Traveling through Naruto with Heroes of Might and Magic.

Iwasaki collapsed, disbelief still lingering in his eyes.

Every Jonin is a valuable fighting force for the village. Even on his deathbed, he was still thinking: Konoha...aren't you afraid of starting a war...?

"No need to clear the battlefield, proceed directly to the next stronghold!"

Kakashi turned to look at Qingwu.

Qingwu nodded, recalled all his troops, and replaced them with four winged horses.

Pegasus is very important in this mission, and he will not risk using it unless absolutely necessary.

"call--"

Pegasus spread its wings and soared into the sky, disappearing into the night.

All that remained was a pile of corpses inside the stronghold.

……

In less than two hours, the Shadow Guard arrived at the second target stronghold in the west.

That's right, the mission's operational plan became simpler because of Pegasus.

It's called "blitzkrieg".

Even if some escapees slipped through the net at the first outpost, the speed at which messages could be transmitted would still be slower than that of a Pegasus flying straight over.

"Take a 20-minute break."

Kakashi sat cross-legged, gulped down a large soldier's ration pill, and then closed his eyes to meditate and recover his chakra.

The same applies to Tenzo and Yugao.

Only Qingwu thought for a moment and then quietly put the soldier's ration pills back.

He didn't expend much energy in the battle just now, and with his [Knowledge] attribute at a high level, his natural energy recovery speed is much faster.

And the main thing is that the taste of those military ration pills... they taste like rotten carrots.

Twenty minutes later, Kakashi opened his eyes precisely on time, "Let's move out!"

"Wait a minute!" Qingwu called out to Kakashi, "Captain, let's try a different approach this time."

Looking at the distant watchtower, Qingwu said:

“There’s no need for such a troublesome infiltration. The third stronghold is too far away. If someone escapes from the first stronghold using earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a type of invisibility technique), we may have to face the Iwagakure troops who are prepared in advance.”

Xi Yan interjected, "Xiang, what do you mean?"

"Let's launch a direct assault. The captain and I will lead the charge and finish this quickly!" Qingwu said. "If we can launch a surprise attack before the third stronghold is ready, the mission will be much easier."

Kakashi thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay!"

call--

Pegasus skimmed low into the sky.

This time, the Shadow Guard ignored the alarm that sounded prematurely after the punishment barrier was set up, and the Pegasus charged directly into the watchtower from the left and right.

"what--"

"what--"

First, take care of the Iwa ninja on the high ground.

Then they saw that the Iwa ninja, alerted by the disturbance, had already gathered at the base.

Qingwu struck first with an earth-based magic spell, "Slow Spell".

Although the Iwa ninja had countermeasures, it was still inevitable that their formation was disrupted.

Immediately, Qingwu once again used the battle dwarves as the vanguard, the centaur leader launched a surprise attack from the flank, and the great elves provided ranged support.

The lack of intelligence left the Iwa ninja forces completely helpless against such a combined attack.

Moreover, Qingwu used the fire magic [Bloodlust Technique] against the Great Elf army this time...

Chapter 78 An Old Acquaintance, the Last Outpost of the Mission

Having gained experience from the large-scale battles at the first stronghold, they were able to gain valuable experience.

This time, Qingwu was much more adept at controlling it.

After Kakashi held off the Iwagakure Jonin inside the base, he quickly used his "summoning squad" to clear out the remaining "minions".

however……

To Kakashi and Qingwu's surprise, they ran into an acquaintance at this second base.

"Explosive Release: Landmine Fist!"

The Explosion Release ninja, Kari, who fled after assassinating the Third Hokage a few days ago, has unexpectedly appeared here.

Furthermore, while Kakashi was fighting with the Jonin captain inside the base, he used Explosion Release to launch a sneak attack and injure Kakashi.

Subsequently, while Qingwu commanded the Pegasus to launch an attack, Shou, along with the Iwagakure Jonin, disappeared into the ground.

"Damn it!" Yugao worriedly supported Kakashi. "What do we do now?"

Kakashi's injuries were severe; his left arm and shoulder were covered in blood from the Explosion Release chakra explosion.

Yugao was worried that if the treatment delayed things and allowed the two Jonin and the Iwa ninja forces at the third base to join forces... and with prior precautions, it would be difficult to launch a strong attack.

