Signal Flare

"Rumble—"

Heavy thunder rolled across the distant sky, beneath a low, swirling atmospheric pressure.

A Hyuga Ninja wearing a specially made rain cape stood atop a tree with his Byakugan activated, silently gazing off to one side.

Everything within several kilometers lay within his sight.

Occasionally, several flashes of chakra light darted past the edge of his vision.

They were traces of Cloud Village patrol units.

Not their target.

This wide-range observation continued intermittently for about half an hour, but he never found the group they were meant to rendezvous with. Only when nearly half the chakra in his body had been depleted did he finally stop searching.

He first exchanged code phrases with the hidden sentries before braving the downpour and walking into a bear cave being used as a resting place.

The cave was quite deep, with winding passages. Only after walking more than ten meters inside did he see a faint firelight in its depths.

Perhaps because he saw the light, Hyuga Shoichi could not help relaxing slightly. He folded up his drenched rain cape, hung it on a natural stone hook at the corner, and greeted the person by the fire.

"Lord Sakumo."

Hatake Sakumo, seated by the fire, looked up at him.

Hyuga Shoichi closed his eyes and shook his head.

"I've searched the entire area nearby."

"If they weren't all wiped out, then they must have relocated."

"Did you find any traces of a large-scale battle?" Hatake Sakumo asked.

"No."

"Then that's good news." Hatake Sakumo remained calm. "For a ninja at Tsunade's level, even if she died, she would leave behind some traces."

"Shoichi, go rest first."

"Have Shin take over your shift in four hours."

"Yes."

After Hyuga Shoichi turned around and sat by another fire, Hatake Sakumo's stiff, solemn expression immediately collapsed with a whoosh.

"Hah."

"Where the hell did Tsunade run off to?"

Sahara Mizu and Namikaze Minato could not help exchanging smiles at the sight.

Having known this unreliable "Lord Sakumo" for so long, seeing him act serious instead felt rather strange.

Still, the current situation truly was urgent.

It had already been three days since they crossed the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning and infiltrated the Land of Lightning.

As early as yesterday evening, they had found Tsunade's Team's planned ambush site.

But there had not even been a ghost around.

In the end, they relied on the Hyuga team's tracking abilities to find traces of a large-scale escape and pursuit amid the torrential rain. However, those traces were already at least two days old.

Judging from those traces and the intelligence they had, there was a strong possibility that Tsunade's Team had also discovered the intelligence leak during their mission and begun relocating early. Yet they had not abandoned the mission. While concealing their strength, they continued maneuvering nearby, waiting for an opportunity to assassinate their target.

For the arrogant Third Raikage, that line of thinking was actually quite feasible.

A man who possessed both the Strongest Spear and the Strongest Shield would not alter his route just because a few little bugs stood in his way.

But for Sakumo's Team, which had come to rendezvous with Tsunade's Team, this was a major problem.

They had no way of determining whether Tsunade's Team had already abandoned the mission and escaped during their maneuvers, or whether they were pushing deeper into the Land of Lightning over a wider area.

On top of that, after several days of traveling at full speed, everyone in Sakumo's Team was already exhausted.

These three days since entering the Land of Lightning were the first time they had lit a campfire.

One look at Sahara Mizu's expression as he held that bowl of warm canned rations was enough to show how much they missed the taste of civilization.

"Mizu."

Seeing how happy he looked, Uchiha Yayoi, who was leaning against him, lowered her voice and held up her own small can. "Do you want some more? I'm full already."

"No need."

Sahara Mizu reached out and gently pressed his warm fingers against the girl's somewhat pale, frost-chilled cheek. "Come a little closer. You're losing heat too quickly."

As he spoke, he spread open the blanket wrapped around himself and added another layer over Yayoi's blanket.

Miss Yayoi's cheeks flushed slightly. She felt that this seemed a little too intimate in front of everyone, so she secretly glanced around. Only after seeing that no one was looking their way did she cautiously edge closer to him and lightly press against him. The girl glanced at his face from the corner of her eye, her eyelashes trembling faintly.

Sahara Mizu merely leaned carelessly against the wall, continuing to hold his warm canned food.

"Ohoho~"

Hatake Sakumo noticed the scene and teased them like a child. "How nice. I want to snuggle up warmly with a girl in a cave too."

