Information That Shouldn't Be Heard

"Let me think: one elite jonin, four special jonin, sixteen elite chunin..."

Sitting on the stretcher, Qi swayed back and forth, humming to himself as he assessed the strength of this group of Sunagakure Ninja.

The group had already left the grasslands and entered a forest. The Sunagakure Ninja seemed to have been certain of their route from the very beginning; Qi had never once seen them stop to discuss their path.

Although everything appeared to be meticulously planned, Qi found it hard to imagine that this group could truly kill Namikaze Minato, unless one counted that elite jonin, Tsang Yeh.

Could these people have been sent here by their village just to die? What is the point of bringing so many chunin? This isn't a battlefield, and these people are useless against Namikaze Minato...

His gaze swept over the surrounding Sunagakure Ninja, and Qi concluded that in a one-on-one fight without restrictions, both he and Kakashi should have a decent chance of killing any one of these elite chunin.

In all fairness, these people were truly strong. If they were on a battlefield, they would undoubtedly be reapers, but the problem was that they weren't going to war. Namikaze Minato, however, could easily kill everyone except Tsang Yeh, usually finishing them off in a single exchange.

Space-Time Ninjutsu was one of the most powerful branches of ninjutsu. In the sixty-plus years of Konoha's history, counting both those in the light and the shadows, it had likely cultivated tens of thousands of ninja, yet only four people had ever mastered this art: the Senju brothers, Uchiha Madara, and Namikaze Minato.

Aside from being sent to die as meat shields, Qi truly couldn't fathom what use these elite chunin, or even the special jonin, could have...

Perhaps... they were meant to be cannon fodder from the start? To drag Namikaze Minato down?

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but shiver... twenty elite ninja... if they really held such a plan, combined with the hostage effect, Namikaze Minato might actually be taken down...

Regarding Namikaze Minato's strength, to be honest, Qi's understanding wasn't very deep. After all, in the original story, he appeared as someone already dead. He wasn't like that freak Orochimaru, whose perversion had been displayed countless times; Qi was certain that even if everyone in the ninja world died, Orochimaru would likely survive...

Fortunately, his body had recovered quite a bit. Playing dead along the way hadn't been in vain; at the very least, he could spare Namikaze Minato some worry later. As long as those special jonin didn't make a move, he believed the four of them could protect themselves. Besides, he highly suspected those few would be Namikaze Minato's first targets and would die the fastest.

As for their own side, aside from Ling being a medical ninja and lacking sufficient combat ability, even Obito possessed strong fighting power. Qi had never looked down on Obito; as far as he knew, Obito, like Naruto, belonged to the "slow-burn" type who accumulated power early on. One had to know that when Obito first awakened his Sharingan, he immediately had two tomoe—enough to shock a large portion of the Uchiha Clan.

In the current Uchiha Clan, in terms of Sharingan levels alone, three tomoe meant a top-tier expert, while two tomoe was considered mid-tier. Many ordinary Uchiha ninja remained at that level even after years of cultivation...

From this perspective, Obito was truly worthy of being Uchiha Shisui's brother; he was genuinely impressive. It was just his bad luck that he died at the hands of the Rock Ninja; otherwise, he would have been heavily cultivated by the Uchiha Clan upon returning to the village...

Qi knew very well how difficult it was to cultivate a bloodline limit. It had taken him eight years of practicing the Yuki clan's Ice Release before it truly became effective. The starting point of these things often determined many outcomes.

"We're just about there. Everyone, stop."

Just as Qi was lost in thought, wondering how he could help the other three escape when the time came, Tsang Yeh up ahead suddenly gave a soft command.

"There are signs of battle here. Everyone, hurry and recover your stamina. Once you're ready, we'll move in. Keep a close eye on those brats!"

"Yes!"

The Sunagakure Ninja obeyed, immediately sitting down on the spot to drink water and check their equipment, beginning to recover the stamina they had spent on the road.

"Sir, if they are still fighting when we arrive, should we..."

A Sunagakure Ninja sitting near Tsang Yeh seemed to have thought of something and stopped what he was doing.

"After all, we and the Rock Ninja..."

"The Yellow Flash is certainly a must-kill, but those Rock Ninja aren't exactly good people either!"

Tsang Yeh stroked his chin, a trace of hatred flashing in his eyes.

"Observe the situation first. If both sides are fighting, then eliminate the Yellow Flash first. If not, heh, then we eliminate whoever is left standing."

"Understood!"

The Sunagakure Ninja gave a sinister laugh upon hearing this and said no more.

"You've teamed up with the Rock Ninja?"

The two hadn't lowered their voices, and Qi naturally heard them. He wasn't an idiot; he could certainly understand the implications.

"Teamed up? Would we team up with those filthy pigs? Are they worthy?"

Tsang Yeh glanced at Qi.

"Brat, just rest obediently and don't get any crooked ideas, or next time, your life won't be spared."

"So, in any case, there are Rock Ninja ahead, right?"

Qi ignored the pointless insults; he just felt subconsciously that encountering this situation during the mission didn't seem like a coincidence.

"It's Rock Ninja corpses, to be precise. Brat, you should be quiet."

Tsang Yeh put away the kunai he had just wiped clean and suddenly looked at Qi with malicious intent.

"Or do you find lying down too comfortable?"

Damn it, it really was like that. How did he get dragged into this again...

Having obtained the information he wanted, Qi immediately and "sensibly" shut his mouth, because he no longer needed to ask.

Everything was clear now, whether it was the fact that they had been captured, or that Tsang Yeh and his group not only didn't kill them but didn't even bother to hide their collaboration with others.

Perhaps he shouldn't have been so talkative and asked that question. Now, he was in even deeper trouble...

"Alright, time is tight. Is everyone ready?"

Turning away from Qi, who had an ugly expression and eyes spitting fire, Tsang Yeh withdrew his gaze with satisfaction and turned to his subordinates.

"Continue forward, maintain vigilance, and be ready for battle at any moment!"

His goal had been achieved; what followed was the killing of Namikaze Minato.

However, before leaving, he glanced back at Qi one last time, revealing a satisfied smile.

This brat's mind turns quite fast, heh...

Qi had indeed guessed correctly; Tsang Yeh had never intended to kill them from the start. Although encountering the son of the White Fang was purely accidental, and he might eventually kill Kakashi, the chances of the others surviving remained quite high.

But that didn't matter now. Soon, Tsang Yeh headed off in one direction without looking back, and the group of Sunagakure Ninja, following his orders, uniformly and orderly followed him, dragging the four hostages along.

They traveled for an unknown distance when, finally, the sounds of weapons clashing and loud explosions suddenly erupted from up ahead!