Two days passed in the blink of an eye, and Shimizu had adjusted his physical condition back to its peak.
After sensing his current perception range, he found it had reached an astonishing 152 meters—an increase of another 8 meters. That meant his natural chakra reserves were now only a step away from meeting the standard of an elite jōnin.
After thinking it through, Shimizu could only conclude that the frequent battles and constant chakra depletion had once again enhanced his cells' ability to produce and store chakra.
In addition, he had finally confirmed that the amount of chakra Samehada could store indeed increased along with his own chakra reserves.
That counted as good news.
As for Wind Release chakra refinement—Minato himself was an elite jōnin proficient in Lightning, Fire, and Wind Release. So when Shimizu asked for guidance, Minato enthusiastically and patiently shared all of his experience in refining Wind Release chakra.
Having someone teach you really makes a difference—especially when that someone is a genius.
In just two days, Shimizu had already grasped a bit of the fundamentals. At this rate, successfully refining Wind Release chakra for the first time would probably take only about a month.
Once that Wind Release chakra-conductive sword arrived...
With an invisible blade of wind, I'll carve those puppets into toothpicks.
"Uzuki-senpai, what are you smiling about?" Mercury asked curiously from beside him.
Mercury's real name was Hyūga Satomi. This girl from the Hyūga clan had been promoted to jōnin at just fifteen, and only this August had she joined the ANBU.
Another genius from the Hyūga clan. Konoha truly was full of talent.
But as a junior, wasn't it a bit rash to interrupt a senior's pleasant fantasy?
"Remember to bring extra Military Rations Pills this time."
"…Understood."
At this moment, Shimizu and Hyūga Satomi were waiting at the gates of Rakuyō City. The agreed time with Minato was almost here.
Tonight, they would depart for the southwestern canyon.
"Captain Namikaze has arrived. The ones with him should be Akimichi Yoshimaru-senpai and Nikaidō Naoko-senpai," Satomi suddenly said.
Shimizu noticed that no one had rapidly entered his sensory range yet…
He glanced at the Hyūga girl beside him.
Those eyes really were convenient.
But why didn't this fifteen-year-old girl have that lively, bright, optimistic energy one might expect?
The impression she gave him was completely opposite to the gentle and courteous Shisui.
She was like an iceberg—even her voice carried a cool detachment.
Now that he thought about it, she resembled that Hyūga clan prodigy named Hyūga Kazumo more.
Was it because they were both from the branch family?
Looking at her still slightly youthful face, Shimizu almost felt as if he could see through her Konoha forehead protector to the "Caged Bird" seal hidden beneath it…
Before long, the three members of Team Jiraiya arrived before Shimizu and Satomi.
"So it really is Shimizu Uzuki. It's been a long time!" Akimichi Yoshimaru boomed.
"Yoshimaru. Good to see you again."
In Shimizu's memory, the last time they met was when he had just entered ANBU…
That was more than four years ago.
"Hello, Shimizu-kun," Nikaidō Naoko said with a smile and a nod.
"Hello."
"Well then, that makes everyone present. Anything else to prepare? If not, we'll depart," Minato asked the group.
"Don't you need to rest first?" Shimizu asked, puzzled. Akimichi Yoshimaru and Nikaidō Naoko had just come from Kikyo Castle—wouldn't it be better for them to take a short break first?
"It's fine! We made sure to conserve our chakra along the way. It was just traveling—nothing serious," Akimichi Yoshimaru said, waving his hand dismissively.
When jōnin and elite jōnin moved together with the main force, they had to slow down to accommodate the genin. Naturally, their pace hadn't been fast.
"Satomi and I are fine as well."
"Alright then. Objective: the Southwestern Canyon. Move out!" Minato signaled the team to depart.
Thus, this temporarily formed five-man squad immediately set off toward the Southwestern Canyon.
Composed of three elite jōnin and two jōnin, it was an exceptionally strong team. Their advance was extremely swift.
By midnight, the five of them had already reached the Southwestern Canyon.
"Direction nine o'clock, 1.5 kilometers away—there's a Sand squad," Satomi reported at any moment, her Byakugan fully activated and tracking Sunagakure's movements.
"Go around them. Avoid contact," Minato ordered, once again taking a detour.
"The Sand's sentry posts are very dense," Shimizu remarked. If it were merely two Sand divisions stationed here, they wouldn't need to deploy so many perimeter patrol squads.
"I feel the same," Yoshimaru agreed. "There's definitely something going on."
"And that's exactly why we're here," Nikaidō Naoko said softly.
"The main force will finish assembling and depart tomorrow morning, correct? At the earliest, they'll reach the battlefield sometime between afternoon and evening?" Shimizu asked.
"Yes. If there truly is a problem… we must uncover everything before the main force launches its attack," Minato replied, his expression grave.
Judging by the level of enemy vigilance, it was clearly designed to prevent Konoha ninja from infiltrating.
So what were they trying to conceal?
Would Konoha's leadership really launch an offensive without clarifying the situation?
No.
It was because the higher-ups trusted him—trusted Jiraiya's most outstanding disciple, Namikaze Minato.
Minato clenched his fists and asked in a low voice, "Found anything?"
Nothing yet..." Satomi shook her head.
This was already the fourth suspected location they had investigated—and again, nothing.
Minato immediately marked another cross on the map. There were still six locations left to examine.
"Next!"
The five-man unit operated with extraordinary efficiency. Before dawn broke, they had finished scouting all ten suspicious points.
And found nothing.
"Take a Military Rations Pill," Minato ordered.
Everyone took out a pill. Shimizu, Minato, and Yoshimaru—the three men—swallowed theirs immediately.
Naoko followed.
Finally, it was Satomi's turn. After hesitating for a few seconds, she swallowed the pill as well.
In truth, their chakra consumption hadn't been significant—they weren't yet at the point of needing supplements. But a captain's order was not to be disobeyed.
"We'll move further inward. There may be combat."
Minato unfolded the map again, contemplating which deeper locations might be suspicious and required inspection.
"In a previous mission, I encountered Sand ninja who had carved out a cave behind a waterfall," Shimizu suddenly said.
"You mean the Sand might have carved out a cave inside a mountain?" Yoshimaru followed his reasoning.
"Like Konoha? Digging halfway through Mount Kikyo?" Naoko put it more succinctly.
Minato instantly grasped the idea and gave the order: "Satomi, focus your reconnaissance on the mountain faces along the route. See if there's anything unusual!"
"Yes!"