On the border of the Kingdom of Demons, which is close to the Kingdom of Bears, the ninja troops of the Demon Kingdom's military have already secretly assembled.

There are only a hundred ninjas gathered here.

The difference is that the one hundred ninjas here belong to a very special unit.

That is, all of them possess aircraft, and they are a relatively special air combat unit among the Demon Kingdom's military.

While holding aircraft, they will also be equipped with high-altitude invasion weapons such as detonating charms and poison gas bombs, which can carry out full-coverage strikes against enemies on the ground from distant air.

Due to the high cost of aircraft, many resources cannot be effectively utilized with the existing technology, so within the Ghost Country's military, the output of aircraft has always been low.

So far, the air combat force has only 300 official members.

One-third of the air force is assembled here.

It can be said that they attach great importance to the ninja troops of Sunagakure Village.

The captain leading this unit is Ayane.

The enemy force they faced was the Sunagakure force, which included a thousand ninjas.

After a recent survey, it has been discovered that the anti-air weapons they possess are basically long-range ballistas, supplemented by bows and arrows and detonating talismans, specifically used to suppress the air forces of the Kingdom of Ghosts.

However, Ayane didn't take it to heart.

Although that kind of ballistae is a bit troublesome for air troops, it is not capable of suppressing air troops head-on.

Moreover, the role of the air force, for the time being, is to harass and disrupt the enemy's formation, and it is their job to create favorable opportunities for the remaining frontal forces.

In a head-on firefight with the enemy, if too many aircraft are damaged, the gain will outweigh the loss.

"Lord Ayane, the third team has completed its patrol."

A Jōnin from the Kingdom of Demons came to report.

He is the squadron leader of this air combat unit.

The air combat unit is composed of ten people in a team, with a captain and deputy captain, and eight team members.

The one hundred air combat ninjas here are divided into ten squads, led by the squadron leader.

"How's it going?"

Ayane knows the importance of fighter planes.

In the past, I was lucky enough to see many battles in Konoha. For commanders, when to launch an attack and when to hide the team are very important things.

Although she herself is not very good at commanding, Shiraishi's reminder to her was very clear, that is, Sunagakure Village can directly attack Sunagakure troops after crossing the national border.

Before this, the Kingdom of Ghosts had publicly announced that any foreign force armed with force was not allowed to cross the national borders of the Kingdom of Ghosts in any form without permission.

The Bear Country is a small country isolated from other countries by a long and narrow valley. This long and narrow valley is the Hell Valley, which is filled with poisonous gas all year round.

As long as the Sunagakure troops cross the Hell Valley and launch an attack on the Sunagakure troops, the Kingdom of Oni will be justified.

The time Ayane was waiting for was the time for Sunagakure's troops to cross the Hell Valley and advance into the Kingdom of Demons.

"They are gathering troops and preparing to cross the Hell Valley. It seems that they are planning to take real military coercion."

The Jonin of the Demon Country reported.

With flying ninjas monitoring Sunagakure Village's every move from the air, to the Kingdom of Oni, the position of the ninja force in Sunagakure Village has long been exposed.

All their actions are also under the surveillance of the Kingdom of Ghosts.

"As expected, be careful to allow residents on the border to evacuate temporarily and not attack Sunagakure."

The corners of Ayane's lips curled up.

The commercial channels between the Kingdom of Wind and the Kingdom of Ghosts have been unilaterally closed by the Kingdom of Ghosts, and the supply from the Kingdom of Ghosts has been lost. After this month of fermentation, various problems must have occurred in the internal business chain of the Kingdom of Winds.

Although it is not fatal, it will definitely affect the economic output of the Kingdom of Wind, which means a reduction in the tax revenue of the nobles.

At the same time, the Kingdom of Wind relies heavily on imported food, water, medicine and other commodities, so many people secretly resent the Kingdom of Ghost for its lack of appreciation.

Looking at Sunagakure's current actions, it seems that he does not intend to be secretive, but directly adopts the most direct method to put pressure on the Kingdom of Demons, so that the Kingdom of Demons can reopen its trade routes with the Kingdom of Wind.

After more than a month of planning, it was finally time for both sides to use force.

At this time, it is necessary to ensure that the surrounding residents evacuate safely and stay away from this smoky battlefield to avoid being affected by the fighting.

"Yes, arrangements are already being made over there. In an hour, the border residents will be evacuated."

"Very good. After that, let's evacuate quickly."

"Huh? Don't we need to attack directly?"

Nominally, the moment Sunagakure Village crosses Hell Valley, the Demon Country can launch an attack on Sunagakure's troops and prevent Sunagakure ninjas from entering.

