Chapter 151: Another Peaceful Day at Kannabi Bridge!
"So this is the legendary Team Minato..."
Nara Keisuke mused to himself as he maneuvered the Shadow Creature, flying towards the coordinates of the Flying Thunder God marker he could sense.
"If every member were at their theoretical peak, wouldn't this be a super-squad with an S-rank floor?
"Sage Fox Minato of the Yin-Nine-Tails, Six Paths Dual Mangekyo Kakashi, Six Paths Ten-Tails Obito, and a perfect Jinchuriki Rin.
"That's a lineup that could rival the future Team 7—no, it might even surpass it!"
Keisuke pushed down his awe for the team he was about to meet and focused on his plan of action. He knew exactly what Team Minato's mission was. Even if Minato hadn't told him, he was aware that they were heading to Kannabi Bridge to destroy it.
The legendary "junction point of the timeline"—the Battle of Kannabi Bridge!
"With my interference, the battle might change in some unknown ways. I just don't know if that change will be for the better or for the worse..."
The Shadow Creature soared over a river in the Land of Grass as Keisuke fell into deep thought.
"But no matter what, even if I get lazy with my tactics, I will never run from a fight! Besides, the mastermind behind all this, Uchiha Madara, has an extensive collection of ninjutsu! I might not be able to take on Madara in his prime right now, but I can't possibly lose to an old man whose life force is like a candle flickering in the wind, right? Of course, the most crucial thing is the sealing jutsu in his collection called the 'Seal of Tailed Beast Liberation.' It's the key to whether Kokuō can regain its freedom..."
Lost in thought, Keisuke brought the Shadow Creature to a halt above a hidden river within the Land of Grass. His senses told him that the Yin Release Mask he had given to Hyūga Retsu was directly below.
Keisuke looked down just in time to see Uchiha Shisui spring into action.
"Mirage Body Flicker Jutsu!"
Multiple copies of Shisui appeared around the Iwagakure outpost, each one wielding a short sword and charging toward the nearest Stone-nin. The shinobi left to guard the supply point were mostly of Chunin and Genin level. Under the powerful insight of the three-tomoe Sharingan, their every move was laid bare before Shisui.
The razor-sharp blades sliced across enemy throats, each killing blow executed without a single wasted motion. Shisui of the Body Flicker was reaping lives on a small scale.
In just a few moments, the Iwagakure shinobi at the outpost had been completely annihilated.
His crimson Sharingan scanned the area. Shisui's "mirages" returned to his main body, each taking a stack of paper bombs to place in every corner of the outpost.
BOOM!
A deafening roar echoed as the paper bombs detonated, the intense explosion obliterating the Iwagakure base.
Shisui released the Mirage Body Flicker Jutsu and swiftly retreated to where Hyūga Retsu and Shizune were waiting.
"Retsu, any enemy movement in the area?"
"None for now." Hyūga Retsu shook her head, her Byakugan still active.
Just then, as if sensing something, she looked up toward the sky. The Shadow Creature came into the view of her Byakugan. A rare, brilliant smile of surprise and delight suddenly bloomed on her usually ice-cold, delicate face.
"Look, up in the sky! The Captain's here!"
Although she had operated separately from her captain before, serving as a long-range scout on the front lines was completely different from infiltrating deep behind Iwagakure lines on a sabotage mission. The pressure and urgency of operating behind enemy lines, constantly wary of reinforcements, was almost unimaginable.
Seeing Nara Keisuke now, a profound sense of security washed over Retsu.
The Captain's here. Everything will be okay!
"Nice and clean, Shisui, Retsu, and you too, Shizune."
Nara Keisuke guided the Shadow Creature lower, waving to his three squad members.
"Come on up. Our mission has changed slightly."
Uchiha Shisui deactivated his Sharingan, Hyūga Retsu deactivated her Byakugan, and Shizune quietly climbed onto the back of the Shadow Creature.
"Captain, didn't you go to reinforce the front lines?" Uchiha Shisui asked eagerly as soon as he was aboard. "Did something happen there?"
"You could say a pretty big something happened," Keisuke said, directing the Shadow Creature back towards the forest where he had left Minato while giving them a brief explanation. "The entire Iwagakure army was wiped out, the Tsuchikage fled on the spot, and we captured the Five-Tails Jinchuriki."
