Uchiha Yuzhen's pupils contracted!
That was right!
The Third Shinobi World War hadn't begun yet.
After all, the fuse—
the disappearance of the Third Kazekage—hadn't appeared yet.
That meant Sasori hadn't defected from Sunagakure!
Thinking about how this mission might bring them into conflict with two ninjas in the realm of the Kage...
Uchiha Yuzhen didn't feel afraid. Instead, he was a little excited.
The successful integration of the Flying Thunder God Practitioner into Uchiha Style, his Elite Jonin strength, and his upgraded weapons—
made him feel that even if this mission brought him face-to-face with the so-called Strongest Kazekage and the Strongest Puppeteer, Sasori,
he had nothing to fear!
Carrying that confidence with him, he said goodbye to everyone at the Training Ground
and rested for the remainder of the morning.
Once he was ready, Uchiha Yuzhen headed for Konoha Gate.
That was where everyone would gather for the mission!
By the time he arrived, about twenty ninjas had assembled there.
More than half of them wore Jonin vests.
He didn't recognize most of them.
Only two had appeared in the original story.
He recognized them.
One was a burly, red-haired man.
The leader of the Ino-Shika-Cho members on this mission, Akimichi Choza.
As the father of Akimichi Choji, one of the future Konoha 12,
he was easy to recognize.
The other was even easier: the little mustache, the sunglasses, the huge jar on his back, and his almost nonexistent presence...
Shibi Aburame—
the father of another member of the Konoha 12, Aburame Shino.
Seeing them there, Yuzhen figured this mission was as good as won.
Both of them were definitely Elite Jonin.
And powerful ones, too!
Add Namikaze Minato, a top-tier ninja who had fought the Kumogakure AB duo to a draw right after making his debut.
And himself.
Two holders of the Flying Thunder God Technique Formula.
Rescuing the hostages would be a piece of cake!
As he approached the group, Uchiha Yuzhen put his thoughts aside.
After politely greeting everyone present,
he made his way over to Team Minato.
After all, the only people there he knew well were his teammates.
He went over to Kakashi and the others.
Then he turned to Obito, the only one of the three who looked nervous,
and reassured him:
"Obito, I could tell you were nervous as soon as I got here. There's no need for that!"
"Our teacher's leading this mission, and we're his students. We can't let our presence be any less impressive than his."
"Besides... when have the Uchiha ever been afraid of a challenge?"
At that, Uchiha Obito perked up.
That was right!
Yuzhen made a good point.
Especially that last part.
The Uchiha couldn't be afraid of a challenge!
With his spirits lifted, Obito
looked like a completely different person from just a moment ago.
Obito genuinely admired Yuzhen now.
When someone—
was stronger than you, worked harder at training, and had a better attitude than you,
and could still motivate you,
there was no way you couldn't admire him!
What's more, even though Obito was an atypically kind Uchiha,
he still agreed with the pride the Uchiha were always talking about.
So now that his spirits were up, he decided he wouldn't let the team down during the mission!
Namikaze Minato had seen the scene from a distance, too.
And he wasn't the only one.
Akimichi Choza, the deputy leader of this mission,
had seen it as well... He raised his eyebrows.
Then he said to Namikaze Minato with a note of admiration:
"Minato, your students are impressive!"
He couldn't help admiring them!
Two Uchiha had suddenly joined the Hokage Lineage.
For Konoha's various clans,
it wasn't unprecedented, since Kagami Uchiha had once been a student of the Second Hokage.
But it was still astonishing.
After twenty years, were the Uchiha about to reenter the inner circle?
That Uchiha boy, with his extraordinary chakra and presence,
had just comforted his teammate, and they'd all heard what he said.
They all felt that he was destined for greatness.
After all, being strong on your own
didn't mean much to Konoha ninjas who believed in the Will of Fire.
But if you were strong and could inspire your teammates, too,
then most people in Konoha would respect you.
Akimichi Choza felt the same way!
Nearby, the taciturn Shibi Aburame, who was one of their trump cards against the Puppet Corps,
also nodded in agreement.
His clan wasn't much for talking.
But they recognized any ninja they thought worthy as a true comrade.
Uchiha Yuzhen, no matter what,
had earned his respect the moment he gave his comrade the strength of "spirit."
As for Namikaze Minato, there was no need to say more.
Praising your own student was one thing. Having someone else praise him was a completely different feeling!
More importantly, the fact that Yuzhen could comfort a teammate
meant he was less likely to become increasingly extreme in the future.
A powerful student who wouldn't go astray and was praised by others—
there was no way Minato could be anything but happy!
"Enough, don't praise him too much. Time is crucial for a rescue mission."
"Now that everyone's here, let's get moving."
With that, Namikaze Minato led the group
toward the Land of Wind.
After several days of forced marching,
the Konoha rescue team infiltrated an area a few dozen kilometers from the Capital Oasis in the Land of Wind.
With personal belongings of the Daimyo and his son,
the Inuzuka ninjas followed the noses of their Ninja Dogs
and found their way there.
As the leader of the whole team, Namikaze Minato spoke with his deputies,
Akimichi Choza and Shibi Aburame, for a moment.
Then he raised a hand and said firmly:
"Everyone, the capital of the Land of Wind is just ahead. Our next step is to infiltrate it."
"We'll split into teams now. Yuzhen, Kakashi, you two are coming with me."
"Obito and Rin, you'll stay here with some of the other ninjas and follow Lord Akimichi's orders. Wait here for us."
Minato then assigned roles to everyone present.
His plan was clear. This was a rescue mission,
not an extermination mission.
Everything they did from here on had to revolve around the rescue.
That meant he and Yuzhen, with their high mobility, had to be involved.
An Inuzuka Jonin and Shibi Aburame would be enough to round out the team!
With two Flying Thunder God users, rescuing people... Minato truly didn't think it would be difficult.
Uchiha Yuzhen nodded to show he understood.
Once he heard the assignments, he'd already figured out Minato's plan.
The Inuzuka and Aburame would scout.
The two Flying Thunder God users would swoop in and rescue the hostages!
Simple and direct, but effective.
Once the teams were formed,
Yuzhen followed Minato into the capital of the Land of Wind.
As major clans of Konoha,
neither the Inuzuka nor the Aburame were pushovers.
When it came to scouting and tracking, they feared no one except the Hyuga.
Before long, they found their target in an elegant courtyard.
Shibi Aburame raised a hand, and a bug with scouting abilities landed on it.
He caught it, then carefully sensed what it had found.
He told the others:
"The Daimyo of the Land of Rivers and his son are being held together. There's a huge chakra signature on either side, enough to make the bugs tremble."
"One of them should be the Kazekage. The bug's view of the other wasn't very clear, but it should be that 'Sasori of the Red Sand.'"
Namikaze Minato thought for a moment.
"We'll go straight in and rescue them!"
"I'll hold off the Kazekage. As for Sasori of the Red Sands..."
"Yuzhen will hold him off!"
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