Rescue

Yusuke pressed his palm against the Sunagakure jonin's forehead, his chakra piercing into the man's brain like fine needles.

The Sunagakure jonin had yet to regain consciousness, but the excruciating pain still forced a reflexive groan from his throat.

At that moment, Yusuke felt a cold, sealing force rebound instantly, attempting to shred his intrusive probe.

"Hmph."

"Not even as good as the sealing techniques used by Root."

Yusuke's gaze sharpened as the techniques he had learned from the Uzumaki Sealing Scroll came into play.

His chakra turned fluid, bypassing the seal and slipping through the gaps.

Fragmented memories unfolded before Yusuke:

Pakura and Rasa confronting each other in the forest...

"Leave the northeast direction to me..." Rasa's arrogant face...

The internal structure of a hidden Sandstone Stronghold... patrol routes...

Two jonin, thirteen chunin... this was the strength of Rasa's squad.

"As expected, it's more than just one team."

Yusuke withdrew his hand; the Sunagakure jonin had fallen completely unconscious.

Yusuke pointed at Pakura and the jonin on the ground: "Stay here and watch them. I'll be back shortly."

Hyuga Aya nodded and said softly: "Be careful."

Yusuke wasted no more words and closed his eyes to sense.

The coordinates of the Flying Thunder God Kunai on Inuzuka Go were clearly visible in his perception.

"Flying Thunder God Technique!"

Hum—

Yusuke's figure vanished from the forest.

Seeing this, Pakura's pupils dilated, and she thought to herself: This is what I saw in the intelligence scrolls... Flying Thunder God?!

Sandstone Stronghold, spoils of war storage room.

Three Sunagakure chunin were replenishing their consumed ninja tools.

Suddenly, the air rippled, and a figure appeared out of thin air.

"Who?!"

The three of them only had time to utter that single word before the next moment.

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"

Kunai instantly slashed across their throats.

Their eyes were filled with horror, yet they couldn't say a word, clutching their necks as they collapsed straight to the ground.

Yusuke suppressed his presence, his perception fully expanded.

The chakra signatures of the entire stronghold were outlined in his mind.

"Thirteen of them, only one fluctuation reaches the jonin level."

"There are two weak chakra fluctuations inside; that should be Go and the others."

"Which means the enemy still has one jonin and ten chunin."

Yusuke breathed a slight sigh of relief: "As long as they're still alive."

He calculated his plan: "I can't launch a frontal assault. If I make too much noise, Sunagakure might get desperate and kill the hostages to silence them."

"Then I have no choice but to infiltrate."

"Transformation Technique!"

He formed hand seals, a puff of white smoke flashed, and Yusuke transformed into the likeness of one of the Sunagakure chunin lying on the floor.

He quickly dragged the three corpses into the shadows of a corner, then pulled his forehead protector low and pushed the door open as if nothing had happened.

The stronghold's corridors were dim, permeated with the smell of dust and blood.

Yusuke walked with hurried steps, his mind precisely recalling every fork in the road and potential ambush point.

A chunin walked toward him from the opposite direction: "Hey, Kurata, it's not shift change time yet..."

"Shhh!"

A kunai precisely sliced through the carotid artery. Yusuke caught the limp corpse and quickly dragged it into an empty room nearby.

The second... the third...

Yusuke silently cleared the enemies along his path.

When he finished off the fourth chunin, he finally arrived at the interrogation room at the end of the corridor.

The iron door was left ajar, with muffled groans and sharp rebukes drifting from within.

Yusuke adjusted his breathing, forced a look of panic onto his face, and shoved the door open.

"It... it's bad, sir!"

Inside the interrogation room, the sole Sunagakure Jonin sat on a chair.

Two grim-faced Chunin stood beside Inuzuka Go and the other prisoner, clearly specialists in interrogation.

Miyazaki Kenta was tied to a chair, covered in wounds and on the verge of death.

Inuzuka Go was chained to the wall, his face bruised and swollen, yet his eyes still glared fiercely at the enemy.

The Sunagakure Jonin barked in annoyance, "What are you panicking about? Have you no decorum!"

