During lunch,
Minato mentioned Pakura's situation.
"Yuu, Inoichi's work is already finished. Pakura has now been transferred to a safer individual cell, and the seal has been reinforced. If you want to see her, just give my name or Jiraiya-sensei's."
"Alright."
Yuu nodded, then casually asked, "Did Inoichi-senpai get any useful intelligence?"
"…He did obtain some information about Suna's troop deployment and logistics. It will be very helpful for our frontline arrangements, and that credit belongs to you all. You don't need to worry about the specifics. If there's a mission, I'll notify you separately."
Minato said with a smile.
In truth, the information Yamanaka Inoichi had "seen" from Pakura's mind was far more than that.
The most important point was this: Suna and Kumo might have made secret contact, and a military alliance between them could not be ruled out.
Although Pakura herself didn't know much and had only vaguely heard one or two key phrases, that alone was enough to make Jiraiya and Nara Kashima tense.
After all, Kumogakure's overall strength was far above Sunagakure's, and its grudges with Konoha went back a long way.
The Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, had died on the way back from Kumogakure. A few years ago, Kushina had once been kidnapped by Kumo ninja, nearly causing Konoha's Nine-Tails jinchūriki to be replaced. And if one traced things further back, the destruction of Konoha's ally, Uzushiogakure, also had countless ties to Kumogakure.
Under such circumstances,
if Kumo and Suna conspired together and attacked the Land of Fire from two sides like a double-stuffed cheese sandwich, even Konoha would likely be overwhelmed.
So Jiraiya immediately wrote a secret letter and summoned a messenger toad to deliver the intelligence to Konoha, asking Hiruzen Sarutobi to decide.
But this matter really wasn't something Yuu and the others needed to worry about.
After all, they were currently on the southwestern battlefield, while Kumogakure was to the northeast of the Land of Fire. Even if a second front really opened, they were unlikely to be transferred there to fight. Most likely, troops would be drawn from northern Fire Country and from Konoha Village itself.
After that,
Minato asked a few questions about everyone's training and whether they had encountered any difficulties.
"Mm… it seems you've all accumulated quite a few questions lately. Of course, your progress hasn't been small either. In that case, after we finish lunch, I'll train with you for a while. I happen to have some free time this afternoon. Let's see just how much you've improved."
"Eh? Great!"
Obito was the first to excitedly pump his fist.
Yuu and Rin also looked pleasantly surprised.
It had been quite some time since they last sparred with Minato. At first, back in Konoha, it had been because Minato had many missions and often wasn't in the village. Later, after arriving at the front, they had held back to preserve stamina and avoid consuming too much chakra at once.
Now that they finally had another chance, they naturally had to treasure it.
Soon,
after the four members of the squad finished eating and washed their lunch boxes clean, they rested briefly and followed Minato back to the training ground. They watched as he casually threw several Flying Thunder God kunai into the four corners of the field, then turned around.
"Then…
"Begin."
…
After the training session ended,
Minato gave each of them individual advice, especially regarding Obito's Sharingan.
Although Minato himself wasn't an Uchiha, he was still a Kage-level expert and had sparred with multiple Sharingan users, including Uchiha Fugaku. So he had quite a bit of authority in this area, enough to instruct Obito, who had only just awakened his eyes.
On Yuu's side, out of consideration for hiding information, he didn't use abilities like Mad Gamble or Overload Pulse. But the level he displayed was still commendable. Minato only pointed out a few issues with how Yuu linked his techniques together and told him to keep working hard.
In addition…
One thing worth mentioning was that after so many battles lately, Yuu's Hatake Swordsmanship had finally broken through another barrier and advanced another step.
[Hatake Swordsmanship affection +2! Current affection: 50/100 (Attached)]
The affection upgrade brought another +1 Constitution boost, and Heartblade Domain also advanced accordingly. Its effective range increased from 2.2 meters to 4.4 meters, and its prediction accuracy improved as well. This finally let Yuu's swordsmanship officially surpass Kakashi's.