Miss Yayoi shot him a sidelong glance. After spending the past few days together, her former reverence for "Konoha's White Fang" had already shattered completely. She drew out her voice without a care.

"I'm truly sorry you had to witness such an improper sight~"

As she spoke, she pressed herself even closer.

Sahara Mizu merely smiled, unconcerned.

Life in the wild was far harsher than they had imagined. Sometimes, they needed a little diversion.

Namikaze Minato sat across from the campfire, watching Sahara Mizu, whose presence had been restrained to the absolute limit. If one did not look directly at him, he almost seemed not to exist. The inexplicable curiosity in Minato's heart grew stronger.

Ability development, Hand Seal-less Ninjutsu, extraordinary powers of observation—

Any one of those should have made him an exceptionally outstanding person.

Yet Minato, who had grown up alongside him, seemed never to have noticed his presence.

Even Minato himself found that phenomenon somewhat unbelievable.

"Lord Mizu."

After thinking for a moment, he scratched his cheek as if embarrassed and asked, "This may be a little presumptuous, but could I ask you for guidance regarding the development of Hand Seal-less Ninjutsu?"

"I've been developing Hand Seal-less Wind Release Ninjutsu for over a year, but I still haven't found the right direction."

Because of his exceptional talent since childhood, aside from asking elders such as Jiraiya for advice, this was the first time Namikaze Minato had made such a request of someone his own age.

Furthermore, he was at the sensitive age of fifteen, when a boy's skin was thinner than paper.

But driven by his desperate desire to become stronger, Minato still forced himself to speak.

"Sure."

Before he could explain anything further—

Sahara Mizu had already agreed as if it were nothing.

"Huh?"

Namikaze Minato froze.

Sahara Mizu continued, "The Limitless Technique requires extremely high computational ability. Ordinary people would probably have a hard time learning it. The only thing I can teach you is the Rasengan."

"Wait, wait."

Namikaze Minato waved his hands repeatedly, his face flushing with nervousness. "I'm not trying to secretly learn your technique. I only meant the development process."

In the ninja world, secretly learning someone else's Ninjutsu was a very serious matter.

Yet Sahara Mizu only smiled. "Isn't the easiest way to develop a Hand Seal-less Ninjutsu to first learn one?"

"And our fighting styles are very similar."

"I think the Rasengan might suit you quite well."

Namikaze Minato's eyes widened as he stared at Sahara Mizu in astonishment.

He was surprised, and somewhat moved.

Teaching someone Ninjutsu without any prior connection was no ordinary favor.

Miss Yayoi was also stunned when she heard that. She turned to look at him, then quickly caught on and suddenly cut in.

"It can't be free! At the very least, he has to trade a Ninjutsu he developed himself."

"Yayoi?"

Sahara Mizu turned his head instinctively.

He did not think Minato would be unable to create the Rasengan again just because of him. Using it as a favor now was obviously far more valuable.

Then he saw Uchiha Yayoi gesture with her eyes toward the other two campfires.

Sahara Mizu glanced over from the corner of his eye and saw quite a few people secretly looking in their direction. They had clearly noticed their conversation just now, and he immediately understood what she meant.

"Of course."

Namikaze Minato agreed at once, his eyes shining as he looked at Sahara Mizu.

"What about me?"

Hatake Sakumo joined the young people's conversation as well, pointing at himself. "Can I learn it too?"

Miss Yayoi was still holding a grudge. She gave a petty little huff. "Then you'll have to trade your White Fang Swordsmanship for it, the complete version!"

"Hey, hey!" Hatake Sakumo's face immediately fell. "You're already acting like a housekeeper before you're even married? Women who are too controlling aren't liked, you know!"

Yayoi's face reddened at the first half of that sentence, then immediately darkened. She snapped irritably, "An improper old man like Lord Sakumo is the kind who'll never find a wife in his life!"

"Kehehehe!"

Yet Hatake Sakumo wore a radiant smile, his face full of smug happiness. "This senior already has a three-year-old son!"

"Wha—?!"

Everyone drew out their voices in shock and stared at him.

Right during that brief pause, an Anbu ninja who had been lying in wait outside on guard suddenly rushed into the cave and shouted urgently.

"Lord Sakumo!"

"To the north—a red signal flare!"

In an instant, everyone's formerly relaxed expressions turned solemn in unison.

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