently eliminated by Kakashi and the others.
Feeling the surge in experience points, Ning Feng was first stunned, then delighted. He hadn't expected that when Kakashi and the others killed enemies, he would also gain such generous experience.
This was far more satisfying than partying up with a bunch of players!
That said, Ning Feng understood very clearly that these Hidden Rain chūnin were merely the vanguard—sent to probe them and gather information.
If, during the killings just now, they had revealed any distinctive ninjutsu, the Hidden Rain ninja lurking in the shadows would have immediately analyzed their personal information based on those techniques and prepared targeted countermeasures.
After easily dealing with the Hidden Rain ninja, Ning Feng and the others returned to their previous hiding spots.
And within Ning Feng's powerful two-tomoe Sharingan, he could see that the Hidden Rain ninja who had been rapidly approaching earlier had quietly come to a halt.
The leading Hidden Rain ninja had actually reached the high level of jōnin—just one step away from Kage-level!
"They've stopped moving," Ning Feng said suddenly. "And the leader of the Hidden Rain ninja is called Hanzō the Salamander. The others—are they ninja from the Salamander clan?"
The moment his words fell, Uchiha Itachi, Kakashi, and the others were all shaken.
They hadn't expected that Ning Feng not only had sharp eyesight—but could even clearly identify the enemy by name!
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