It can be said that the Konoha he received from Dan Katō was ridiculously strong.
He himself was a super-powerful Six Paths level expert. Minato Namikaze and Kushina's Sage Fox Mode, with the Flying Thunder God Technique, could reach the level of the strongest person below the Six Paths for a certain period of time. Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Shisui were both Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan users with Super Kage-level combat power.
In the past, even Kage Level ninjas, who were considered top-tier fighters in the Ninja World, were now far too numerous in Konoha.
The Third Hokage is old, but still capable of fighting, and can be considered a regular Kage Level fighter. Below him in age are the Sannin and Dan Katō. Among the middle generation, the Ino-Shika-Cho have combat power close to Kage Level. The three of them working together are no weaker than the young Sannin could contend with Hanzo his peak. There are also three other strong fighters close to Kage Level: Aburame Nami, Aburame Shibi, and Inuzuka Ryo.
As for those who truly reached the Kage Level, there was one named Aburame Shikuroo, who was once a teammate of Meikyō.
This person has developed nanoscale venomous insects, making them impossible to defend against; he can definitely be considered a master of Kage Level.
Besides these, the other characters from the middle generation are Meikyō, Minato, and Fugaku.
The next generation after that is Kakashi's generation, which has already been mentioned before.
Among the younger ones, there is currently a Yakushi Kabuto has a high talent in both cultivation and scientific research.
In total, Konoha now has an unprecedented twenty-two strong individuals whose strength has reached or is close to the level of Kage!
If Konoha had had this many Kage Level ninja a decade or two ago, the Hokage would have already become the only Kage in the Ninja World.
Actually, you could say there are twenty-one.
Because Orochimaru's Unit-01 is almost complete, it will be considered a Super Kage-level combatant.
"If we calculate it this way, there should be 190 ninjas of normal Jonin level in the village. About one-fifth of them are at the level of Elite Jonin. There are 21 ninjas whose strength reaches or approaches Kage Level, 4 Super Kage-level, and I am the only one at the Six Paths level."
"With such a lineup, we don't need to worry about anything else. As long as we find Madara's trail, we can start to crush him directly. While defeating Madara in one fell swoop, we can also start to 'help' the other ninja villages rebuild and prepare to take over the entire Ninja World."
Meikyō plopped back into his chair, propped his big feet up on the desk, and smugly imagined how he would frolic once the Ninja World became his backyard.
Just then, there was a knock on the door of the Hokage's Office.
"Come in."
Meikyō straightened her posture, reached out and used her Psychic Power to open the door, and looked at the two people outside.
"Nami? And Mizukage, what are you doing...?"
"Fire... Uchiha Meikyō, please issue the order to send reinforcements as soon as possible! Hozuki Mangetsu, while carrying out orders with your Konoha ninja team, discovered the Akatsuki Organization and Madara's whereabouts! And now, they are being besieged by the enemy!"
Mei Terumī strode up to Meikyō, bent down, slammed her palms on the table, and said anxiously.
Although Mei Terumī and Pakura are considered Meikyō's fiancées due to Uchiha Yu's actions, they don't actually meet very often. Even though they intentionally want to use this relationship to get closer to Meikyō's Wood Clone avoid them.
After all, the essence of the Wood Clone is just a piece of wood.
Meikyō glanced almost imperceptibly at the two large white steamed buns, then said seriously:
"Traces of Ban? Can you confirm it?"
"There's at least a chance. I know it might be a bit rushed, but it's truly a rare opportunity!"
Meikyō turned her gaze to Aburame Nami.
Compared to Mei Terumī, Meikyō definitely trusts his own people more, especially since they are his teammates of nearly twenty years.
"Indeed, as Mizukage said, Hozuki Mangetsu and Shirakumo Hayama Jonin's team were on a mission together. The ciphertext sent back is indeed the team's exclusive coded message. However, I personally believe that we cannot rule out the risk that this is a trap set by the enemy. Therefore, I suggest sending a master of Space-Time Ninjutsu to conduct reconnaissance."
Aburame Nami pushed up her sunglasses and said calmly.
Shirakumo Hayama is the son of Shirakumo Tokinobu, younger than Meikyō but older than Kakashi, and is currently Elite Jonin of Konoha.
"Yes, that makes sense."
Meikyō nodded in agreement.
Mei Terumī was actually quite satisfied with the result.
Because there are only a handful of people in Konoha who know Space-Time Ninjutsu.