To be fair, Kakashi's swordsmanship was still quite good. At this stage, he primarily trained swordsmanship, with ninjutsu as a secondary discipline. He had developed Chidori mainly to make up for his lack of breakthrough power.
Unfortunately, in front of a cheating Mikami Yuu, it still wasn't quite enough.
After realizing this, Kakashi became somewhat confused. For a moment, he wasn't sure who was really surnamed "Hatake"—himself, or the white-haired boy in front of him. After all, Yuu looked more like the heir of Konoha's White Fang than he did…
Yuu couldn't really explain much, so he could only leave Kakashi to think it over himself.
…
Over the next few days,
Mikami Yuu's group stayed stationed inside Wildfire City.
On one hand, after Chiyo's defeat, Suna became much more cautious and carried out a degree of strategic contraction. On the other hand, Team Minato had previously achieved repeated battle merits and received some reward for it. So during this period, the workload assigned to the squad became much lighter.
As a result, they had more time to train and do some "side work."
For example,
Yuu frequently entered and exited the medical laboratory inside the outpost, helping the stationed medical ninja treat wounded soldiers in exchange for the convenience of using the medical instruments there to analyze Pakura's blood samples.
Although this was the front line, and Wildfire City's equipment was not as complete as Konoha Hospital's, it still had basic microscopes, blood separators, and similar tools. A few of those instruments were things Yuu had personally brought here before.
Because of this,
Hebishi, who had once written Yuu a recommendation letter, helped him several times.
"Mm… so this is a cell slice from that Suna Scorch Release user? The activity is indeed astonishing. Look at these mitochondria, and the cytoplasm…"
"Judging by the blood analysis results, her basal metabolic rate is over 1.8 times that of an ordinary person. Externally, that shows as faster chakra recovery and larger total reserves. In addition, the levels of about fourteen hormones and enzymes are significantly higher than normal. This may be the key to instantly evaporating moisture and creating high temperatures…"
"But there are also several chakra-mediated proteins with rather complex structures. They may be key to Scorch Release's secret…"
"Indeed."
Yuu stood in front of another microscope, observing cellular tissue marked with a special dye while recording data.
"Hebishi-senpai, do you think there's any way to analyze the structures of these proteins?"
"…Very difficult."
Hebishi shook her head. "This is a kekkei genkai, after all. If it were that easy to crack, Konoha would already be full of kekkei genkai ninja. All we can do here is observe the current phenomena. If you want to study the essence… I'm afraid we'd need experts at Lady Tsunade's or Lord Orochimaru's level."
"…"
That was true.
It was just not very useful.
After all, Tsunade and Orochimaru were far away in Konoha. Whether calling them over or sending these blood samples—or Pakura herself—back to Konoha, neither was very realistic.
Unless…
"If static analysis can't produce more results, then… what about dynamic observation? During the process of Pakura releasing Scorch Release, if we observe her chakra flow, hormone levels, cellular activity, and so on in real time, wouldn't we obtain more effective information?"
Yuu said.
"Hm?"
Hearing Yuu's idea, Hebishi paused briefly, then nodded. "In theory, yes. But you'll need to discuss it with Lord Jiraiya or Jōnin Minato. After all, Pakura is a Suna ninja, and a valuable prisoner."
"…I'll find a way."
…
"No problem."
Inside the command tent, Minato agreed readily.
"Pakura was originally your prisoner. If you can research the secret of Scorch Release through her, that would be a good thing for the village. But… are you sure she'll cooperate?"
"Although I can help keep things under control and prevent her from taking the opportunity to escape, even setting up a sealing barrier wouldn't be a problem. But if she holds a grudge and tries to use a self-destructive ninjutsu, even I may not be able to stop her in time."
In theory, if a Scorch Release user really wanted to self-destruct, there should be a way. It might not reach Deidara's "Patrick Star" level, but destroying a medical laboratory would be more than enough.
"Well…"
Yuu thought for a moment. "I'll convince her."
"Convince?"
"Mm. If people are killed, they die. If Pakura were truly set on dying, she wouldn't have stayed obediently until now. I'll offer a condition she can't refuse to ensure the experiment process is safe and controllable."
