Return to Konoha

At that moment, Uchiha Yuzhen understood the situation.

There was no saving the Kazekage.

So...

He acted on instinct!

As Yuzhen carried the Third Kazekage over his shoulder, he covertly released chakra infused with Wind Style.

As everyone knew, Wind Style chakra was razor-sharp even without being shaped into a jutsu.

Under Uchiha Yuzhen's control, that razor-sharp Wind Style chakra...

Shnk—!

Pierced the Third Kazekage's heart!

And that wasn't all...

The chakra inside the Kazekage's body moved toward his head.

Before long, it had turned the Third Kazekage's brain... into mush!

That was right!

Uchiha Yuzhen had quietly murdered the Third Kazekage!

There was no saving him anyway, so Yuzhen might as well benefit from it.

Besides, the Third Kazekage had been poisoned with a deadly toxin, and Sasori's puppet had just pierced his body.

And they...

Couldn't get him medical attention right away.

Namikaze Minato was also right there.

The reality was that the Kazekage was doomed!

No matter what they did, this Kazekage was going to die.

Might as well let Yuzhen earn a hefty number of Combat Points!

As Uchiha Yuzhen made his subtle move, the Third Kazekage departed for the Pure Land.

Yuzhen's own System Panel rewarded him with 1,000 Combat Points.

When he saw the Combat Points, Yuzhen felt utterly elated.

A thousand points—he hadn't seen a number that high in the few months since awakening his Past Life Wisdom!

But when the corner of Yuzhen's Sharingan caught the Wind Style attack ahead and the puppet behind him closing in from both sides, he knew this wasn't the time to think about that.

He cut off those thoughts.

Without hesitation, he abandoned the Third Kazekage's corpse.

Then he hurled a Flying Thunder God Kunai toward Namikaze Minato!

With a whoosh, Yuzhen activated Flying Thunder God and vanished.

In the next instant, he appeared beside Namikaze Minato.

Uchiha Yuzhen lowered his eyes and spoke to Minato with an ashamed expression.

"The Third Kazekage was hit with a neurotoxin. I couldn't use Flying Thunder God to move him with me."

"I'm very sorry... Minato-sensei. There's no saving the Kazekage."

Hearing this, Namikaze Minato nodded helplessly to show he understood.

"It's all right, Yuzhen. If there's nothing we can do, then we should leave!"

There was no helping it. From what he'd seen...

That really was the case!

Yuzhen couldn't use Flying Thunder God while carrying someone, and he had a dead weight to protect.

They were being attacked from both sides, and Sasori had managed to land a sneak attack on the Kazekage.

There was almost no chance of him surviving.

What was done was done. There was no point dwelling on it!

Namikaze Minato's expression turned serious. He lowered his eyes and said in a low voice, "In that case, Yuzhen... let's retreat."

What mattered now was getting back to the village in time to inform Lord Hokage.

The village needed to prepare!

Seeing that Namikaze Minato didn't seem suspicious, Uchiha Yuzhen breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

When he heard the order to retreat, he immediately activated Flying Thunder God.

With a whoosh, he vanished.

Namikaze Minato looked at Sasori for a long moment, then disappeared as well.

When Uchiha Yuzhen and Namikaze Minato returned to the camp, Konoha's morale soared!

But at that moment, everyone's eyes...

Were fixed on the young man standing beside Namikaze Minato.

—Uchiha Yuzhen!

After this mission, it seemed everyone would have to reassess him.

This Uchiha boy had already been the talk of the village for some time.

During that mission,

He had defeated Biwa Juzo, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.

And seized Kubikiribōchō, one of the Mist Ninja's most prized treasures!

More importantly, after making a name for himself with those accomplishments,

His status as an Uchiha who belonged to the Hokage Lineage had drawn even more attention!

All of this had given Konoha's clan and civilian shinobi alike a clear impression of Uchiha Yuzhen.

A brilliant Uchiha star was rising in Konoha.

But now—

Everyone present...

Except Kakashi, Obito, and Rin, who had already known before the mission that Yuzhen had learned Flying Thunder God and understood how formidable it was,

Had been stunned by Uchiha Yuzhen's overwhelming strength!

Especially the two who often went on missions with Minato...

Akimichi Choza and Shibi Aburame!

At that moment, the two stood together, looking toward Yuzhen and Minato, who were surrounded by the others.

"I never expected Minato's student, that Uchiha boy..." Shibi Aburame furrowed his brow and let out a sigh. "He actually managed to hold off Sasori of the Red Sands!"

When Minato had assigned the mission, Shibi had already known that Uchiha Yuzhen would definitely succeed...

But seeing it happen with his own eyes made him realize something.

That boy had really held off Sasori of the Red Sands—a shinobi whose strength rivaled that of a Kage.

The sheer unreality of it all...

Made him feel, at that moment,

Just how vast the gap between people could be!

The boy was twelve and had held off a Kage Level powerhouse.

What had he been doing at twelve?!

Hearing his longtime friend Shibi Aburame voice such heartfelt admiration, Akimichi Choza nodded in agreement.

He stared intently at Yuzhen.

"Yeah... after all these years, the Uchiha are finally going to produce someone truly astonishing!"

"I imagine all of Konoha's clans will start looking at the Uchiha differently after this mission!"

Unlike the Aburame Clan, which was somewhat marginal within Konoha, the Ino-Shika-Cho had close ties to the Sarutobi Clan.

Having worked for many years at the heart of Konoha, they understood even better...

Just how much of a stir an outstanding Uchiha could cause.

The Uchiha Clan had been in decline for many years.

In recent times, Uchiha Fugaku had been the only one with much promise.

The rest had all been unremarkable!

Now, a boy who could contend with a Kage Level powerhouse had appeared.

And he was a true-blooded member of the Hokage Lineage...

Thinking of this,

Akimichi Choza sighed.

"The winds are about to change in Konoha!"

The rescue team quickly withdrew.

They had secured their mission targets, and no one on the team had been lost.

By all accounts, the mission had been a great success!

A shinobi's work demanded efficiency.

They left the Land of Wind at once.

After escorting the Daimyo of the Land of Rivers and his son back to the Land of Rivers Daimyo Palace,

The rescue team returned to Konoha at top speed.

Yuzhen had his suspicions.

Minato's earlier attempt to save the Third Kazekage showed that he had also sensed the delicate state of affairs in the Ninja World.

If Sasori was clever enough to silence the Sand Ninja who had intercepted him,

Then pin the blame on Konoha,

Konoha would have no way to clear its name!

Namikaze Minato probably wanted to hurry back and inform the higher-ups.

They needed to prepare for the storm that was about to come.

And events unfolded just as Uchiha Yuzhen had expected.

After returning to Konoha, Namikaze Minato hurriedly told everyone to disperse, then dashed straight for the Hokage Building!

A short while later.

Inside the Hokage Office, Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes widened as he urgently questioned Namikaze Minato.

"Minato... what you just told me—is it really true?!"

He could hardly believe his ears. The Kazekage had been killed during their rescue mission...

By one of his own people...

Sasori of the Red Sands?!

He didn't even need to think to know that Konoha would end up taking the blame!

"That's right, Lord Third!" Namikaze Minato replied to Hiruzen with absolute certainty.

Hearing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen began smoking irritably.

Just then, an old man shrouded in gloom began to speak.