After the air raid began, Black Zetsu led the others to check the situation. However, just as they reached the entrance, they heard continuous explosions and the painful cries of many people, causing them to immediately stop.
Black Zetsu hesitated for a moment, then prevented the others from going out, while he himself stealthily went out to see what the situation was like outside.
As soon as he poked his head out, he saw a large number of kunai raining down from the sky, forcing him to immediately pull back. Although being stabbed in the head wouldn't kill him, he wanted to avoid unnecessary damage.
Once the commotion above gradually stopped, Black Zetsu surfaced again. Unexpectedly, shortly after poking his head out, he saw a golden shadow sweep past like a whirlwind, and the people nearby immediately fell to the ground, their bodies twitching slightly, apparently unable to get up.
Before Black Zetsu could get a clear look, the golden figure seemed to notice him and darted towards him. In less than a breath, Black Zetsu felt his head being slashed, and it was only because the opponent was so close that Black Zetsu finally got a clear look at their face.
It was a young man of seventeen or eighteen, with a determined face and sharp eyes. He looked at Black Zetsu with a hint of surprise, but before he could ponder it, he vanished from Black Zetsu's sight again.
Black Zetsu's head was split in two, which would certainly be fatal for an ordinary person, but Black Zetsu was not afraid. He would not truly die, because rather than being a life, he was more like a materialized spiritual lifeform, and his spirit was one with Otsutsuki Kaguya. Just as Tailed Beasts would be reborn somewhere after dying, Black Zetsu, as long as he didn't encounter an attack that could reduce someone to dust, considered other injuries to be nothing.
In the original timeline, Black Zetsu was cut in half by Chojuro of the Hidden Mist Village, but he didn't die. Instead, he deceived the others, secretly went to other battlefields, and ambushed Obito Uchiha when he was about to use the Rinne Rebirth.
However, being stabbed in the head in such a short time surprised Black Zetsu. He quickly recognized the true nature of the opponent's technique. At the end of the Warring States period, during a battle between the Senju and Uchiha, Izuna Uchiha died at the hands of Tobirama Senju in this very way.
He vaguely remembered the name of this technique, it seemed to be called the Flying Raijin Jutsu. It was a rapid counterattack that even the Sharingan couldn't track. Even Izuna Uchiha, who possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan, couldn't see it clearly and was severely wounded by Tobirama Senju, who had always been of similar strength, eventually leading to his death.
The balance of power between the Senju and Uchiha was thus reversed, and they were gradually suppressed by the Senju, until Madara Uchiha decided to initiate the final battle between the Senju and Uchiha, after which the Konoha Hidden Leaf Village was established.
Black Zetsu hadn't seen anyone else use this technique in a long time.
He didn't expect to encounter it this time, and only after facing it himself did he realize how fast the technique was. Only a delayed afterimage would remain in his vision, and by then, he would have already been hit by the opponent.
Black Zetsu's head, which had been cut in half, slowly rejoined. At this moment, he seemed to feel other gazes on him. When he glanced over, he only saw a sudden flash of gold, and he secretly cursed.
His location was relatively remote, so people flying in the sky shouldn't notice him. Coupled with the figure that swiftly swept past, it must have been the young man using the Flying Raijin Jutsu.
Although Black Zetsu had considered the possibility of having to show himself when he decided to help manage this village, he intended to remain as hidden as possible, not letting anyone detect his abnormality. However, showing himself was one thing, but having his head split in two and not dying was quite miraculous.
—Ah, ah, it's better to leave here early.
Black Zetsu thought this, and his body quickly merged into the ground, returning to the secret base. The other three were waiting for him, and upon seeing Black Zetsu appear, they immediately asked what happened.
"Let's go quickly. There's no chance of winning in a frontal assault; they have too many people." Black Zetsu had seen clearly when he went out earlier that most of the people were already dead. Even with immortal bodies, three people going against enemies in the sky was clearly not a wise choice, especially with someone using the Flying Raijin Jutsu.
