Infiltrating the Sand Ninja Stronghold

"The other squad's been discovered!" Sen instantly judged.

They didn't have their own Sharingan and couldn't see the thread-like Chakra lines beneath the sand, so running headfirst into a trap was perfectly normal.

"An opportunity!" Kushina wiped the sand from her face and, seeing most of the Sand Ninja in the outpost rushing towards the direction of the explosion, a glint of excitement flashed in her eyes.

"They're in disarray now. Shall we take the chance to capture a scout?"

Sen and Minato exchanged a look and immediately reached a tacit understanding. "Minato and I will go. You stay here to provide support. Once we confirm it's safe, you can come over."

Seeing Kushina had no objections, Sen stood up and said to Minato, "Watch your steps and stay close behind me. Don't disturb the Chakra lines."

Minato nodded and followed closely in Sen's footsteps.

Minato's expression was solemn as he followed behind. In the darkness, only he could accurately pinpoint Sen's figure and landing spots.

This was also why Kushina was left behind.

The two moved like ghosts, stealthily approaching the outpost's checkpoint.

Sen made a hand seal:

"The two on the left are yours. I'll handle the two on the right. Let's finish this quickly."

The next second, the two simultaneously burst from the darkness!

Sen slit the throat of one person on the right with a single, clean slash.

Another Sand Ninja was about to cry out a warning when he suddenly met a pair of eyes emitting an ominous red glow.

Sharingan Illusion Technique!

The Sand Ninja's pupils instantly unfocused, and he fell straight down.

The Puppet strings controlled by the Sand Ninja instantly snapped, and he fell to the ground with his puppet.

On the other side, Minato's three kunai flew out in unison, precisely piercing the throat of one enemy.

Immediately after, he used a Body Flicker Technique to appear behind the last enemy and, with a "crack," cleanly snapped his neck.

The two exchanged glances and nodded in understanding. Sen picked up the unconscious Sand Ninja and immediately returned to Kushina's hiding spot.

After confirming the surroundings were safe, they began interrogating the Sand Ninja.

With the Sharingan, the interrogation process went exceptionally smoothly.

A moment later, the three had obtained detailed intelligence about the outpost's interior:

Since the last battle with Konoha, the outpost had only replenished some Chunin. Apart from a few Jonin, the remaining personnel were mostly old and weak.

Hearing this, Minato excitedly swallowed, as if seeing a huge treasure. "In that case, if we attack now, won't we be able to easily defeat them and even capture this outpost?"

Kushina was a little worried. "But it's too dangerous. There are only three of us... Why don't we go back and notify the main force?"

"There's no time," Sen's attitude was resolute. "It'll take at least six hours for a round trip. By then, their reinforcements will have already arrived.

Besides, our comrades are drawing fire for us on the other side with their lives. We can't let them sacrifice in vain!"

After speaking, Sen walked up to the unconscious Sand Ninja and, without hesitation, snapped his neck, letting him die painlessly.

[Killed Sunagakure Puppeteer, please choose the attribute to absorb: Mental Strength +2, Puppet Technique, Physique +1]

Sen's eyes narrowed slightly. The reason he wanted to take the gamble was partly due to the system's prompt—he noticed that the three puppeteers who were killed had all provided a "Mental Strength +2" reward.

He guessed that puppeteers needed to fight enemies and control puppets simultaneously, so their mental strength was naturally much greater than that of ordinary people.

And this kind of "Mental Strength +2" reward was a rare opportunity for him.

Although he could also obtain it by fighting with Uchiha clan members who had awakened their eyes, he could only do so once a day. He couldn't possibly go around killing clan members.

Sensing Kushina's lingering hesitation, Sen quickly formed hand seals and summoned an Earth Release: Clone.

The advantage of an Earth Release: Clone was that it didn't forcibly divide Chakra like a Shadow Clone, allowing for flexible control of precision.

"I'll have this clone go notify them. We'll find an opportunity first. Maybe we can capture all these Sand Ninja in one fell swoop."

"Alright! Let's do it!" Kushina's fighting spirit was ignited. "Just like you said, for our comrades and the village!" She said, gripping her kunai and nodding firmly.

Seeing that both of them agreed, the three, under the cover of night, once again infiltrated the perilous Sand Ninja outpost.

Inside the outpost, Sen used the Transformation Technique to disguise himself as a Sand Ninja and patted his companion guarding on the second-floor corridor. "What's going on with the west checkpoint? Why is there no movement?"

The man turned back strangely, only to see the right hand hidden behind the other person, immediately sensing something was wrong and quickly jumping back.

"Enemy--!"

The Sand Ninja, who had looked amiable moments ago, instantly turned grim. With a "bang," he transformed back into Sen.

Looking at the Sand Ninja blocking the corridor entrance, Sen sighed helplessly. "What a pity. This method still has its limits."

Minato and Kushina caught up, standing on either side of Sen.

Minato spoke, "This method has already assassinated four Sand Ninja, which is quite good. It seems like a tough battle ahead."

"A tough battle? Not necessarily!" Sen quickly formed hand seals and shouted, "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

"Boom--"

A giant fireball rampaged through the corridor.

The giant fireball, rampaging through the narrow, curved corridor, had its power amplified! For a moment, screams echoed throughout the entire stronghold!

"Careful!" Minato called out a warning.

Two Sand Ninjas jumped out of a window, avoiding the Great Fireball, then attached themselves to the wall with Chakra threads and swung back in!

The two Sand Ninjas shouted, "You're looking for death!"

Seeing Sen searching for something, Minato and Kushina immediately stepped forward, guarding him from either side, and began to fight the two Sand Ninjas.

Minato's reaction and attack speed far surpassed his opponents, and he quickly gained an overwhelming advantage, severing the opponent's neck with a single slash.

He watched the Sand Ninja fall stiffly, and was about to go support Kushina.

"Those two were puppets," Sen suddenly interjected.

As soon as he spoke, the "dead" Sand Ninja stood up straight again!

Poisoned blades suddenly shot out from its wrists and ankles, attacking like an out-of-control killing machine!

"It's a puppet! It's poisoned, be careful!" Minato quickly retreated, shouting a warning.

Hearing this, Kushina also retreated warily.

She watched the puppet, whose hand was almost gone, stand up without any pain and asked anxiously, "What do we do? Can we find the real body? Sen, why didn't you warn us earlier?"

Sen did not answer.

He took a deep breath, pushed off the ground with his feet, and shot forward like a cannonball, thrusting the short sword in his hand fiercely into the wall of the distant corridor!

"Because I was looking for their real bodies just now."

After speaking, he pulled out his short sword, backflipped, and landed steadily.

"Thump--"

A figure, like a puppet whose strings had been cut, fell from a hidden space within the wall.

A second short sword, thrown by Sen earlier, was embedded in his chest.

However, the "puppeteer" who had been stabbed in the heart slowly stood up, his face completely devoid of color.

Sen's heart sank. He even wondered if he had made a mistake, if he hadn't hit the opponent's heart?