In his line of sight, several figures wearing high-collared cloaks, thoroughly wrapped up, were standing silently.
Despite the late hour, they were all wearing sunglasses, and just standing there, they gave off a tranquil vibe.
Qingming immediately recognized who they were—Konoha's insect users from the Yamanaka clan.
As one of the founding families of Konoha, the members of the Yamanaka clan were not only powerful but also very mysterious. Whether it was Yamanaka Shino, one of the Twelve Guardians of Konoha, or the few standing in front of him, they all exuded an air of mystery.
Of course, there was also danger.
These Yamanaka clan ninjas before him, with the least skilled being Special Jonin, were formidable. The strongest among them was Yamanaka Shimi, the current head of the clan.
Qingming had made sure to commit the appearance of such prominent figures in the village to memory, so there was no mistaking it—standing at the front of the Yamanaka clan ninjas was Yamanaka Shimi.
It seemed that Yamanaka Shimi had noticed Qingming observing him. Even through the sunglasses, Qingming could feel the scrutinizing gaze.
After a moment, Yamanaka Shimi nodded slightly at him but said nothing.
"Mm, very good. This is the Yamanaka clan's style," Qingming thought to himself.
What he didn't know was that, although Yamanaka Shimi appeared calm on the outside, inside, he was deeply shaken.
It was well known that the smaller a creature, the sharper its senses of danger tended to be. As it turned out, the insect companion contracted by the Yamanaka clan had this ability, and even stronger. This was one of the methods the Yamanaka clan used to gauge the strength of their enemies.
Just moments ago, as Yamanaka Shimi tried to sense Qingming, his insect companion immediately issued a strong warning signal. The level of danger it sensed had only been felt a few times before—those were the only few who had ever triggered this alarm.
The identities of those individuals... Yamanaka Shimi shook his head, not allowing himself to dwell on it.
While not completely certain, Yamanaka Shimi knew that Qingming's power was far from what it seemed at first glance.
Even though Qingming had already shown himself to be powerful—far beyond the capabilities expected of someone his age—he had never reached the level where the insect companion would give such a warning signal.
In other words, Qingming had definitely been hiding a great deal of strength.
This realization made Yamanaka Shimi uneasy.
After a moment's reflection, he used the insect companion to secretly send a signal to the others behind him.
He instructed them to pay close attention to Qingming during the upcoming battle, and if any danger arose, they should move closer to him.
Although the others did not show any clear signs of response, Qingming still noticed the increase in the number of eyes focusing on him.
However, he didn't mind.
Even if these people were his temporary allies and posed no threat to him, even if they did harbor ill intentions, he wasn't afraid.
At the end of the day, the ninja world was all about strength. As long as one's power was formidable enough, trivial matters were easily disregarded.
While Qingming was lost in these thoughts, two more figures appeared. Once again, Minato Namikaze emerged, this time accompanied by someone Qingming knew very well—Itachi Uchiha, who had come to assist him from the Black Stone stronghold.
Qingming's gaze swept over and noticed that Itachi Uchiha seemed momentarily dazed, clearly affected by the spatial transfer.
From this, Qingming deduced that Itachi had not yet unlocked his Mangekyō Sharingan.
Indeed, as the heart's reflection eye, the Mangekyō Sharingan's ability to modify one's will—such as the "Tsukuyomi" technique—was likely triggered by Itachi's awareness of the rift between his clan and the village, anticipating their eventual schism.
But right now, with the war in full swing, there was no time for such reflections. As long as he couldn't see the painful reality, his Mangekyō Sharingan would not evolve.
These thoughts flickered in Qingming's mind. He nodded at Itachi and then saw Minato Namikaze disappear again.
Over the next period, more familiar and unfamiliar faces were teleported in, increasing the number of people gathered here. Qingming's shock grew deeper.
He realized he had underestimated the determination of Hiruzen Sarutobi and the higher-ups of Konoha.
This time, Konoha had assembled an extremely formidable force.
Not only had Yamanaka Shimi, the clan leader, arrived, but also leaders from the Inuzuka clan, the Moonlight clan, the Sarutobi clan, the Nara clan, the Akimichi clan, the Hyuga clan, the Uchiha clan, and other major and minor families.
When you added their clan's elites, this was undeniably a truly powerful lineup.
Just seeing these figures, Qingming could imagine how difficult it must have been to gather them all while keeping the other battlefronts stable.
"No wonder it took so long to assemble all these people!" Qingming realized with a sense of clarity.
But then, Qingming's attention turned to Minato Namikaze. He was clearly exhausted. He could feel that Minato's chakra was now significantly lower than just a few minutes ago—more than three-quarters had been drained.
Even though Minato had mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique to a very advanced level, each use consumed a minimal amount of chakra, but the frequency of usage had nearly exhausted him.
This was even though these people had already arrived nearby in advance, shortening the distance to minimize Minato's burden.
If they had been farther apart, Minato would have been drained of chakra before he could finish.
Despite this, it was still an impressive feat.
Qingming quickly counted the people around him—there were about fifty in total.
These were no ordinary ninja. The number of Jonin was above average, with the least skilled being special talents among the Chūnin.
Such a force could definitely overwhelm the defenses of the Hidden Mist Village, even if they had a stronghold in place.
Recalling the strength intelligence gathered about the Hidden Mist Village's forces, it seemed that there weren't many enemies that required Minato Namikaze's level of power to handle.
In that case, reducing Minato's individual strength to enhance the strength of the group was a valid consideration.
Qingming thought to himself.
At that moment, Minato Namikaze suddenly clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention.
Once everyone was looking at him, he didn't waste words and immediately began assigning tasks.
This had all been planned before, but he was simply reiterating the orders now.
It was worth noting that the overall commander for this mission wasn't Nara Shikahisa, known for his intelligence, but the "young man" Minato Namikaze.
It was clear that Hiruzen Sarutobi was setting Minato up as his successor.
Hiruzen had probably realized that after this war, it was unlikely he could remain Hokage, so he had begun grooming his successor early on.
However, Minato's character was one that everyone could accept, and his abilities were unquestionable, so there was no objection.
In fact, many were more than happy to support him.
In the unseen corners of Konoha, some clans had already begun forming factions, their political instincts keen.
This was exactly why so many had gathered here today.
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