Time passed by, second by second.
As Qingming took advantage of the night's cover, using the powerful insight of his Sharingan to observe the movements of the Mist Ninjas below and gather intelligence, a crossbow bolt suddenly shot toward him.
In an instant, a strong sense of danger surged through him.
Almost instinctively, Qingming darted to the side.
In the next moment, a crossbow bolt, about the thickness of a baby's arm, whizzed past his shoulder, the rushing wind from the bolt scraping painfully against his cheek.
But that wasn't the end of it!
After narrowly dodging this attack, his sense of danger did not subside. Qingming quickly recalled the image of the bolt passing by, noticing that there appeared to be several seals attached to it.
"It's an explosive tag!" Qingming's heart raced, and he immediately pushed his 'Wind Release: Wind Wings' to its limit, propelling himself far from the spot.
Boom~ Boom~ Boom~
Three explosions from the explosive tags sounded almost simultaneously.
In the next instant, three red fireballs appeared in the sky, instantly dispersing the surrounding darkness and lighting up the entire night sky.
A figure shot out from the flames, descending several meters before quickly rising again.
That person, of course, was none other than Qingming.
Pfft~
A mouthful of blood was spat out from Qingming's mouth.
He wiped the corner of his mouth and glanced at the fireballs in the sky, still feeling a lingering fear.
Just now, he had been on the brink of death, almost killed by the explosion of the three explosive tags. If it hadn't been for his 'Wind Release: Wind Wings' reaching Level 3, allowing him to fly at a speed of 30 meters per second, he would have surely been severely injured.
Even so, the shockwave from the explosions still caused injuries.
At this moment, his internal organs felt as if they had been hit by a heavy hammer, causing him indescribable pain.
In comparison, some minor burns on his body were nothing to worry about.
After all, the contact had been brief, and they had quickly parted ways, so no serious wounds were inflicted.
Qingming quickly formed hand seals with both hands and cast his standard healing jutsu—Palm Healing Technique—to alleviate his injuries. Once he felt the pain ease, he looked down again.
From his vantage point, he saw that the Mist Ninjas in the Flying Fish Town base below were also in a state of panic.
It was clear that the earlier attack had not been rehearsed, and had caught them off guard. If it had been planned, they wouldn't have reacted in such a disorganized manner.
However, it was precisely because of this lack of preparation that they were able to catch him off guard.
Had the Mist Ninjas shown any sign of movement, Qingming would have been able to detect it, and with that warning, he would not have been caught in such a dangerous situation.
However, it was clear that his vigilance had been too low, and he had underestimated the Mist Village.
Indeed, as he had always said, after that night, the Mist Village would certainly take countermeasures, and the command center had received the relevant information.
But deep down, he hadn't raised his level of alertness too much.
After all, from his past life's memories, he knew that while the great ninja villages had some methods to deal with airborne targets, there were not many.
More often than not, these methods only served as distractions.
As for methods that could truly counter airborne targets, there were very few.
Therefore, he had subconsciously relaxed his guard.
And this lapse in attention led to the current danger.
There was no denying that the Mist Village had truly taught him a lesson, reminding him that arrogance at any time could prove disastrous.
After collecting his thoughts, Qingming steadied himself and shifted his gaze from the panicked crowds below to the direction where the crossbow bolts had come from.
There, at the top of a building, three figures were struggling to operate a crossbow.
It was clear that the crossbow bolts had been fired from there.
At this moment, another crossbow bolt was loaded onto the machine.
A faint sense of danger rose in Qingming's heart, and he immediately became more alert.
In the next moment, the crossbow bolt flew out, aiming directly at his chest.
However, this time Qingming was prepared. His Sharingan contracted, instantly determining the trajectory of the bolt.
He flapped his wings and easily dodged the attack.
Boom~ Boom~ Boom~
Three more explosions sounded.
The intense heat swept toward him, blowing his long hair around.
But this time, the explosion did not cause any harm to Qingming.
Yet, before Qingming could even relax, three more crossbow bolts came flying toward him.