"…Is that so?"
Minato was silent for a few seconds, then smiled. "Alright. Since you're confident, give it a try. I'll do my best to help."
And so,
Yuu went again to that single-person cell.
At this moment, Pakura's complexion looked much better than when she was in Oborozuki Castle. She was leaning against the wall on the simple bed with her eyes closed, pretending to rest.
As Yuu pushed the door open and entered, Pakura instantly opened her eyes. The iron chain at her ankle made a faint clinking sound with the movement.
"What are you here for this time, damn Konoha white-haired brat?"
"…"
Yuu didn't answer. He simply walked in front of Pakura and laid four scrolls out on the bedboard one by one.
Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique, Phoenix Flower Technique, Dragon Fire Technique, and Great Dragon Fire Technique.
Then Yuu looked at Pakura.
"Let's make a deal."
"…What do you mean?"
Pakura froze.
"I said before that I'm very interested in your Scorch Release. Now I want to use these scrolls to ask you to help with a few sets of experiments. The experiment content is simple: you release Scorch Release ninjutsu, and we use instruments to record the internal changes in your body…"
"Dream on!"
Pakura almost immediately sneered.
"You want me to help Konoha study my kekkei genkai? Hatake Yuu, did Scorch Release burn your brain? You actually dare propose this kind of deal?"
"Don't rush to refuse."
Yuu's tone did not change. He only raised three fingers.
"First, I know that as a Scorch Release user, your understanding of Fire Release far exceeds ordinary people. But Konoha is also proficient in this field. These scrolls include three C-rank Fire Release techniques and one B-rank technique. For any Fire Release or related kekkei genkai ninja, they have strong reference value."
"Second, all data and analysis results concerning Scorch Release obtained during the experiment will be shared with you. This may help you understand your own power more deeply, break through your current bottleneck, and find a direction to further develop and strengthen Scorch Release."
"…"
Pakura's eyes flickered, and her gaze involuntarily swept over the three scrolls again. She seemed somewhat tempted.
Yuu continued. "Third, you should know that even if you don't actively cooperate, Konoha is not without methods to analyze the secrets of Scorch Release in other ways. The efficiency would simply be lower. And in that case, you would gain no benefit from it at all. You might even lose your life."
"Didn't you say that one day you'd make me pay? If you die here, then you'll have nothing left.
"And even if you don't die, this war's conclusion is still far away. You will remain imprisoned here for quite a long time. Your body will become rusty and degenerate little by little from lack of exercise.
"Meanwhile, I will continue moving forward and grow stronger, until I truly leave you at the foot of the mountain, so far behind that even looking up, you won't be able to see me.
"Is that a result you're willing to accept?"
"You…!"
Pakura abruptly raised her head, anger blazing in her eyes.
But Yuu's words had indeed stabbed into the deepest fear in her heart. The humiliation of being captured, confusion about the future, desire for strength, obsession with revenge… all sorts of emotions violently collided in her chest. She clenched her fists tightly, nails almost digging into her palms.
Silence.
Inside the cell, only their faint breathing and the occasional clink of chains could be heard.
After a long while,
Pakura finally seemed to use all her strength to squeeze out a sentence through her teeth.
"All research data you mentioned must be shared with me in full!"
"I always keep my word."
The corner of Yuu's mouth curved slightly, and he extended a hand.
"Pleasure doing business."
"…"
Pakura did not touch Yuu's hand. She only stared coldly at him.
"When do we start?"
"This afternoon. If it's inconvenient for you, tomorrow is fine too."
"…Then this afternoon."
The negotiation was complete.
Yuu straightened up and turned to walk outside.
"Take a look at these Fire Release scrolls first. Maybe they'll inspire you a little. I'll come find you again after lunch.
"Also…"
"There is one point you may have misunderstood all along. My real name is actually not 'Hatake Yuu,' but 'Mikami Yuu.' I've only learned a tiny bit of Hatake Swordsmanship."
Yuu stopped at the door, turned back, and pinched his fingers together in a "tiny bit" gesture.
"…?"