"Captain," Hyūga Retsu said, her brief display of emotion gone as she reverted to her usual cool demeanor. "Be serious."
"I am being serious," Keisuke replied with a shrug. "Why else do you think I'd be back so soon? You don't think it's because I was lazy and wanted to avoid the fight, do you?"
Uchiha Shisui hesitated. "Well, that's not entirely impossible..."
Hyūga Retsu nodded lightly. "Actually, I think the possibility is quite high."
Shizune added in a small voice, "Captain, it's okay, we can handle the mission on our own."
"What kind of image do I have in your eyes?" Keisuke turned to look at his three rebellious subordinates. "Are you all asking for a beating? How dare you tease your captain!"
Amid the lighthearted banter, the Shadow Creature flew swiftly back to the forest. Nara Keisuke's squad had officially rendezvoused with Namikaze Minato's.
The members of the two teams met and exchanged simple greetings.
"Shizune, go check on Kakashi's condition," Keisuke ordered his team's medic, before turning to Minato. "Minato-san, I assume your team already knows the location of Iwagakure's central supply hub?"
"Yes, that's the urgent mission we received from the village," Minato confirmed, sharing the details of his mission without hesitation. "We are to head to Kannabi Bridge and destroy it to cripple Iwagakure's rear support capabilities."
Strictly speaking, the "Battle of Kannabi Bridge" involved more than just "blowing up the bridge." Destroying the bridge was simply Team Minato's objective. The true scope of the battle was to first dispatch shinobi to the front lines to draw Iwagakure's attention, then destroy the bridge to sever their logistical support, and finally use the unique terrain of the Land of Grass to completely cut off the enemy's supply routes.
But there was no need for Minato to explain all that right now.
"The mission my team previously received was to infiltrate behind Iwa's front lines, destroy their supply points, and wait for reinforcements," Keisuke informed Minato's team. "Since the reinforcements are here now, let's move out together and destroy Kannabi Bridge first!"
"Of course, we need to move together," Minato nodded, but his gaze shifted to Hatake Kakashi. "But Kakashi is seriously injured right now. He can't join us on the mission..."
Having been treated by two medical-nin, Nohara Rin and then Shizune, Kakashi's condition had improved significantly. Hearing Minato's words, he replied stiffly, "I'm fine!"
"The hell you are!" Uchiha Obito, standing nearby, retorted out of habit. "In your condition, you should be resting! If you hadn't tried to act tough earlier, you wouldn't be in this mess."
"I don't think you're qualified to say that to me," Kakashi responded, his eyelids half-closed and his tone flat. "At least I was carrying out the mission. Someone else just stood there, too scared to even move."
Nohara Rin looked from Kakashi to Obito and tried to mediate in a small voice. "You two, please don't fight..."
"Quiet."
Minato's voice was clearly more effective than Rin's. Just then, Keisuke interjected.
"Minato-san, if the goal is just to destroy Kannabi Bridge, you could probably do it all by yourself. But the situation on the front has changed drastically. Our mission now isn't just to blow up the bridge; we have to move as quickly as possible and destroy every Iwagakure supply point we encounter to maximize our victory. Under these circumstances, we can't afford to leave one team member behind to recover alone."
Minato's brows furrowed slightly. His original mission was a mix of everything: destroying the bridge, luring the enemy on the front lines, and killing as many Stone-nin as possible. He was essentially a one-man firefighting crew. But with the Iwa forces in full retreat, he no longer needed to provide support on the front. The strategic objective had shifted from "defensive counterattack" to "mopping up remnants." In that context, there really wasn't enough time for Kakashi to rest.
"Minato-san, you know my abilities," Keisuke added. "If Hatake Kakashi can't fight, he can stay with me in the sky. As it happens, my chakra is pretty low after the last battle. I could use some rest myself."
"It seems that's the only way..." Minato nodded again, making his decision without further delay. "Everyone, let's move out immediately! We can't afford any more delays."
Keisuke created another Shadow Creature, carrying both squads towards Kannabi Bridge.
Just as the Shadow Creature approached the area, the Iwagakure forces at the bridge—their logistical hub—also received an urgent message from the rear: The front has collapsed! Retreat immediately!
The bridge below was swarming with people.
Nara Keisuke lowered the altitude of the Shadow Creature.
"Minato-san, Shisui, you're up."
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