Creak~
The door swung open.
Qingming and the other three stepped out of the room, moving through the charred corridor to the entrance of Room 107.
Then, they saw Yamazhong Yiliang make a hand gesture.
Qingming and the others nodded in understanding.
Next, each took out a shuriken, carefully wrapping it with explosive tags, and at Yamazhong Yiliang's count of "3, 2, 1," they all threw them into Room 107 simultaneously.
"Be careful!"
Immediately, anxious shouts from the Iwa ninjas came from inside the room.
However, there was no stopping the explosions of the explosive tags.
Boom~ Boom~ Boom~
The loud explosions echoed.
Next, a torrent of red flames surged from the entrance of Room 107, scorching the faces of Qingming and the others.
Not only that, but the walls on either side also trembled three times under the immense force of the explosion.
In such a confined space, the damage caused by the explosive tags was far greater than if they had detonated in an open area.
I wonder how the Iwa ninjas fared inside?
Thinking this, Qingming took the lead and dashed into the room as the flames dissipated.
Amidst the smoke, several shuriken flew towards him at high speed.
Qingming remained calm, wielding his short blade to deflect each shuriken with a series of clinks.
At this moment, his three teammates also charged in.
"Two o'clock!"
Yamazhong Yiliang immediately reported the enemy's position.
The other two wasted no time, racing towards the right front with incredible speed.
There, an Iwa jonin was half-exposed from the ground, preparing for a second wave of ambush.
Seeing the opponent's posture, Qingming realized that the Iwa ninja had likely escaped the direct impact of the explosive tags by utilizing the entrance to the underground warehouse.
Otherwise, in such a small room, being hit point-blank by several explosive tags would surely have left the Iwa ninjas either dead or severely injured.
Just like the Iwa genin who lay before him, though he had evaded the direct blast, he had still been harmed by the shockwave.
No way he can fight back now.
Shaking his head internally, Qingming focused back on the opponent.
At this moment, the Iwa jonin had emerged from the underground warehouse and was locked in battle with the two Konoha ninjas who had rushed forward.
Additionally, two Iwa genin had followed him out of the tunnel and were engaged in a fierce skirmish with Yamazhong Yiliang.
Seeing this, Qingming pulled out six shuriken, wedging them between his fingers, and fixed his gaze on the Iwa ninjas.
In the next moment, he launched the shuriken—some fast, some slow, and two even collided mid-air, altering their trajectories.
Following that came the muffled grunts from the three Iwa ninjas; only two shuriken missed, while the other four struck true.
Though they didn't hit vital spots, it was enough for his teammates to seize the opportunity to finish off the enemies.
Moments later, amidst a few short, painful cries, all three Iwa ninjas collapsed, breathless.
After confirming that all enemies were eliminated, Qingming and his team wasted no time and quickly entered the Iwa supply warehouse through the underground entrance.
Inside, they found a space about two hundred square meters, clearly excavated using Earth Release techniques.
Rows of shelves filled the area, stocked with ample supplies, including food, ninja tools, healing ointments, explosive tags, and various other necessities for ninjas.
Most importantly, the explosive tags saved them countless hours of work.
After some discussion, Qingming and the others gathered all the explosive tags and placed them at various corners of the warehouse.
Once that was done, the four cautiously exited the underground space.
Yamazhong Yiliang set up several security measures at the entrance of the tunnel, confirming that everything was safe before saying, "Alright, the traps will trigger in three minutes, and we can leave."
Upon hearing this, the group exchanged glances and quickly headed out.
To be honest, standing on such a large "powder keg" made anyone uneasy, even if they had personally set the traps.
If it explodes, forget about standing here; even getting a bit further away might not keep them safe.
Thus, it was best to leave as soon as possible.
After that, their only goal was to rush to the town base.
As for signaling task completion...
Come on!
With that giant "powder keg" around, what more signal did they need?
Tick-tock~ Tick-tock~
Time passed minute by minute.
Three minutes later.
A massive explosion erupted from the center of the village, red flames pouring through the cracks in the ground and illuminating the sky, making the entire village glow.
Not only that, but a strong tremor shook the ground within a two to three-kilometer radius of the village center.
The Konoha ninjas stationed on the periphery, witnessing this spectacle, immediately understood that someone had completed the task.
As a result, they began to fight while retreating.
But the Iwa ninjas seemed enraged and refused to back down, resulting in a chaotic withdrawal plan.
A fierce back-and-forth ensued, filled with life-and-death clashes.
Ultimately, during this phase, the death toll for both sides even exceeded that of the initial skirmish.
Qingming and his team were inevitably caught in the fray.
Even with Yamazhong Yiliang's early warnings, they encountered several enemy ninjas, and one of their fellow task members lost his life.
By the time they returned to the town base in the late hours of the night, Qingming realized that the losses from this mission far exceeded his expectations—the number of people present at the base was nearly half of what it had been at departure.
Carrying a heavy heart, Qingming returned to his team's quarters and was met with the sight of Mizutani Seiko, her eyes red and swollen.
For some reason, an ominous premonition crept into Qingming's heart.
Sure enough, he soon heard the terrible news.
"Qingming, Ryo, Ryo, and our teacher... sob... they're all dead... sob sob sob..."
As she spoke, Mizutani Seiko broke down in tears.
Hearing this, Qingming stood frozen in shock, memories of their time together flashing through his mind.
Though he hadn't spent much time with Ryo, often declining his invitations in favor of solo training, the latter's optimistic and positive demeanor had nonetheless left a mark on Qingming's heart.
Now, hearing of his death felt surreal.
And then there was Teacher Furukawa.
Though he hadn't taught him much in jutsu, he had provided invaluable combat experience and was always willing to help with his requests.
In a way, these two were among the few connections Qingming had in this world.
Hoo~~ Ha~~
Taking a deep breath, he exhaled slowly, trying to calm his emotions. Qingming looked at Mizutani Seiko and asked, "How did they die?"
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