"Mm, it's possible. Stay alert. We could run into enemies at any moment here."
Namikaze Minato raised a hand to signal the team to stop, then crouched down and touched two fingers to the ground, closing his eyes in concentration. His powerful sensory ability spread outward like invisible ripples, sweeping toward the outpost ahead and the surrounding area.
—Senju Tobirama had used this ability as well. It was one of the necessary prerequisites for Flying Thunder God. The strength of this sensory ability determined how far one could travel in a single Flying Thunder God displacement.
Mikami Yuu and Kakashi had also been training in this area lately, but because their proficiency was still limited, and their innate talent was indeed not as strong as Namikaze Minato's, they still couldn't reach his level for now.
A moment later,
Minato opened his eyes, a faint trace of relief in his blue gaze.
"It's fine. The people in the outpost are Konoha ninja. And they should be acquaintances of ours… Let's go take a look."
A few minutes later,
Yuu's group met that "acquaintance" inside the low defensive wall surrounding the outpost.
It was Inuzuka Tsume, whom they had met once before.
After half a year, her aura seemed sharper and more capable than the last time. Her chakra felt noticeably stronger too, but there were several new and old scars on her face, as though she had been through many tough battles recently.
"Yo, Minato. You got here fast."
"And you brats too. Good to see you again. You've grown quite a bit. I heard you beat Sunagakure's genius, Pakura, not long ago. Pretty capable, huh?"
Inuzuka Tsume greeted Mikami Yuu and the others cheerfully.
Beside her, the big dog Kuromaru barked a few times and wagged his tail, seemingly welcoming them as well.
"It was mainly Yuu's contribution."
Kakashi said.
Mikami Yuu smoothly followed up with a few modest lines about how it was all thanks to everyone working together.
"Hah, why do I feel like you said the same thing before? Back when we chased down that spy from the Land of Rain, wasn't it the same?"
Inuzuka Tsume rubbed her chin and teased him, then gestured inside.
"Don't just stand around outside. Come in first."
Soon,
the group entered the outpost.
From outside, it hadn't been obvious, but once they stepped inside, Mikami Yuu realized that this structure, built from stone and logs, held quite a few people. There were at least a dozen by rough count.
Aside from the two squads Tsume had brought earlier, around seven or eight people, there were also four or five wounded ninja lying or sitting nearby. Each of them had bloodstained bandages wrapped around their bodies, and all looked exhausted.
"They're survivors who scattered when Oborozuki Castle fell. We found them one after another over the past two days, got some intelligence from them, and temporarily settled them here. Unfortunately, the medical supplies we brought are limited, so we could only do the simplest treatment."
Tsume explained.
"I see… Yuu, Rin!"
Minato looked toward Mikami Yuu and Nohara Rin.
The two understood immediately and walked over, beginning the rescue work.
Ever since they had started carrying out patrol and reconnaissance missions, Yuu's Healing Technique progress had somewhat stalled, because there weren't many wounded people around for him to practice on. Now he had unexpectedly found a chance to continue grinding the mission here. That was an unexpected bonus.
On the other side,
Tsume led Minato, along with Kakashi and Obito, to a stone table inside the outpost and looked at the simple map placed on it.
"The current situation is this: the Oborozuki Castle outpost has indeed been lost. It was taken down by an elite Suna force working together with spies on the inside.
"Right now, we don't know how many Suna ninja are stationed inside the castle, but there definitely aren't few of them. At least twenty or thirty. Also, several watchtowers around Oborozuki Castle have basically fallen into Suna's hands. Each tower has one or two squads inside, possibly with puppets or traps."
"…Understood."
Minato nodded. "In other words, if we want to retake Oborozuki Castle, we have to pull out these nails first. Otherwise, even if we infiltrate the area around the castle, we'll be attacked from both front and rear. Correct?"
"That's right."
Tsume nodded. "But personally, I suggest we wait for Lord Jiraiya's response before making a decision. After all, although we now have three squads, we still need to care for the wounded and be ready for possible surprise attacks. We're still too short-handed."
"No need."
Minato gave a gentle smile.
"Yuu and Kakashi have both fought jōnin before. And I'll be taking action too. As long as we move fast enough and take out these outposts before all the Suna ninja can gather, there shouldn't be a problem."
Actually, even if all of Suna's forces gathered together, it still wouldn't be a problem.
After all, the current Minato was already developing Spiraling Flash Super Wheel Dance Roar Type Three. Even if the technique wasn't fully complete yet, dealing with a group of ordinary chūnin and jōnin wouldn't take him much effort. He could just crush through them directly. The most they could do was run.
However, the current Minato was still rather modest and wasn't the type to do all the work alone. He also wanted to use this operation to train Mikami Yuu and the others, so he needed to leave some room for them to act.
After some discussion,
the two leaders settled on a plan.
"Tsume, the southwest outpost is farther away and has tighter defenses, so I'll handle that one. The northwest and northeast will be left to you, along with Yuu, Kakashi, and the others. We'll also leave two or three people here to look after the wounded. That should be enough."
Minato said.
Tsume hesitated slightly. "I don't have a problem on my end, but can Yuu and the others handle it? The enemy has the terrain advantage, and they're still a bit young…"
"It's alright. I believe in them. They'll win."
Minato smiled.
"…"
Mikami Yuu, who was currently bandaging a wounded ninja's injury, glanced over and almost said something.
Although Minato wasn't white-haired,
that line gave him a strange sense of déjà vu—
as if it were about to fast-forward to, "I'm sorry I couldn't make Lord Uchiha Madara enjoy himself…"
That night, Yuu and the others rested briefly inside the outpost.
The lodging conditions weren't exactly good, but at least it was better than sleeping exposed to the wind and dew. And since Tsume's people were there, Yuu's group didn't need to take turns keeping watch. For once, they got a full night's sleep and woke up the next day in excellent spirits.
Tsume had already taken people out ahead of time to scout.
Inside the outpost, the patients who had still looked half-dead the day before had mostly improved after treatment from Yuu and Rin. Some of them warmly greeted and thanked the two.
"No need to be polite. This is part of our duty."
Mikami Yuu smiled and responded, then checked each of their injuries again.
~~~
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