As the flames gradually died down and the rolling thick smoke slowly thinned, Yatagarasu carried the four of them and slowly descended to a relatively safe spot on the mountaintop.
The ground beneath their feet was still scorching hot. In the valley bottom, only sporadic orange flames remained, and the former supply camp had long since been burned into a charred ruin.
Aoki Yoru sensed the area; food, medical supplies, cloth, and the like had all burned to ashes. Iron items like Kunai and Shuriken had also melted and deformed, rendering them unusable.
There weren't many people left alive below; only a few scattered individuals had survived by using Earth Release, but the high temperatures had still left them severely injured.
He nodded to Kakashi Hatake, "The supplies in the valley are destroyed, and only a handful of people survived. Should we finish them off?"
"No need. Since we have confirmed that the supplies are completely destroyed, there is no need to take unnecessary risks," Kakashi Hatake shook his head.
"Let's go, back to the camp to report. With their supplies destroyed, the Kumogakure Ninja might make a desperate struggle and launch a counterattack. We must hold out against this offensive." After saying this, he jumped onto the bird's back.
Yatagarasu flapped its wings and took off into the wind.
Kakashi Hatake said to Aoki Yoru, "Your Yatagarasu can no longer be hidden; it must be mentioned in this report."
"Yeah, I expected this from the moment the surprise attack mission was given to us. After all, an aerial strike was the optimal solution for this mission."
"Don't worry. The Village has its own rules of operation and won't force you to hand it over; at most, they'll just have you carry out more missions," Kakashi Hatake comforted, seeing the troubled look on Aoki Yoru's face.
"I just don't want to do so many missions; I still need to practice Ninjutsu." In his view, one cannot walk by the river without getting their shoes wet. What if on the next mission, a Tailed Beast Ball suddenly shoots out from the ground?
"Then grow stronger as quickly as possible. If you had the strength of Tsunade and Jiraiya-sama, no one would dare to force you if you didn't want to do it."
Aoki Yoru could only nod helplessly and sigh.
It was the same as usual; he landed three kilometers outside the camp. Although it was a foregone conclusion that it would be discovered, he didn't want to become a spectacle.
Who knew if there were Kumogakure spies in the camp? If what he did this time were known, Kumogakure would hunt him down by any means necessary.
Inside the command post, when Shikaku heard Kakashi Hatake say that they had already destroyed the supply point in the canyon, he looked astonished. He had only assigned them the mission during the day, and by night, they were telling him it was completed?
Kakashi Hatake then explained the course of events to him in detail.
After listening, Shikaku was dumbfounded. He hadn't originally expected them to complete it so well, as the difficulty was too high—comparable to blowing up the Kannabi Bridge during the Third Great Ninja War to cut off Iwagakure's supply lines.
He hadn't expected them to overachieve in less than a day, completely destroying the supply point in the Canyon of Sinking Stones without any personnel losses.
He immediately composed himself and said with a smile, "You four have worked hard. I will truthfully report your contributions to the Village."
"Alright, go get some rest. Next, Kumogakure will likely launch a desperate, all-out attack. This time it won't be like the tentative ones before."
Upon hearing this, the four of them took their leave.
At this moment, Shikaku suddenly felt much more relaxed; previously, the impending pressure had nearly caused him to collapse.
Shikaku was right; the Kumogakure Ninja had already assembled, preparing to take revenge on Konoha.
The earlier explosion in the canyon had made a huge noise, startling the hidden sentries along the way. Looking from afar, a mushroom cloud appeared, flames soaring into the sky, and they immediately reported it to the frontline command post.
As the frontline commander-in-chief, Dodai personally led his subordinates to the Canyon of Sinking Stones. When he saw the tragic state of the canyon, he froze in place.
The valley floor was in shambles, covered in charred rubble. The food, medical supplies, Ninja tools, and scrolls that had been stacked there had long since burned into black ash.
There were charred corpses everywhere on the ground. Only a few individuals were alive, but they were covered in burns, wailing as they clung to life.
