On the coastline, a squad was carrying out a mission.
"Raid! Raid!"
Yamada's shout was almost covered up by the wind.
His team members reacted quickly, protecting the rich merchant's son in the carriage.
They were secretly carrying out a B-rank mission, escorting a rich merchant's son to another small country.
A group of figures darted out of the forest ahead, all of them burly.
"Lightning Release: Flash Pillar!"
The ninja in front of Yamada's squad was suddenly covered in white light, dazzlingly bright.
"It's Kumogakure's lightning release Genjutsu technique, quickly look away!"
Yamada shouted loudly, taking the lead in closing his eyes tightly.
He had encountered Kumo ninjas using this move before.
As long as he closed his eyes, he could block most of the effect. This was his experience.
"Kill the target."
Sato shouted, raising the sword in his hand and rushing forward.
Their mission this time was commissioned by the rich merchant's enemy, demanding the killing of his family's only son.
As long as he is killed, the mission will be considered completed.
Then, they could leave without fighting with these Konoha ninjas.
Yamada immediately performed hand seals.
"Water Release: Water Fang Bullet!"
Water rotated in his right hand, quickly attacking a Kumo ninja.
"Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!"
The Kumo ninja instantly performed hand seals and made a wall of earth, blocking the path of these water projectiles and intercepting them all.
Yamada wanted to continue using Water Release: Water Fang Bullet, but a flash of sword light appeared, and a huge gash immediately appeared on his abdomen.
He screamed in pain.
Hearing the noise, his teammates hurried to support him.
"Yamada, hold on!"
For a time, the scene became chaotic, and the rich merchant's son listened to the fighting outside in horror.
After an unknown amount of time, a black shadow arrived in front of him.
Before he could even scream, he felt a chill in his throat, and warm liquid flowed down his neck.
Reaching out to touch it, he was stunned to see that his palm was covered in blood.
His mouth opened and closed, as if he wanted to shout something, but the sound was stifled in his throat.
"Mission completed, retreat!"
Sato shouted, and then cut through the remaining flesh of the rich merchant's son.
He cut off his head, sealed it into a sealing scroll, and quickly left the area.
"Damn it."
Sakai Nobuo's face showed his anxiousmess.
He had finally managed to not team up with Kakashi and changed to new teammates, but the situation during this time had become even more severe than what he had imagined.
Friction between countries is increasing day by day, and there are even rumors that the Third Great Ninja War may happen at any time.
He glanced at Yamada lying in the pool of blood.
This has exceeded the original mission difficulty of their squad.
A B-rank mission was already difficult, and this time the difficulty was at least A-rank.
"Quickly take Yamada back for treatment!"
...
Training Ground No. 3
The scorching sun hung high, and the air was filled with a faint smell of dust.
The ground was full of potholes, smashed out by the impact.
"Controlling this... is too difficult."
Minato sat on the ground, panting, with a thin layer of sweat forming on his forehead.
His hands trembled slightly. Obviously, the training just now had consumed a lot of chakra and energy.
Jiraiya standing aside looked thoughtfully at Minato's palm, muttering.
"I heard before that when it comes to chakra, guiding it according to the direction of the swirl on your head will be easier..."
Minato was stunned when he heard this, and blinked his eyes.
"Eh?"
This sounds more like superstition, right?
But Jiraiya said it with a straight face, as if he really had some unique experience.
Seeing Minato's face full of doubt, Jiraiya stopped talking about this topic.
He took out a popsicle from his arms, skillfully broke it in half, and handed half of it to Minato.
Minato just looked down at his palm, vaguely enlightened.
He asked Jiraiya which direction his swirl was facing.
After learning that there were swirls on both sides, Minato stretched out his hands and controlled his chakra according to the swirls on his head.
"In... initial form!!"
The chakra sphere in Minato's hand was finally constantly compressing and rotating.
He said excitedly, "Let's name it Popsicle Inspired Swirl Hair Jiraiya Double Style Ball!"
"So bad and long..."
Jiraiya felt that his disciple had no naming talent at all.
"In short, let's call it a day for today."
Jiraiya gave the popsicle to Minato, and casually instructed, "I still have mission application matters to deal with, I'll go first."
Minato nodded, watching Jiraiya's back disappear into the forest path.
He then slowly took a bite of the popsicle.
Before long, he keenly noticed a gaze coming from a certain direction behind him.
Looking sideways, he saw a head peeking out from behind a big tree.
The figure's red hair was swaying slightly, and her bright eyes contained a bit of guilt.
"Eh?! Kushina?!"
Minato stood up suddenly, his face full of surprise and nervousness.
He asked, "Why are you here? Is it okay?"
He subconsciously looked around, for fear that someone was monitoring in the dark.
Kushina's identity is special, and she can't leave the monitoring range casually.
If the Hokage knows that she sneaked out privately... that would be terrible.
Seeing this, Kushina smiled dryly and scratched the back of her head, her eyes flickering.
"That... the Third Hokage specifically approved it, saying that I can temporarily walk out of the barrier."
Kushina touched the back of her head, feeling nervous.
She didn't say it very confidently, so Minato was a little suspicious that Kushina was deceiving him.
Wasn't Kushina always unable to get out of the barrier?
Has the power of the seal on Nine Tails been strengthened now?
Minato was making guesses in his heart, mainly because this matter was of great importance, and Minato couldn't help but think more about it.
Minato is one of the few people who vaguely knows something about Kushina's identity.
Just as Minato was about to say something, Kushina's light blue eyes suddenly turned into beast-like vertical pupils.
"!"
This is...
Tailed Beast Transformation!
Minato looked at Kushina, who was suddenly hugging her head with a painful expression, and instantly realized the reason.
He had fought against the Four-Tails Jinchuriki and Five-Tails Jinchuriki in previous missions.
Now it is obvious that the Tailed Beast Chakra is leaking.
"Kushina!"
Before Minato could seal Kushina, a sudden voice rang out in the field.
Minato looked in the direction of the sound.
He noticed that it was Kiyoshi, whom he had seen several times in the Chunin Exams before.
Kiyoshi ran over quickly, with an anxious look on his face.
No wonder Kushina had mentioned Kiyoshi several times before.
Minato instantly understood, it seems that their relationship is good.
The next moment
Puff!
Minato was sent flying by a tail made of leaking Tailed Beast Chakra.
"Minato!"
Kushina wanted to run over to Minato.