"Sorry, Sen. Could you let him go? He's just a little arrogant and conceited," the Shimura clan Jonin said in compromise. "We brought him along to the war this time to help him change his attitude."
Sen pressed down harder with his foot, then slowly lifted it. Looking down at Shimura Saburo, he said coldly:
"Remember: weakness and ignorance aren't obstacles to survival. Arrogance is." Sen stared icily at Shimura Saburo. "If you put even one of my teammates in danger during a mission, I promise I'll make you wish you were dead!"
Sen truly loathed Shimura Saburo from the bottom of his heart.
His hatred wasn't just because Saburo bore the mark of the Shimura clan. It was because he didn't care at all about the teammates around him. A fool like him might get himself killed, but one careless mistake could get the whole squad buried with him.
"Three Tomoe Sharingan at ten years old. Not bad." Hatake Sakumo spoke up at just the right moment, vouching for Sen's strength. "It seems no one has any objections to you being team leader."
The remaining eight stayed silent, accepting Sen's leadership.
After all, his strength was plain to see. Even the Shimura clan Jonin hadn't dared to step in, so they certainly wouldn't object.
Only Shimura Saburo remained sprawled on the ground, glaring at Sen with venomous eyes.
"Sakumo-senpai, what's our mission in the Land of Wind?" Minato asked, taking the opportunity to change the subject. Instead of wasting time on the idiot Shimura Saburo, they should confirm the mission details and prepare.
Hatake Sakumo nodded. "If you're asking that, you must be Namikaze Minato, right? Your file says you have a great talent for being a ninja and seem especially skilled at the Body Flicker Technique.
"Since you've asked about the mission, come into the tent. I'll explain it to you newcomers."
A little over an hour later, everyone came out of the tent.
Their mission was to harass and scout a nearby Sunagakure stronghold.
The greatest challenge was the poison and Puppet Technique that the Sunagakure shinobi excelled at.
If someone was poisoned and didn't get treatment at the medical unit in time, they could well die within three days.
Their squad's mission was to attack a Sunagakure stronghold together—or rather, harass it. The enemy stronghold had thirty or forty shinobi, after all.
"This is so urgent we don't even get a rest. We've only just arrived, and we're already starting a mission." Minato looked at the mission scroll and spoke gravely.
"This mission is about gathering intelligence. The village's supply of antidotes is limited, so we'd better avoid getting hurt."
"Isn't there a way to analyze their poison and make a specific antidote?" Kushina asked with a frown.
After all, poison was the main difficulty in this mission. If they could solve that problem, Konoha's shinobi could probably push straight into the heart of Sunagakure.
"It won't work." Minato shook his head. "Sunagakure's poison formulas are constantly changing. Even a medical expert like Lady Tsunade would probably need years."
Sen added, "Of course, we could capture one of their key figures, like the Kazekage, and interrogate him."
The two of them smiled wryly. That would be even harder than cracking the poison. They could only talk like that when they were bragging.
Konoha and Sunagakure had been fighting for years, but they'd never managed to obtain such critical secrets.
Seeing that dusk was approaching, Sen addressed the members of the other squad:
"The enemy fought our comrades from the village a few days ago, and they've reinforced their stronghold. This is a scouting mission. I don't have many requirements for you. Just don't die.
"Remember, after gathering intelligence, return to the stronghold. This mission will lay the groundwork for what comes next."
He looked at the four-man squad led by Shimura Saburo and lowered his voice. "Don't get yourselves killed by recklessly putting your teammates in danger!"
"You!"
Shimura Saburo's face flushed red. Sen had seen right through him.
He'd planned to take advantage of having another Jonin in his squad. If he got the chance, he could even kill several Sunagakure enemies and return to claim credit!
"Hmph! I won't waste my breath arguing with you. You'll see what I can do!" Shimura Saburo still had the antidote Danzō had given him. That was what he was counting on.
"It's 'arguing,' not 'breath arguing'! What an idiot," Kushina snapped.
"Enough. Stop arguing. We'll eat dinner now and set out in two hours. Their stronghold is like a large earthen castle. Your two squads, seven people in all, will gather intelligence at the southeastern checkpoints. We'll gather intelligence on the west side of the stronghold."
Sen quickly assigned their tasks. He didn't put the Jonin in his own squad, since he was one of the Shimura clan.
Two hours later, after dinner, Sen led his squad out on their mission.
The night was pitch-black.
After more than three hours of careful travel, the lights of the Sunagakure stronghold finally appeared at the edge of their vision.
The stronghold was a small castle built from timber and mud. It stood above a bridge crossroads and had three levels. It could protect the bridge and inspect those passing through, serving two purposes at once.
After confirming the target, Minato lay down, covered the light with a cloth, and pointed at the map. "The bridge is two hundred meters long. This is definitely the place. Too bad the river below is too wide to block. If we could, it would be a devastating blow to the water-starved Sunagakure."
Kushina poked her head out and watched for a moment. "Forget cutting off their water. They have seven or eight Sunagakure shinobi openly patrolling. We don't have enough people to take them on, so we'd better focus on gathering intelligence."
Sen and Minato nodded, then moved farther down.
Most of the Land of Wind was covered in sand, making it extremely difficult to hide. Scouting missions like this could only be done at night.
The three of them stopped more than four hundred meters from the Sunagakure shinobi on guard and were about to move closer for a better look.
Sen activated his Sharingan and watched carefully for a moment, then suddenly grabbed the two who were about to move on.
"Wait. Something's not right."
The two immediately stopped and flattened themselves against the ground.
They trusted Sen and knew he wouldn't warn them without good reason.
After a moment, Sen said in a low voice, "The ground... is covered in Chakra Threads. If we take a few more steps, we'll enter their trap. And of the eight people guarding the gate, four have no chakra flowing through their bodies..."
"They're puppets!" Minato immediately realized. "They're bluffing! They must have suffered heavy losses in the last battle!"
"That's possible." Sen nodded. "Should we capture someone and question them?"
"No. It's too risky." Minato immediately refused. "This place is completely exposed, and in the desert we can't use the Hiding in Mist Technique over a wide area. If we're spotted, there'll be nowhere to hide."
"Then let's record their defensive arrangements first..."
Sen hadn't finished speaking when a huge explosion suddenly rang out from another direction inside the stronghold.
"BOOM—!"
Flames soared into the sky, lighting up half the night as bright as day!
The Sunagakure shinobi inside the stronghold fell into instant chaos!
"Those Konoha bastards are back! We don't know how many there are yet. Hurry and fire the flares!"
Before you continue