He focused and saw that on top of another building, three crossbows were arranged in a "character" shape, surrounded by nine other figures.
It was clear that these three bolts had been fired by them.
However, just a moment ago, when he scanned the area, there had been nothing there.
Evidently, the Mist Village had used some method to conceal these crossbows and their operators.
A faint realization dawned on Qingming.
Then, he wondered whether there were other crossbows hidden in different locations as well.
Thinking this, Qingming quickly scanned the other tall buildings and then used the chakra wings on his back to fly higher into the air.
But the next moment, more crossbow bolts flew toward him.
Qingming glanced over, and sure enough, in the places he had just scanned, crossbows became visible.
Without hesitation, he flapped his wings again, adjusting his flight path to dodge the incoming bolts.
This was just the beginning.
One after another, crossbow bolts were fired from the ground, some aiming directly at him, while others tried to block his evasive maneuvers.
They all sought his life.
Unfortunately for them, as Qingming flew higher, he had more time to react.
As a result, the threat posed by these crossbow bolts decreased with each passing second.
Boom boom boom~
Explosions rang out as the explosive tags detonated, turning into fireballs that lit up the entire night sky like fireworks.
Qingming darted left and right, finally managing to evade all the crossbow fire.
Only then did he allow himself to breathe a little easier.
Although he had faced some danger tonight, he had also gained valuable experience for the upcoming battle.
If it weren't for tonight's experience, encountering these crossbows during the real battle, especially with the Mist Ninjas' attacks mixed in, would have been far more dangerous for him.
It could only be said that the Mist Village had acted out of desperation.
However, Qingming could understand their position.
After all, his flying altitude had been a bit too low earlier, and his guard had been too relaxed. It was truly a rare opportunity for the Mist Village.
Unfortunately for them, his reaction speed had been too quick, and in the end, he managed to avoid the crisis with sheer strength.
"Indeed, no matter what, personal strength is the most important. That way, even if there's a mistake, there's still a chance to remedy it."
Qingming once again solidified his resolve to continue improving his strength.
Pushing these thoughts aside, he activated his Mangekyo Sharingan and looked down below.
At this point, the Mist Ninjas had ceased their attacks, and all the crossbows were exposed.
"One, two, three…" Qingming's eyes swept over the crossbows, counting aloud.
In the end, he confirmed that the Mist Village had set up twenty-one crossbows.
Considering their firing rate, with this many crossbows working simultaneously, they could fire around thirty to forty bolts per minute.
That meant, on average, one bolt every 1.5 to 2 seconds.
If that was all, there wouldn't have been much to worry about. As long as he wasn't too close, his reaction speed could easily allow him to dodge.
However, the real problem was that these crossbow bolts were too fast, carrying immense kinetic energy, which meant that even the slightest mistake could be fatal.
Combined with the explosive tags' area damage, there was no doubt that they posed a serious threat.
"From now on, I'll have to be more careful." Qingming thought to himself.
Then, he suddenly realized something: how had the Mist Village transported so many crossbows and bolts here?
After all, his flight technique had only been exposed two days ago, and it hadn't even been forty-eight hours.
Even if the Mist Village had substantial reserves, it was impossible for them to have brought them so quickly, considering the distance from their village.
"Could it be that the Mist Village had foreseen this and prepared in advance?" Qingming thought sarcastically.
Wait!
Suddenly, Qingming had an epiphany. In the ninja world, it wasn't necessary to transport goods in a direct, linear fashion.
Critical items like these could have been sealed into scrolls by a ninja skilled in space-time ninjutsu.
Then, whether by sending a ninja to deliver them in person or using reverse summoning techniques, they could be transported rapidly.
And given the size of the Mist Village, finding two such ninjas shouldn't have been difficult.
"Indeed, I still can't underestimate the power and adaptability of these major ninja villages!" Qingming muttered to himself.
With that, he stopped paying attention to the Mist Ninjas below and headed back toward the Black Stone Base.
His mission for the night was complete, and with some additional gains, there was no need to linger any longer.
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