Target

As he drew closer to Konoha's main camp, Qi Shuang discovered more and more squads of Mist shinobi heading toward it as well.

"Looks like the Hyuga Main Family won't be escaping this time!" he sighed softly.

Judging from the current situation, he could roughly infer that the many scattered squads of Mist shinobi were gradually forming an encirclement, completely surrounding Konoha's camp.

The Hyuga Main Family had nowhere to run!

Hearing his sigh, Ao once again loudly reminded his three young subordinates, "Keep your eyes wide open and watch carefully. Don't let that guy get away!"

In the blink of an eye, Konoha's main camp was already right before them.

Explosions rang out one after another. The outer defenses had already been breached by the surprise attack force, the fortifications had been reduced to ruins, and countless Mist shinobi had charged inside.

However, most of them had been tied down by the defending Konoha shinobi and were completely unable to break away to search for their target.

"Looks like these Konoha shinobi aren't much to look at. Their defenses were breached by us so quickly!" Mei Terumi mocked without the slightest restraint.

Less than ten minutes had passed since the explosions began, yet Mist shinobi had already charged into Konoha's camp. It was hard not to conclude that Konoha was incompetent.

Taking out several kunai, Ao casually threw them and killed two Konoha shinobi who were focused on fighting the Mist shinobi. Then he solemnly warned, "Mei, you mustn't underestimate Konoha's shinobi!"

"If we hadn't lured away their main forces this time, there's no way we could have breached their camp's defenses so easily!"

"Underestimating your opponent too much on the battlefield can get you killed at any moment!"

As he spoke, he turned and gave Qi Shuang a meaningful look.

Seeing the significance in Ao's gaze, Qi Shuang immediately understood that he was referring to the two Konoha Chunin he had killed.

Unfortunately, he was not the sort of person who liked to show off. He could only awkwardly rub his nose, avoid Ao's gaze, and remain silent.

On the other side, after hearing her leader's reprimand, Mei Terumi immediately pouted and muttered, "All right, all right! I get it!"

She had heard such words from her captain many times already, so her ears were practically callused from them. Naturally, she was a little impatient.

Immediately afterward, Ao landed beside the two comrades from his village who had been rescued and seriously asked them, "Did either of you see any sign of the target?"

To avoid alerting the Konoha shinobi and making the mission more difficult, they had not directly mentioned anything related to the Hyuga. They referred to them only as the target.

As for Qi Shuang and the other two, they assumed defensive stances upon landing, ready to deal with any Konoha shinobi who appeared.

Unfortunately, all the Konoha shinobi nearby had opponents of their own to handle, leaving them with no spare energy to provoke this squad.

"We didn't see anything!"

The two Mist shinobi shook their heads, both indicating that they knew nothing.

"As expected, it wasn't going to be that simple." Ao sighed inwardly.

Although he knew that obtaining the Hyuga Main Family's whereabouts could not possibly be so easy, he still could not help asking.

Then, he continued asking expressionlessly, "Do you know where their base is located?"

One of them still shook his head.

The other thought for a moment before pointing southeast and tentatively saying, "I saw many Mist comrades heading that way earlier. Perhaps the target's base is in that direction!"

"Thank you!"

Ao nodded in thanks, then gestured to his three young subordinates. "Let's go!"

The three of them immediately lowered their guard and followed their leader southeast in perfect understanding.

Elsewhere, in a corner of Konoha's camp, a middle-aged man held a Mist shinobi by the throat and pinned him to the ground, demanding harshly, "Speak! What is your objective in launching a surprise attack on our main camp?"

Several masked ANBU guards stood beside him, keeping watch over their surroundings.

"Come... with me... to hell... and I'll... tell... you..." The man spat out blood and replied with a grim laugh.

"Not good, it's an Explosive Tag!"

Seeing the other man's bizarre smile, the Konoha shinobi finally noticed that a stack of Explosive Tags in his right hand had begun to burn.

"Die with me!"

At that moment, the dying Mist shinobi suddenly exploded into action and grabbed one of his opponent's thighs with his other hand.

Unfortunately, he was still a step too late. The thigh he had grabbed had already turned into a section of wood.

"A Substitution Technique?"

He froze for a moment.

Boom!

At that instant, the Explosive Tags detonated.

Crimson flames instantly engulfed him, while the massive blast mixed with smoke and Kitsuchi, forming a gigantic mushroom cloud.

However, on this chaotic battlefield, mushroom clouds from explosions rose one after another. The one in this corner of the camp was completely inconspicuous.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Once the shockwave dispersed, a series of coughs came from a nearby ruin. A moment later, half a figure crawled out.

It was the middle-aged shinobi who had interrogated the Mist shinobi earlier.

Although he had promptly used a Substitution Technique to escape some distance and avoid facing the explosion directly, he had still been struck by part of the blast and buried beneath the tent that had collapsed from the impact.

"My lord, are you all right?"

An ANBU member covered in wounds ignored his own injuries and immediately dug him out of the ruins.

That man was one of the highest-ranking commanders here.

He absolutely could not afford to suffer any mishap!

Immediately afterward, the other ANBU members also rushed out from the surrounding ruins and came forward to help.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

After coughing several more times, the commander, who had been dug out and was covered in dust, mocked himself. "Looks like I really am getting old! My reaction speed is far worse than it used to be!"

He then swept his gaze over the ANBU guards and saw that every one of them was injured. He could not help feeling somewhat guilty.

If he had not interrogated that Mist shinobi at close range, the guards would not have surrounded him to protect him and ultimately been caught in the sudden explosion.

"How badly are you injured?" he asked with concern.

"As long as you're all right, my lord, we're all right!" an ANBU member wearing a damaged mask replied politely.

The half of his face exposed outside the mask was already covered in blood and dust.

Just as he was about to say something else, another ANBU member covered in wounds suddenly appeared before him using the Body Flicker Technique.

"Greetings, my lord!" The man knelt and saluted.

"What is it? Speak quickly!" He waved his hand and immediately ordered him to continue.

The situation was critical, and he had no interest whatsoever in such formalities from his subordinates.

"According to our investigation, the Mist shinobi who came to launch the surprise attack are gathering at the Hyuga Clan's base! It appears that their target is the Hyuga Clan!" the newcomer replied loudly.

"The Hyuga Clan?"

The middle-aged commander immediately fell into deep thought upon hearing this.

Suddenly, as if he had realized something, he cried out, "Not good! Their target is the current head of the Hyuga Main Family!"