The next day.
Evening.
After leading his team to repel another wave of attacks from the Hidden Mist, Qing Ming received a message that Nara Keiko had dispatched someone to deliver the latest orders.
Without even wiping the blood from his body, Qing Ming went straight to the rear of the battlefield and entered a small wooden room. He looked at the Konoha Chunin in front of him and asked directly, "What instructions does the captain have?"
Without saying a word, the Konoha Chunin handed over an official order to Qing Ming.
Qing Ming carefully examined the order, confirming there were no issues before forming hand seals to break the seal on it.
Opening the envelope-like document, he pulled out a slip of paper covered with numbers and symbols.
Clearly, this was a cipher.
From here on, Qing Ming had to translate it himself to decipher the real message.
Nara Keiko's caution in making things so complicated wasn't without reason—the spy they had been unable to catch had been relentless in stealing classified information over the past few days, and this forced Keiko to take extra precautions.
Qing Ming scanned the cipher on the paper, quickly translating it in his mind. Soon, he had the latest orders.
However, throughout the process, his expression remained unchanged. He simply pondered for a moment before folding the order and looking at the Chunin, saying, "I have received the order. You may return to report."
"Yes, Qing Ming-sama!" The Konoha Chunin responded without hesitation, immediately exiting the small wooden house and leaving the battlefield.
Qing Ming closed his eyes, sensing for a moment to ensure the Chunin had really left before picking up the order again.
Looking at the cipher once more, Qing Ming's mind automatically translated the text into comprehensible words: "The plan began on time this morning!"
Boom~
A ball of flame appeared in his palm, instantly reducing the paper to ashes.
"Ha~"
Qing Ming exhaled a breath, watching the ashes scatter.
It was only then that a serious expression appeared on his face.
As for the plan, he had only known the general idea up until now: Konoha intended to leverage its superiority in high-level combat power to turn the tide of the battlefield here.
However, Konoha had been facing multiple fronts and was unable to allocate enough personnel, which delayed the plan.
Now, everything was finally ready.
Similarly, over the past three days, he had finally learned the specifics of the plan. In essence, it was quite simple—concentrate all the high-level combatants and carry out a decapitation strike against the Hidden Mist.
The "head" wasn't just the commander of the Hidden Mist forces but all their high-level combatants. Nara Keiko's goal was to wipe out the entire leadership system of the Hidden Mist in one fell swoop.
Without the guidance of the higher-ups, no matter how many lower-ranking Hidden Mist ninja there were, they wouldn't be able to pose much of a threat.
As for whether the Hidden Mist would attempt to reorganize their command system and launch a new attack? This was indeed something the Hidden Mist would do, but it would take some time.
By then, the results of the final battle with Sunagakure (the Hidden Sand Village) would be almost certain. If nothing unexpected happened, Konoha would emerge victorious.
At that point, they could send reinforcements from that side and no longer have to worry about the Hidden Mist's attacks.
In short, everything Konoha's higher-ups were doing was aimed at buying time.
As for the simplicity of the plan...
The simpler the plan, the less likely it was to encounter unforeseen issues, especially considering the spy they hadn't yet caught. This made a straightforward plan even more necessary.
By keeping the plan as simple as possible, they could maintain the highest level of secrecy.
For the same reasons, only the higher-ranking ninja like Qing Ming had received the exact timing of the operation. He was certain that even now, the high-level combatants designated to carry out the decapitation strike had yet to arrive at the camp.
In other words, Nara Keiko had spared no effort in making this happen.
Shaking his head, Qing Ming pushed those thoughts aside and muttered, "I wonder if Minato Namikaze will be joining us?"
"With such a good opportunity to gain prestige, Sarutobi Hiruzen probably wouldn't let him miss it."
Thinking this, Qing Ming intended to leave the small wooden house.
But just as he was about to step out, he suddenly froze, his body stiffening in place as he murmured, "Minato Namikaze?"
At that moment, it felt as though a meteor had streaked across his mind, illuminating everything in darkness, allowing him to piece together many things.
After a long pause, he finally snapped back to his senses, ready to speak, but then he hesitated as another thought crossed his mind. Without further delay, he formed hand seals, dispelling the "protective seal" on his head.
Then, concentrating his chakra, he activated the Byakugan in his forehead.
In the next moment, his vision penetrated through the Konoha headband and the wooden walls of the house, taking in everything within a one-kilometer radius.
However, Qing Ming paid no attention to those details. His focus was on the ground beneath him.
His eyes scanned the land carefully, checking to see if anything was hidden beneath the surface. After confirming there was nothing, he let out a long breath.
With that, he resealed his Byakugan and began to reconsider the idea that had just come to him.
Just moments ago, from Minato Namikaze's figure, he had suddenly connected the dots with the three students under his tutelage.
More than two months ago, when he first heard about the fall of Shuanghe Town, he had already suspected that Iwagakure (the Hidden Stone Village) would take advantage of the situation to invade the Land of Fire.
From there, he had connected it to the Battle of Kamigawa Bridge and the "death" of Obito Uchiha.
As it turned out, his guess had been correct. After that battle, news of Obito's sacrifice had indeed spread.
Qing Ming still remembered that Uchiha Tetsuhon had once told him that Kakashi had transplanted the Sharingan from their Uchiha clan, and someone had wanted to take it back.
If he calculated the time right, Obito must have recovered from his injuries by now.
Likewise, the Third Great Ninja War was coming to an end.
And this moment was about the time when Uchiha Madara would deliver the final blow to Obito, using Rin Nohara to push him into despair and awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan.
But how could Madara possibly abduct Rin under Minato Namikaze's protection? The answer was clear: by removing Minato from the equation.
If, at this very moment, Madara were to discover Konoha's decapitation plan, would he intervene?
The answer seemed just as clear—he almost certainly would.
When someone like him orchestrated a plot, even the most careful planning would leave traces. But if he simply took advantage of the situation, he could hide his true intentions most effectively.
This train of thought led Qing Ming to recall the spy Nara Keiko had been unable to uncover and the "transformation technique" of White Zetsu, which fit this situation perfectly.
It was the most flawless transformation technique in the ninja world—nothing would detect it.
By using this technique, White Zetsu could easily impersonate a few innocent ninjas to gather information.
As for how the Hidden Mist received this intel...
It was no secret that White Zetsu had been used by Madara to capture Rin and seal the Three-Tails inside her, and they had employed the Hidden Mist's Anbu forces.
If that could not explain how the information was sent, then it was a joke.
Once all the pieces fell into place, everything that had seemed incomprehensible now made perfect sense.
At that point, Qing Ming was almost certain that this was the truth.
And it was because of these realizations that he hastily used his Byakugan again to scan the surroundings, especially underground, to confirm whether White Zetsu was hiding nearby.
He had not forgotten that in addition to its transformation technique, White Zetsu also had the "Insect Technique," which granted remarkable speed and could hide its chakra signature.
So, it was only natural to double-check.
Fortunately, it seemed that White Zetsu had not been watching him.
Qing Ming let out a sigh of relief, silently grateful that he had not exposed his Mangekyo Sharingan in the past; otherwise, he would definitely have been targeted by Uchiha Madara.
From Madara's plans, it was evident that he was a master of manipulation.
If Madara had set his sights on him, he would have been in serious trouble.
But this incident had also served as a reminder for Qing Ming—that he could never underestimate the old players of the ninja world. Even with absolute intelligence, things could go unnoticed.
After all, the memories of his past life were only a fraction of the true reality of this world.
In every corner he couldn't see, things were happening every moment, and the secrets involved were not something one could always perceive just because they were part of the game.
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