Naruto : Minato back to the past

Everyone's eyes were heavy as they stared at the beautiful yet strange dark red flower. After a moment, the four of them smiled. The larger group had been preparing for over a month, and they had been working tirelessly for several days. The target they sought had finally appeared before them.

Sakumo and Suzuka had trusted Minato's decisions from the start, so while they were pleased to find the Desert Sorrow, their reactions were calm. However, Hyuga Kyusugi's expression held a hint of admiration.

Minato was used to such looks. After hesitating briefly, he gestured again. [There are three Sand Ninjas in the area that need to be dealt with.]

Sakumo's eyes flickered as he nodded. Although there weren't as many guards around the Desert Sorrow as they had anticipated, the three Sand Ninjas were positioned in a triangular formation, carefully monitoring the area. Their equal distances from one another meant it was impossible to take all of them out simultaneously.

If even one was missed, the whole group would be detected, and the Sand Ninja would be alerted.

Moreover, the three Sand Ninjas were highly skilled, the weakest being at the level of a special jonin. For most intruders, even finding this location would be daunting enough, let alone daring to take action. But for Minato and his team, it wasn't impossible.

Sakumo quickly devised the plan for their attack.

Swish!

Using the cover of darkness, Suzuka swiftly moved through the buildings. While it would take a lot of energy for her to conceal herself alongside the others, for Suzuka—a former member of the Anbu and a master of sensory techniques—hiding on her own was simple.

She circled behind one of the Sand Ninjas, approaching silently until she was less than ten meters away. Then, she stopped and formed seals with her hands.

The bright moonlight glistened on the sand, casting a faint silvery glow like a thin layer of frost. Suddenly, the Sand Ninja, who had been on high alert, felt the moonlight above his head dim. A sense of danger washed over him, and he looked up sharply. At the same time, his body reacted instinctively, drawing his ninja sword in a counterattack.

"Konoha Style·Dance of the Crescent Moon!"

In that instant, Suzuka moved like a phantom in the moonlight, her body graceful and fluid like a breeze.

Clang!

The ninja swords collided with a sharp, ringing sound, and the next moment, the Sand Ninja's weapon slipped from his hand, clattering onto the sand.

"ENEMY ATTACK!"

The Sand Ninja shouted, ignoring the cut on his arm. His eyes locked onto Suzuka with a hint of mockery. In his mind, attacking the Sand Village was nothing short of suicide.

But after his shout, there was only silence—no response. His eyes darted toward his two companions, and the sight illuminated by the moonlight made him shudder. A white chakra tanto glimmered in the night, dripping with blood. His companion's eyes were wide with disbelief, but he had already died.

The man with silver-white hair, who had struck the fatal blow, now looked back at him with indifferent eyes. Elsewhere, two figures—one large and one small—stood together. The blond boy held a blood-stained kunai, his azure eyes cold and unwavering.

Both Sand Ninjas had been killed without making a sound.

Before he could process the scene, a ninja sword pierced his chest.

Bang!

He fell to the ground instantly, but even then, no sound escaped the area. Suzuka had already set up a barrier within a ten-meter radius to block any noise from spreading.

Sakumo had taken down one Sand Jonin in a flash, while Minato and Hyuga Kyusugi had worked together to eliminate another.

After the enemies were dealt with, the four did not regroup immediately. Instead, they cleaned up the scene. The bodies of the three Sand Ninjas were collected in special scrolls, and the bloodstains were hidden beneath the sand.

Once the area was clear, the four gathered.

"[Hurry up and take the flowers,]" Minato gestured.

Without wasting time, they exchanged nods. Sakumo retrieved a pair of light yellow gloves from his ninja bag. He approached the Desert Sorrow, crouched down, and put on the gloves. In the next moment, a thin film of chakra enveloped the surface of the gloves.

These chakra gloves were made from the same material as chakra test paper, specially designed to handle toxic plants like the Desert Sorrow, which could not be touched directly.

Once Sakumo had fortified the gloves with chakra, he carefully reached for the flower stems. The moment he touched them, the blood-like substance on the stems spread a dark red hue across the chakra film. Thanks to Sakumo's exceptional chakra control, he managed to keep the poison at bay. Had it been anyone else, even with chakra protection, they would likely have been corroded by the flower's poison in an instant.

Sakumo gingerly uprooted the two Desert Sorrows, pulling them out by their roots. He sealed them in a space scroll, though the pale yellow gloves were now slightly corroded by the poison.

"[We've finally got it.]"

Sakumo was sweating, but the task was finally halfway complete. However, there were still a few more steps to finish.

Minato then pulled out a plant from his cloak and buried it in the spot where the Desert Sorrow had stood. He formed a hand seal, transforming it to appear as the Desert Sorrow. This plant, which contained chakra, would help prolong the transformation jutsu, increasing its duration.

At the same time, Sakumo bit his finger, formed seals, and summoned three ninja dogs, each wearing a Konoha forehead protector. These were the ninja dogs Sakumo had trained himself. Unlike Minato and Jiraiya, who had contracts with powerful summoning beast clans, these dogs were not known for their combat abilities. However, they were highly obedient. Sakumo made a series of hand gestures to them.

Swish, swish, swish!

The dogs understood their orders and positioned themselves where the three Sand Ninjas had been stationed. Sakumo then performed a transformation jutsu, turning the ninja dogs into perfect replicas of the fallen Sand Ninjas.

With the matter settled, Minato and Suzuka used their sensory abilities to ensure the coast was clear. They then led Sakumo and Hyuga Kyusugi away from the scene.

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