The Turbulent New Year (Part 1)

In mid-January of the 47th year of Konoha, a sudden plea for help from the Land of Hot Water cast a shadow of war over the New Year, forcing members of the Jonin Division to cut their holidays short.

Following an attack on a sentry post in the northeastern part of the Land of Fire, the Intelligence Department received critical information: the Land of Frost had defected to Kumogakure and unilaterally torn up their previous agreements.

Small nations were always this fickle, but in the eyes of the "hardliners," such situations only arose because the higher-ups were too soft.

Under these circumstances, discussions regarding the next Hokage resurfaced, with many ninja pinning their hopes for reform on the next leader.

The internal rumblings of the village had nothing to do with the squad on their mission. By dusk, when the team arrived near the Valley of the End, Minato Namikaze stopped in his tracks:

"Let's rest around here tonight!"

"Tomorrow, we'll rendezvous with the squad at the sentry post, and then we'll continue patrolling along the border, preparing to cross into the Land of Hot Water."

As the team leader, Minato was exceptionally cautious this time. The previous sentry squad had been wiped out during their patrol, and the intruders possessed not only extreme mobility but also formidable strength.

"It's safe for now, Captain Minato!"

Hideichi Hyuga reported after observing the area with his Byakugan at full power. Kakashi sniffed the air a few times, detected no abnormal scents, and nodded in agreement.

Shu Furukawa sensed the area last, and after confirming it was safe once more, he added:

"The marked point is also secure."

Possessing the Flying Thunder God, Minato naturally kept a retreat path open. Seeing the three of them looking tense, he smiled to reassure them:

"The Anbu have already taken over the situation, so all we need to do is inspect the sentry posts."

"If things go smoothly, there won't be any combat. You've all performed very well along the way."

Unlike most Jonin, Minato was incredibly confident. While traveling, he never forgot to share his field combat experience, and when time permitted, he would even teach them techniques for chakra manipulation.

Minato's performance as a leader was outstanding, and Shu Furukawa finally understood why Kakashi had praised him so highly before.

"Why would Kumogakure provoke a conflict? What do they hope to gain from a war?"

Kakashi suddenly spoke up, as he saw no meaning in such a conflict.

Seemingly surprised by Kakashi's question, a look of astonishment appeared on Minato's face. In his view, children of this age in the village usually didn't ponder the origins of war:

"Slaughter and plunder are simply the style of Kumogakure."

"Kakashi, not every ninja village is like Konoha, and that is precisely why we must protect our village well."

Minato didn't explain in detail, but Shu Furukawa caught the subtext: there were no real reasons for ninja wars; if you were weak, you were destined to be beaten...

Having received his answer, Kakashi fell silent again, feeling that the ninja world was somewhat twisted.

"Minato-kun, have you come up with a name for your new jutsu?"

Shu Furukawa took the initiative to change the subject. Upon hearing the question, a happy smile spread across Minato's face as he nodded and said cheerfully:

"I had already picked a name, but Kushina's suggestion seems to fit the jutsu much better—Rasengan!"

The usually silent Hideichi Hyuga was infected by the happiness radiating from Minato, and thinking of his own situation, he felt a strange pang of bitterness in his heart.

"That really is a great name!"

Shu Furukawa praised him sincerely. He had already mastered the Rasengan, but since it didn't fit his current combat style, he had temporarily shelved it.

"There should still be room for further development. I'm still considering adding nature transformation."

"But that's a massive project; it won't be possible in the short term."

Minato still felt a bit of regret when talking about his new jutsu. His ideal state was to combine both shape transformation and nature transformation, which he couldn't achieve yet.

"Captain Minato, I'll take the second half of the night watch. I'm going to get some rest."

Kakashi took the initiative to assign the shifts, and the other three had no objections. Although they were still within the borders of the Land of Fire, they had to remain cautious.

After nightfall, the four members of the squad paired up for watch duty. Everyone had expected to pass the night peacefully, but an accident occurred around 4:00 AM.

"There's the smell of blood!"

Kakashi woke up Shu Furukawa and Minato. Beside them, Hideichi Hyuga activated his Byakugan, scanned the area intently, and whispered:

"There are no enemies within a 4-kilometer radius."

The dense forest was exceptionally quiet. Shu Furukawa performed a simple hand seal, while Minato touched the ground with his fingers, both expanding their sensory range.

"Captain Minato, there are two people moving toward the sentry post in the Land of Hot Water."

Shu Furukawa reported quickly. Minato didn't hesitate for a second and issued his command:

"We must reach the sentry post first."

"Yes!"

No one questioned the order. The Konoha squad had the numerical advantage, and the enemy had clearly already wiped out the border post between the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Frost. This was also a chance to avenge their comrades.

Moving along the border between the Land of Rice Fields and the Land of Hot Water, the Kumogakure ninja A and Killer B looked relaxed. Both were aware that the Land of Hot Water had asked Konoha for help, yet they still chose to "clean up" their targets.

"Not bad! The power of your Lariat has increased!"

A loudly praised Killer B's progress. Upon hearing the compliment, the latter grinned and responded in a strange, rhythmic tone:

"Big Brother's praise has inspired me to come up with some perfect new rhymes!"

The gibberish rap made the corner of A's eye twitch; his partner was great in every way, except for his complete lack of talent for rapping.

The two moved at a swift pace, and as they approached the border of the Land of Fire, they made no attempt to conceal their presence, decisively accelerating when they were still three kilometers from the outpost.

"Swish!"

A barrage of shuriken and kunai suddenly flew out from the woods. A paused only for a split second before visible chakra erupted from his body, accompanied by the sound of electricity tearing through the air.

"Leave this to me!"

As Killer B spoke, he deflected the dense rain of shuriken and kunai above with his short blades, sparks flying with every collision.

Amidst the ambush, A caught sight of explosive tags on the tree trunks out of the corner of his eye. Even as the violent explosions rocked the area, A, wrapped in crackling lightning, chose to charge straight ahead.

Minato Namikaze, hidden behind a tree trunk, frowned at the sight; this savage style of attack was truly beyond his expectations.

"Die!"

With another burst of chakra, A extended four fingers. Enhanced by his extreme speed, he appeared before Minato Namikaze in the blink of an eye, intending to pierce through both the tree and the man.

A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth, convinced he had succeeded, but the next second, the enemy before him vanished.

Under the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, his neural conduction speed was greatly enhanced, allowing A to forcibly twist his body and attempt to strike his opponent with his left elbow.

"Boom!"

With a deafening roar, A crashed through several trees in succession, flying dozens of meters away.

Minato Namikaze straightened his posture. The Rasengan had failed to land a direct hit; his opponent's reaction speed was truly astonishing, having managed to erupt with a final burst of defensive chakra at the very last moment.

The lazy smile had completely vanished from the face of Killer B, who had just finished swatting away the shuriken and kunai. The battle had unfolded too quickly for him to even react before a young man lunged at him.

Seeing the slightly menacing, pure white pupils of Hideichi Hyuga, Killer B dodged immediately. Just as he tried to create some distance, Kakashi dove down at him from above.

"Get lost!"

Killer B, wielding his short blades with both hands, suddenly increased his speed. He first kicked Hideichi Hyuga away, then swung his blade, which was coated in lightning-attribute chakra, toward Kakashi.

"Zzzzt!"

The two blades, both coated in Lightning Release chakra, collided. There was no expected shattering of steel or fatal blow; just as Killer B tried to exert force, the Tailed Beast within him hurriedly warned:

"Watch out, B!"