Coordination

The team members began preparing their chakra, foreshadowing that the upcoming battle would not be easy.

The distance of a few hundred meters was almost instantaneous for both sides. Hyuga Akiha that they had reached the distance, the Konoha Ninja paused briefly to create the illusion that they had discovered Sunagakure and were discussing the matter. Then they quickly turned and fled, taking a route that roughly overlapped with their original path.

Hazuki from Sunagakure immediately noticed, "Konoha has spotted us! They're fleeing back, and they've increased their speed considerably; they're about 600 meters away."

Shashi did some mental calculations and realized that the opponent's perception range was much smaller than theirs, which was good news, as they could easily catch up.

However, since our encirclement is quite large, constantly following the enemy could allow them to escape smoothly. Therefore, it's best to disrupt Konoha's operations as soon as possible.

"We'll speed up and catch up, focusing on harassment. Don't engage the Konoha Ninja head-on. Given enough time, the village's reinforcements will arrive." Shashi wasn't taking it lightly. The Sunagakure had already learned its lesson, and even though they outnumbered the Konoha, they didn't dare underestimate their fighting strength.

"Yes!"

Both sides moved quickly, about 600 meters apart, with the Sunagakure pursuing them closing in. A great battle was about to unfold in the central part of the Land of Rivers.

At that moment, Namikaze Minato's Shadow Clone spoke up, "The position is almost there, Shuichi-kun."

"Alright, Ninja Super Beast Imitation Drawing!" Shuichi infused the Sunagakure Village's intelligence into the ink bird. After the bird emerged, it flew towards their right front, where Namikaze Minato and Aburame Shibi were staying. This technique allowed them to know the latest information about the enemy detected by the Byakugan.

The bird, empowered by Shuichi 'Shuichi chakra, moves incredibly fast. From a high vantage point, it can be seen that it transmits information when both teams are on the same horizontal plane.

On Namikaze Minato's side, their location was now surrounded by jutsu. "This is Barrier I've mastered. It can shield chakra fluctuations, but the downside is that you can't move around in it."

This was the tactical arrangement of the Konoha Squad. With only seven people, it was impossible for them to surround the enemy within the area controlled by Sunagakure. The enemy's Sensory Ninja coverage area eliminated this possibility.

However, after carefully designing this coordination, they have the opportunity to encircle the enemy, which is based on their own strength being sufficient; otherwise, they would be spreading their forces and giving the Sunagakure free kills.

Before long, Shuichi's Shadow Clone saw the little bird that came to deliver the information.

He immediately opened the Scroll, and the little bird swooped down and landed on the paper, transforming into words. Namikaze Minato and Aburame Shibi were nearby, reviewing the information about Sunagakure.

"Three Jonin, or even more, means their Chunin strength is quite formidable." Namikaze Minato's mind raced. "Let's move. Once we achieve our objective this time, our mission will be complete. Attacking enemy reinforcements now would only lead to unforeseen problems."

Previously, the Konoha Squad had arranged two plans. One was that since this Sunagakure team was not strong, they would first use the Byakugan to track the enemy, search for their support around the enemy's perimeter, and then use high-speed movement to create a local situation where the strong could defeat the weak, which was similar to the strategy of Shuichi's squad in the previous mission.

Another approach is like what we're doing now: if we encounter a powerful team with both strong perception and strength, then we should have a head-on confrontation and try to achieve sufficient results in one go.

Namikaze Minato told Shuichi's Shadow Clone about the latest offensive plan. The Shadow Clone immediately dispelled the clone after hearing it, and the other side of the main body received the information and immediately notified the surrounding teammates.

"Prepare for the attack. We'll move in as soon as the Sunagakure passes by Minato."

Hyuga Akiha used her Byakugan to observe the enemy's position, "300 meters... 200 meters... We've arrived."

All the Konoha Ninja immediately stopped, then collectively turned around and rushed towards the Sunagakure's location.

"What's going on?" Hazuki, who was sensing the situation, looked somewhat astonished. "The Konoha people ahead aren't fleeing; they're rapidly approaching us. At this speed... are they planning an attack?"

"What?" Shashi asked, feeling a bit confused about the situation. "Are the Konoha Ninja really that confident? Or are they unable to sense our strength and are treating us like the Katsuhira Squad?"

"Stop! The situation is very uncertain, and he has very little time to make a decision. Send the signal, prepare for battle, and let's try to hold them off as much as possible."

Another Signal flare shot into the sky, and Shashi took out the Scroll storing the puppets. The other Sunagakure were also on high alert.

Shuichi and his group were rapidly approaching. As the distance between the two sides continued to shrink, the information that fell into Byakugan became more detailed. At this time, Minato's Shadow Clone was still following them, in order to complete the final adjustments.

"The Sunagakure are all preparing. Judging from their chakra, the enemy has three Jonin, and two of them are quite strong." Hyuga Akiha began to report the opponent's information to everyone when they were 300 meters away.

"One of the Jonin is Puppeteer; his distinguishing feature is the presence of three puppets in front of him. The other... is Hazuki from Sunagakure!"

"Wow! This is a big fish!" Shuichi was shocked when he heard the name; he had encountered a heavyweight so quickly.

Before the war begins, the Konoha High Command will naturally inform everyone about the people in Sunagakure who are worth noting, and Hazuki is one of the key figures.

She held an extremely high position in Sunagakure, was proficient in Fuinjutsu, Sensory Ninjutsu, and even Medical Ninjutsu, and was the second or third-in-command of several departments in Sunagakure. She was also a distant relative of the Third Kazekage.

Eliminating her would potentially cause more damage to Sunagakure than losing several Jonin. Therefore, Minato's Shadow Clone made the decision on his behalf. "Adjust the battle plan. After the first wave of attacks, focus the main target on Hazuki. If Sunagakure discovers something is wrong..."

After listening, everyone understood the situation. The battle plan could be changed. The other Sunagakure ninjas would definitely not dare to abandon Hazuki and run away. They would even have to protect her. It would be easy for our side to gain the initiative.

"Great, no need for complicated tactics now." Shuichi was a little pleased. "Just fuck this woman to death, simple, brutal, and direct."

The two members of the Aburame Clan used insects to constantly determine the distance between each other, Sunagakure were already within a few hundred meters of the Konoha Ninja. Seeing that the time was right, Minato immediately dispelled his Shadow Clone, and the two sides completed their final synchronization before attacking.

"Let's go!" Namikaze Minato's true form was taken aback after receiving the information, but he quickly finished analyzing all the intelligence and rushed out of the Barrier with Aburame Shibi.

On the Sunagakure side, Hazuki, who was sensing the location of the Konoha Ninja, was shocked to discover another chakra fluctuation not far to her side and rear. "An enemy has suddenly appeared about 300 meters away at the 5 o'clock position. They're moving very fast and are also heading towards us."