After successfully leaving Sunagakure's territory, Minato's group dropped all disguises and sped forward frantically.
As they approached the exit of the Sky Crack, Sakumo felt his Summoning Technique release. However, Suna ninja discovered this too late. As long as a few Konoha ninjas concealed themselves within the desert sands, even if Sunagakure doubled its forces, finding them would remain like finding a needle in a haystack.
Moreover, among their group of six people, apart from Mikoto, none of them were easy targets.
Sunagakure clearly understood that a ninja squad capable of infiltrating their village, silently eliminating two jonin and one tokubetsu jonin right before the Kazekage Building, was beyond their wartime capabilities to handle effectively.
Therefore, the journey remained surprisingly smooth.
At a valley near the border of the Land of Wind—
It was the new base camp for Konoha forces. Obviously, the war had shifted dramatically after Minato's group left.
Minato's team entered the valley entrance. It wasn't long before several Konoha ninja sprang from multiple locations inside the valley, landing directly in front of them.
They seemed to have already known about Minato's group's arrival beforehand.
"Lord Sakumo, everyone, welcome back," a Konoha ninja greeted with a smile.
Everyone gave a brief nod. Meanwhile, Minato and Junko Watanabe both turned their attention to a particular Konoha ninja in the greeting party—the one wearing a loose coat.
Both of them sensed numerous tiny chakra fluctuations inside this individual, and around the valley were countless similar energy pulses.
In fact, even when still kilometers away from this valley, they had already detected these subtle chakra fluctuations.
This was the unique ability of Konoha's Aburame Clan—they specialized in using chakra to raise insects, employing various secret techniques.
Tracking enemies over long distances was their specialty, even surpassing the Byakugan used by the Hyuga Clan.
While the previous Konoha forces did include members of the Aburame Clan, their numbers had been limited. Judging from current circumstances, the village had sent another batch of reinforcements to deal with the Sand Ninja Unit.
"Where are Tsunade and the others?" Sakumo asked. Upon hearing this, the Konoha ninja pointed in a certain direction.
"Thanks. We'll go report our mission now." Sakumo chuckled slightly before leading Minato and the others leaping toward a corner of the valley.
Under the thick canopy cover of tall trees within the valley, Konoha had set up many temporary camps. A few meters away from where they landed stood a tent.
Just as they touched down and stabilized their footing, someone emerged from the tent at that exact moment, making the meeting between both parties quite coincidental.
"You're finally back."
Tsunade's pretty face bore a warm smile as she looked at the six dusty travelers before her and said, "You must've gone through a lot."
She didn't immediately ask about the outcome of their mission; instead, she started by greeting them first—a small but meaningful gesture that won their hearts.
Everyone offered faint smiles, acknowledging such efforts since enduring hardship without complaint was part of being ninjas.
"Did you succeed?" Only then did Tsunade inquire about the result of their mission.
Sakumo Hatake nodded, smiling slightly, "Yes."
Having said that, he retrieved a scroll from his ninja tool pouch and handed it to Tsunade. "Both specimens of Desert's Sorrow currently in Sunagakure are documented here."
"Great!"
Tsunade's face briefly lit up with obvious delight before she quickly regained her composure.
Within this team, there was no need to elaborate on the reputation of Sakumo Hatake, nor was much explanation required for young Minato either. Any mission they participated in always gave people an overwhelming sense of security, making failure seem impossible.
"We've been traveling for quite some time; everyone go back and rest well first," Tsunade put the scroll away and added, "Since we're already having a meeting, you might as well join us."
She addressed these words to Sakumo Hatake, then quickly turned her gaze toward Minato. "Minato, you come too."
Minato hesitated briefly before nodding in agreement.
The remaining four exchanged glances filled with surprise, then disappeared into the nearby temporary camp quarters.
...
Shortly after, laughter emerged from the tent where Tsunade and others had gathered.
Sakumo Hatake and Minato's recent infiltration into Sunagakure had been an immediate success, bearing extraordinary significance for the ongoing war effort.
Therefore, naturally, there was celebration among those inside the tent upon learning of the acquisition of Desert's Sorrow.
Moreover, this feat had been pulled off right under the nose of the Third Kazekage, likely already causing quite an uproar within Sunagakure's upper ranks.
Inside the tent now, besides Tsunade, Orochimaru, Hiashi Hyuga, Minato, and Sakumo Hatake, there was another man. Dressed in a loose heavy coat, he appeared extremely silent. Even while the others laughed heartily, his face remained half-hidden behind the high collar, displaying absolutely no emotional reaction.
He was the clan leader of Konoha's Aburame Clan—Fumiro Aburame.
After the laughter faded slightly, Sakumo Hatake looked toward Tsunade and asked, "Before we left Sky Crack, we noticed a messenger hawk flying from Suna. During our absence, did open warfare erupt with the Sand Ninja unit?"
Furthermore, Konoha forces had relocated their base camp to a valley at the border of Wind Country.
Nodding lightly, Tsunade replied, "Three days ago, the Sand Ninja forces launched an attack on our camp. Fortunately, we had already taken precautions, so only minor skirmishes occurred during our withdrawal."
Konoha's forces include ninja from the Hyūga, Uchiha, and other clans—making their prewar analytical capabilities unmatched among the five great nations.
Unless Konoha is willing to engage them directly in full-force battle, Suna cannot truly initiate any decisive fight against Konoha.
That was the question weighing most heavily on both Minato and Sakumo's minds. After all, previously, because of Suna's Puppet Master units and [Chiyo's Poison], Konoha suffered significant losses.
Before Tsunade developed the antidote, Konoha could barely gain any advantage against Suna ninja carrying potent toxins.
"Although our casualty ratio compared to Suna's remains somewhat unfavorable, this time they certainly didn't benefit much either from their Puppet Master unit—we eliminated over twenty of them. I'd guess that Chiyo must be grieving heavily over her elite troops right now," Hiashi Hyuga smiled slightly.
Upon hearing these words, both Minato and Sakumo Hatake couldn't help but have their eyes brighten.
It was indeed a significant loss for the already small Suna Puppet Brigade.
However, when Sakumo and Minato glanced at Fumiro Aburame, they seemed to grasp how this outcome had come to be.
"It looks like you've figured it out," Tsunade smiled slightly, then turned her gaze to Minato, adding, "Actually, this idea came from you, kid."
"Combining the abilities of the Hyuga Clan and the Aburame Clan—one to reveal all the hidden mechanisms of the Suna Puppet, and the other to infiltrate using parasites to destroy it from within—is truly brilliant."
Minato explained calmly. The method Tsunade used was essentially the same as what he had previously combined with Hyuga Kubei, Hanyu Yamanaka, and his own sealing techniques.
With the Byakugan of the Hyuga, those mechanisms carefully designed by the Puppet master were completely exposed. And even microscopic insects could devour chakra or damage the internal structure of the puppets.
Together, the power of these two clans became the perfect counter to the Suna Puppet Brigade—one thing cancelling out another.
...
...
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