Little Schemer

In a small valley thick with bushes near Konoha's frontline camp at the border where the three countries met by the Huoyu River, two figures were locked in an intense taijutsu clash while a brown-haired girl watched anxiously from the side.

Whoosh. A figure suddenly appeared beside the brown-haired girl. He had blond hair, blue eyes, a handsome face, and a gentle, sunny disposition. He wore a blue bodysuit beneath Konoha's green flak jacket.

"Ah, Sensei, you're here." Rin Nohara relaxed her tense body and said with delight.

Minato Namikaze nodded slightly, then looked at the two still fighting and smiled. "Gen's taijutsu has improved quickly. He can already fight Kakashi on even terms."

"Yes, he's improved very quickly. Gen is a genius, just like Kakashi."

As they spoke, Uchiha Gen and Kakashi had already stopped sparring and walked over to them.

These past few days, Uchiha Gen had focused on training his taijutsu, such as fighting with taijutsu as much as possible on the battlefield and sparring with Kakashi.

Compared to ninjutsu and genjutsu, taijutsu was Uchiha Gen's weak point. Of course, with the Sharingan's assistance, his taijutsu was still very strong among opponents of the same level.

"Sensei."

"Senior Minato."

This was Minato Namikaze's own request. He had told Uchiha Gen to call him Senior rather than Lord.

"There's a mission. Go pack up and depart immediately."

"Sensei, what mission?"

"Lord Hokage has sent orders. I'm to lead people to intercept the Cloud forces invading the Land of Fire."

"What? Cloud has invaded the Land of Fire again?"

"It can't be helped. Our forces at the Hidden Cloud Front are limited. Although Lord Orochimaru is exceptional at military strategy, he can hardly manage everything at once."

Konoha's intelligence network was extremely formidable, possessing two and a half separate systems. One was the Intelligence Division of the Interrogation Department, the second was Root, and the half-system was the Anbu.

Even though the future A, the Fourth Raikage, and the others had been extremely cautious, Konoha's intelligence agents had still obtained the information.

"Sensei, are we going with you?"

"No. This time, Cloud has invaded in two groups, one overt and one covert. I need to lead people to stop the covert group led by the Third Raikage's son. You will follow the rapid support unit and stop the overt group."

"Understood. Be careful, Sensei."

Minato Namikaze smiled at the three of them. "You should watch your safety too. Don't be reckless or try to show off."

"Sensei is leaving first."

With that, Minato Namikaze vanished from where he stood. That was not an ordinary Body Flicker Technique, but a space-time ninjutsu.

It was worth noting that the greater the distance covered by the Flying Thunder God Technique, the more Chakra it consumed.

The current Minato was not the reanimated Minato from the Fourth Shinobi World War with half of the Nine-Tails inside him. It was impossible for him to keep using the Flying Thunder God Technique to travel.

"Let's go too."

Uchiha Gen and Rin Nohara nodded.

The three figures moved and vanished, rapidly leaping through the hills until they became three tiny black dots in the blink of an eye.

The three returned to camp, quickly packed their things, and then set out with the rapid support unit.

The rapid support unit consisted of seventy people, made up of Chunin, Special Jonin, and Jonin. The selected Chunin were all relatively skilled in speed and traveled swiftly. The Jonin leading them were the Ino-Shika-Cho Trio.

The group sped through the lush forest. To an ordinary person's eyes, they appeared only as black shadows darting past. Whenever they grew tired or ran low on Chakra, they ate Soldier Pills to replenish their strength and Chakra.

After traveling for a full day and night, they finally arrived in the northeast from the west of the Land of Fire. After setting traps along the Cloud ninja's route, everyone hurried to recover their strength and Chakra.

Clearly, there was a Konoha spy among the Cloud ninja.

During the rest period, sensory ninja kept watch while barrier squad ninja set up a barrier that disrupted sensing.

Sensory ninja, sealing ninja, and medical ninja were treasures in every ninja village.

Among them, sensory ninja and sealing ninja were even somewhat more precious than medical ninja. Unless absolutely necessary, the other ninja would not let these two types of ninja become involved in slaughter.

