A Bigger Conspiracy

"There's chakra fluctuation ahead, stay hidden," Minato Namikaze suddenly whispered while they were still on the move.

At his command, Ye Yuexin and the others stopped immediately.

Minato's sensory perception was truly terrifying; even Ye Yuexin only managed to detect it by using the flow of the wind after Minato had pointed it out.

Using the flow of the wind to perceive surroundings was a technique Ye Yuexin had invented after returning from a mission with Itachi Uchiha.

It wasn't exactly a profound ninjutsu, just a matter of understanding and utilizing the wind, but it was something an average ninja could never master.

Under Ye Yuexin's perception, there were about five people ahead.

It was already night.

They had been running at top speed for an entire day, and despite resting twice, they were still reaching their limits.

Along the way, Minato had been familiar with the others, but he only knew a little about Ye Yuexin.

Because of this, Minato had asked in detail about Ye Yuexin's abilities and the ninjutsu he knew.

When he heard that Ye Yuexin had already mastered nature transformation for the wind element, Minato had offered some surprised words of praise.

Minato was still carrying Ebisu on his back, and Ye Yuexin gained a new appreciation for the stamina of a Jonin.

Meanwhile, Ye Yuexin was carrying Might Guy.

Even a tough guy like Might Guy couldn't hold up by the evening.

There was no helping it; the "Might Guy" of today hadn't fully grown into his prime yet.

Even Ye Yuexin would have collapsed if not for the two breaks; his chakra was nearly bottoming out.

Ye Yuexin felt it was a massive coincidence to run into enemies now, considering how vast the border was.

Before seeing them, he still held onto the hope that they might be friendly forces.

Under Minato's hand signals, Ye Yuexin slowly set Might Guy down.

He gestured for him to wait there.

Then, he carefully moved to Minato's side, and the two began to advance slowly toward the source of the chakra.

Soon, through the layers of tree trunks in the distance, they saw the glow of a fire.

Seeing this, Ye Yuexin felt much more at ease, thinking that any ninja who could safely set up a campfire at night probably wasn't an enemy.

After all, deep in enemy territory, he didn't believe the opposition would be arrogant enough to light a fire at night.

However, upon seeing this, Minato didn't relax at all; instead, he frowned. His experience was simply not something Ye Yuexin could compare to.

Facing this situation, he controlled his speed and crept forward cautiously with Ye Yuexin, his movements becoming even more vigilant.

It made Ye Yuexin feel as if they were truly facing enemies.

As the distance closed, Ye Yuexin seemed to suddenly realize something unusual.

It was as if a lightbulb had gone off in his head.

He realized he had once again oversimplified the situation.

Why was he always so slow to catch on? Ye Yuexin wondered if his intelligence was truly lacking.

Since Konoha had received intelligence about the Rock Ninja assault team, there was no reason they wouldn't have notified the border guards, so how could they not know?

Konoha's ninjas weren't fools; if they knew there was an enemy assault team lurking here, lighting a campfire in the middle of the night would be the equivalent of telling the enemy to come and finish them off.

Once he thought of this, Ye Yuexin delved deeper into the logic, his brow furrowing just as tightly as Minato's.

But if these were enemy troops, it didn't make sense either.

The definition of an assault team was to remain hidden and then deliver a fatal blow.

This was something even they were taught at the Ninja Academy; surely the Rock Ninja couldn't be unaware of it.

So, if they knew, why were they acting so childishly now?

One had to realize that deep in enemy territory, the slightest negligence could lead to the entire squad being wiped out.

The way they were acting now... yes. It was as if they wanted to be discovered. If that were the case, things might be complicated. There could be a more sinister plan being set in motion.

Ye Yuexin thought to himself.

Just as Ye Yuexin was pondering, they approached the campfire, which was burning fiercely.

The firelight illuminated the five ninjas sitting around it.

A small wild boar was being roasted over the flames.

If he hadn't known the intelligence, Ye Yuexin would have assumed these were just people from the Land of Fire out for a picnic.

At this moment, Minato turned to Ye Yuexin and used hand signals to communicate the battle plan.

Then, he disappeared in the opposite direction of Ye Yuexin.

Glancing at the five people by the fire, Ye Yuexin saw that only one was wearing a Rock Ninja forehead protector. It seemed the others were likely rogue ninjas.

Following Minato's plan, Ye Yuexin looked toward a bush opposite him. Seeing a faint hint of yellow, he began to count down in his heart.

Ten seconds.

Ten. Nine... Four. Three.

At the count of three, Ye Yuexin began to slowly refine his chakra, closing his eyes at the same time.

Two. The wind-style nature transformation had already taken shape.

One. In an instant, Ye Yuexin dashed out, following up immediately with a spinning back kick.

Before the enemies had even realized he was there, he had already launched a half-meter-long wind blade.

Simultaneously, five of Minato Namikaze's special kunai were launched as well.

Everything happened too quickly; by the time the enemies rose to their feet, Ye Yuexin's wind blade had already reached them.

However, this wind blade was not aimed at the men, but at the campfire.

The shaded space, previously illuminated by the bonfire, was plunged into sudden darkness.

In such a situation, any human would experience a momentary blindness.

And that was exactly the moment they needed. In the darkness, because Ye Yuexin had kept his eyes closed just moments before, he could vaguely discern a figure descending, accompanied by the sound of kunai slicing through throats.

"That's enough, Yuexin-kun," Minato Namikaze said to Ye Yuexin at that very moment.

Ye Yuexin hurriedly pulled a miniature torch from the pouch at his waist and lit it.

Light returned once more.

The scene before him left Ye Yuexin stunned, his pupils dilating involuntarily.

Of the five men in front of him, four had thin lines of blood across their necks, which were still bleeding.

It seemed their throats had already been slit by Minato Namikaze.

It was precisely for this reason that Ye Yuexin felt such shock.

Because during the brief skirmish just now, he had clearly only heard the sound of a single throat being cut.

Yet, there were now four men on the ground with their throats severed.

What did this mean?

It meant that Minato Namikaze's speed was now capable of deceiving even his ears.

With such speed, Ye Yuexin truly couldn't imagine anyone capable of dealing with him.

At this moment, Ye Yuexin felt that if not for Konoha, Minato Namikaze's speed alone would be enough for him to survive until the very end of the story.

This was simply invincible speed.

In truth, Ye Yuexin was currently overestimating Minato Namikaze's strength due to his shock.

Minato Namikaze's speed was indeed unparalleled, but it was constrained by the undeniable limitations of his Flying Thunder God coordinates.

However, if everything were prepared in advance, Minato Namikaze could indeed be called invincible in this era.

Furthermore.

Just during that split second of combat, perhaps due to the consecutive use of the Flying Thunder God, Ye Yuexin's senses regarding spatial fluctuations had been infinitely magnified.

In that instant, it felt as if even he could touch the fabric of space itself.

He finally understood why he had felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity with space when he first practiced the Space Transfer technique.

[New book released... I suggest adding it to your library... let it grow before binge-reading. I need your support... thank you everyone.] "Two chapters updated today~ Thank you all for your support."