"I never expected that guy to be hiding here."

Qingwu frowned and carefully sensed the surroundings. After discovering that it could not be tracked, he complained in frustration.

The hunter who escaped that day was also injured.

Even if the Jonin was fast, and set off a day earlier than the Shadow Guard who had rested at the camp for a night, it still shows that he came back at full speed.

"Cough..." Kakashi said, "That guy may have already passed the information back, making the next mission very difficult."

The reason why the first and second strongholds were able to succeed so easily was that they caught the Iwa ninja off guard.

If the Iwa ninja were prepared, there might even be other Iwa ninja reinforcements... The difficulty of the mission has obviously increased.

"Let's heal first!" Qingwu shook his head and reached out to use the water-based magic [Healing].

Watching Kakashi's injuries heal rapidly in the blue-green light, a hint of envy flashed in Yugao's eyes.

Having a medical ninja in a squad is very important.

However, this medical ninja also possesses what is possibly the team's most destructive range; such a person...

How can a person grow up so fast...?

Is this the difference between me and a true genius...? This mission left Xiyan feeling somewhat frustrated.

Especially with the second stronghold that was just taken down, Kakashi and Qingwu were leading the way, so her assassination attempts were not needed.

10 minutes later……

Kakashi moved his arm, which had fully recovered, and said, "It's all better now."

If there hadn't been a "medical ninja" on the scene, he would likely have faced the risk of amputation given the severity of his injuries.

Even if Qingwu uses magic, he still needs to wait for the cooldown to perform several healings.

"Let's go over there and see what the situation is like."

Kakashi decisively mounted Pegasus: "If the third base is ready, we'll look for a suitable opportunity."

They were all quite tired tonight.

Launching a surprise attack from the shadows is feasible.

If the opponent is well-prepared before launching a strong attack, unexpected things can easily happen.

The third outpost is the furthest.

They have penetrated deep into the heart of the Land of Grass, diagonally opposite the second base, and are located closer to the Land of Waterfalls.

Moreover, because its influence extends across four countries—the Land of Fire, the Land of Earth, the Land of Grass, and the Land of Waterfalls—it is a crucial, large-scale hub.

More than two hours later.

Kakashi gazed at the distant "walls" and watchtowers and whispered, "Retreat ten kilometers and rest."

The watchtower was filled with figures and flickering firelight, clearly indicating that this large stronghold was not "asleep".

It was already past midnight, making it even less suitable to launch a surprise attack.

Most importantly, although their physical injuries had been healed, the mental exhaustion had left the Shadow Guard in extremely poor condition.

"I don't know if it was someone from the first outpost who passed on the intelligence, or that guy called 'Hunter'," Xiyan said, troubled.

"Anything is possible." Kakashi pondered. "We can fly here in a straight line, but the Earth Release techniques of the Iwagakure Jonin also cover a straight-line distance, and we can't rule out the possibility of summoning beasts transmitting information!"

Qingwu suddenly realized, "No wonder."

That hunter was able to get back from the southern part of the Land of Fire so quickly.

"Then... what about the mission?"

Tianzang rarely spoke; it was a habit ingrained from his roots that made him very concerned about completing the task.

“I don’t think we can drag this out for too long,” Qingwu pondered. “With both strongholds destroyed, the Iwa ninja have already assessed our combat strength.”

"!!" Xi Yan paused for a moment before realizing what was happening. "That's right. If we wait until tomorrow night to make our move, we'll likely be facing a large force from Iwagakure."

There must be a way to transmit intelligence between the outposts, and if a large number of Iwagakure reinforcements arrive, they will lose the possibility of completing their mission.

Qingwu glanced at the sky and said decisively:

"We must launch an attack before dawn, even if it's just a probing attack. We need to figure out the strength of this stronghold."

Kakashi thought for a moment and added:

"The Jonin will lead their troops into the Land of Grass to meet us after dawn. Let's give it a try. If it doesn't work, we'll retreat decisively."

Upon hearing this, Yugao looked at Kakashi in surprise.

There was a rumor within the Anbu that Kakashi was the most focused on completing missions, even if it resulted in the deaths of innocent people.

How come now...