Good Fortune

Uchiha Obito's death had not affected the progress of the mission. The village's missions still had to continue, especially when this one was so important.

It could be said that the mission would determine whether the war could be brought to an early end, or even whether the Third Shinobi World War could be stopped altogether.

Uchiha Kei had been mentally prepared for this long ago. Besides, he was also an indirect participant in the mission and a "reserve member."

When the squad carrying out a mission suffered casualties or encountered an accident, the Third Hokage had given Namikaze Minato the authority to find replacement members, as well as the right to send them on the mission.

It was clear that the Konoha High Command attached great importance to this mission. Kei had never thought he could back out.

So, after a good night's rest, Kei prepared to set out with his team.

This time, Kei was far more confident. Now that he had the Mangekyo, an overwhelmingly powerful weapon, he dared to reveal his Sharingan.

With the Sharingan out in the open, Kei didn't have to be as wretched as before.

He still didn't dare use all his abilities, and he knew next to nothing about the Mangekyo.

But this power had given him some confidence. If having the Sharingan got him blacklisted by Konoha, so what?

If it came to it, he could press a Kunai against his Forehead Protector. Then they could see who was more nervous.

"But I still can't get carried away. The Mangekyo is nothing special; I haven't even figured out Susanoo, the all-in-one offense and defense technique. And I'm still not familiar with my Dojutsu. I have to study it properly before I do anything else."

Kei remained levelheaded. He wasn't getting carried away just because he'd obtained the Mangekyo.

While studying the Mangekyo's abilities required using them repeatedly, he wasn't Uchiha Itachi, who didn't care about his own condition.

Nor was he Uchiha Sasuke, who could spend his Dojutsu Power at will, and then, when his eyes were nearly useless, switch to Itachi's eyes.

After that, all he had to do was rest until his eyes adapted, then head out and cut loose again.

Kei had no siblings, so he couldn't count on anything like that. He wouldn't even consider the Eternal Mangekyo for now.

Still, Kei wasn't despairing. He'd already taken the most difficult step. With this foundation and strength, he could simply wait for the future to unfold.

After packing his things, Kei called Hyuga Aya and Imai Kenta to meet up with Namikaze Minato.

It was clear that the powerful Minato had become the highest-ranking commander among the ninjas. Even Yamanaka Masato didn't seem to have any objections.

"Here's the situation. Since we ambushed a large group of Iwa Ninja here, we'll inevitably draw the attention of others."

Once everyone had gathered, Minato got straight to the point. "So we have to move faster. Yamanaka Jonin, I'm assigning this task to you. Draw the enemy's attention and create an opening for us. I'm counting on you."

"Understood, Namikaze Jonin." Masato nodded, showing no reluctance or resistance.

"Kei-kun, please stay a moment." Just as Kei was about to follow Masato, Minato suddenly called out to him. "Please wait. I have a new mission for you."

"A new mission?" Kei froze. Aya and Kenta exchanged glances, both with a sinking feeling.

Minato had sent everyone else away and left only them behind. It seemed likely he had a difficult mission to give them.

The three of them began frantically turning over the situation in their minds. Before long, their hearts sank.

The Namikaze Squad had four members, but in practice, only three were currently carrying out missions. With the front line under pressure and Minato having mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique, he could move back and forth across the battlefield.

It would be foolish not to make use of that ability.

At the same time, this gave Minato a plausible cover story: it told all the Iwa Ninja that he was on the front line, not behind enemy lines.

Whether the Iwa Ninja believed it didn't matter. They just needed to know about it.

But now the Namikaze Squad had lost a member. Under normal circumstances, they should have continued the mission.

But circumstances had changed. Kei's squad had rescued a large number of Konoha Ninja, greatly easing the pressure on the unit originally assigned to draw the enemy's attention.

Those ninjas could also be considered reserve forces. With manpower now available, there was no reason to have Kakashi and Rin continue the mission alone.

This would free Minato to keep the Iwa Ninja suppressed at the front, while also ensuring that the mission behind enemy lines went smoothly.

The reason they had chosen Kei's team was even more obvious.

His squad included members of the Uchiha and Hyuga, two powerful Dojutsu clans, and they had also seen their fair share of battle.

There was another important reason: they were almost the same age as Kakashi, and Kei was in the same class as him.

Aya and Kenta were a year or two older than Kakashi and the others, but they could still be considered their peers.

They would be able to communicate easily with one another, and with the help of the two Dojutsu, they would surely be able to carry out the mission more effectively.

All three of them figured this out at almost the same time. Their expressions turned strange, and they even began to relax a little.

If nothing unexpected happened, this mission could be considered the safest one of all!

After all, they had greatly expanded the original Bait Squad, and they also had Minato—powerful enough to be terrifying—ready to come to their aid at any moment.

Their chances of surviving this mission were probably much higher than if they went to draw the enemy's attention. Even if they were careful, things could still go wrong.

Without support, even hiding in the rear could lead to trouble.

But now... Aya and Kenta exchanged glances. The mission was still dangerous, but at least they had backup.

Thinking of this, the two of them couldn't help glancing at Kei. If he hadn't "conveniently" awakened his Sharingan, their squad might not have been chosen for this.

Of course, the squad could have been split up instead. But given the circumstances, that was unlikely. Putting unfamiliar ninjas together in this environment would be tantamount to sending them to their deaths!

Sure enough, Minato spoke up. "I have a top-secret mission for you. It is extremely important and could even determine the course of the war. I need to assign your squad to carry it out. Any objections?"

"None," Kei and his two teammates answered in unison.

"Good." Minato nodded in satisfaction, then turned serious. "This mission is dangerous, and since your squad is intact, Kei-kun, I'm putting you in charge. Now I'll explain the mission. Listen carefully."

"Me?" Kei froze for a moment, then nodded. "Understood. Go ahead."