Chapter 267: News and Retreat

Two hours later.

As a massive sealing array rose, the colossal body of the Four-Tails was restrained and quickly shrank, disappearing from view.

More accurately, it didn't truly vanish; it was sealed back inside Ōzuki.

However, due to the significant distance between Qingming and the event, combined with Ōzuki's relatively small size, it appeared to Qingming as though it had simply disappeared.

Feeling the oppressive aura in the air dissipate, Qingming withdrew his gaze and returned to the Konoha base in Xiaogu Village.

"Captain, any discoveries?"

As soon as he returned, several Konoha Jonin approached him with inquiries.

Upon hearing their question, Qingming shook his head, opting not to elaborate. He simply stated, "The Four-Tails from Iwagakure went out of control. You should arrange the patrols and then get some rest. We can discuss other matters tomorrow."

The Konoha Jonin exchanged glances, then took their leave.

At this point, no one regarded Qingming as just a twelve-year-old child.

As his strength continued to manifest, his presence became increasingly formidable, making these special Jonin hesitant to defy his orders.

Thus, while they harbored many questions, they could only suppress their curiosity for the time being.

Qingming was unwilling to share too much information for two reasons: there was no necessity to do so, and much of what he speculated lacked firm evidence.

So, the specifics would depend on how the higher-ups responded.

Qingming was confident that news would come swiftly.

In fact, it proved to be even quicker than he anticipated. It was almost as if Dazhong Weiren had been prepared all along. By dawn, he received information.

He took the intel from a Chūnin messenger and quickly skimmed through it.

As he read, he gained a more detailed understanding of the previous night's events.

Just as he had predicted, the Four-Tails' outburst was indeed related to their operations.

Furthermore, their operation was precisely what Qingming had foreseen: a decapitation mission.

Given the current situation, other than targeting the enemy leaders, there seemed to be no effective way to halt Iwagakure's advance.

Ultimately, the struggle between the two villages boiled down to a test of raw power. Small schemes might achieve temporary victories but would not secure ultimate success.

On this front, Konoha was currently at a disadvantage in overall strength, leading them to adopt the cost-effective and straightforward "decapitation mission" as a means of delay.

However, unlike the previous operation targeting Iwagakure's command structure, Dazhong Weiren had shifted the focus of the decapitation mission to Ōzuki and Han.

As the Jinchūriki of the Four-Tails and Five-Tails, their deaths would trigger the Four-Tails and Five-Tails to enter the revival phase.

Without these two powerful assets, Iwagakure's momentum would inevitably be stunted, potentially coming to a halt.

Thus, they would gain some breathing room.

It was undeniable that if the plan had succeeded, the situation could have changed dramatically.

However, the problem was that this plan had failed.

It was unclear whether the information leaked by the infiltrator was flawed or if Iwagakure had fortuitously stationed additional guards.

In any case, the operation was prematurely exposed.

Ultimately, even with the elite Jonin Minato at the helm, they failed to complete the decapitation of the targets.

Yet, their operation was not entirely fruitless.

At the very least, they had succeeded in provoking the Four-Tails into another frenzy.

While the action team had suffered the loss of two genuine Jonin and four special Jonin, Iwagakure's losses were undoubtedly more significant.

After all, the Four-Tails had gone out of control within their own encampment.

Even though Iwagakure's higher-ups had long anticipated such a scenario, placing Ōzuki and Han's quarters in more secluded locations, the distance was trivial in comparison to the Four-Tails' enormous size.

Moreover, with the costs incurred to reseal the Four-Tails, Iwagakure likely lost at least two to three hundred personnel.

Upon reviewing the village's estimated report, Qingming finally understood why so many harbored prejudice against Jinchūriki. When an outburst led to the deaths of many, it was hardly surprising.

After all, these casualties were not isolated individuals; they had families and friends. Their deaths at the hands of a Jinchūriki undoubtedly left their loved ones with grievances.

Thus, it was almost inevitable that Jinchūriki would be met with hostility from the villagers. After all, which village's Jinchūriki had never gone out of control?

"Ah, I'm digressing. I should focus on how Dazhong Weiren plans to proceed next."

With that thought in mind, Qingming returned his attention to the intel in his hands.

Upon seeing the forthcoming orders, he realized that his instincts had been correct: Dazhong Weiren had indeed prepared for the possibility of failure.

According to the directives, all peripheral bases needed to retreat within a day, with everyone assembling in Wind Willow Town.

Subsequently, everyone would relocate to a more secure base further back.

In other words, the Wind Willow Town base was to be abandoned.

Qingming found nothing surprising about this outcome.

As a Jonin, he had access to significantly more intelligence than an average Konoha ninja. He understood that the defensive forces in Wind Willow Town had already reached their limits.

Particularly over the past month, Iwagakure had relentlessly attacked the outer bases, continuously draining resources from the Wind Willow Town base, making personnel increasingly strained.

In this context, continuing to hold the position would be tantamount to a slow death.

It seemed that Dazhong Weiren recognized this as well, which prompted the planning of last night's operation and preparation for two possible outcomes.

If successful, they would likely hold their ground; if it failed, as was now the case, all personnel would withdraw.

Of course, such a decision must have been discussed with the main camp.

After all, how could Dazhong Weiren, a mere front-line commander, possess the authority to enact such a substantial strategic adjustment?

It's worth noting that their withdrawal would require other allied bases on the same front to do the same, effectively moving the entire front line back.

This kind of decision could not be made without the main camp's approval.

Now that the order had been issued, it indicated that the main camp had prepared to contract the defense line as a whole.

"Yet, this timeline..."

Qingming contemplated the two-day evacuation period, frowning as he mused whether the timeframe was a bit too short.

One day to retreat to Wind Willow Town and another day to relocate to the rear—wasn't that a continuous operation?

However, since the higher-ups had issued the notification, he could only comply.

After putting away the intel, Qingming dismissed the Chūnin messenger and promptly called in several Jonin at the base to assign tasks.

When they learned of the withdrawal, they were surprised but did not voice their opinions. Each of them went off to prepare.

By noon that day, everyone in the base had packed their belongings, leaving no resources behind for Iwagakure—they took everything with them and set off towards the Wind Willow Town base, located over twenty kilometers away.

Initially, Qingming had worried about Iwagakure launching an interception.

However, it turned out he was overthinking it.

The Iwa ninja side was currently embroiled in chaos due to the previous night's incident with the Four-Tails, leaving them with neither the time nor energy to bother with Konoha.

Thus, they successfully arrived at the Wind Willow Town base.

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