Uchiha Yuzhen heard Namikaze Minato's instructions.
He nodded calmly.
"Understood!"
Yuzhen knew exactly why Minato had made this arrangement.
Puppet masters were a very troublesome sort of opponent.
As ninja who could only use puppets, their own bodies were weak.
That meant that puppet masters from Sunagakure needed to be skilled at planning, controlling the battlefield, and calculating their opponents' moves.
And as the leader of Sunagakure's Puppet Corps, one of the most renowned figures in the Ninja World,
Sasori of the Red Sands was only stronger in these areas!
Everyone knew that puppet masters could control multiple puppets.
So,
the major shinobi villages knew at least a little about a famous puppet master like Sasori.
That included the fact that he could control hundreds of puppets.
And that was where the problem lay.
They were going to rescue someone, not wipe out the enemy.
A rescue mission demanded efficiency and speed.
A ninja like "Sasori," who could control a multitude of puppets and fight on par with a village's Kage, was simply too troublesome!
After all, during a rescue, he could just wave a hand,
and their numerical advantage would disappear.
How were they supposed to rescue anyone then?!
With the Third Kazekage and the other Sand Ninja there as well,
even protecting themselves and retreating would be difficult.
So someone had to keep Sasori occupied right from the start!
Of everyone present,
Namikaze Minato would be facing off against the Third Kazekage.
Uchiha Yuzhen reluctantly realized that, apart from himself, with his Flying Thunder God Technique Formula,
none of the others could keep Sasori occupied.
Minato saw that his student didn't ask any questions about the arrangement.
He simply agreed at once.
From Yuzhen's expression,
Minato could tell that he had immediately...
understood what he was thinking!
This gave Minato a deeper understanding of his student.
Before, Yuzhen's rapid mastery of ninjutsu and the miracle of copying a Kekkei Genkai had left Minato astonished and wondering about the extent of his combat ability.
Now he was beginning to see how formidable Yuzhen was intellectually, too!
He understood things far too quickly!
More than that, he looked at situations from an entirely different perspective.
That was why he could understand Minato's intentions as soon as he gave the order.
Most ninja, after all—
or rather, ninety-nine percent of the ninja in Konoha—had trouble seeing things from the right perspective.
Even the Jonin!
Minato knew exactly what caused this.
He had been born a civilian.
The reason he had entered Konoha's inner circle at such a young age was not just his Flying Thunder God Technique.
More importantly, it was his brilliant mind.
That was why...
he was so surprised that Yuzhen could grasp the key to the mission in an instant.
But Minato quickly set those thoughts aside.
The mission was what mattered now.
The rescue team began splitting into groups.
Naturally, Yuzhen was assigned an important role this time.
He went straight into the assault team.
As for less mobile ninja with other specialties, like Obito and Rin,
they stayed behind under Akimichi Choza's command,
ready to provide backup.
Once the teams had been formed,
the assault team
hurriedly made their way to a spot near the target residence.
Shibi Aburame held out a hand and caught several tiny insects.
The chakra connection
gave him a sense of the layout inside the residence.
"I've gotten a general idea of the situation inside by observing it with my scouting Kikaichū."
"There are two massive chakra signatures, one on either side of the courtyard."
"A large number of Sand Ninja are gathered around the central room."
At that, Uchiha Yuzhen lowered his eyelids, and his eyes twitched.
His Sharingan appeared in his eyes, glowing scarlet.
The Sharingan had excellent perceptive abilities!
It might not be as good as the Byakugan in that regard,
but that didn't mean it was useless!
When the Sharingan activated,
its unique vision let him see chakra as a blue glow.
Yuzhen swept his gaze across the courtyard.
Even with the walls in the way,
he could still see scattered blue chakra signatures.
Just as Shibi Aburame had discovered,
two chakra sources so powerful they could be sensed through the walls rose up on either side of the courtyard.
Most of the chakra signatures were gathered in the open space in front of the main hall.
Yuzhen pondered for a moment.
Then he turned to Namikaze Minato and suggested, "Minato-sensei, the mission target is probably in that surrounded hall."
"They've stationed a large number of ninja there. If we charge straight in,"
"even if we succeed, we'll suffer heavy casualties."
"So... I have a suggestion!"
Minato asked with interest, "What is it? Let's hear it!"
"Since Sasori of the Red Sands and the Third Kazekage are on either side, with their underlings in the middle..." Yuzhen pointed toward the residence and continued confidently, "Then we should split them up!"
"Everyone knows how powerful Fire Style can be."
"I'll use a massive blaze to separate them. Then, Minato-sensei, you can hold off the Kazekage while I deal with Sasori."
With that, Uchiha Yuzhen clenched his fist and swept his hand through the air, full of confidence. "The rest of you can go straight in and bring out the target!"
His voice fell, and silence filled the scene.
Kakashi widened his eyes and stared intently at Yuzhen,
as if he were seeing him for the first time.
He and Yuzhen had been teammates for a while now.
Before Yuzhen awakened his Sharingan, he had been a complete dead weight—that was one thing.
But after awakening it, he had not only surpassed Kakashi in strength in a short time—
his intelligence seemed to have transformed, too.
He had gone from being dull and wooden to someone who now looked completely in control.
Kakashi couldn't make sense of it!
Kakashi wasn't the only one surprised.
Shibi Aburame quickly caught on as well.
He clapped his hands in approval.
"Brilliant! Once they're split up and their strongest fighters are held back,"
"rescuing the target will be easy."
He had only met this Uchiha a few days ago,
but in that moment, he had gained a clear understanding of him.
This intelligence, this leadership!
No wonder an Uchiha like him could enter the Hokage Lineage!
Surely these were the qualities the Hokage's circle needed.
Someone like Shibi could only obey orders and muddle along!
As the one receiving the suggestion,
Namikaze Minato was now completely convinced.
Uchiha Yuzhen really did think from a different "angle."
Earlier, Minato had been amazed by his ability to understand things quickly.
Now he had a new appreciation for his leadership, too.
Uchiha Yuzhen...
was a "perfect" ninja, combining combat ability, insight, and leadership!
Once this mission was over, Minato wanted to reconsider how he trained Yuzhen.
Instilling the "Will of Fire" was urgent.
After all, a powerful and intelligent ninja without that "will"
was truly unsettling!
But now was not the time to think about such things.
As for Yuzhen's proposal,
Minato nodded in approval.
"Let's do it your way!"
At that, Uchiha Yuzhen got straight to work.
He immediately began forming Hand Seals!
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