Several minutes later, the mist ninjas on the battlefield began to retreat in an orderly manner.
At the same time, news arrived from Nara Keiko's side, reporting that the mist ninja unit they were chasing had changed direction and was no longer heading toward Yotsu Port.
With this combined information, Qingming quickly deduced the Mist's intentions. They probably realized they couldn't hold their position here anymore, so they were preparing to withdraw.
However, just to be safe, he flew up into the sky to observe from a broader perspective.
It turned out that the Mist was not attempting any tricks. They were genuinely planning to retreat.
Flying over the eastern skies of Yotsu Port, Qingming gazed into the distance.
He could see several Mist warships speeding toward the area across the sea. Clearly, they were coming to pick up the retreating Mist ninjas, as well as the forces that had failed in their assault on Konoha's base.
But based on their timing, it was clear that they had prepared well in advance.
In the past, to prevent their warships from being sabotaged by Konoha's infiltration squads, they had docked their ships at a port across the strait in the Land of Waves. That location had a forward base built by Konoha, which could accommodate large warships.
However, even with the warships there, it would take a considerable amount of time to get from there to this area. The fact that the ships arrived so quickly suggested they had been in the vicinity for some time, awaiting orders to move.
This revealed that Mist, in initiating this final confrontation, wasn't overly confident, or they wouldn't have taken such precautions.
However, it was precisely this backup plan that had saved them from a complete wipeout.
Qingming reported what he had observed to the temporary leader and Nara Keiko back at the camp, asking whether they should destroy the ships.
Given his strength, it would have been no challenge to destroy a few warships that had minimal ninja presence.
But in the end, both the temporary leader and Nara Keiko rejected the idea.
The reason was simple: they didn't want to push the Mist ninjas into a corner where they would fight to the death.
As long as the warships remained, the Mist still had a glimmer of hope. If those ships were destroyed, the Mist ninjas would be forced to fight desperately, which would certainly increase Konoha's losses.
This was something neither the village nor the command center wanted to see.
Thus, they declined the suggestion.
Rather than eliminating more Mist ninjas, they preferred to preserve their own forces. This would be more beneficial for dealing with potential future crises.
Moreover, while this battle could be called a final showdown, it was essentially Konoha and the Mist fighting for the initiative in the last negotiations, without involving fundamental interests.
At this point in the war, both sides' higher-ups had come to a consensus: the war needed to end.
Thus, it was only a matter of determining the victor; there was no need for further bloodshed.
With these thoughts running through his mind, Qingming pushed them aside.
He folded his arms and floated in the air, watching the Mist ninjas retreat from Yotsu Port in an unhurried manner.
Indeed, while the temporary leader and Nara Keiko had decided not to destroy the warships, that didn't mean they were going to let the Mist ninjas leave unscathed.
The presence of the warships was merely a lifeline for the Mist, preventing them from being cornered into a desperate fight. But the pursuit and harassment would not stop.
Ding ding clang~
Boom boom~
The sounds of battle continued.
Qingming watched calmly.
Suddenly, he seemed to sense something and looked up toward the southwest.
There, he felt a powerful chakra surge.
After a brief hesitation, Qingming crossed his hands in the 'Ren' seal and used the Shadow Clone Jutsu.
Boom~
With a puff of chakra smoke, a shadow clone with wings appeared beside him.
Qingming nodded to it, signaling to stay behind.
He himself then flew toward the source of the chakra explosion.
Thanks to his Wind Release: Wind Wings, Qingming moved at incredible speed, reaching his destination in less than a minute.
What he saw was a vast sea.
Using his Sharingan, Qingming quickly spotted a familiar figure in the middle of the water.
It was none other than the infamous Kisame Hoshigaki.
A month ago, his large-scale chakra harvesting had attracted the Mist's attention, and he had even defeated one of their shadow clones. Now, he was seeing him again.
At the moment, Kisame was still dressed in the attire of the Mist's Anbu, with a black cloak and a mask, giving off a cold, unfriendly aura.
But…
Why was he here? Qingming wondered.
He scanned the water below, noticed the Mist ninjas behind Kisame, and saw the slightly disorganized Konoha pursuing forces in the front. He quickly understood.
If he was correct, Kisame had come to assist his forces' retreat, and the water surrounding them was his doing.
While Qingming observed, Kisame spotted him too.
Without hesitation, Kisame quickly performed seals and used the Water Release: Thousand Sharks Jutsu.
In an instant, over a thousand sharks formed, charging forward aggressively toward the Konoha pursuit team.
The Konoha forces were caught off guard by this attack and could only passively defend.
Taking advantage of this, Kisame shouted to the Mist ninjas behind him, "Retreat!"
Upon hearing this, the Mist ninjas immediately followed the orders of several jounin, swiftly running toward the coastline on the water's surface.
Qingming, seeing this, flapped his wings and flew overhead.
Although Konoha wasn't intent on wiping out every Mist ninja, it didn't stop him from intervening.
Dodging several shuriken aimed at him, he quickly formed seals and unleashed Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique.
A massive fireball appeared, radiating immense light and heat as it plummeted toward the Mist ninjas below.
However, unlike at Yotsu Port, where the higher-ranked Mist ninjas couldn't spare any time to act, the remaining Mist ninjas here were more capable and had more freedom.
Immediately, someone launched a Water Release to counter the fireball.
Then, the second, the third...
In the blink of an eye, seven or eight different jutsu collided with the fireball.
The impact caused the fireball to lose its shape and explode violently.
A rain of fire descended, but the Mist ninjas skillfully dodged the flames.
Seizing this opportunity, they immediately counterattacked Qingming.
Especially Kisame, who used Water Release: Water Shark Missile Jutsu, summoning a shark-like missile that flew toward Qingming.
Having already been distracted by the other attacks, Qingming was forced to pull back and distance himself from the Mist ninjas below.
Using this chance, the Mist ninjas quickly pushed forward.
Afterward, Qingming gave a token pursuit, working with the Konoha team to chase for a short distance.
Then, he departed, returning to the battlefield at Yotsu Port.
Well…
At this point, the term "battlefield" didn't quite fit.
With the Mist ninjas in retreat, calm had been restored here.
Now, aside from the injured Konoha ninjas, only the wreckage of buildings remained in Yotsu Port.
Qingming looked toward the distant battlefield, where Konoha forces, led by an older jounin, were still pursuing the fleeing Mist ninjas.
They had already fought their way to the coastline, not far from the Mist warships.
Qingming didn't feel the need to join them and instead transformed into a medical ninja to begin treating the injured left behind at the port.
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