The three didn't know the situation outside. Hearing Black Zetsu's grave tone, and out of trust, they had no other plans. They nodded repeatedly and then headed towards the pre-arranged escape tunnel, leaving through the underground.
In the escape tunnel, Uchiha Kurobe and Black Zetsu had both helped set up some jutsu, which should be able to block the abilities of sensory ninjas. Black Zetsu hoped to escape without incident. If they were really caught by the enemy, having fewer people would be one thing, but if there were many, they would have to abandon these guys.
Just as Black Zetsu and his group were escaping, Minato Namikaze had already dealt with all the enemies on the ground of the village. He controlled his Wind Wings and flew into the sky. When he reached the others, he said, "Mission accomplished, Captain!"
As he spoke, Minato's heavy breathing was evident, and his face was covered in sweat. The others were astonished by Minato's recent achievements, but Minato himself knew that the cost behind such amazing feats was immense. Facing enemies in different positions, continuously performing spatial jumps while simultaneously observing, adjusting his posture, and hitting vital points required an astonishing amount of calculation.
Minato Namikaze was still very young, not even twenty years old, and performing continuous slaughters of over eighty people was indeed a bit too much. The burden on his body and the depletion of his stamina were very heavy.
"Are you alright, Minato?" Heizo Hattori was slightly surprised when he saw Minato's condition and asked.
"It's nothing, just a bit exhausted." Minato smiled, indicating that he was fine.
Seeing this, Heizo Hattori didn't say much, as he himself couldn't use the Flying Raijin Jutsu and didn't know how much stamina it actually consumed. However, when he heard the principles of the Flying Raijin Jutsu, he had a rough idea, but now it seemed that the actual consumption was even more severe than he had imagined.
Upon seeing Minato's appearance, the others also changed their minds. Originally, many people thought that Minato learning the Flying Raijin Jutsu was due to him being the Hokage's student, thus receiving such preferential treatment. If it were them, they could also learn to use it. After all, it was just spatial transfer and jumping, it didn't seem that difficult, and Minato wasn't particularly amazing.
But after witnessing Minato's feat of continuously killing over eighty people, everyone, being no ordinary individuals, put themselves in his shoes and suddenly realized that they weren't so confident they could precisely eliminate enemies with continuous jumps in such a situation, and in such a short amount of time.
And in their imagination, they clearly wouldn't realize how much calculation was actually required when using the true Flying Raijin Jutsu.
Heizo Hattori ordered the sensory ninjas to observe the situation on the ground, and once he confirmed that no one was still alive, he ordered everyone to descend, both to investigate the situation and to allow Minato Namikaze to rest properly.
Although the battle was over, keeping Minato Namikaze flying in mid-air was also an act that continuously consumed stamina.
After everyone descended, Minato Namikaze went to rest on the side, while the others, led by Heizo Hattori, began to investigate the situation in the village. Aside from those initially dealt with by aerial bombardment, all the others were taken down by a single strike from Minato Namikaze, with no superfluous wounds.
Seeing those people either having their throats cut or their hearts and heads pierced, everyone looked at Minato Namikaze with a hint of admiration. In such a short time, with continuous high-speed jumps, the attack could maintain such high precision. Even without fully understanding the actual combat feel of the Flying Raijin Jutsu, many people began to feel that they couldn't do it.
Everyone had more or less sensed Minato Namikaze's adaptability in high-speed combat, but this was the first time they felt it so clearly. Perhaps Minato Namikaze becoming the top one wasn't just luck—Minato Namikaze certainly had skill, but some people felt there was also an element of luck—but truly due to his skill.
Such high-speed continuous kills were probably something only Minato Namikaze could accomplish in this era.
The others adjusted their Wind Wings to standby mode, causing the Wings to shrink in volume somewhat, making it easier to move on the ground. If they encountered any problems, they could quickly unfold and activate the Wind Wings. Then, they began to inspect the corpses on the ground, while some entered rooms to see if there were any documents.
Heizo Hattori notified the Anbu and Intelligence Division members on standby outside; the collection of specific intelligence also required their help. Then, he walked over to Minato Namikaze and asked, "Are you feeling better now?"