"It's not enough. A border conflict is not enough for us to have an excuse to launch an attack on the mainland of the Wind Country. Moreover, if it is solved at once, it will only make the Sand Hidden Village weigh the pros and cons, and maybe give up the war directly with us.

Compromise is the end. Hmm... Let's fight them evenly when the time comes, and let them believe that the home court is still in the Kingdom of Wind."

"..."

Do you think this is fishing? The Jonin of the Kingdom of Demons is powerless to complain.

◎

Maji ordered people to build wide stone bridges at both ends of Hell Valley using earth escape techniques, then pushed the ballista, put on various important military supplies, and set off towards the territory of the Kingdom of Ghosts.

The crossbow has been loaded with a large number of bows and arrows that can be fired continuously. The bows and arrows are attached with detonating symbols, and their angles are also adjusted to point to the sky, ready to respond to various crises in the sky.

Ma Ji followed the team forward, but his eyes were fixed on the sky vigilantly. As soon as there was a change in the sky, he would ask the surrounding Sunagakure ninjas to launch their crossbows, launch a covering strike into the sky, and shoot down the aerial ninjas of the Demon Country.

Ensure that the team can safely cross the border of the Ghost Country.

Because they had to pay attention to the issue of air raids, the troops composed of a thousand Sunagakure ninjas marched very slowly.

Reaching the Hell Valley, which is less than 500 meters wide, it took a thousand Sunagakure ninjas more than half an hour to cross the Hell Valley and officially enter the territory of the Kingdom of Demons.

The imagined air raid did not happen, which somewhat surprised Markey.

Judging from the previous performance, the Demon Kingdom seems to be ready to go to war with Sand Hidden Village, but when they crossed the Hell Valley just now, the Demon Kingdom had the best time to stop them.

Having lost that best period, Ma Ji couldn't figure out what the Demon Country should do to defeat the front troops of Sunagakure Village.

Could it be that the Kingdom of Ghosts is just lip service?

Markey had to think about it this way.

After all, the comprehensive national strength of large countries is far greater than that of small countries.

Under pressure from all aspects, even if the Kingdom of Ghosts talks tough, its actual actions may not be as resolute as what it says.

Maybe there was already a quarrel within their military because of the issue of whether to officially start a war with Sunagakure.

That's why it was so easy for them to cross the border into Hell Valley.

Markie felt confident in this battle, and the time to avenge his shame finally arrived.

He also lived up to the expectations of the Kazekage-sama. As long as the road to Hell Valley was opened, the door of the Demon Kingdom would be completely opened to Sunagakure Village without any effort.

Just when Marki was in a happy mood, he suddenly heard a buzzing sound in the air.

Everyone subconsciously looked up and saw ten small black shadows flying over their heads, and the sound came from them.

The Sunagakure ninja who was next to the crossbow immediately changed his expression. He was about to use the crossbow to launch a bow and arrow into the sky, but Ma Ji immediately stopped him and shouted: "Wait, don't be impulsive!"

Upon hearing Maki's order, the Sunagakure ninja put down the ballista at hand and waited for the order.

The Oni Country ninjas in the sky saw that the Sunagakure ninjas had stopped their air attacks and did not pay attention. Instead, they continued to hover over the Sunagakure troops and continued to put pressure on them.

"They should have come to check on the situation."

Ma Ji frowned, sensing the intentions of the ninja from the Kingdom of Ghosts in the sky.

If it was for an air strike, they would have already attacked Sunagakure's troops first, instead of waiting for Sunagakure to take the lead.

"Master Marki, what should we do now?"

"Well...as long as they don't take action, we don't need to take action, so as not to waste bows, arrows and detonating charms. Let them check it out."

Marky ordered.

The Sunagakure ninja took the order.

After hovering over the Sunagakure troops for more than half and disappearing, the ten Oni Country ninjas flew into the distance and disappeared from the sight of the Sunagakure ninjas.

Ma Ji took a deep breath. The flexibility of this army seemed to be stronger than imagined.

Moreover, it is not certain how many such air combat troops there are.

But according to Ma Ji's estimation, the Kingdom of Ghosts will not have many such special arms.

When the Kingdom of Sky declared war on the five major nations, the proportion of ninjas holding flying ninja gear was actually very small, and not everyone had a flying ninja gear.

Otherwise, the Kingdom of Sky would not have been quickly destroyed by the Kingdom of Fire.

Seeing the ninjas from the Kingdom of Oni flying away, many Sunagakure ninjas also breathed a sigh of relief. If these guys kept flying above them, they might not even be able to sleep well.

Ma Ji guessed what the intention of the Ghost Country was, and sent a dozen Sunagakure ninjas out to spy on information. Most of the Sunagakure ninjas camped in place and spent the night here.

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To be continued...