Whoosh! Whoosh!
Over a dozen flying puppets suddenly flew over the Konoha forces' base camp. Their flight speed was nothing to scoff at, tearing through the air with violent screeching sounds.
All the Konoha ninja shot their eyes upward, instinctively narrowing their gazes.
However, some reacted immediately. In an instant, various ninja tools were launched into the sky, while other ninja began forming hand seals.
Yet even with a ninja's abilities, striking targets at such a high altitude—targets so high they evaded detection entirely—was simply impossible.
Most of the projectiles fell short, barely making it halfway up before plummeting back down.
"Boom!"
"Crackle!"
At this moment, certain ninja completed their seals. [Fire Release] and [Lightning Release] techniques blasted out, shooting toward the sky.
Seeing the incoming attacks, the Suna ninja piloting the flying puppets remained calm. Above the clouds, over a dozen figures suddenly scattered apart.
These individuals in midair moved as nimbly as birds, skillfully dodging any techniques capable of threatening them.
"Why haven't they attacked yet?"
Tsunade, along with Hatake Sakumo who was also serving as commander, exchanged questioning glances. Yet in the next second, Hiashi Hyuga—the one possessing the sharpest vision among them—saw what those Suna ninja held in their hands.
Tightly bundled clusters of explosive tags!
"Not good!" Hiashi Hyuga shouted.
As his voice fell, dozens of these explosive clusters had already been dropped.
One after another, the dozen Suna ninja rained down wave after wave of bundled explosive tags.
Even so, Tsunade and the others still looked puzzled.
After all, this high-altitude dropping of explosive tags wasn't particularly clever. Even though their enemies were hard to strike mid-flight, Konoha could simply detonate the falling bundles themselves.
Using just over a dozen flying puppets to cause significant disruption within Konoha's ranks using explosive tags—this strategy seemed implausible.
At this moment, exactly as Tsunade and the others had expected, certain Konoha ninja aimed at the explosive tags and launched jutsu to trigger an early detonation.
But just as one of these first launched techniques approached the tags mid-air, Tsunade suddenly realized something.
"Don't detonate the tags prematurely!"
However, it was already too late when she spoke.
"BOOM!"
The explosive tags exploded in midair, like fireworks blooming.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
One explosion triggered the surrounding ones, setting off chain reactions as one tag after another blew up.
"Take the remedy I distributed—quickly!"
Seeing the strange smoke spreading from the explosions, Tsunade had no choice but to shout loudly.
Thick smoke rapidly covered most of the sky above the valley.
The vision of every Konoha ninja darkened...
Konoha ninja who were on duty at various posts throughout the valley hadn't even fully understood what was happening before they were swallowed whole by the thick rolling smoke.
"Ahhh!" Screams instantly echoed.
Gradually, the smog swallowed the entire valley, spreading into both adjacent forests without mercy.
The forest, already stripped of its leaves, saw its trees withering away under the corrosion of the eerie mist.
Minato, stationed a kilometer away from the main camp, sensed the unnatural disturbance in nature and immediately understood the dire situation.
Those bundled explosive tags dropped by the Sand ninja earlier must have contained poison crafted by Chiyo.
As the toxic fog crept closer, he found himself unable to even stand, having forcefully used the Nine-Tails' chakra moments ago.
"Damn it!"
Minato gritted his teeth. Because of his intensive training this past month, he had no idea whether Tsunade had successfully created the antidote or not.
Helplessly, he could only watch as the Sand ninja acted and the poison approached him. Even if he wanted to run now, he lacked the strength.
"I can't die here!"
At this moment, bloodshot eyes filled with desperation, Minato knew that if he was poisoned, death was inevitable.
Just then, a voice echoed from within him.
"Don't worry. We're not so easily killed."
"What are you talking about?" Minato quickly asked.
"I can use the last bit of my power to heal your body, but doing so will put me into a deep slumber—possibly forever."
Stunned at the words, Minato hesitated. The cost was difficult for him to accept.
"Don't hesitate. If you die, we both die anyway. And honestly, I'm already a dead man. Saving myself one last time feels pretty good."
He smiled faintly as he spoke.
As he prepared to unleash his final move, both of them suddenly sensed a familiar chakra signature approaching.
A figure burst through the poison mist.
It was Mikoto, who had just left not long ago.
Seeing her arrival, joy lit up in Minato's eyes as he asked, "Why did you come back?"
"I saw how intensely you were training the past few days and got worried, so I came back to check on you." Mikoto's expression shifted as she observed Minato's condition. "What happened to you?"
"Just overused my chakra. Can't move right now," Minato said with a weak laugh, more bitterness than humor in his voice. He felt fortunate that Mikoto had come back just in time—otherwise, even if he couldn't tell exactly how bad it would get, he knew he'd have paid dearly.
"Then let me carry you out," Mikoto said. Minato looked slightly embarrassed.
Having a girl carry him felt embarrassing.
But Mikoto didn't hesitate. Without hesitation, Mikoto hoisted him onto her back and sprang into motion.
"You're not affected by the toxin—does that mean Tsunade-sama made the antidote?" Minato asked, feeling his concern finally ease.
"Yeah. But judging from this, the Sand forces are likely preparing an attack."
Nodding lightly, Mikoto carried Minato toward the edge of the valley. They both heard heavy footsteps drawing near.
Minato frowned slightly, realizing he wouldn't be able to fight in his current state.
Before the mist-filled valley, a group of figures appeared. They rushed into the valley as if completely ignoring the poison gas.
Among the Sand Ninja Unit, Chiyo, their leader, glanced sideways and immediately noticed the bodies of several Konoha patrol ninjas scattered in certain spots of the valley. A faint smile appeared on her wrinkled face.
However, she did not act recklessly. At her silent signal, the Sand Ninja Unit remained motionless.
She was waiting for the poison mist to fully dissipate. Only then would the flying puppets in the air directly transmit the current situation from both sides of the valley where Konoha's camp was located.
Inside the vast, empty valley, there wasn't a sound. The air itself seemed frozen in silence.
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