At ten in the morning,
Mikami Yuu and the others gathered at the outpost gate, said goodbye to Inuzuka Tsume, who had come out to see them off, and then, under the gazes of the Konoha ninja stationed there, sped toward the outskirts of the town.
"Minato-sensei, where exactly are we going to meet them?" Rin asked.
"Over there."
Minato raised a hand and pointed toward a lush, forested mountain ridge nearby, saying gently, "That road is the route they have to take to reach Oborozuki Castle. We'll head to that high ground first and take up position there, observe the surroundings, just in case."
With that,
the group moved out in a guarded formation. Minato led from the front. Kakashi and Mikami Yuu flanked left and right, while Obito and Rin stayed in the middle. They soon followed the rugged mountain path and climbed onto the ridge.
This kind of reconnaissance was already Team Mikami Yuu's specialty.
After all, when they first arrived at the front line, this was exactly the kind of mission they had been doing.
After searching around, they found nothing.
So they chose a higher patch of ground and waited, habitually scanning the surroundings. But as time slowly passed and the agreed-upon noon hour drew near, the winding dirt road below remained empty. There wasn't even a shadow of the expected reinforcements.
That made the group start to feel uneasy.
"What's going on? Didn't they say they'd arrive by noon?"
Obito craned his neck restlessly. "Could they have run into trouble on the way?"
Kakashi moved closer, pointed in a certain direction, and lowered his voice. "Minato-sensei, something seems off in that direction… A flock of birds suddenly startled up just now. There might be enemies lying in ambush there."
"Is that so?"
Minato narrowed his eyes slightly and looked toward the direction Kakashi indicated. After a moment, he gave a small smile. "Let's go take a look. If there really is an ambush, then clearing the obstacle for our Konoha comrades is part of our duty… Yuu, Kakashi, stay alert."
"Got it."
Yuu and Kakashi nodded.
The group immediately set off again.
About ten minutes later,
Minato, who had been moving at the front, suddenly stopped. His back instantly tensed like a beast that had scented danger. He raised his hand sharply, signaling for everyone to halt and stay on guard.
"Minato-sensei?"
Obito nearly bumped into Rin in front of him and hurriedly stopped, asking in confusion.
Kakashi and Yuu, however, took positions on either side of the team. Their hands had already silently reached for blade hilt and tool pouch, sharp eyes scanning the seemingly ordinary forest shade around them.
Minato narrowed his eyes slightly. His blue gaze swept over the surroundings, while his powerful sensory ability spread rapidly in all directions, taking in every movement of grass and wind before filtering and identifying them one by one.
"Someone's coming. They should be Suna ninja, and there are quite a lot of them…"
There was no need to say the rest.
Because very soon, a dense series of whooshing sounds rang out. The previously quiet mountain forest suddenly boiled with movement.
Figures burst out from behind tree trunks, from underground holes, from bushes, and even from cracks between rocks.
All of them wore Sunagakure standard flak jackets. Their faces bore the weathered marks of sand and wind unique to Suna ninja, and their eyes were cold and full of killing intent. A rough count put their number at over thirty. They formed a tight encirclement, trapping the five-person squad on the ridge firmly in the middle.
No…
More accurately, it wasn't just people.
There were also several wooden puppets mixed among the Suna ninja. Each puppet had a grotesque shape. Their joints creaked and groaned as they aimed poison-coated claws, saw teeth, and mechanism holes at Mikami Yuu and the others.
The air seemed to turn murderous all at once.
Kakashi's eyes grew solemn. Obito and Rin also tightened their grips around their kunai.
After all, the enemy's numbers were truly overwhelming. Thirty against five. That meant each of them would have to fight six Suna ninja. Just thinking about it was enough to make the head ache. Even Kakashi didn't think he could win under such a numerical disadvantage.
Only Mikami Yuu remained calm, showing no trace of panic.
Nonsense. They were only surrounded. With the Yellow Flash here, what was there to be afraid of?
Unless the other side had brought multiple Kage-level fighters, a jinchūriki, or Uchiha Madara was plotting behind the scenes, then even in the worst situation, Minato could at least cover their escape.
So,
Yuu's gaze swept around once and finally settled on the very front of the opposing group.
There, in the deepest shadow, two figures slowly stepped out.
The one in front was an old woman with graying hair, her face carved with wind and age, but her eyes were as sharp as poisoned steel needles. She was Sunagakure's elder, master of puppetry and poison—
Chiyo.
The pressure radiating from her was on a completely different level from the others.
Half a step behind her stood Pakura, with short orange hair and pretty features. She stood quietly, her gaze locked firmly on Mikami Yuu as if he were prey.
At that moment,
Minato quietly shifted half a step, better shielding Yuu and the others behind him, then spoke clearly.
"So it's Elder Chiyo of Sunagakure. What a grand display. It looks like the squad from our village was intercepted by you, then?"
"Hmph. The Yellow Flash is sharp."
The corner of Chiyo's mouth curved into a cold arc as she spoke slowly. "Unfortunately, you realized it a little too late. That force has already been intercepted by our Suna ninja. Right now, they're probably struggling just to protect themselves, much less come here to support you.
"So please, all of you, die peacefully on this ridge. Especially you…"
"Hatake Yuu!"
As she said that, Chiyo's gaze passed over Minato and fell on Mikami Yuu. The hatred in her eyes was so deep it almost seemed ready to burst out. By comparison, even Kakashi was temporarily ignored.
"Huh?"
Mikami Yuu froze.
Kakashi and Obito also froze for a second. Obito instinctively turned to look at him and shouted, "Yuu, when did you secretly change your name? You didn't even tell us! And why Hatake? Wouldn't Uchiha Yuu or Nohara Yuu be better?"
"…Are you an idiot?"
The corner of Yuu's mouth twitched, and he felt speechless.
He more or less understood what Chiyo meant now. Indeed, like Kakashi and Hatake Sakumo, he had white hair. He also used Hatake Swordsmanship. In the eyes of Suna, who didn't know the internal details, it was easy to mistake his identity.
But…
Chiyo had personally led people here to kill him?
Was there really a need to mobilize this much force?
~~~
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