Land of Rivers.
A small country situated between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire, named for its mountainous and river-filled terrain. Originally, this area wasn't even a nation. Its roots date back to the post-Warring States era, after the many shinobi clans ceased open hostilities.
When Hashirama saw the harsh environment surrounding Sunagakure in the Land of Wind, he allocated this relatively fertile land — more hospitable than the desert — to the First Kazekage, Reto. However, the Wind Daimyo, fearing that Sunagakure might grow rebellious over the gifted land, later maneuvered politically to make the Land of Rivers independent.
From a modern perspective, this move may seem self-destructive. But to someone like Mitsuki, who's lived in this world for a while, it was clearly a misunderstanding.
In the shinobi world, aristocratic families frequently intermarry. In truth, these national rulers—the Daimyō—are often all part of the same extended family. So while the independence of the Land of Rivers was undoubtedly a loss for Sunagakure, to the Wind Daimyo, it was merely redistributing land to a relative.
Naturally, Sunagakure was dissatisfied with this silent loss and retaliated subtly by ensuring that the Land of Rivers couldn't establish a shinobi village of its own. This preserved a portion of the region's mission income under their control.
That concludes today's geography and history lesson on the Shinobi World.
At the moment, Mitsuki and Minato were moving together along the border between the Land of Rivers and the Land of Wind.
Their target was a secret transport route hidden deep within the sandstorms — a covert Sunagakure supply line.
The intel came from a certain mysterious figure who referred to himself as The Darkness of the Shinobi — the leader of a well-established intelligence organization. This was the very first mission of the Legendary Cyclone Storm Ultra-Roaring Squad Zero of the Blades of Gale, Flash, and Spiral!
Minato was taking it very seriously.
"Mitsuki, just ahead is a key checkpoint in Suna's transport line. I heard you have sensory abilities—can you detect anything?"
Minato pointed toward a sand-blown ravine in front of them.
"Yeah, I'm picking up a lot of chakra reactions... It's unbelievable. They're hiding inside that sandstorm."
Of course, mere wind and sand could never obstruct Mitsuki's Six Eyes. The Sunagakure shinobi stationed ahead were fully exposed in his vision.
That intel organization mentioned earlier definitely knew what it was talking about.
"That's Suna's Sand Concealment. When used by multiple shinobi simultaneously in the desert, it gathers large amounts of sand to form a natural barrier. Without advanced sensory skills, it's nearly impossible to detect. Your talent in perception is as impressive as your ninjutsu ability" Minato said with admiration.
"I still have a lot to learn. Besides, in front of a captain like you, even prodigies would lose their shine" Mitsuki replied, shamelessly stealing a line from Jiraiya.
After some polite mutual praise, the two quietly moved to the outer perimeter of the hidden Suna outpost.
The advantage of the Sand Concealment was clear — it could be maintained around the clock with teams rotating shifts, all while consuming minimal chakra.
Its flaw, however, was equally apparent. It only worked well in desert terrain. Once the enemy saw through it, it became nothing more than cosmetic — completely ineffective.
Based on Minato's observations, stealth infiltration was unlikely due to the terrain constraints. However, he noted that the enemy guards at the nearest entrance rotated every 15 minutes.
So, he decided they'd enter through that very spot.
Two Suna shinobi were guarding the entrance.
Minato and Mitsuki exchanged a few silent signals using Konoha's hand signs.
"Lightning Strike!"
Using precise chakra control, Mitsuki suppressed the visible effects of his lightning chakra to nearly nothing. With a single clean draw of his blade, he executed one guard instantly.
Swish — With a barely audible sound, Minato appeared on the other side and slit the throat of the second guard with a kunai.
Instant kills.
Known in the future as the fastest man in the shinobi world Minato was not a one-trick pony. Even without his Flying Thunder God, his Body Flicker Jutsu was peerless across the entire shinobi world.
Without exchanging a word, the two entered the heart of the Suna stronghold. At best, they had 15 minutes from this point onward—maybe less if something unexpected occurred.
Following their plan, Mitsuki and Minato split up to mark all the warehouses scattered across the facility.
Thanks to that certain "intelligence organization" — well, to be honest, it was really Konoha's Root — they already had rough intel on the layout.
The goal now was to verify the locations and leave behind Minato's Flying Thunder God-marked kunai at each one.
Once all the targets were marked, Minato would teleport the two of them rapidly between the points, allowing them to unleash Rasenshuriken strikes in quick succession — precision demolitions.
To be fair, Minato wasn't just being modest. This entire tactic, from conception to execution, would have been impossible without Mitsuki.
Unlike other obscure or mystical forbidden jutsu, elemental techniques (ninjutsu) only needed one criterion to be rated S-rank: raw destructive power.
The last widely-known S-rank ninjutsu in Konoha had been the Water Release: Hard Whirlpool Water Blade, created by the Second Hokage.
So no matter how many reinforced seals and barriers Sunagakure had placed around their warehouses, S-rank jutsu would tear through them like paper.
"That's the last one. Captain Minato should be just about finished too" Mitsuki muttered as he hid one final kunai near a massive warehouse.
Some of the warehouses were empty. Others stored various military supplies—some of which made Mitsuki visibly tempted.
But given the mission's urgency, he wisely held himself back and refrained from doing anything that might jeopardize the operation.
He intended to complete this mission perfectly.
Ever since agreeing to join Tsunade's assault team, Mitsuki had been laser-focused on building his reputation in the war. Only by rising high enough in status could he gain a seat in Konoha's war command structure.
This way, he could keep close tabs on Rin, Kakashi, and Obito's movements — and if anything went wrong, he could intervene immediately to save them.
"Man, I worry about those kids more than their parents do... and Obito still won't even call me Dad" thought Mitsuki with a dramatic sigh.
"Am I late?"
A flash of yellow light appeared, and Minato suddenly stood beside him.
After forming the squad, Minato had given Mitsuki a personalized Flying Thunder God kunai as a welcome gift.
"Nope, perfect timing. Just like the intel said, I marked three of the target points on my end." Mitsuki quickly reported.
"Same here. I also marked the other three points mentioned in the intel... but I found one additional hidden warehouse."
"A hidden warehouse?"