By a little after four in the afternoon, Ranwu suddenly stirred. "Found them!"
But after glancing at Akaseki and seeing no reaction from him, Ranwu quieted down again.
After recovering at noon, the two had each sent out a Shadow Clone Technique to gather information. Ideally, they would find Minato, but tracking down the enemy would work too...
Afterward, Akaseki gave Ranwu a heads-up before his main body returned to training.
In a state of "Immersion," only severe disturbances could interrupt him. He could not hear ordinary sounds at all.
Some time later, when Akaseki opened his eyes...
"Hm?" Akaseki smelled boiled crab and grilled fish again.
"You're awake?" Minato said calmly.
Akaseki examined Minato closely and found no sign of injury. Feeling expectant... yet also awkward, he asked, "Did you... take care of the enemy?"
Minato shook his head. Akaseki sighed in relief, only for Ranwu, who noticed it, to shoot him a sidelong glance—Uchiha Clan members always had this inexplicable competitive streak!
"When the Sealing was broken and their attention was focused on it, I ambushed one of their Jonin. He should be seriously injured, but Akebino, the leader, reacted immediately. The other one was probably from the Kaguya Clan. I tried to ambush her in close combat instead, and she injured me..."
Minato really had intended to take on all three alone!
He had only successfully ambushed one of them.
"After that, Jinin Akebino chased me while I fled. We fought and stopped, fought and stopped, and I only managed to shake him at dawn." Minato did not elaborate.
One could imagine that this later stretch of "fighting and stopping" had been the truly thrilling and dangerous part.
But Minato was practical...
There had been no further gains, only the fact that he had run away. There