As soon as Ning Feng finished speaking, the expressions of Kakashi and the others shifted slightly.
Beside them, Hana Inuzuka, who was responsible for sensory detection, froze. She hurriedly formed hand seals, channeling more chakra into her nose. Only then did she detect the threats around them.
Hana immediately gave Ning Feng a surprised look. She had never expected this kid to be even more perceptive than a sensory ninja.
Kakashi and Uchiha Itachi were also startled, turning to Ning Feng in astonishment.
After all, they had never seen Ning Feng display any sensory abilities from beginning to end, yet they had never expected them to be this powerful.
He had actually detected the threat before even a member of the Inuzuka Clan had.
Seeing everyone so surprised, Ning Feng could hardly tell them that he was a player and could therefore see other people's health bars moving, could he?
Instead, he said calmly, "It was only a deduction. Since someone already had their eyes on us back in Konoha, then once we came to the Land of Rain, even more people were bound to watch us."
"Besides, I noticed just now that the place we came to is surrounded by strongly fragrant flowers and plants. They're bound to interfere with the perception of ninjas who rely on smell. If I were them, I would definitely strike here too!"
Ning Feng might have been better off saying nothing. Once he spoke, even his older brother Uchiha Itachi, who had lived with him for so long, was utterly astonished.
There was even less need to mention Kakashi and Hana Inuzuka.
The most important abilities for a ninja were gathering and analyzing intelligence. Just by looking at the surrounding flowers and plants, Ning Feng had concluded that Amegakure ninjas must be lying in ambush nearby. His intelligence was somewhat beyond their expectations.
Although, as Anbu members, they possessed this level of intelligence analysis and intellect themselves, someone who could produce such a coherent analysis on his very first assignment with the Anbu...
They had never met anyone like that before!
"That's right. The flowers and plants around here really have restricted my sense of smell and affected my perception!" Hana nodded slightly, her view of Ning Feng already changing.
If, before setting out on the mission, they had still considered Ning Feng a burden who would merely coast along to victory on this assignment...
Only now did they begin to regard Ning Feng as a teammate, and an exceptionally dependable one at that.
"The only thing we can't determine now is what these Amegakure ninjas can do. We'll attack after gathering intelligence!"
Kakashi gave Ning Feng a long look and issued his orders without hesitation. "Number Seven, you specialize in genjutsu. Set up a genjutsu and try to extract the intelligence we want from these Amegakure ninjas!"
"Number Eight, use your sensory abilities to report every Amegakure ninja's coordinates."
"Number Nine, your powers of observation and analysis are exceptionally strong. Provide supplementary firepower!"
He was, after all, an Anbu squad leader who had faced countless life-and-death situations. In mere moments, he had given everyone their orders.
Everyone nodded firmly, and Ning Feng's face was also full of agreement.
Fighting between Konoha ninjas was different from fighting ninjas from other villages. Against ninjas from other villages, they needed to obtain intelligence on their opponents before launching an attack.
For ninjas from different ninja villages, the contest was actually about how much intelligence each side possessed.
This was also one of the reasons why, later on, after encountering the Six Paths of Pain, Jiraiya had insisted on sending intelligence about them back to Konoha even at the cost of his own life.
After all, the ninjutsu and secret techniques wielded by the ninjas of the great hidden villages were simply too numerous and varied. Attacking without intelligence was no different from throwing one's life away.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
The moment Kakashi issued his orders, everyone vanished without a trace in flashes of movement.
Although Ning Feng had yet to learn the Body Flicker Technique, one of the advanced Three Body Techniques, his running speed had already become very fast under Shisui's instruction over the past few days. He could keep up with the team without any trouble.
In truth, Ning Feng was very apprehensive on his first mission, but the thought of having Itachi and Kakashi there made him feel less nervous.
"They're coming!"
Suddenly, while Ning Feng was thinking, Hana caught a scent.
At that very instant, Kakashi, Uchiha Itachi, Ning Feng, and the others all concealed themselves in extremely well-hidden positions, ready to kill their opponents at any moment.
"There's one person on the staircase from the tavern's first floor. He's moving slowly. Estimated arrival at the middle of the stairs in two seconds!"
"There's another on top of the second floor. Estimated arrival at our position in three seconds."
"The remaining three Kirigakure ninjas are spread around the tavern. They're expected to break into the first floor in a few seconds!"
Hana was a powerful sensory ninja, and she relayed the information swiftly.
Kakashi nodded slightly and signaled to Uchiha Itachi and Ning Feng with a glance. "Kill them all. Remember, don't use any recognizable ninjutsu."
The next moment, following Kakashi's orders, Ning Feng darted forward. Just as the Amegakure ninja reached the tavern's second floor, he dropped down... and ended the ninja's life with a kunai!
"Congratulations! You have successfully killed a level 34 Amegakure Chunin!" "You have gained 40,000 experience points!" "Congratulations! Your teammate has successfully killed a level 37 Amegakure Chunin!" "You have gained 20,000 experience points!" "You have reached level 25!" "You have reached level 26!"
Almost instantly, all the approaching Amegakure ninjas were quietly eliminated by Kakashi and the others.
As he felt his experience points surge, Ning Feng was first taken aback, then delighted. He had never expected to receive such generous experience rewards when Kakashi and the others killed these ninjas.
This was so much better than partying up with a bunch of players!
However, Ning Feng also understood very well that the Amegakure Chunin closing in around them were merely advance troops sent to draw out intelligence on them.
Had they displayed any distinctive ninjutsu while killing those Chunin just now, the Amegakure ninjas lurking in the shadows would likely have been able to analyze their personal information from those techniques immediately and devise specific counters.
After easily disposing of the Amegakure ninjas, Ning Feng and the others returned to their previous hiding place.
Through Ning Feng's powerful Two-Tomoe Sharingan, he could see that the Amegakure ninjas who had been rapidly approaching had quietly stopped.
The Amegakure ninja leading them had actually reached the upper ranks of Jonin, only a step away from Kage Level!
"Those Amegakure ninjas have stopped. And their leader is called Ibuse Tenrai. Are the other ninjas members of the Ibuse Clan?"
Ning Feng suddenly spoke.
As soon as he finished, Uchiha Itachi, Kakashi, and the others were all startled. They had never expected that Ning Feng not only had excellent eyesight but even knew his opponent's name perfectly!
Before you continue