"Yes... s... sir."

"I found the corpses of several teammates downstairs."

"There must be an enemy infiltrating the base!" The Chunin that Yusuke was disguised as spoke with a hurried, fearful tone.

"What?!" The Jonin stood up abruptly.

"You two, guard this place."

"If anyone breaks in, execute the prisoners immediately!"

"Yes!"

The Jonin grabbed a kunai from the table and gestured to Yusuke, "Lead the way. I want to see who dares to break in here."

He stepped out of the interrogation room first, with Yusuke following closely behind. The moment he crossed the threshold, the Jonin left his back completely exposed without a shred of caution.

Yusuke's disguise vanished instantly, and he thrust his kunai forward with lightning speed, driving it into the Jonin's heart without resistance.

The Sunagakure Jonin's body stiffened; he looked down in disbelief at the tip of the blade protruding from his chest before collapsing to the ground.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye.

The two Chunin inside the interrogation room saw the sudden change and their pupils constricted.

But they realized what was happening immediately and moved to strike the prisoners beside them.

However, Yusuke was faster. He utilized the Body Flicker Technique, appearing instantly in front of the interrogators.

He thrust his kunai repeatedly, striking swiftly at their carotid arteries.

With two soft thuds, the pair clutched their throats and fell dead to the floor.

"Captain, I knew you'd come."

Seeing Yusuke, Inuzuka Go grinned, though the movement made him wince as it pulled at his wounds.

Yusuke quickly severed the chains on Inuzuka Go and checked his injuries.

"Chakra sealed, three broken ribs. You're fine, you won't die."

He took out a Military Ration Pill and the medicine Tsunade had prepared, stuffing them into Inuzuka Go's mouth.

"Heh, of course. I'm tough as nails; these Sunagakure ninjas were just scratching an itch for me."

Inuzuka Go swallowed the medicine and spat out a mouthful of blood, his spirit clearly improving.

At this moment, Miyazaki Kenta, tied to the chair, shouted urgently, "Captain Yusuke, don't forget me!"

Yusuke finally looked at him, a faint, mocking smile on his face, "Jonin Miyazaki, rest assured, how could I forget you?"

"Wait here. I'm taking Go out first; it's not safe here yet."

He hoisted the weakened Inuzuka Go onto his shoulder and left a Flying Thunder God seal in the interrogation room.

"Yusuke, you!"

However, when Miyazaki Kenta saw the seal and recalled the way Yusuke had appeared out of thin air, he understood everything in an instant. The words he had prepared to reprimand him stuck in his throat.

Miyazaki Kenta's face turned deathly pale as he asked, "This is the Flying Thunder God?! How do you know the Flying Thunder God?"

He was completely panicked, realizing just how hard a rock he had hit with his previous schemes.

The Flying Thunder God, an S-rank forbidden technique, was something even he as a Jonin couldn't touch, yet this man not only had access to it but had actually mastered it.

Cold sweat poured down his forehead.

Yusuke, however, didn't look at him again, sensing the seal he had left on Hyuga Aya.

"I'm leaving, but I'll be back."

Hum—!

The two figures vanished instantly from the blood-stained interrogation room, leaving behind only the remorseful Miyazaki Kenta and the Sunagakure corpses on the floor.

In the forest, Hyuga Aya breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Yusuke appear with Inuzuka Go.

"How is it?"

"The small fry in the stronghold are mostly cleared out, just a few grunts left."

Yusuke set Inuzuka Go down, letting him rest against a tree.

Inuzuka Go plopped onto the ground, gasping for air; the recent spatial fluctuations had left him feeling nauseated.

Yusuke waved a hand, signaling him to conserve his energy.

His gaze fell upon the bound Pakura.

Although her jaw had been dislocated, preventing her from speaking, she had heard everything that just transpired.

Especially the brief exchange between Yusuke and Hyuga Aya, and the way they had suddenly vanished and reappeared.

Infiltrating the stronghold... clearing out the enemies... Flying Thunder God...

It's over. The Sunagakure ninja at the stronghold are all finished.