"Another squad's been spotted!" Sen made his judgment in an instant.
They didn't have Sharingan of their own, so they couldn't see the chakra threads, fine as hairs, beneath the sand. It was only natural they'd blunder straight into a trap.
"Here's our chance!" Kushina wiped the sand from her face. Most of the Sunagakure shinobi in the stronghold were rushing toward the sound of the explosion, and excitement flashed in her eyes.
"They're in disarray. Should we take the opportunity to capture someone and get information out of them?"
Sen and Minato exchanged a glance, immediately reaching an understanding. "Minato and I will go. You stay here and cover us. Once we've made sure it's safe, you can come over."
Kushina didn't object. Sen got to his feet and told Minato, "Watch your step. Stay close to me, and don't touch any chakra threads."
Minato nodded and set off right behind Sen.
Minato's expression was grave as he followed. In the darkness, he was the only one who could accurately keep track of Sen's movements and where he placed his feet.
That was also why they'd left Kushina behind.
The two of them slipped like phantoms toward the stronghold's checkpoint.
Sen signaled:
"You take the two on the left. I'll handle the two on the right. Make it quick."
The next second, they burst out of the darkness at the same time!
Sen slit one guard's throat with a single, clean stroke.
The other Sunagakure shinobi was just about to shout an alert when he suddenly met a pair of eyes glowing with an ominous red light.
Sharingan Genjutsu!
The shinobi's pupils immediately went blank, and he crumpled to the ground.
The chakra threads controlled by the Sunagakure shinobi snapped at once, and the puppet fell to the ground with them.
On the other side, Minato sent three shuriken flying, each one striking an enemy in the throat with pinpoint accuracy.
Then, with the Body Flicker Technique, he appeared behind the last enemy. With a sharp crack, he swiftly snapped the man's neck.
The two exchanged a glance and nodded in understanding. Sen hoisted the unconscious Sunagakure shinobi onto his back and immediately returned to Kushina's hiding place.
Only after confirming the area was safe did they begin questioning the Sunagakure shinobi.
With the Sharingan, the interrogation went exceptionally smoothly.
A short while later, the three of them had learned all the details about the stronghold:
Since their last battle with Konoha, the stronghold had only received a few reinforcements, all of them Chunin. Apart from a handful of Jonin, the rest were old, weak, or injured.
Hearing this, Minato swallowed excitedly, as if he could already see a vast treasure before him. "If that's the case, can't we launch an attack now and easily defeat them—or even take over the stronghold?"
Kushina, on the other hand, was worried. "But it's too dangerous. There are only three of us... Shouldn't we go back and alert the main force?"
"There's no time." Sen's tone was firm. "It'll take at least six hours to go there and back. By then, their reinforcements will have arrived.
"Besides, our comrades are risking their lives on the other side to draw the enemy's fire. We can't let their sacrifice be in vain!"
With that, Sen went over to the unconscious Sunagakure shinobi and snapped his neck without hesitation, giving him a painless death.
[You killed a Sunagakure puppeteer. Choose a trait to absorb: Mental Power +2, Puppet Technique, Constitution +1]
Sen narrowed his eyes. One reason he wanted to take a gamble was the system's notification. He'd noticed that all three puppeteers he'd killed had given him a "Mental Power +2" reward.
He guessed that puppeteers had to fight enemies and control puppets at the same time, so their Mental Power was naturally far greater than that of ordinary people.
And a "Mental Power +2" reward like this was a rare opportunity for him.
He could also get one by fighting an Uchiha who'd awakened the Sharingan, but that only happened once a day. He couldn't exactly go around killing his own clan members.
Seeing that Kushina still had doubts, Sen quickly formed Hand Seals and summoned an Earth Release: Clone.
The advantage of an Earth Release: Clone was that, unlike a Shadow Clone, it didn't forcibly divide his chakra evenly. He could control its strength more flexibly.
"I'll send this clone to notify them. We'll look for an opportunity first. We might be able to wipe out all these Sunagakure shinobi."
"Fine! Let's do it!" Kushina's fighting spirit flared as well. "Just like you said, for our comrades and our village!" She gripped her Kunai tightly and nodded with determination.
Once both of them had agreed, the three took advantage of the night and slipped back into the dangerous Sunagakure stronghold.
Inside the stronghold, Sen used the Transformation Technique to disguise himself as a Sunagakure shinobi. He patted the comrade on guard in the second-floor corridor. "Why's it been so quiet at the western checkpoint?"
The man turned around in confusion, but when he saw the other person's right hand hidden behind his back, he immediately sensed something was wrong and leaped away.
"An enemy—!"
The Sunagakure shinobi, who'd been wearing a friendly expression just moments earlier, instantly turned grim. With a puff, he transformed back into Sen.
Looking at the Sunagakure shinobi blocking the passage, Sen sighed helplessly. "What a shame. This method has its limits after all."
Minato and Kushina caught up and took their places on either side of Sen.
Minato spoke up. "This method's already taken out four Sunagakure shinobi. That's pretty good. From here on, though, we'll probably be in for a tough fight."
"A tough fight? Not at all!" Sen rapidly formed Hand Seals and shouted, "Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
"Boom—"
A huge fireball barreled down the passage.
The enormous fireball tore through the narrow, curved corridor, its power magnified! Screams rang out throughout the stronghold!
"Look out!" Minato called.
Two Sunagakure shinobi leaped out the window to avoid the Great Fireball, then stuck chakra threads to the wall and swung back inside!
The two Sunagakure shinobi shouted, "You're dead!"
Seeing that Sen seemed to be searching for something, Minato and Kushina hurried forward. They guarded him from either side as they fought the two Sunagakure shinobi.
Minato's reflexes and attack speed far surpassed his opponent's. He soon gained the upper hand and cut through the man's neck with a single slash.
He watched the Sunagakure shinobi fall stiffly to the ground, then prepared to go help Kushina.
"Those two are both puppets," Sen suddenly warned.
As soon as the words left his mouth, the "dead" Sunagakure shinobi stood right back up!
Blades coated in poison sprang from his wrists and ankles. Like a killing machine gone out of control, he attacked again!
"It's a puppet! It's poisoned, so be careful!" Minato quickly retreated, warning them loudly as he did.
Hearing this, Kushina also backed away cautiously.
She watched as the puppet, nearly missing an entire hand, stood up without feeling a thing. She asked anxiously, "What do we do? Can you find the puppeteer? Sen, why didn't you warn us just now?"
Sen didn't answer.
He drew a deep breath, then pushed off hard with both feet. His whole body shot forward like a cannonball, and the short blade in his hand plunged into the wall at the far end of the passage!
"Because I was looking for the puppeteer."
With that, he pulled out his short blade, leaped backward, and landed steadily.
"Thud—"
A figure fell from the space inside the wall, like a puppet with all its strings cut.
Another short blade Sen had thrown was embedded where his heart should have been.
And yet the "puppeteer," stabbed through the heart, slowly stood up, his face completely bloodless.
Sen's heart sank. He even wondered if he'd made a mistake—had he failed to hit the man's heart?
Before you continue