Chapter 268: Arrival

After a month away, returning to Fengliu Town, Qingming could only sense how desolate it had become. In the past, although there were no civilians, the presence of numerous Konoha ninjas made it relatively lively.

Now, even though many ninjas from the outer strongholds had retreated here, the town still lacked vitality.

This stark contrast highlighted the tremendous losses they had suffered over the past month.

No wonder the headquarters decided to pull back their lines!

With the current situation, persisting would only lead to a complete loss. It was far better to concentrate their forces and defend a more rearward position.

However, as Qingming observed the somber atmosphere among the troops, he felt that the backline wouldn't hold for too long either.

The prolonged war lasting over two years had nearly drained Konoha's potential. If this continued, they risked suffering a devastating downfall.

Sarutobi Hiruzen—whether one criticized him for being indecisive or hypocritical—could not be denied his political acumen.

Whether it was selecting a successor for Hokage or balancing the interests of the village, he had handled these matters effectively.

Thus, such a straightforward issue was something Qingming could easily identify; it was unreasonable to think the other party would overlook it.

This might also be the reason why they ultimately chose to withstand the pressure from Shimura Danzo and forcefully end the war.

Shaking his head, Qingming decided to stop pondering these matters and turned back to his quarters to focus on training.

He had a meeting to attend that night.

However, he figured that it would likely involve delegating tasks.

With so many people moving together, ensuring protection was a concern. Stronger jounin like him would undoubtedly be assigned numerous tasks.

If that happened, he wouldn't have much opportunity to train.

So, he'd better make the most of the time he had!

······

Before he knew it, the afternoon slipped by.

As night fell, Qingming walked into the meeting room.

The familiar faces had dwindled, replaced by unfamiliar ones—most likely jounin who had been stationed at the outer strongholds.

Many of the familiar faces had already perished in battle.

Qingming paused briefly before naturally walking to his seat.

During this time, some jounin nodded at him, and he reciprocated. A few even cast curious glances in his direction, but he chose to ignore them.

Once seated, others began to arrive in succession.

When most were present, Omura Wairen also made his entrance.

He skipped the pleasantries and went straight to assigning tasks.

Without any surprise, Qingming found himself placed in a highly dangerous reconnaissance team.

Of course, Omura Wairen's arrangement was not due to a belief in Qingming's scouting abilities; rather, it was because he needed Qingming to protect the accompanying Hyuga clan ninja. The primary scouting responsibility would fall on them, with Qingming merely acting as a bodyguard.

Qingming was very satisfied with this arrangement.

While the task was somewhat "dangerous," he wouldn't have to worry about too many things, so he agreed on the spot.

Soon, everyone's assignments were finalized, and once confirmed, Omura Wairen declared the meeting adjourned.

This was probably the shortest meeting Qingming had ever attended, a testament to the efficiency of the ninjas present.

Leaving the meeting room, Qingming directly sought out a special jounin from the Hyuga clan, who would be his partner in the upcoming mission. This person was a familiar face.

"Linghuo!"

Indeed, this individual was Hyuga Linghuo, who had previously served under Nara Shisui. They were partners again for this task.

"Qingming!"

Upon hearing Qingming's call, Hyuga Linghuo raised a hand in greeting.

It had to be said that Linghuo was quite fortunate; months had passed, and he was still alive.

This was not meant as a curse or a sign of disrespect; rather, as previously stated, reconnaissance missions were inherently high-risk.

Hyuga Linghuo had been executing such tasks for years, and surviving to this point was no small feat.

The two exchanged a few words about their recent circumstances before packing their belongings and departing from Fengliu Town to head toward the rear stronghold.

As a reconnaissance team, they naturally needed to set out earlier than the main force to scout the route and relay information back to the main unit in a timely manner.

However, to Qingming's surprise, the Iwa ninjas still chose not to intercept them.

When the various strongholds were gathering at Fengliu Town, the Iwa ninjas did not impede them, and now that they were withdrawing, they still did not intervene.

At this point, Qingming understood why Omura Wairen had scheduled such tight timing—he wanted to ensure that the Iwa ninjas would give up on pursuing them!

Indeed, it would have been a challenge for the Iwa ninjas to clean up the mess left by the four-tailed beast's rampage in just one day. It was reasonable that they would not have the time or resources to organize a force to block their retreat.

Moreover, even if they wished to intervene, they needed the capability to do so.

The quickness of their movements was due to prior preparations by Omura Wairen.

For the Iwa ninjas to suddenly mobilize enough manpower for an interception was nearly impossible.

As for deploying a small force for a delay—that was even more absurd! Not to mention the strength of the legendary Namikaze Minato, even Qingming himself could cut through a small-scale battle with ease.

Furthermore, information about them had undoubtedly been laid out on the desks of the Iwa command.

Thus, unless the Iwa commanders lost their wits, they would never consider such an option.

Having resolved these thoughts, Qingming finally felt at ease, even having the spare energy to perform "Palm Sage Art" on the way to enhance his physical capabilities.

While Hyuga Linghuo found Qingming's actions intriguing, he respected his companion's focus and refrained from asking.

However, whenever he activated his Byakugan to survey their surroundings, he couldn't help but be astonished by Qingming's growth.

Four months ago, Qingming had been powerful, but he still somewhat fell within the bounds of an ordinary ninja.

Now, merely in terms of chakra, he had nearly doubled his previous capacity—not to mention the palpable aura of pressure emanating from him.

Hyuga Linghuo felt that in terms of strength, the only one in Fengliu Town who could surpass Qingming was the legendary Yellow Flash—Namikaze Minato.

Indeed, his intuition was spot on.

Not just in Fengliu Town, but throughout all of Konohagakure, the only figures Qingming regarded with respect were Sarutobi Hiruzen, Namikaze Minato, and the Sannin.

As for others, including Danzo, they were hardly worth considering.

Moreover, even among those, it was uncertain whether they could claim victory over him.

At least, as long as his left eye wasn't blinded and he possessed the "Tenshiyomi," no one could secure a guaranteed win against him.

Compared to these figures, what Qingming now lacked was merely experience—an accumulation of various jutsu and the development of his chakra's other attributes.

Once he compensated for these gaps, he could essentially be regarded as a true Kage-level powerhouse.

And once he upgraded his Mangekyō Sharingan to the Eternal form and developed his Susanoo to its complete state, even the combined efforts of the Five Kage wouldn't necessarily be his match.

That time wouldn't be too far off!

"Qingming, we've arrived."

Just as Qingming was lost in thought, Hyuga Linghuo's voice suddenly brought him back to reality.

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