About an hour later, the sensory ninja hidden within the barrier, which disrupted the enemy's sensing without disrupting their own, gave a warning. The Konoha Ninja immediately sharpened their focus and prepared for battle.

Snap!

The foremost Cloud ninja broke a wire as thin as a strand of hair, instantly triggering a chain reaction. Dense volleys of Shuriken and Kunai with Exploding Tags attached shot forth.

Clang, clang, clang...

Boom, boom, boom...

Aah! Aah! Aah!

The sounds of metal clashing, Exploding Tags detonating, and agonized screams rang out one after another. The front of Cloud's assault force was instantly devastated. Bodies fell from the trees one after another, and even the few who survived were all injured.

"Konoha knows. Retreat!"

The Cloud Jonin leading the group made the decision without hesitation.

The Cloud ninja immediately withdrew, but the Konoha Ninja naturally would not let them escape so easily. They burst out from their hiding places and forced the Cloud ninja to fight.

Taking advantage of the chaos, a Cloud ninja with a green ribbon hidden on his right arm slipped away from the battlefield. The Konoha Ninja did not attack him.

Having completed his mission, the spy naturally had to leave. Returning to Cloud would almost certainly mean death; Cloud's Anbu were no pushovers either.

"Kill!"

Three Cloud ninja, ninja swords in hand, charged toward Team 7. Swift and agile, they easily dodged Team 7's Shuriken, advancing with unstoppable momentum that fully displayed the bearing of elite troops.

Kakashi and Uchiha Gen immediately rushed forward and engaged the three.

Kumogakure's ninja were generally skilled in swordsmanship and Lightning Release, but in taijutsu, they were still a notch below Kakashi and Uchiha Gen. Despite having a three-on-two advantage, they instead found themselves at a disadvantage.

The three Cloud ninja exchanged glances. One of them broke away from the group and charged toward Rin Nohara, who held a Kunai and stood ready.

Uchiha Gen flung out three Shuriken. The Cloud ninja calmly swung his sword, knocking them away before continuing his advance. However, the Shuriken circled around and came at him again from crossing angles.

The Cloud ninja was startled, but he did not panic. He slashed and dodged his way out of danger, suffering only a small cut at his waist that did not affect his fighting ability in the slightest.

At that moment, Rin Nohara, who had been waiting for the right opportunity, threw two Kunai. The Cloud ninja was horrified and twisted his body with all his strength to avoid vital areas.

He did succeed, but the deadly poison smeared on the Kunai spread through his bloodstream. In less than a breath, his face turned bluish-black and he fell toward the ground.

As a medical ninja, Rin Nohara naturally knew how to use poison. She simply had not done so before, until the black-hearted Uchiha suggested it.

Genjutsu Sharingan!

Uchiha Gen's eyes suddenly transformed into the Two-Tomoe Sharingan. His gaze swept across the battlefield and met the eyes of the two Cloud ninja.

Unlike native-born Uchiha, who valued the clan's honor above their own lives, Uchiha Gen was a pragmatist.

Not only had he deliberately removed the Uchiha clan crest, he had also kept his Sharingan hidden at the beginning of the battle.

That underhanded use of the Sharingan directly decided victory, defeat, life, and death!

The two Cloud ninja suddenly stiffened. Uchiha Gen and Kakashi seized the opportunity to attack.

Four figures crossed past one another. Blood mist burst from two necks, and two corpses fell toward the ground.

Kakashi, landing on a tree trunk, twitched the corner of his mouth. Though it was not the first time he had seen it, he still wanted to say that it was truly underhanded.

Underhanded enough to cast aside even Uchiha pride. Terrifying!

"Kakashi, how about I play main carry this time?"

The two had already spent more than a month together. Kakashi often heard strange phrases from Uchiha Gen, and by now, he had learned quite a few new things.

"Fine. I'll be the secondary carry, and Rin will still support," Kakashi said flatly.

"Agreed." Rin Nohara smiled brightly and raised her right hand.