The four of them wove through the forest like ghosts under the cover of night.
Once they were far away from the Konoha camp, the three of them turned to look at Aoki Yoru, their gazes lingering.
Aoki Yoru nodded firmly, his hands forming hand seals so fast they left afterimages, and he slammed his palms onto the ground, shouting, "Summoning Technique!"
A massive Yatagarasu with coarse gray feathers and a giant hooked beak appeared before them.
At that moment, the Yatagarasu looked completely bewildered; it had spent the whole day busy feeding those five gluttons and had just finished preening its feathers to get some sleep, only to suddenly find itself in an unfamiliar place.
It looked around at the strange environment with vigilance, its eyes instantly turning fierce, and it let out a low, muffled growl from its throat, scanning the surroundings but finding no enemies.
Then, it lowered its head to scan the area, spotted the four figures below, and prepared to teach a lesson to those who dared to disturb its rest.
Suddenly, its feathers stiffened as it saw Aoki Yoru standing with his arms crossed, staring at it with an expressionless face.
Seeing that familiar face, the terrifying memories from before instantly flooded back, and its previously fierce gaze cleared up in an instant.
It lowered its head, using its massive noggin—larger than Aoki Yoru himself—to nuzzle him affectionately, letting out a "woo-woo" whining sound like a spoiled pet.
Kakashi and the other two looked at the giant bird with curiosity; standing at about 15 meters tall, it was only when it appeared right before them that they realized what a colossal beast it truly was.
Aoki Yoru calmed the Yatagarasu down and led his squad to jump onto its back. The Yatagarasu flapped its wings, kicking up a cloud of dust as it soared into the sky.
"Oh, oh!! Is this what flying feels like?"
Kenta, experiencing flight for the first time, shouted and danced with excitement.
"Your luck is just too good, to be able to find such an amazing Summoning Technique creature," Yui said with envy.
Yui also spoke with an envious look; its massive size combined with flight capabilities was practically a dimension-reduction strike. No matter who it was, having this Summoning Technique creature would instantly raise their combat power to a whole new level.
The Yatagarasu's form cut through the night sky, creating gusts of wind.
An hour later, they arrived above the canyon, and at Aoki Yoru's signal, the Yatagarasu quietly circled overhead.
Aoki Yoru closed his eyes, extending his mental energy downwards to its limit to scout the situation at the supply point below.
He dared not let the Yatagarasu descend; as the most important stronghold on the Land of Lightning front line, there were surely sensory Ninja guarding it day and night without rest.
If they descended and happened to hit the enemy's sensory range, this raid would be a complete failure.
After a short while, he had scanned the entire stronghold. Aoki Yoru opened his eyes and looked at the other three with a serious expression.
"There are about 63 Cloud Ninja guarding the stronghold below, including 8 Jonin and 25 Chunin."
"Not only have they surrounded the supply point completely, but there are also 3 squads ambushing on the outskirts of the canyon, and one squad ambushing on each side of the canyon walls, likely to deal with aerial raids."
Upon hearing this, Kakashi's expression turned grim. It was impossible to launch a surprise attack now, and with their current setup, a direct assault would be suicide.
"The enemy has already anticipated that Konoha would attack this supply point; after all, it is our only option."
He then took out a stack of explosive tags, nearly a hundred of them. "This is what Commander Nara gave me before we left; it is practically the entire front-line stockpile. It really is a desperate gamble."
As he spoke, he looked at the Summoning Technique creature beneath his feet. "Combined with the Yatagarasu's explosive eggs, I hope it will have miraculous results."
Aoki Yoru watched Kakashi's arrangements and nodded, then took out a scroll and undid the seal.
"Kakashi-sensei, let's add kerosene and flour to increase the intensity."
Before going to the battlefield, Aoki Yoru had specifically bought kerosene and flour, precisely to increase the lethality of the aerial raid.
"I understand the kerosene, but what is the flour for?" Yui looked at the flour he brought out, full of questions. Was it for eating?
Seeing the confused expressions of the three, Aoki Yoru, enjoying the role of a teacher, explained it to them.
"In an enclosed space, when combustible dust is suspended at a certain concentration, it burns rapidly upon contact with an ignition source, causing the volume to expand violently and resulting in a massive explosion."
"Although this is just a canyon, the explosive power of the explosive tags and the kerosene will be enough to trigger a dust explosion in that instant."
After listening, Kakashi nodded thoughtfully, while Yui and Kenta still had question marks on their faces.
Aoki Yoru didn't pay them any mind and continued tinkering; he had to ensure that the explosive tags and kerosene were triggered at the moment of maximum dust concentration.
A moment later, seeing that Aoki Yoru had finished tinkering, Kakashi clapped his hands to draw their attention.
"In a moment, Aoki Yoru, seize the opportunity to drop the bombs. I will intercept the enemies on the left cliff, while Kenta and Yui will intercept those on the right. Remember, you must not let them destroy the bombs."
"Understood." The three nodded seriously.
At this moment, inside a man-made cave on one side of the cliff, 5 Cloud Ninja were eating barbecue and chatting, completely lacking the tension of an impending battle.
"Captain Damai, we've been guarding here for so many days, will the Konoha Ninja really come from the air? Wouldn't it be more reliable to ambush on the ground?"
A younger-looking one asked his captain.
Damai took a bite of a bear leg and said earnestly to him, "Don't be careless. The opponent is Konoha; they have Ninja who can fly for short periods. I know of the Super Beast Imitating Drawing Ninjutsu, and the Aburame clan's insects can fly."
He paused and scanned his four subordinates. "Below are strategic supplies for thousands of people; it is our guarantee for seizing the Land of Fire's resources. Do not let your guard down..."
Before he could finish, his expression suddenly changed.
"Enemy attack!" A huge voice resounded through the canyon.
Damai rushed out instantly, only to see giant bird eggs falling from the sky, followed by explosive tags, oil barrels, and sacks.
"Lightning Release: Lightning Laser!"
Several lasers shot toward the bird eggs. Although he didn't know what they were, they certainly weren't anything good.
Suddenly, a water curtain appeared in the air, blocking all of his Lightning Lasers. Damai's expression instantly turned ugly; his teammates' attacks were all blocked by an earthen wall.
Looking at the other side of the cliff, various Ninjutsu were colliding; he knew they had also been intercepted by the enemy.
They had missed the best time to intercept.
"Bang—" The first things to burst were the bags of flour, and white powder instantly filled the entire canyon before Damai could react.
"Boom—" A massive explosion rang out, and violent waves of fire swept through the entire canyon with overwhelming force. The sky-high pillar of fire tore through the clouds, and the entire cliff wall seemed as if it would collapse from this huge impact.
The four people standing on the back of the Yatagarasu stared blankly at the scene below. The surging flames made them feel the scorching heat and deafening roar even from their position, and the entire canyon had been completely swallowed by a sea of fire.
"I didn't expect this combination to have such explosive power." Aoki Yoru swallowed hard, calming himself down.
At this moment, Aoki Yoru was still shaken. At the moment of the explosion, he had sensed something was wrong and immediately ordered the Yatagarasu to ascend. Fortunately, the Yatagarasu was fast, otherwise they would have been caught in it; one could see the Yatagarasu's tail had minor burns.
"Yeah, this power could probably even melt a Kunai." This scene made Yui and the others relax quite a bit; the people below were definitely finished.
At this time, Kakashi was the first to snap out of it and shouted in a deep voice, "Do not let your guard down. You must know that in the Ninja World, anything can happen."
The three nodded and then looked toward the ground.