It turned out that the protection around the Oil Port was far more intense than they had imagined.
Although Qingming and his team had tried their best to avoid several Mist Ninja squads they had clashed with over the past few days, they still hadn't gotten very far before being detected.
It wasn't just them; the actions of their allied forces hadn't been smooth either.
Qingming's ears twitched slightly, and with a careful listen, he could hear the sound of battle in the distance.
"Perhaps, it's time to proceed to the next step," Qingming thought to himself.
At that moment, Kobayashi Junji suddenly appeared at his side, speaking urgently, "Captain, more and more Mist Ninjas are gathering around us. Should we keep moving forward?"
Indeed, although their presence had been exposed, Qingming had still ordered them to continue advancing. It was as though he had made up his mind, determined to attack the Oil Port.
This had made Kobayashi Junji and the others anxious, and they had asked several times whether they should stop.
Fortunately, this time, Qingming did not give a negative response.
The second step of their plan was to cause chaos on the battlefield.
In other words, when it became clear they could no longer get closer to the Oil Port, they would defend their position and engage the Mist Ninjas in battle, thereby disrupting the entire battlefield.
Only by doing this would the elite ninjas, who were about to carry out the decapitation mission, have a chance to take advantage of the chaos.
Now, the timing was just about right.
So, he directly agreed to halt.
When Qingming nodded, Kobayashi Junji sighed in relief and immediately ordered the Konoha ninjas behind them to form small squads as discussed previously and prepare for defense on the spot.
The Mist Ninjas, upon seeing them stop, immediately launched an attack without hesitation.
The battle began!
In the center of the battlefield, Qingming did not rush to make a move. Instead, he took a kunai wrapped with a talisman from his ninja tool pouch. On it was a faint inscription—"The Sword of Ninja Love."
Yes, the kunai in his hand was one marked by Minato Namikaze.
It had been delivered to him not long ago by Nara Akihiko.
With this, Qingming confirmed that Minato Namikaze would be participating in the mission here.
This further confirmed his suspicions that the recent series of leaks in the camp were absolutely related to Uchiha Madara and his associates.
Their goal was to use Konoha's decapitation mission to trap Minato Namikaze here, then target Nohara Rin, hoping to awaken Uchiha Obito's Mangekyō Sharingan and push him down the path Madara had designed for him.
Qingming had no intention of getting involved, so he remained silent.
Standing in place, he kept an eye on the entire battlefield while waiting for Minato's arrival.
Next, he was waiting for Minato to prepare, then use the Flying Thunder God Technique to gather all the elite ninjas together.
It didn't take long for Qingming to sense a space fluctuation. As he stood in the midst of the battle, Minato's figure suddenly appeared.
Known as the "Yellow Flash," Minato's appearance immediately alerted many people.
However, Minato merely glanced over the battlefield before disregarding everyone else. He nodded toward Qingming, grabbed his shoulder, and performed the Flying Thunder God Technique again.
With a flash, both of them disappeared from the battlefield.
There was no need to worry that the Konoha ninjas would fall into disarray after Qingming vanished.
Not to mention that Kobayashi Junji, a special jōnin, was still there and could continue to take command, but even without him, someone would soon step in to lead them.
This had all been planned beforehand.
Although Nara Akihiko had kept the information tightly under wraps for confidentiality, he would not allow the loss of too many middle and lower-ranking ninjas.
At the same time, small command squads consisting of ninjas from the Yamanaka and Nara clans had also entered the battlefield.
Their mission was simple: to minimize the casualties among the lower-ranked ninjas by either directly joining the battle or controlling it remotely via the Mind Communication Technique.
This was something only Konoha could pull off. Other villages could never afford such tactics.
As Qingming's attention returned to his surroundings, he felt a brief fluctuation in the space, and in the next moment, he found himself in an unfamiliar location.
He quickly surveyed his surroundings, trying to familiarize himself with the environment.
However, Minato noticed his reaction and let out a soft "Hmm?"
Unlike others who would often experience some disorientation after being moved using the Flying Thunder God Technique, Qingming showed no such signs.
The moment he appeared, he immediately scanned his surroundings, indicating that he was not disoriented at all.
This showed that his nerve response speed far exceeded that of ordinary jōnin.
In fact, it was true.
With his physical attributes improved and the awakening of his Mangekyō Sharingan, Qingming's neural reaction speed had now surpassed that of normal people.
Not long ago, during the battle in the Land of Rain, when his Sharingan was still at the Three-Tomoe level, he had experienced a momentary blur when Minato used the Flying Thunder God Technique to move him.
But now, that situation was gone.
Moreover, during the transfer, he had actually felt the space fluctuation.
This would have been impossible before.
It was not just because he hadn't yet begun training in the Sealing Formation or lacked sensitivity to space. More importantly, his neural reaction speed was too slow back then. The transfer was too brief for him to perceive any changes in the space.
But now, with his Mangekyō Sharingan active, his reaction speed had greatly increased, allowing him to feel this change.
With this, Qingming concluded that if he were taught the methods of the Flying Thunder God Technique, he would undoubtedly be able to master it.
Unfortunately, as an S-Rank forbidden technique, the Flying Thunder God Technique was not something easily obtained.
As for copying it using his Sharingan?
That was almost impossible.
Not only was it uncertain whether the Sharingan could copy the Flying Thunder God Technique, but even if it could, he wouldn't be able to do so.
Minato had already mastered it to an extremely high level, and the process of using it was nearly instantaneous.
Without seeing the process, how could he copy it?
It would be unreasonable to expect Minato to slowly demonstrate it for him.
Even if Minato were willing, it was highly unlikely that the village would allow it, since this technique was sealed in the Forbidden Scroll and couldn't be passed on freely.
"If I want to learn this technique, I'll have to find another way," Qingming thought to himself.
As for the method…
Qingming had an inkling, but now was not the time to think about it in detail.
He quickly focused his thoughts and turned his attention back to Minato.
Minato didn't say much; it seemed that his earlier surprise was just a momentary feeling.
After a quick nod at Qingming, Minato used the Flying Thunder God Technique again, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Feeling the chakra changes within him before and after Minato's transfer, Qingming speculated that this short-range teleportation didn't cause Minato much of a burden.
The chakra consumed in this process wasn't very high.
Of course, "not very high" was relative to Minato's vast chakra reserves. For an average ninja, a few uses of this technique would quickly drain their chakra.
Minato, however, was qualified to practice the Sage Mode, and his chakra was far beyond what ordinary people could compare to.
Thoughts flashed through Qingming's mind as he shifted his gaze to the few silent figures to his right.
Indeed, before him, there were already several people gathered. It was unclear whether Minato had brought them, or if they had sneaked in themselves.
In any case, several figures had already appeared here.
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