"Much better." After all, he was a specially chosen user of the Flying Raijin, so Minato Namikaze's adaptability was naturally excellent. After taking some medicine, Minato Namikaze immediately felt his condition return and nodded to Heizo Hattori.
"The Flying Raijin Jutsu, truly worthy of being the secret technique created by the Second Hokage. It's indeed not something an ordinary person can use," Heizo Hattori said.
"I just happen to have a bit of talent in this area. The gap between me and the Second Hokage is still quite large," Minato Namikaze said.
In terms of actual talent, Minato Namikaze might be more suited to use the Flying Raijin Jutsu than the Second Hokage Tobirama, but in other fields, Tobirama's talent was superior, for example, in the research of many secret techniques. Minato Namikaze had some insights into the Flying Raijin and sealing jutsu, but Tobirama's talent wasn't limited to just these two areas.
"If you are just a user of the Flying Raijin Jutsu, you might have already surpassed the Second Hokage. There's no need to pursue other things, after all, there's already an Orochimaru," Heizo Hattori said.
Many of Tobirama's research achievements were inherited by Orochimaru. Now, Orochimaru was an important figure in the research department; even those who joined the research department earlier than him had to respect his opinions. Heizo Hattori felt that well-rounded individuals like the Second Hokage were inherently rare, and there was no need to specifically force it.
For example, Orochimaru inherited the abilities in scientific research, while Minato Namikaze inherited the Flying Raijin Jutsu. Although they are two people, to some extent, they might be able to exert power beyond that of a single person.
"Speaking of which, Senior Heizo, I just encountered a strange enemy," Minato Namikaze said.
"What kind of enemy?"
"I just saw a guy completely black. It seemed to emerge from the ground, possibly some kind of Earth Style secret jutsu like Earth Dragon Evasion. I cut off its head, but after several spatial jumps, I found that this guy didn't die. The wound actually healed, and then it seemed to notice my gaze and quickly hid underground," Minato Namikaze said.
"Hmm? Is that so? That's really strange." Heizo Hattori frowned slightly. "Could it be one of those rumored immortal beings?"
"An immortal being with self-healing abilities? That would truly be a troublesome enemy," Minato Namikaze said thoughtfully.
"Well done. I think this guy you found is very important. We need to gather information thoroughly and then report it to the higher-ups," Heizo Hattori said.
Just then, members of the Anbu and Intelligence Division arrived. These were professionals, far more skilled at processing scenes and gathering intelligence than the aerial combat unit. Soon after, they found one of the target items for this operation.
—Secret medicine.
The higher-ups of Konoha Hidden Leaf Village had always been curious about the origin of this secret medicine, and now they finally had a sample to investigate thoroughly. At the same time, everyone also discovered some secret passages in certain rooms, from which they found some imprisoned people.
They appeared to have been abducted by Jashinists and seemed to have been given certain drugs, making them incoherent and occasionally muttering. Heizo Hattori, being from the Anbu, had some knowledge of such drugs and believed they were used by Jashinists to control people's minds. These individuals were likely intended as reserves or sacrifices for the Jashinists.
"Since they're still alive, they might know some things." Heizo Hattori pondered, "Take them back and examine their memories. Being incoherent now might actually be good for them. Once it's confirmed they are ordinary people, I'll ask the medical ninjas to treat them and try to help them return to normal lives."
"Yes!"
Immediately after, everyone once again searched the village thoroughly, ensuring that nothing was left. All valuable items were taken away, and the village itself no longer held any value.
Heizo Hattori ordered his men to use Fire Style and Wind Style to burn the village to the ground. After confirming that the fire had completely extinguished and would not affect other areas, they all set off to return. The incoherent individuals were taken back by the ground ninja forces, as it was inconvenient to transport people in the air.
This mission was a complete success, and everyone in the Aerial Combat Unit was very happy. This mission undoubtedly proved their strength, allowing them to hold their heads high in front of anyone. In the future, the Aerial Combat Unit was bound to become an important force in the Konoha Hidden Leaf Village's combat forces, perhaps even a core force.