Observing the stunned expressions on Tsunade and the others' faces, Minato was actually feeling quite nervous inside.
After all, whether Kushina teaching him sealing techniques was a fabrication or not depended on perspective.
His sealing techniques were indeed taught by Kushina—just not the Kushina from this timeline...
After a while, the expressions of Tsunade and the other two finally calmed down. The former stared at Minato and said, "Show me the ninjutsu that Kushina taught you."
Confused, Hiashi Hyuga, Sakumo, and Orochimaru all looked at Minato.
Tsunade's request finally lifted some of the tension off Minato's shoulders. He stepped forward and began forming hand seals with his hands.
"I'll give it a try then."
Minato deliberately appeared slightly uncertain before starting the familiar sequence of hand seals. When he finished, he placed his hands on top of Tsunade's.
[Chakra Sealing Technique] was a special method that completely severed a ninja's connection to their internal chakra, so as long as one knew the body's meridian points, they could perform it.
Tsunade gradually felt something strange happening with her chakra and soon found herself completely cut off from it.
But the sensation didn't last long—only a few seconds—before her chakra fully returned.
Though brief, those few seconds were enough for Tsunade to feel astonished. In battle, losing access to your chakra for even seconds and becoming temporarily powerless would often mean the difference between life and death.
Besides, this sealing technique from the Uzumaki clan hadn't even been passed down to her—and yet Minato had mastered it.
"We've been utterly outmatched," Tsunade sighed bitterly, genuinely impressed by the eleven-year-old boy standing before them.
She glanced at Orochimaru and said with a smile, "Once, the Third Hokage called you an extraordinary genius rarely seen in decades, but compared to this kid..."
Orochimaru smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes.
"With that said, maybe this plan is worth attempting after all."
Tsunade continued. Based on Minato's explanation, planning, and this surprisingly promising strategy, the likelihood of success had increased significantly.
At present, it certainly seemed worth a try.
"Kid, I really have to hand it to you. The kids I trained don't hold a candle to you at all."
Hiashi Hyuga patted Minato's shoulder. Using his Byakugan, he could clearly see how Minato had sealed Tsunade's chakra just moments ago.
Minato remained silent for a moment before speaking up.
"Except for members of the Hyuga and Yamanaka clans, we should also send out a sensor ninja to counter enemy sensors."
After a nod, Tsunade asked, "As the planner and participant of this operation, who do you think is most suitable?"
Minato hesitated slightly but didn't feign modesty. Smiling, he answered, "Of course Senior Junko Watanabe."
"Hmm," Tsunade obviously had thought the same thing. Shifting her gaze slightly, she continued, "When it comes to stealth infiltration, there's no one better than Sakumo Hatake."
What Tsunade said was exactly what Minato himself was thinking. He had never doubted Sakumo Hatake's abilities.
This guy was absolutely a veteran ninja you could trust. His last mission before his seppuku had also been an infiltration and impersonation operation...
Just like when Nawaki was rescued, Minato was determined not to let history repeat itself...
"I already have a candidate from the Yamanaka clan," Tsunade looked at Hiashi Hyuga and asked, "As for the Hyuga clan, who do you think should go?"
"Then send Kyusugi Hyuga," Hiashi Hyuga replied immediately. As the clan head, he naturally knew best who would be most suitable for this task.
Tsunade gave a slight nod; after all, Kyusugi Hyuga was a powerful jonin of the Hyuga clan.
"Then Sakumo Hatake will lead the team consisting of Junko Watanabe, Minato Namikaze, Kyusugi Hyuga, and Hanyu Yamanaka on this covert mission to infiltrate Sunagakure," Tsunade declared.
"Yes," Minato responded, while Sakumo gave a slight nod.
"Over the next few days, I'll dispatch people to search for some relatively remote villages in the Land of Wind."
Tsunade went on. Obviously, they'd need real people to impersonate—they were using substitution techniques.
Compared to searching for oases in the desert, finding several villages in the Land of Wind was certainly no difficult task.
"Tsunade-sama," Minato added, "Regarding those civilians transporting supplies, after subduing them, could we temporarily send them back to the Land of Fire instead of taking their lives?"
Though ninja conflicts generally didn't involve harming civilians—a tradition still respected by Konoha—circumstances left them with no choice nowadays.
Still, Minato didn't want to harm any civilian from the Land of Wind, even though he stood on Konoha's side.
"That goes without saying," Tsunade smiled slightly, her eyes revealing even more admiration for Minato.
This was a tradition inherited from the First Hokage, something she naturally wouldn't change.
Among the five, only Orochimaru's face showed a trace of disdain.
"Sentimentality..."
...
Another month passed. The scorching summer had gone by, and the weather gradually became cooler. On the endless expanse of desert, gusts of strong winds occasionally swept through, bringing a sense of crispness mixed with coolness.
Deep wheel tracks and several footprints were left behind on the sandy ground.
Two horse-drawn carriages and several figures moved forward across this desolate yellow desert.
These individuals appeared extremely ordinary—three men, one woman, and two children, a boy and a girl roughly eleven or twelve years old.
The man who seemed to be their leader appeared to be around thirty years old. His face looked quite weathered, while the woman, about the same age as him, had delicate features but appeared slightly plump.
The other two men were muscular, around twenty years old, though their skin had a yellowish tinge, suggesting poor nutrition over a long period.
The boy and girl had clear skin, though otherwise looked completely average.
The Land of Wind was vast, and even though the villages were built only around oases in the desert, their numbers were astonishingly large.
So Sunagakure couldn't spare ninja to guarantee the safe transport of these supplies. With so many villages to manage, a small group transporting just two carts hardly seemed worth the effort. To Sunagakure, these supplies weren't vital enough to justify the risk.
During wartime, villages often sent entire families to haul supplies that might never even reach the Hidden Village—children included.
That way, if they ran into enemy ninja, it was better for the whole family to die together than to live on in agony alone.
Civilians had no right to fight back—especially in wartime.
But these weren't ordinary civilians—they were hiding their true identities.
They were none other than Sakumo Hatake and others carrying out a covert infiltration into Sunagakure...
Their current outfits were just a disguise—they were posing as a normal family from one of the villages in the Land of Wind.
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