C3 Eighteen

December 20th, Year 47 of Konoha. It was a clear morning. Kumogakure's upper ranks, having just concluded their military meeting, were busy arranging defensive measures. The base city was filled with civilians from the Land of Earth. They were not only laborers, but also shields for the Cloud Ninja. With them there, Iwagakure would not dare launch a large-scale assault on the base—or at least, that was what Kumogakure's upper ranks had believed until today.

But when a large flock of white birds suddenly appeared above the base, Kumogakure finally changed its mind.

"Air raid! Take cover! Take cover!" The Cloud Ninja in charge of sentry duty spotted the enemy at once and sounded the alarm throughout the base via broadcast.

Unfortunately, before the Cloud Ninja could react, disaster had already descended.

The first to suffer were the outer watchtowers that kept blaring alarms. Several small white birds shot through the lookout tower windows with the precision of arrows, then erupted with immense energy utterly disproportionate to their size the very next moment.

"Boom! Boom! Boom..."

After a chain of explosions, every outpost around the base collapsed amid flames. The alarm sounds that Iwagakure had found so grating finally fell silent.

Having completed the first wave of attacks, Deidara watched the brilliant spectacle below with an excited expression. Listening to the pleasing sounds of explosions, his blood began to race. This was merely an appetizer.

At the same time, the Land of Earth prisoners inside the base erupted into chaos upon hearing the explosions outside. In their panic, they fled in every direction like headless flies, completely ignoring the Cloud Ninja's orders.

The Cloud Ninja in the base soon had no time to deal with the prisoners, because an even fiercer assault followed close behind.

Three thousand Iwagakure air troops