75mm Mountain Cannon

"Lord Luo Fei, there's a powerful Chakra fluctuation among the Konoha Ninja. This time, there are ten of them, all clustered around one person in the middle. It's very similar to what happened before." In the forest two kilometers away from Yueguang Han and the others, Feiyin immediately reported to Luo Fei after sensing something unusual among the Konoha Ninja.

"Keep following them. Everyone, be careful. The enemy may very well launch a sneak attack on us. If anything unusual happens, protect Feiyin first." Luo Fei nodded solemnly and warned the others. This had happened once before. The Konoha genius boy had evaded the perception of their Sensory Ninja, deceived Rasa, then attacked them from the air. Their casualties had been extremely heavy.

"Lord Luo Fei." About ten minutes later, Feiyin hurriedly said, "They've stopped! And there's another Chakra fluctuation among them. I sense a change in the terrain. It's Earth Style. They've created an earthen platform about seven or eight meters high. Some of them have jumped onto it. There's a continuous, powerful Chakra fluctuation on the platform."

"Everyone, stop!" Luo Fei immediately raised his hand to signal everyone to halt. Then he instructed Feiyin, "Feiyin, report to me immediately no matter what the Konoha Ninja do."

They're more than two kilometers away, and there are so many trees blocking the way. Even a group ninjutsu couldn't possibly reach us! After giving the order, Luo Fei thought to himself, but he still felt uneasy. Too many of their comrades had already died at the hands of that Konoha genius boy.

"Whoosh!" A black dot, accompanied by a sharp whistle, appeared above the Sand Shinobi. It rapidly descended toward the forest at a speed too fast for the naked eye to clearly see.

"Bang!" At the same time, the sound of a heavy object striking a tree rang out.

"Boom!" A deafening explosion immediately erupted in the forest, and the flames illuminated the astonished faces of the Sand Shinobi in the darkness. Amid the cracking of splintering wood, a tree as thick as a man's waist beside the Sand Shinobi snapped in response.

This is two kilometers away. How can they attack us?! The shocked thought filled every Sand Shinobi's mind, making their heads buzz.

"Whoosh...!" Yet only five seconds later, the sharp whistling sound rang out again. (To clarify, artillery shells aren't aerial bombs. An artillery shell travels faster than sound, and the whistling heard when it arrives is caused by the shell itself rubbing against the air. By the time you hear the shell whistling, it has already landed beside you. Hearing the whistling and the shell landing beside you happens almost simultaneously. With medium- or heavy-sized aerial bombs, you hear the sound first.)

"Boom!" Before the Sand Shinobi could react, the shell landed on the ground beside them, and the explosion sent earth flying high into the air. Afterward, a charred shell crater more than half a meter in diameter and a full two feet deep was left behind.

"Protect Feiyin! Defense! Defense!" Recovering from the explosion, Luo Fei had no time to think any further and anxiously shouted at the Sand Shinobi around him.

Earth Style: Earth Wall. Hearing Luo Fei's order, the Sand Shinobi finally took action. In less than three seconds, earthen walls rose from the ground one after another, blocking the direction from which the shells were coming.

"What exactly was that just now?" With cover protecting him, Luo Fei immediately relaxed somewhat and muttered to himself. They had only heard the whistling and explosions, yet had no idea how the attack had arrived. Their only clue was the direction of the sound, leading them to guess that the attack had been launched by that Konoha genius boy. But this was more than two kilometers away, with so many trees blocking the way. How had the enemy attacked them?

"Whoosh!"

"Boom!"

Before Luo Fei could figure it out, the whistling and explosion rang out simultaneously again. Behind the Earth Walls, a Sand Shinobi was instantly blown into a mass of mangled flesh.

"Damn it, it's coming from the sky! Everyone, burrow underground!" Looking at his mangled comrade and the Earth Walls that had not been broken, Luo Fei finally understood. The attacks were falling from the sky. (They were descending diagonally along a parabola.)

At Luo Fei's command, the Sand Shinobi immediately sprang into action. Fortunately, aside from Feiyin and Luo Fei, everyone here knew Earth Style. The Sand Shinobi formed hand seals at virtually their fastest speed, and within just two seconds, they had brought Feiyin and Luo Fei underground with them.

"Boom!" Another shell fell, blasting apart another large tree. One explosion after another continued to ring out through the forest, only stopping after leaving behind crater after crater and felled tree after felled tree.

"Damn it, they can attack from this far away!" Underground, feeling the earth tremble, Luo Fei gritted his teeth and cursed as the Earth Style Ninja carried him away beneath the ground. He resolved that he would kill that Konoha genius boy even if it took everything he had. Otherwise, if the boy displayed such abilities on the main battlefield, the consequences would be disastrous.

"The Sand Shinobi have gone underground. Let's go." On the earthen platform, Yueguang Han canceled the Mountain Cannon Template and was the first to jump down.

"That boy's ability belongs on the main battlefield. That's where he could have the greatest impact. He might even be able to bring the war to an early end." Hearing Yueguang Han, Mitarashi Shika said enviously. This was a distance of more than two kilometers. Not only had he hit the target accurately, but the explosion had also possessed power comparable to Explosive Tags.

"Now isn't the time to talk about that. Retreat first." Yueguang Xingye interrupted, jumping down from the platform. He did not want everyone to discuss Yueguang Han's abilities too much.

"If the Hayate Clan can survive this crisis, they may become Konoha's fourth great clan." Seeing this, Kurama Watanabe said with a smile and followed them down. He naturally understood what Yueguang Xingye was worried about. Yueguang Han's Bloodline Limit was too exceptional. Not only would the other ninja villages see him as a thorn in their side and an obstacle to weakening Konoha, but some clans and even members of Konoha Village's leadership would not let him off either. Yueguang Han faced threats not only from the war itself, but also from the political sphere.

However, that had nothing to do with minor clans like theirs.

"They've stopped!" Two minutes later, two hundred meters from the place that had been bombarded, the Sand Shinobi cautiously poked their heads out of the ground. Every one of them was drenched in cold sweat. If they had not all been Earth Style Ninja, quite a few of them would probably have been buried at the previous location that night.

"Lord Luo Fei, the Konoha Ninja are continuing west," Feiyin reported.

"Pursue them!" Luo Fei immediately issued the order. "Also, report what happened here to Lord Rasa at once. Tell Lord Rasa that the Konoha Ninja also have a wide-range Sensory Ninja among them. They must be extremely careful."

"Yes!" The Sand Shinobi responded at once, climbed out from underground, and followed Luo Fei. Guided by Feiyin, they continued trailing the Konoha Ninja from a safe distance.

(PS: It's not that the Sand Shinobi didn't burrow underground to pursue them. They move very slowly underground and constantly consume Chakra. If they had burrowed underground, they would not have been able to catch up.)