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Inside the military base, Shawn Young lifted his head and glanced toward the corridor. He swept his spiritual sense across the area, and when he realized the bat had left the warehouse and disappeared, he withdrew his senses back into his Second Sight.
Heh heh—Alright, everyone can drop the act. They're gone!" Shawn Young suddenly said to Commander Lin and Colonel Hank Han beside him.
"Hmm? Shawn, are you saying an enemy snuck in with us and then slipped away just as easily?" Colonel Hank Han asked curiously.
"Yeah, that's right. The guy was a ninja—and a pretty skilled one at that. If I'm not mistaken, it was probably Iga Hawk of the Iga Shinobi Clan himself!" Shawn explained.
"Uh—no way, that ninja was a living, breathing human. Unless he can turn invisible, how could we not see him?!" Colonel Hank Han said, a bit skeptical.
"Heh—he doesn't need invisibility. But it's pretty much the same thing. If you don't believe me, just check the hidden surveillance footage from the warehouse!" Shawn said with a grin.
Commander Lin, curious as ever, turned to a senior officer beside him and said, "Zhang Ming, bring over the laptop with the surveillance recordings. Let's see how that ninja got in!"
"Yes, sir!" The senior officer quickly returned to a hidden control room in the warehouse, grabbed a laptop, and powered it up. The screen showed everything was normal from start to finish—except for Shawn Young, nobody noticed anything unusual.
"Hmm? The playback's over and nothing showed up. Shawn, where exactly did that Japanese ninja sneak in?" Colonel Hank Han asked, puzzled.
"Zoom in, and everyone pay attention to the top of the corridor. See that bat flying in with the convoy? That's the ninja's tracking ninjutsu at work—see it? Right there—" Shawn Young pointed at the black dot on the laptop screen, then zoomed in. Sure enough, the screen showed a black-gray bat with eerie green glowing eyes.
"Whoa! So that thing was released by the ninja for tracking and recon? Since when did the Japanese get such advanced animal training skills?" Colonel Hank Han exclaimed in surprise.
"Heh—it's not a real animal, actually. It's a puppet technique—an animated decoy. I can do it too," Shawn Young explained with a grin. He formed a sword-finger with his right hand, channeled his true energy, and pointed at the corridor ceiling, calling out, "Reveal!"
A flash of white light shot from Shawn Young's fingertip to the top of the corridor. In an instant, it transformed into an identical bat, flapping its wings as it dropped from midair, aiming straight for Colonel Hank Han's head. Just as it was about to hit him, Hank instinctively dodged, but the bat vanished with a soft "pop" before it could make contact.
Heh—Big Brother Hank, it's fake. I used true energy and illusion arts to conjure it up, but my puppet illusion skills aren't as slick as Iga Hawk's! Looks like he's recovered his powers pretty well," Shawn Young said, clapping his hands.
"Whoa—damn, so it was fake! Those Eastern ninjutsu tricks really are something else!" Colonel Hank Han finally exclaimed in awe.
"Yeah, these Japanese guys are seriously tough! Shawn, do you think the formation you set up in the base can trap them?" Commander Lin asked, a little worried.
"Relax! The mountains around Mount Raveneye are like dragons writhing across the land—on a feng shui level, that's a 'reverse dragon vein,' perfect for ambushes. My 'Seven-Star Trap Array' is set up to fit the terrain, with hidden flags already planted. This military base is just a cover—the real danger zone is the five-kilometer radius outside. Once the enemy steps into that area, they're in the kill zone. As long as everyone works together, I guarantee those Japanese won't make it out alive! Don't hold back when the time comes!" Shawn Young said confidently.
"Heh—no worries! Killing Japanese is my specialty—my ancestors were anti-Japanese fighters in General Li Zongren's Guangxi Army!" Colonel Hank Han said excitedly.
"Good! I bet they'll make their move tomorrow. When those Japanese stumble in, Big Brother Hank, you and the Dragonsquad guys can go wild!" Shawn Young laughed.
"Of course, if we can catch a live one for our troops to practice on, that wouldn't be bad either," Commander Lin suddenly said.
"Oh, that's no problem—once those Japanese show up here, you can catch as many as you want," Shawn Young replied with a laugh, and everyone burst out laughing.
And just like that, a vast net was set up deep in the remote Mount Raveneye, waiting for its prey to walk right in...
Time flew by, and by the next evening, dark clouds gathered overhead. Soon, a steady drizzle began to fall, shrouding the entire Mount Raveneye in mist. With night setting in, visibility was low, the mountains were even gloomier, and the air was warm and damp, tinged with unease. Even the frogs and insects that usually made a ruckus fell silent—it was truly spooky weather.
At that moment, in the woods surrounding the mountain base, three groups of black-clad, masked ninjas appeared from different directions. Armed not only with traditional Japanese ninja swords but also modern firearms, the three squad leaders even carried powerful explosive shuriken.
One gray-clad ninja acted alone, waiting for the three teams to get into position before leading a squad of mercenaries armed with modified American weapons to take up high ground by the road leading out of the base.
Once everything was set, the gray-clad ninja made a strange gesture. A gray-black figure swiftly appeared in midair, gently landed in front of him, pressed both palms together, and bowed respectfully with a ninja salute.
"Hai—Iga Hawk, Mai Kanda reporting in!" The newly arrived gray-clad ninja, though masked, had a curvy, striking figure—it was clearly Mai Kanda.
"Yes—Mai, thanks to your help, we found this hidden spot! Once the mission's done, I'll make sure the Black Dragon Society and Grandmaster Simon Hattori know how much you contributed!" The gray-clad ninja was Iga Hawk, the commander of this operation.
"You're welcome, it's my duty. Iga Hawk, please give me your orders! I want to do more for the Iga Shinobi Clan!" Mai Kanda replied enthusiastically.
"Good! Wait five more minutes—when the Chinese troops inside the base change shifts, that's our best chance to strike. As soon as I give the order, you follow me in and fight your way through! The guy who stole my 'Murasame Blade' is inside—I want to kill him myself and wash away the shame of losing it!" Iga Hawk said coldly.
"Hai! I'll give it my all to support you, Iga Hawk! The mission will succeed! For the glory of the Iga Shinobi Clan!" Mai Kanda declared with conviction.
"Good! Let's make sure this mission is clean and efficient!" Iga Hawk nodded, then turned away, calming his mind and waiting for the moment to attack.