Five Right Gate Technique

As the figure on the ground slowly stood up, his back to the three of them, his movements were bizarre.

Then, before their horrified eyes, his head spun 180 degrees, a grotesque, inhuman smile splitting his face.

Fear instantly flooded Kushina's heart at the sight of this strange occurrence, and her feet involuntarily took a few steps back.

"What's going on? Is it an Illusion Technique?" Minato checked his Chakra, then confirmed, "No, this isn't an Illusion Technique. What in the world is this?"

Sen held out a hand, signaling for the other two to fall back. He had a rough idea of the opponent's identity.

That strange posture, that unique ability... it was a White Zetsu! Madara Uchiha's pawn, already interfering in the Ninja world's conflicts!

"Heh heh." The White Zetsu grinned, its body beginning to sink into the ground. "Interesting. My Sensory Technique was seen through by your Sharingan, but I've gathered plenty of interesting intel.

I'll be taking my leave now~"

As soon as it finished speaking, its figure completely vanished into the ground.

Sen used his Sharingan to confirm several times, but he couldn't find any trace of the opponent. Only when he saw the system notification did he finally relax.

[Draw against White Zetsu. Please choose a trait to absorb: Advanced Sensory Technique, Physique +1, Chakra +2]

Sen inwardly thought, So it really was a White Zetsu.

"Don't worry, these people should be some special Ninja. They don't look like Sand Ninja either," Sen immediately said to reassure the other two. "We're not completely safe yet; there's another level above us."

The two nodded, feeling much calmer.

While their emotions were stable, Sen chose the system's reward—[Advanced Sensory Technique].

Instantly, a three-dimensional image flooded his mind.

Although he couldn't sense the surrounding terrain, he could clearly perceive the Chakra of everyone within a hundred-meter radius, as if countless sensory Ninja were reporting enemy positions in real-time.

In simple terms, it was a "battlefield radar." The White Zetsu's sensory abilities truly lived up to their reputation!

He immediately sensed the commotion upstairs: three large rooms on the third floor, with over twenty Ninja. Five or six were on guard, while the rest were wounded lying down.

It appeared to be a medical area.

Just then, a Sand Ninja on the third floor fired a deep red signal flare into the sky!

The flare exploded high above, forming a fiery, wolf fang-like pattern.

"It's the 'Wolf Fang' signal flare!" Minato's face changed drastically. "The Sand Ninja nearby will rush to support us immediately!"

Sen nodded, silently admiring Minato's attention to detail, noticing even these small things.

"Let's go! We can't get surrounded!"

The three immediately turned and sped back the way they came!

However, just as they were about to break through the checkpoint, Sen abruptly straightened his arms, stopping the other two.

He looked at the four Puppets on the ground and shouted a warning, "Careful! The Chakra threads connecting those Puppets are active again!"

"What's going on? Didn't we already deal with them when we arrived?" Minato asked warily.

As soon as Minato finished speaking, two more Puppets leaped out of the darkness, and simultaneously, the four Puppets that had been lying on the ground earlier shakily stood up.

Their hollow eyes fixed on the three.

The joints of one Puppet creaked, and it spoke in an inhuman voice, "I didn't expect people from the Uchiha Clan. You even have the Sharingan."

Sen and the others involuntarily retreated. Being able to control six Puppets at once meant the opponent was definitely an elite Jonin.

"Go in another direction!" Sen decisively gave the order.

At the same moment, more footsteps echoed from other directions!

Over a dozen Sand Ninja who had gone out on pursuit had also returned, cutting off their other escape route!

Sen and the others looked closely. Among the dozen returning Sand Ninja, the three leading them had fierce, aggressive expressions, clearly indicating they were experienced.

Seeing the three, their expressions changed, and then the burly Sand Ninja leader laughed loudly, "So it's just three brats. I thought it was Konoha's main assault. Looks like we need to promote the use of Chakra thread traps more often."

Sen's peripheral vision swept over the captives tied up behind the Sand Ninja—

They were the survivors from the other squads who had come with them, and among them was the one he disliked the most, Shimura Saburo.

The three survivors came from different squads, their bodies covered in bloodstains, implying the other four had already perished.

Damn it, why didn't Shimura Saburo die instead?

Just as he thought this, Sen's thoughts were interrupted by footsteps behind him.

He turned to see a male Sand Ninja controlling six Puppets, blocking the other end of the passage. Beside him stood a woman with long, black hair.

He turned his head, looking at the pair of Puppet Master husband and wife who were working in perfect sync. A familiar name surfaced in his mind.

Sasori's parents... it's them! The tragedy of Hatake Sakumo accidentally killing Sasori's parents. How did I get involved in this?!

"Sōga, why are you here?" a Sand Ninja asked curiously upon seeing a comrade operating Puppets. They seemed to completely disregard Sen and the other two.

"We were just on a mission nearby and saw the Wolf Fang signal flare, so we hurried over to check," Sōga said while maneuvering the Puppets to surround Sen and the other two.

"Enough talk. The black-haired kid in the middle already has the Sharingan. Let's finish this quickly and capture him. This is a Kekkei Genkai our village has coveted for a long time!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the spacious passage was completely sealed off.

"This is a dead end, are your words still valid?" Minato asked in a low voice, on guard.

He was asking if they should execute Plan B, "Disperse and Break Through," which was the method with the highest chance of survival under the current circumstances!

At the very least, Sen would definitely survive out of the three of them.

Sen chuckled, "Have you forgotten what I said? We don't abandon, we don't give up!"

Kushina grinned, letting out a slightly chuunibyo roar, "Let them see the bond between us three! Use that jutsu!"

The three simultaneously formed hand seals and leaped onto the wall!

Kushina: "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"

Sen: "Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Minato: "Ninja Art: Toad Oil Bullet!"

"Five Right Gate Technique!"

The three ninjutsu completed their fatal fusion amidst roars—the gale injected endless kinetic energy into the flames, the oil allowed the fire to break through physical limits, and the initially separate energies instantly converged into a sea of high-temperature fire.

The road, wide enough for four or five pedestrians, was completely swallowed by the sea of fire, emitting a violent "sizzling" sound.

"Be careful, this isn't an ordinary ninjutsu!" Sōga warned, looking at the sparks in the air.

The massive fire wave instantly engulfed several Sand Ninja who reacted a bit too slowly, their screams echoing through the night sky.

Sen looked closely at the Sand Ninja groaning in pain, then at the Sand Ninja hanging on the wall who had already dodged the attack, and lamented inwardly:

Damn it, why aren't these Sand Ninja saving their teammates? They're carrying that Shimura Saburo, wouldn't it be better to throw him in and burn him to death?