Time slipped away in silence, tick by tick. Minato's expression grew increasingly solemn.
But sensing nature itself was something no one could help him with—it was something he had to do alone.
*[Less than two hours till sunrise. We can't keep stalling like this.]*
Kubei sent the secret signal. In their current situation, every step forward was extremely difficult. Worse still, they still had to search around the expansive Kazekage Building for Desert's Sorrow.
If they waited any longer and lost the cover of night, even with their skills, avoiding the heavily guarded Suna patrols would be nearly impossible.
Sakumo Hatake knew that all too well. Yet regarding Minato, Sakumo already harbored an almost blind faith deep within his heart.
Anything impossible became possible when it was up to this boy.
Moreover, infiltrating into Sunagakure had originally been Minato's idea.
So, after a brief moment of thought, Sakumo did something entirely out of character for someone who always relied on evidence—he chose to believe Minato and keep waiting.
Seeing this, Kubei said nothing more.
Normally, his Byakugan could easily locate several plants within such a limited range. But even Byakugan could be sensed.
So now, all their remaining hope rested solely on Minato.
The gazes of all three focused on Minato.
Several minutes later... the solemn look on Minato's face gradually eased.
This change didn't escape Sakumo Hatake's notice, giving him a spark of hope.
Minato's expression continued relaxing, finally reaching a state as calm and peaceful as someone taking a brief nap.
"This…"
Seeing Minato's face change, all three paused slightly.
Without prior preparation, anyone seeing Minato's current appearance would likely think he had fallen asleep.
Yet at this moment, Minato remained completely unaware of their emotional shifts.
He allowed his entire mind to relax fully and merge with his chakra.
The darkness before his eyes began slowly changing.
Suddenly, it was as though Minato possessed a pair of special eyes—eyes that replaced his original ones—and through them, he perceived the world more clearly.
He noticed subtle changes around Sakumo, Junko Watanabe, and Kubei. Among them, Kubei's mind was clearly the most restless.
Because the natural energy fluctuations around him were especially intense, indicating significant emotional ups and downs, which agitated his chakra and affected the natural energy around him.
Although ordinary ninja couldn't sense nature or absorb natural energy, nature itself could still absorb released chakra.
This also explained why ninjutsu created from chakra eventually faded and collapsed.
*[Success!]*
A surge of joy rose in Minato's heart, yet outwardly, he maintained complete emotional neutrality. He knew that during the early stages of mastering natural energy, emotional fluctuations should be avoided as much as possible—they contradicted nature itself.
But with this experience, once his body was fully developed, he could go to Mount Myoboku to learn Sage Mode.
Minato believed that the Sage Mode he would master wouldn't be like before—taking too long to activate and lasting only briefly.
After sensing nature, Minato let his chakra spread outward freely without restraint.
He wasn't worried about being detected by Suna's Sensor Ninja or the Third Kazekage.
Because neither the Suna Sensor ninja nor the Third Kazekage could possibly detect searches on a natural level.
As his perception passed through the Kazekage Building, Minato sensed an extremely large amount of chakra.
The Third Kazekage was indeed inside the Kazekage Building.
Until his perception crossed approximately two hundred meters beyond the Kazekage Building, Minato noticed something slightly unusual in the natural energy—as if there had been a slight disruption in its flow.
He gradually focused his attention on that spot—like his invisible eyes were showing him exactly what was going on there.
Immediately, Minato's heart lifted.
"Desert's Sorrow, I've finally found you!"
Minato instantly withdrew from his state of natural perception and suddenly opened his eyes.
All three turned their gazes toward him, and Minato's face displayed a faint smile.
Sakumo's previously strained expression relaxed slightly beneath that smile.
Because there was only one possible reason for Minato to show such an expression—
he had found the target.
Sure enough, Minato immediately signaled with his hands.
[I've found Desert's Sorrow.]
A faint trace of relief appeared across Junko Watanabe's pretty face.
Hyuga Kubei, however, showed slight surprise because he couldn't understand how Minato had managed it.
Minato knew he had already consumed quite a bit of time and quickly gestured.
[Follow me!]
His figure darted forward, and upon seeing this, Hatake Sakumo followed closely behind.
This time, Minato didn't slow his pace. Earlier, via natural perception, he'd already determined the activity range of every Sand Ninja within several hundred meters of the Kazekage Building.
Chakra Perception could only pinpoint where a chakra source was right now—but Natural Perception was different.
The traces people left behind in nature took quite a while to fully vanish.
Initially, Hyuga Kubei wanted to stop Minato from moving so fast, but Sakumo blocked him.
Minato now, aware that his perception ability had already been noticed by Junko, decided not to hide anything anymore, imitating Junko's earlier actions.
Junko's pressure instantly reduced significantly.
[Shuashuashua!]
Approximately one minute later, four figures landed atop a building over two hundred meters away from the Kazekage Building. According to Minato's perception, the nearest Sand Ninja were still about a hundred meters away.
Using the buildings to conceal their figures, the four started scanning visually. However, Minato's gaze fixed directly on a certain direction right away.
Even under the cover of night, for ninja, two hundred meters away was not far enough to obscure sight.
At the exact center of a sandy patch stretching some dozens of meters lay two plants about thirty centimeters tall.
As soon as Minato saw them, his eyes narrowed slightly. Minato's party followed his gaze and spotted the plants over two hundred meters away on the sand. Their expressions turned grim as well.
These were two flowers; their appearance was very attractive, beautiful enough to elicit shrieks from young girls.
Yet their overall color was like that of coagulated blood, appearing dark red, even faintly blackish. On the flower stems, it seemed as if blood droplets had slid down from the stamen and solidified onto the stalks.
For several meters around them, the sand was laced with vein-like patterns, crisscrossing like tiny blood vessels.
[Desert's Sorrow] was incredibly ominous despite its striking beauty...
...
...
Anyway, happy Chinese New Year to you all!
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>