The entire supply point had completely turned into a dead, silent ruin; supplies were destroyed, and casualties were heavy.
At this moment, Dodai's expression was gloomy, and his accompanying subordinates were all filled with righteous indignation, clamoring to take revenge on the despicable cowards of Konoha.
"Pass the order down: treat the wounded first. Also, notify the entire army: we attack the Konoha defensive line tomorrow morning," Dodai said, grinding his teeth. At this moment, he felt like killing someone.
The canyon had been sneak-attacked; not only were nearly a hundred elite troops heavily wounded or killed, but even the supplies prepared for this great war had been completely destroyed.
He had failed the Raikage's trust. Before coming, the Raikage had ambitiously told him that they would invade the Land of Fire, secure land under the sun for the Land of Lightning, and avenge his childhood friend.
But now all those plans had come to nothing. To collect so many supplies again would take nearly half a month, and by then, reinforcements from the Land of Fire would have already arrived.
The next day, the Konoha border.
At this time, the camp was filled with a grim atmosphere. Frontline scouts had detected that the Kumogakure Ninja had gathered and were preparing to attack.
At this moment, Shikaku stood on a high platform, looking at the Ninja below, and said loudly:
"Everyone, the enemy's supplies have been destroyed, and their morale is in chaos; this is nothing more than a desperate struggle of a trapped beast. Defeat the enemy, hold the line, and victory will be ours in Konoha."
As his voice fell, the Ninja responded in unison, and morale instantly soared.
Aoki Yoru stood slightly behind; the three of them had been assigned to the rear guard, and those around them were mostly people of the same age, as well as some familiar classmates.
He turned his head to look at these youthful faces; they were all flushed and excited, fantasizing about achieving great deeds.
"I wonder how many of them will still be alive after this." Aoki Yoru sighed inwardly.
...
The border of the Land of Fire.
The two armies faced off, murderous intent soaring into the sky; the great battle was on the verge of breaking out.
On the Konoha side, Shikaku stood at the very front, accompanied by Ino–Shika–Chō and elite Jonin like Kakashi Hatake.
Opposite them were the elite Jonin of Kumogakure, led by Dodai.
Both sides stared intently at each other; troop against troop, general against general.
"Despicable cowards of Konoha."
Dodai's voice rang out across the entire field, "Destroying my supplies, cutting off my supply lines, killing my comrades—today, this debt must be settled. I will make you pay in blood."
"Enough talk, Dodai. Has Kumogakure not already stained its hands with enough Konoha blood?" Shikaku shouted, "Let's see what you're really made of."
The great battle was on the verge of breaking out.
Hundreds of Ninja collided like two torrents.
The shouts of battle shook the heavens and the earth; the Ninja roared as they pounced on each other. Kunai clashed, Ninjutsu erupted, and the light of Chakra flashed wildly across the battlefield.
Aoki Yoru did not charge forward recklessly; he simply lingered on the edge of the battlefield, hunting those Kumogakure Ninja who were isolated.
"Go to hell!"
A Kumogakure Chunin looked at the younger-looking Aoki Yoru with a ferocious expression and rushed over, wielding a Ninja blade.
Aoki Yoru stood in place, not even having the thought of dodging, and stared straight at him.
Just as the opponent thought he was one of those newly graduated Genin who had been frightened silly by the battlefield, Aoki Yoru's figure flickered and disappeared before his eyes.
"Pfft!"
A bloodstain appeared on the Kumogakure Ninja's neck, blood sprayed out, and then he fell straight down, dying without even understanding what had happened.
Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Aoki Yoru caught sight of a figure mixed with lightning rushing rapidly toward him to kill him. He turned sideways and raised his Ninja blade to block the opponent's lethal strike.
"Clang!"
As blade met blade, Aoki Yoru took the opportunity to use the force to leap backward, creating distance between himself and the opponent, and looked up at them.
"It's you guys! It really has been a long time."