Uchiha Meikyō, Uchiha Obito, Minato Namikaze, and two Uchiha who have awakened the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, plus Uchiha, who recently mastered the Flying Thunder God Shiranui Genma.
Even the weakest among them, Shiranui Genma, is a top-notch fighter, no less powerful Mei Terumī. Every single one of the others is stronger than her, the Fifth Mizukage.
If Konoha doesn't mobilize a large force, sending just one of these individuals would be enough to bring Hozuki Mangetsu and Shirakumo Hayama out of their encirclement.
The premise is that you don't encounter Uchiha Madara himself or Bhiruho.
Although the information is related to Madara, Mei Terumī believes that the possibility of Madara showing up in person is very small.
Because the place where they appeared was too close to the Land of Fire.
Even so, Mei Terumī still asked:
"Isn't sending just one person a bit insufficient?"
"No, one person is enough."
Meikyō shook his head.
Disappointment appeared on Mei Terumī's face.
But the next moment, her expression changed drastically, almost uncontrollably.
"It's just Uchiha Madara. I can handle it on my own."
Meikyō stood up from her seat with a relaxed expression, looking at Mei Terumī, whose face was filled with ecstasy.
"You're going to act alone? As Hokage, Meikyō, you shouldn't be making such a rash move."
Aburame Nami pushed up her sunglasses again and said.
"If the Hokage doesn't Fudō all the time, then wouldn't the Hokage just become a figurehead?"
Meikyō shook his head.
If that were the case, what difference would there be between myself and the Third Hokage?
"Fine, whatever. I'm just reminding you out of my duty as the Hokage's subordinate. But even if you want to go, there's no need to go alone. Even if you don't want to make a big fuss, just take Shisui and the others, and find some experts to form an elite team of ten, that should be enough."
Aburame Nami shrugged and offered a suggestion.
With Konoha's current strength, they could easily assemble a ten-person team to wipe out the Akatsuki Organization.
"It's not that I'm being arrogant, but there's a limit to how strong Madara and his group are. Unless a second Sage of Six Paths is born, I might have to back down. But if Madara and his group really had that kind of strength, they would have already come knocking on my door by now."
Meikyō chuckled and spoke to Aburame Nami.
He didn't know how strong the Sage of Six Paths was, but he knew how strong Kaguya was.
Even if I were to face Kaguya now, I wouldn't be afraid; there's absolutely no need to worry.
"Then I need to report to the Fourth Hokage and the other high-ranking officials."
Aburame Nami said helplessly.
"Okay, but be careful or I'll make things difficult for you later. Also, before you go to report, tell me the signal address when Shirakumo Hayama and the others last sent back the message."
Meikyō sat with his legs crossed, smiling as he spoke.
At that moment, even through her sunglasses, Mei Terumī could feel the resentment in Aburame Nami's eyes.
After Aburame Nami gave the address, Mei Terumī immediately spoke to Meikyō:
"Um... one person is still too few, why don't I come along too?"
"You?"
Meikyō glanced at Mei Terumī.
With her dual bloodstains and top-tier Water Style, Mei Terumī became a true Kage Level expert, but in reality, her strength was only average within the Kage ranks.
"No."
Meikyō shook her head, not revealing what was on her mind.
In battle, whether you are there or not makes no difference to me.
Right there in the Hokage's Office, Meikyō extended his finger and tapped a Teleportation Circle in front of the two of them, then stepped inside.
This is the border of the River Country, near the Land of Wind, located at the intersection of the territories of Konoha and Suna, where the two sides often clash.
Because it is closer to the Land of Wind, the terrain here is in the transition zone between grassland and Gobi Desert. Low shrubs cover the ground, and the sunlight is strong, but not too harsh.
If other ninjas came here, they would most likely need to observe and gather a series of information as intelligence to make judgments and facilitate subsequent actions.
As a disciple of Dan Katō, a top-notch intelligence ninja, and the former head of Konoha's Intelligence Analysis Unit, Meikyō is quite knowledgeable in this area.
However, things are different now. In the past, Meikyō had to rely on his Sharingan to search and investigate, but now he can directly release his Observation Haki rapid detection.
In less than a minute, Meikyō used his spatial abilities in conjunction with his Observation Haki to search a large area around the location.
"There are several auras over there in this cave."
A cold, sharp blade flashed across a puppet.
Taking advantage of a lull in the enemy's attack, Shirakumo Hayama.
