Five minutes passed quickly, and the soldiers at the military base checkpoint began their scheduled shift change. Everything seemed perfectly normal.
"Time's up. Move—" Hayato Falcon squinted in the darkness, waved his right hand, and gave the order. Instantly, the three squads of ninja troops, led by three other ninja captains, darted out like strange birds in the misty, rainy night, silently infiltrating the military base. Their speed was astonishing. Though there were three hundred ninjas, their training and skills were so precise that their unified movements were almost completely silent—a remarkable feat.
Hayato Falcon drew another sharp katana from his waist and spoke in a low voice to Mai Kanda, who stood beside him: "Mai, the time to win glory for the Iga Shinobi Clan has come! Follow me—let's charge in!"
"Hai—got it!" Mai Kanda replied, drawing her ninja blade and following Hayato Falcon. The two moved as if they were shadows streaking across the night sky. After a few swift leaps, they reached the tall wall of the military base. Hayato glanced up at the dense electric grid atop the wall, sneered, and dashed along the edge. Once he was sure he was near the warehouse, he pushed off lightly from the ground, soared over the wall, and landed inside without a sound.
Mai Kanda, however, remained motionless outside the wall, her eyes flashing with something strange. She sighed softly, shook her head, then turned and walked several dozen meters along the wall before vaulting over it at another spot.
Hayato Falcon landed as lightly as a drifting leaf inside the base and immediately noticed several Chinese soldiers chatting as they changed shifts. Instinctively, he hid behind a barracks building—his goal was to break into the warehouse and strike at the heart of the operation!
"Huh? Where's Mai? Why hasn't she come in yet?" Hayato Falcon wondered. After all, she should have followed him inside by now.
As he puzzled over it, Hayato Falcon suddenly sensed movement behind him. He twisted his body low and glanced back, alert—just then, the barracks where he'd been hiding burst into a cloud of white smoke and vanished. On the ground ahead, only a strange little pile of cinnabar talisman papers remained!
"Ah! That's a Daoist illusion from China! Damn—it’s a trap!" Hayato Falcon instantly realized what had happened.
"Heh heh—nice eyesight! This is the illusion spell our Daoist sect in China uses all the time. Who would've thought the famous Hayato Falcon would fall for it? Interesting, very interesting!" Shawn Young's eerie laughter echoed from midair, though Hayato Falcon couldn't see him.
"Baka—quit your tricks—filthy Chinese pig, show yourself! Fight me fair and square!" Hayato Falcon roared. He knew Shawn Young was hiding nearby, using the "Echo Technique" to mess with his mind, and he absolutely couldn't fall for it.
"Hah! Fight your ass! Dumbass, eat smoke first!" Shawn Young sneered.
Bang—bang—two bursts of white fog engulfed Hayato Falcon, making it impossible to see anything. He quickly focused his energy, crossed his hands over his chest, formed the "Inner Lion Bind" seal, chanted a ninjutsu incantation, and swept his left hand around. With a swoosh, a four or five meter wide, glowing green circular barrier appeared around him, shielding him from the swirling mist!
"Oh? Not bad! But let's see if your barrier can withstand heavy artillery! This is our Chinese Army's 2mm howitzer—super explosive, give it a try, you'll love it!" Shawn Young cackled as the mist parted, revealing Hayato Falcon and his glowing barrier.
Hayato Falcon was shocked. Through the clearing mist, he saw several massive camouflaged field cannons ahead, their dark barrels aimed right at him. He was standing smack in the middle of the artillery range—the firing target area! The place was wide open, with nothing but a few tufts of grass to hide behind.
Hayato Falcon's scalp tingled. He spun to escape, but just then, the 2mm field howitzers fired—boom, boom, boom! Three shells roared toward his position, trailing fire.
In a panic, Hayato Falcon channeled his energy, kicked off the ground, and shot forward along the surface for over ten meters—boom, boom, boom! The powerful shells exploded, their shockwaves sent him flying, and only after casting several stabilizing ninjutsu techniques in midair did he manage to land.
But the veil covering his head had fallen off, revealing a strikingly young and handsome, yet intensely brooding, chiseled face. He knelt on one knee, took a few deep breaths to calm his turbulent energy, then heard wave after wave of agonized screams outside!
Hayato Falcon instantly recognized the screams—they were coming from his own ninja troops. He turned and saw the area shrouded in white mist, strange winds howling above, flashes of thunder and clouds swirling, shadowy figures flickering in the haze. He couldn't tell friend from foe, and even the ground beneath his feet felt unreal.
"Mystic Gate Divination! Damn it—we've been lured into a formation!" Hayato Falcon cursed, finally realizing the trick.
"Hah! No wonder you're the top disciple of the Iga Shinobi Clan! That's right, this is the Seven-Star Trap Array within the Mystic Gate Formation! Hayato Falcon, you and your men can enjoy it—it's quite the thrill!" Shawn Young's eerie laughter echoed, sounding like a messenger from hell.
"Bakayaro—despicable Chinese! I'll kill you all!" Hayato Falcon finally exploded in rage, cursing wildly.
"Hah! For greedy wolves like you who barge in uninvited, there's no need for manners—I'll just let the bugs loose!" Shawn Young cackled, channeling his energy and unleashing the formation's killing move.