After the startled exclamation, indistinct figures began appearing within Minato's field of vision.
The ninja leading this group was Hiashi, head of the Hyuga clan. With Byakugan, he could detect anything within a one-kilometer radius and had the ability to see through obstacles. Within that range, no one could escape their perception.
Whoosh!
Minato instantly reappeared in the forest, where the vanguard of reinforcements had already arrived.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Over a hundred figures landed directly before Minato, and he stepped forward without hesitation.
All eyes turned sharply toward him at this moment. After observing for a while, astonishment flickered across the eyes of these hundred ninjas.
Seeing their expressions, Minato felt slightly puzzled.
"Are you Namikaze Minato?"
Hiashi spoke first. He had a sharp, commanding face, and his calm gaze exuded natural authority befitting a clan leader.
Most ninja would have been intimidated by someone like him.
But Minato met his gaze calmly, unshaken.
Hiashi might be the leader of the Hyuga, but Minato had once been the Fourth Hokage—how could he be fazed by the leader of the Hyuga?
Besides, they had apparently never met before, yet Hiashi recognized him immediately.
Minato hesitated briefly, then nodded with a smile, "It's me."
As the two exchanged words, more figures kept gathering behind Hiashi. Roughly a minute later, more than a thousand ninjas arrived, gathering behind Hiashi.
Even then, some individuals were still further back. The chakra signatures that had startled Minato earlier were coming from the very back of the group.
Finally, ten-odd small figures appeared before Minato's eyes.
Hizashi and Hiashi Hyuga, Shibi Aburame, Shikaku Nara, Inoichi Yamanaka, Nagare — Nawaki's former teammate — as well as two other members from Ao Sarutobi's squad, one of whom Minato had met during the Chakra Aptitude Test.
Last came a girl with black hair and black eyes. When she saw Minato standing before Hiashi Hyuga, a faint smile surfaced on her delicate face.
Mikoto had come too!
To counter the Suna ninja in this operation, Konoha had mobilized over two thousand ninja under Hiashi, reinforcing the frontline forces commanded by Tsunade and others.
"I'll take you all to see Lady Tsunade," Minato smiled, turned around, and dashed forward again.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
More than two thousand figures followed closely behind Minato, making the dense forest lively all of a sudden.
As they moved forward, Minato felt dozens of curious eyes boring into his back.
What exactly was going on?
After several minutes of travel, everyone stopped because dozens of figures were approaching from the opposite direction.
At the front were none other than Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Sakumo Hatake.
Thank you all for coming.
Looking at the massive crowd behind Hiashi, Tsunade's beautiful face broke into an extremely delighted expression.
Only with this additional strength would she truly be able to operate freely within the Land of Wind.
After all, their opponent was one of the Five Great Hidden Villages. There could be no room for complacency.
Though irritated with Chiyo, she refused to let it affect her judgment.
"Hehe, just following orders," Hiashi Hyuga said with a faint smile, his tone carrying a touch of warmth. He wasn't really hard to get along with.
Minato had never met this head of the Hyuga clan many times in his previous life either, since he too had perished during the Second Great Ninja War.
After his death, the Hyuga clan was governed by a council of elders until Hiashi Hyuga assumed leadership at the age of fifteen.
"Why don't you all rest first? With the current situation, time is definitely something we aren't short on," Tsunade smiled as she spoke to Hiashi Hyuga.
The latter nodded and then ordered everyone to briefly settle around the encampment area of the Konoha ninja within the forest.
As for Hiashi himself, he followed along with Tsunade and the other two, leaving the group. Although before departing from the village, The Third Hokage had already informed him of the battle report given by Tsunade's team, it was still necessary to go over it again.
He assigned several personnel to specific duties, after which more than two thousand people dispersed.
Minato turned around, only to find Senior Shurou already standing directly in front of him.
At this moment, Shurou was looking at Minato with an extremely strange expression, making him slightly uneasy.
Not only Minato, but many other ninja near her kept glancing repeatedly toward Minato.
"Senior Shurou, what's going—" Minato began to ask, but his words were interrupted by Shurou.
She spoke with a slightly dejected tone, "A Chunin uniform... I can't believe someone younger than me got to wear it first."
Minato was currently wearing the vest reserved exclusively for those ranked Chunin and above.
Then she quickly shifted topics, asking, "You're already a Tokubetsu Jonin now? I've heard the rumors—are they actually true?"
"Uh…" Minato hesitated, puzzled. "How did you hear about that?"
Shurou merely smiled upon hearing his response. "How did I hear about it? It's not just me—hardly anyone in Konoha doesn't know about your performance on the battlefield. Dozens of enemy ninja slain, including even Jonin. Only half a year after graduating from the Ninja Academy, and only three months into actual combat, you've already gained remarkable achievements. And he's only ten years old! A true prodigy!"
Her long speech instantly made Minato feel rather awkward. Yet moments later, he finally understood why everyone had looked at him so strangely earlier.
That was the reason.
"They really all know?" Minato cautiously asked.
"Yes, your reputation has already spread throughout the entire village. Even Lord Jiraiya, Lady Tsunade, and Sakumo Hatake might not enjoy as great a fame in the village as you do now," Shurou replied, a note of astonishment in her voice.
She'd known Minato for quite a while, yet she'd never imagined this handsome junior classmate of hers could actually be this powerful.
"Hehe," Minato awkwardly chuckled. He didn't think much of having such a big reputation himself.
What he had accomplished still fell far short of his true aspirations.
However, he could discern the intentions of the Third Hokage and even the village elders in publicizing his achievements.
They were setting him up as an example for the younger generation to follow.
Shurou looked at Minato with a hint of admiration in her eyes. Minato, however, chose to look away—his attention now drawn to another direction, where Mikoto was approaching.
She reached in front of Minato and offered him a graceful, radiant smile. "Minato, it's been a while."
...
...
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