"The Fourth Kazekage Rasa, along with this unknown Akatsuki Organization member specializing in Taijutsu, and three elite squads of Jonin, even with the assistance of Hozuki Mangetsu, a master whose strength is close to that of a Kage, we can only hold out for a little while longer at most. Hopefully, reinforcements from the village will arrive soon."
Shirakumo Hayama, his scarred face displaying a calm expression.
The situation can be maintained for now.
Besides him and Hozuki Mangetsu, their side also included a small team of three Jonin the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans. After forming a formation, they managed to trap the Akatsuki Organization expert through their exquisite Taijutsu.
Although, part of the reason was that the opponent seemed to lack combat experience.
"Damn it, Rasa! How much longer will it take you to take them down?!"
"Shinnō! You were the one who was bragging before! I'll take care of them soon, so you'd better be careful not to get caught off guard!"
As Rasa spoke, he manipulated the Gold Dust, working with the three Jonin teams to put pressure on Shirakumo Hayama and Hozuki Mangetsu.
Shinnō cursed angrily, and then his muscles swelled further, transforming him from a robust, white-haired old man into a young man with a black, spiky hairstyle.
"Eight Gates Formation - Eighth Gate of Death, open!"
Akimichi Shito was standing at the very front of the crowd, turned pale instantly.
As a Konoha Jonin of the same age as Minato Namikaze, he knew very well that the Eight Gates Formation was the signature technique of those two green watermelons from Konoha.
Both of them were very strong, but in past battles they could only open up to the Seventh Gate at most. Once they opened the Eight Gates, they were said to have power that was dozens of times greater than that of an ordinary Kage. Now, the Konoha Ninja have automatically divided the Kage into different levels. Apart from the First Hokage Hashirama Senju and the current Fifth Hokage Uchiha Meikyō, all the other Kage are automatically classified as "ordinary Kage".
Because those two Hokage were obviously abnormally strong, especially the latter one.
"It seems the time has come when we have no choice but to fight with all our might!"
Akimichi Shito hardened his heart and took out a red Chili Pill from his Ninja Tool Pouch.
Of the three types of pills used by the Akimichi Clan, the most potent, the Chili Pill, has a mortality rate as high as 90%.
Of course, this was before, because there was Golden Potion that could compensate for the Chakra loss caused by the Chili Pill.
However, Akimichi Shito had already taken a Chili Pill, which used up the Golden Potion provided to the team. Taking another one now would certainly raise his strength to an extremely high level, but it would definitely kill him.
"Si Dong, don't panic! I've heard that when the Gate of Death of the Eight Gates Formation is opened, the human body will produce red steam, but this guy is emitting black steam, which is obviously not right."
Yamanaka Shin, who had worked in the intelligence department, quickly stopped Akimichi Shito from taking action.
"Even so, he's still not easy to deal with! His power is too strong right now, and my Chakra is about to break down the Shadow Binding Technique!"
Nara Suzaku shouted, his forehead beaded with sweat.
"Heh, give up struggling, Konoha Ninja. After I stole the secret technique of the Eight Gates Formation, I spent more than 20 years improving it. I used the massive Chakra of the artificial Tailed Beast Zero-Tails to replace the energy consumed when opening the Eight Gates. It is a truly flawless Taijutsu!"
Shinnō spoke slowly and deliberately, with a smile on his face.
His original Eight Gates Formation actually had quite a few flaws.
However, he encountered Bhiruho, who, with his Three Tomoe Sharingan, immediately saw through the flaws of Shinnō's Eight Gates Formation and pointed out that if the opponent had Sharingan, he could use the Zero-Tails' Chakra supply to disrupt the flow of Chakra within his body, rendering this False Eight Gates Formation ineffective.
With the help of Bhiruho, Shinnō improved the False Eight Gates Formation, enhancing his strength while concealing his own weaknesses.
"I... can't hold on any longer!"
Nara Suzaku paused in the hand Hand Seals he was maintaining, and the shadow connecting his feet to Shinnō suddenly broke off.
"There's no other way... If reinforcements don't arrive soon, we're really going to die here!"
Akimichi Shito once again took out the Chili Pill.
"It's no use, no matter who comes to help, it's useless!"
Shinnō stomped his foot, breaking free from the Yamanaka Shin's Mind Body Switch Technique once again, and laughed heartily.
"Really? What about me?"
The next instant, a Teleportation Circle floated in mid-air.