Chapter 132: Emergency Mission! Operation Rescue the Yellow Flash!
"Minato-sensei!"
Obito's blood boiled as his eyes turned bloodshot. He shouted and started to rush forward.
He was an emotional person by nature, and as an Uchiha, seeing Minato use himself as bait to teleport away with the Third Raikage made him panic completely. He didn't care whether he could win—he just impulsively decided to go rescue his teacher.
But before he could move, Kakashi forcibly stopped him.
"No. We can't go after Minato-sensei."
Of the three present, only Kakashi remained calm and understood their situation. He grabbed Obito's arm and said firmly, "Our most important task right now is to survive and deliver Minato-sensei's intelligence back to the village as quickly as possible!"
"What did you say?" Obito stared in disbelief, then shouted angrily, "What about Minato-sensei? Are we just going to abandon him?!"
"Can you actually fight the Raikage? Don't overestimate yourself, Obito!"
Kakashi retorted coldly. "Face reality—that's the Third Raikage! The three of us would only get in Minato-sensei's way!"
"So we just abandon Minato-sensei and run back like cowards?!" Obito glared at him, looking outraged.
"Idiot!"
Kakashi gritted his teeth, wanting to punch him. He was nearly speechless at having such a foolish teammate.
"You bastard, Kakashi! What did you just call me?!" Obito stepped forward and grabbed Kakashi's collar, shouting, "Even if I have to go alone, I'm going to help Minato-sensei! Didn't you see how badly he was injured?!"
WHAM!
Obito took a hard punch to the face, stumbling backward and falling to the ground.
"Think carefully, Obito!"
Kakashi's eyes were also bloodshot as he growled, "Do you think I don't want to go? Do you think I want to run back to Konoha like this?! Calm down and think! With just the three of us, we won't save Minato-sensei—we'll only cause him more trouble!"
"Kakashi..."
Rin looked worriedly between them.
Obito sat dazed from the punch.
Kakashi took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. "We have a more important mission: report the Raikage and the AB Combo's presence to Lord Hokage. The faster we return, the sooner reinforcements can arrive. Right now, all we can do is trust in Minato-sensei!"
"Obito, I think Kakashi's right."
Rin helped Obito to his feet and said softly, "If we rush over there, we'll only waste the opportunity Minato-sensei created for us."
Despite his reluctance, Obito—now calmed down—could only clench his fists helplessly. "I... I know!"
He already knew going would only cause trouble.
But even though his mind understood, his heart couldn't accept watching their heavily injured teacher face the Raikage alone.
To him, his comrades were more important than any mission.
"Let's go!"
Obito wiped the dirt from his face and looked resolutely toward Konoha. "Minato-sensei... wait for me!"
The situation was urgent. Without delay, the three rushed toward Konoha.
Shortly after they left, a head slowly emerged from the ground nearby—green plant-like hair resembling grass, watching their retreating figures.
"Uh-oh, this is quite the problem. The Yellow Flash got captured by the Raikage."
White Zetsu scratched his head, muttering to himself. "Still, even though things didn't go exactly according to Lord Kazuki's plan, I guess I completed the mission, right?"
One and a half days.
In just thirty-six hours, Kakashi returned to Konoha from the border.
But he came alone.
To shorten the travel time as much as possible and buy time for Minato-sensei, Kakashi—being the strongest of the three with exceptional endurance, stamina, and speed—came up with a relay strategy: Obito and Rin would take turns carrying Kakashi, conserving his chakra so he could sprint the final leg at maximum speed.
Carrying everyone's hopes, Kakashi ran relentlessly until finally arriving at Konoha's gates just before noon.
He was covered in dust and grime, his face pale, lips cracked and bleeding. He looked so weak a strong breeze could knock him over—only sheer willpower kept him standing.
"That's... Kakashi Hatake, isn't it?"
A guard noticed Kakashi about to collapse and rushed to support him.
After a quick assessment, the guard's expression changed drastically—something serious must have happened. "Hey, what's going on? Where's Minato Namikaze? Why are you alone?!"
"Urgent... intelligence..."
Kakashi managed to gasp out, shoving a tightly clutched scroll into the guard's hands.
Before the guard could ask another question, Kakashi's head lolled to the side and he lost consciousness.
"This is... S-rank intelligence?!"
The guard glanced at the scroll's classification and his face went white.
Intelligence marked 'S-rank' was undoubtedly critically important—potentially affecting the entire village's safety.
The scroll was rushed immediately to the Hokage's office and delivered to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The Hokage, who had been in relatively good spirits, became so enraged upon reading the intelligence that his blood pressure spiked and he nearly collapsed on the spot.
He gripped the desk, forcing down the metallic taste rising in his throat. Veins bulged on his forehead as he roared in suppressed fury, "Send for the ANBU! Bring Uchiha Kazuki here immediately!"
From the Hokage's grim expression, his assistant realized something catastrophic had occurred and immediately rushed out.
Moments later, a somewhat confused Uchiha Kazuki entered the office. Judging from Hiruzen's poor condition and the rage burning in his eyes, Kazuki deduced something serious had happened. He asked with a grave expression, "Lord Hokage, what's occurred?"
"Kumogakure and Iwagakure have formed an alliance!"
Hiruzen took a deep breath, trying to avoid a stroke, then said through gritted teeth, "Minato Namikaze's team encountered Kumogakure's AB Combo and the Third Raikage himself on the northeastern border. Minato lured the Raikage away alone so his students could deliver this intelligence!"
"Such audacity?!"
Uchiha Kazuki stared at the Hokage with a 'shocked' expression. "How dare Kumogakure? Are they trying to start a war?"
"They're not just thinking about it—they're already doing it!"
Hiruzen slammed his fist on the desk, roaring, "Secretly allying with Iwagakure, deploying their jinchūriki and the Raikage's successor, and the Raikage himself appearing on Konoha's border—if this isn't provocation, what is? They've already declared war!"
"Lord Hokage, what do you need me to do?"
Uchiha Kazuki immediately displayed the proper subordinate's attitude.
Rather than asking what should be done, he asked how to do it—which pleased Hiruzen greatly. He nodded with appreciation in his eyes. "I need you to personally lead an ANBU squad to investigate Minato Namikaze's whereabouts. If he's alive, ensure his safety. If he's not..." His eyes hardened. "Then make Kumogakure pay the price!"
"Understood, Lord Hokage."
Uchiha Kazuki nodded slightly, then asked, "And for this mission... how far should I go?"
Hiruzen considered carefully. The Third Raikage was incredibly powerful—he shouldn't die easily. So he said confidently, "Do whatever is necessary. Don't hold back!"
"I understand."
Uchiha Kazuki adjusted his glasses, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. "Please rest assured, Lord Hokage. I will definitely satisfy you."
[End of Chapter 132]
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