Five Right Gate Technique

The figure that had fallen to the ground moved strangely, slowly rising to his feet with his back to the three of them.

Then, under their horrified gazes, his head abruptly spun 180 degrees. A grotesque, inhuman grin spread across his face.

At the sight, fear surged through Kushina, and she took several steps backward without meaning to.

"What's going on? Is it an Illusion Technique?" Minato checked his chakra, then said, "No, it's not an Illusion Technique. What is this thing?"

Sen raised a hand, signaling for the other two to fall back. He had a rough idea of who they were dealing with.

That grotesque pose, that unique ability... It was a White Zetsu! One of Madara Uchiha's pawns had already begun interfering in the Shinobi World's war!

"Heh heh." White Zetsu grinned as his body began sinking into the ground. "Interesting. Even my Sensory Technique was seen through by your Sharingan. But I've gathered plenty of interesting information, too.

"Well, I'll be off~"

As soon as he finished speaking, he vanished completely into the ground.

Sen repeatedly checked with his Sharingan, but couldn't find any trace of the enemy. Only after seeing the system prompt did he finally relax.

[You fought White Zetsu to a draw. Choose an attribute to absorb: Advanced Sensory Technique, Constitution +1, Chakra +2]

Sen thought to himself, As expected, it was White Zetsu.

"Don't panic. These people must be some kind of special ninja. They don't look like Sand Shinobi, either." Sen quickly reassured the other two. "We're not completely safe yet. There's still another floor above us."

The two nodded, feeling a little calmer.

While they were settling down, Sen chose the system's reward: [Advanced Sensory Technique].

At once, a three-dimensional image flooded his mind.

He couldn't sense the surrounding terrain, but he could clearly detect everyone's chakra within a hundred meters. It was as if countless sensor-type ninja were constantly reporting enemy positions to him.

Put simply, it was a "battlefield radar." White Zetsu's sensory abilities truly lived up to their reputation!

He immediately sensed activity upstairs: the third floor had three large rooms containing more than twenty ninja. Five or six were keeping watch; the rest were wounded and lying down.

It looked like a medical ward.

Just then, a Sand Shinobi on the floor above fired a deep-red flare into the sky!

The flare burst high overhead, forming a fiery-red pattern resembling a wolf's fang.

"That's a Wolf Fang flare!" Minato's face changed. "All the Sand Shinobi nearby will come rushing to help!"

Sen nodded, privately impressed by Minato's attention to detail. He'd even noticed something like that.

"Move! We can't let them surround us!"

The three immediately turned and raced back the way they had come!

But just as they were about to rush out of the checkpoint, Sen suddenly thrust out both arms, stopping the other two.

He looked at the four puppets on the ground and called out, "Careful! The Chakra Threads have reconnected to those puppets!"

"What's going on? Didn't we already deal with them on the way in?" Minato asked, on guard.

As soon as Minato finished speaking, two more puppets leaped out of the darkness. At the same time, the four puppets that had been lying on the ground staggered back to their feet.

Their hollow eyes stared at the three of them.

One puppet's joints clicked as it spoke in a voice that didn't sound human. "I didn't expect to find someone from the Uchiha Clan here. You even have the Sharingan."

Sen and the other two instinctively backed away. Anyone who could control six puppets at once was undoubtedly an Elite Jonin.

"Go another way!" Sen made the call at once.

At the same time, more footsteps sounded from other directions!

More than a dozen Sand Shinobi who'd gone out to pursue the enemy had returned, cutting off their other escape route!

Sen and the others looked closely. Three of the Sand Shinobi at the front had fierce, ruthless expressions. They were clearly experienced fighters.

When they saw the three of them, their expressions changed. Then the burly Sand Shinobi at the front laughed loudly. "So they're just three brats. We thought Konoha had launched a full-scale attack. Looks like we'll have to use more Chakra Thread traps from now on."

Out of the corner of his eye, Sen glanced at the prisoners bound behind the Sand Shinobi—

They were the survivors from the other squads that had come with them, including the person he hated most, Shimura Saburo.

The three survivors came from different squads and were covered in blood. The other four had probably been killed.

Damn it, why couldn't Shimura Saburo have been the one to die?

Sen had barely finished complaining when the footsteps behind him interrupted his thoughts.

He turned and saw a male Sand Shinobi controlling six puppets, blocking the other end of the passage. A woman with long, straight black hair stood beside him.

Looking at the husband and wife coordinating so seamlessly, a familiar name came to mind.

Sasori's parents... It was them! How had he gotten caught up in the tragedy of Hatake Sakumo accidentally killing Sasori's parents?!

" Sōga, what are you doing here?" one of the Sand Shinobi asked curiously when he saw the puppeteer was an ally. They didn't seem to take Sen and the other two seriously at all.

"We happened to be carrying out a mission across the way. When we saw your Wolf Fang flare, we hurried over to see what was going on." Sōga maneuvered his puppets to surround the three, then continued:

"Enough talk. The black-haired kid in the middle already has the Sharingan. We need to take him down and capture him quickly. It's the Kekkei Genkai the village has coveted for so long!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the wide passage was completely surrounded.

"This is a dead end now. Do you still stand by what you said earlier?" Minato asked quietly, remaining on guard.

He was asking whether they should carry out Plan B: split up and break through. Under the circumstances, it gave them the best chance of survival!

At the very least, Sen was sure to make it out alive.

Sen chuckled. At a time like this, Minato was still testing his resolve. "Have you forgotten what I said? We don't abandon anyone, and we never give up!"

Kushina grinned too and growled, sounding a little overdramatic. "Let's show them the bond between the three of us! Use that technique!"

The three formed hand seals at the same time and leaped onto the wall!

Kushina: "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

Sen: "Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Minato: "Ninja Art: Toad Oil Bullet!"

"Five Right Gate Technique!"

The three techniques merged in a deadly clash amid their shouts. The gale fed the flames with boundless force, while the oil pushed the fire beyond its physical limits. The separate energies converged in an instant, forming a sea of scorching flames.

The road, wide enough for four or five people to pass abreast, was swallowed by the flames. A violent sizzling filled the air.

"Careful! This isn't an ordinary technique!" Sōga warned, seeing the sparks in the air.

The enormous wave of fire instantly swallowed several Sand Shinobi who were too slow to react. Their screams echoed through the night.

Sen watched the Sand Shinobi writhing in agony, then looked at the ones who had dodged the attack by hanging upside down from the wall. He couldn't help regretting it.

Damn it, why weren't these Sand Shinobi saving their teammates? They could've just grabbed Shimura Saburo and thrown him in to be roasted alive!