Hatake Sakumo led Namikaze Minato and his two other students, along with Yamashiro, Hayama Shirakumo, and Shinma, through the forests of the Fire Nation at full speed.
Shinma lagged slightly behind.
From time to time, his expression drifted, his eyes unfocused. When he looked at Sakumo's back, guilt flickered in his gaze—then vanished.
Danzo had ordered him to sabotage Sakumo's mission.
But this mission involved the Land of Hot Water's mission share. If it failed, Konoha would lose ten percent of its total missions.
And that might only be the beginning.
A chain reaction could follow.
Several tens of percent lost.
—
They arrived at the capital of the Land of Hot Water and met the newly appointed guardian ninja captain, Shimura Kōhi, within a scattered encampment outside the palace.
The Shimura clan had once been mighty. Now, after their elites were killed one by one by rogue shinobi Sarutobi Kanosuke, only one elite jonin remained—Shimura Kōhi.
"Sakumo-sama, you've finally arrived," Kōhi said.
"There is an urgent mission personally issued by the daimyo. It requires a Konoha elite."
"The daimyo's eldest son is to travel to Evergreen Divine Mountain to perform a ritual honoring Evergreen Heaven, the deity revered by the royal family."
"This is more than a ritual. It is a test."
"The journey is long. Iwa ninja may attack en route."
"The daimyo's patience with Konoha is nearly exhausted. If this ritual fails, the Land of Hot Water may fully align with the Land of Earth and Iwagakure."
Sakumo nodded solemnly.
Three guardian ninja captains had died in succession.
No daimyo would tolerate such incompetence.
Kōhi continued.
"The daimyo has hired additional guards himself."
"Of the twelve current guardian ninja, only four are from Konoha. After the Second Shinobi War, we were to provide eight. That number has been halved."
"I will accompany the procession to Evergreen Divine Mountain with one guardian ninja. Hyūga Shin and another will remain in the capital to protect the daimyo."
"Iwa is watching this mission closely. We must prove Konoha superior."
Sakumo accepted the scroll detailing the situation.
The political climate was worse than expected.
The daimyo's trust was fraying.
"Let's go," Sakumo said calmly. "We won't allow Iwa to succeed."
—
The prince's procession departed the capital.
Banners fluttered in the wind.
Nomads approached, kneeling reverently before the flags that depicted Evergreen Heaven protecting the grassland tribes.
The prince glanced uneasily at the surrounding samurai and shinobi.
His father had said this was the final test for Konoha's guardian ninja.
If they failed…
He might pay with his life.
—
Yamashiro and the others scouted hundreds of meters ahead.
During a brief rest, Hayama Shirakumo whispered, "Brother Yamashiro, leaving Hyūga Shin in the capital lowers our reconnaissance efficiency. Was Shimura Kōhi intentional?"
Yamashiro thought briefly.
"It makes sense on the surface," he said. "The daimyo's safety is paramount. Leaving a Hyūga there is justifiable."
"Which means we must be even more cautious."
Minato, listening nearby, absorbed every word.
So that was the significance of where a Hyūga was stationed.
Shinma felt uneasy.
For days, they had found no trace of Iwa ninja.
—
Several days later, they reached Evergreen Divine Mountain.
At its base lay a strange sight.
Within a radius of over a hundred meters, the grassland was completely barren.
Yamashiro examined it grimly.
"This should be the location where Sarutobi Kanosuke used Five Elements Great Barrage to kill the ANBU Vice Commander Lynx."
The rumor had spread widely.
Under someone's deliberate efforts, the news that Lynx was from the Shimura clan was common knowledge—something that should never have been leaked.
Danzo had been searching for the source of the rumors, but to no avail.
There was a faction within Konoha dissatisfied with him.
And they were taking advantage.
Shirakumo stared at the devastated terrain, shaken.
"Even an ANBU Vice Commander couldn't withstand that forbidden technique?"
"I know another Vice Commander—Fox just got promoted."
He still remembered Fox vividly from the Uzushio campaign.
S-class rogue shinobi were appearing one after another.
Ordinary rogue ninja were eliminated by ANBU.
These monsters?
ANBU had little recourse.
—
The ritual began.
Bare-chested tribesmen danced around roaring bonfires.
Five ropes of captives were brought forth—ten prisoners on each.
Fifty in total.
The sacrifice.
Before the flames, heads fell.
For over a thousand years, the royal family of the Land of Hot Water had maintained such bloody rites.
Minato stood with his back to the ritual, watching the distant grassland through binoculars.
He heard the screams behind him.
He turned once.
Fifty heads severed.
He faced forward again.
Focus.
Then—
A red dot in the distance.
A shinobi wearing a straw hat and dark red armor walked calmly toward the mountain.
Steam vented from the gaps in his armor.
"Enemy attack!"
All eyes turned.
Yamashiro's voice rang out.
"It's Iwagakure's Five-Tails Jinchūriki—Han, the Steam Shinobi!"
Behind Han, Iwa ninja emerged.
Sakumo drew the White Fang blade.
"Minato, with me. We'll handle Han."
"The rest—engage his subordinates!"
Shinma's heart pounded.
It had begun.
He glanced at Minato.
Sakumo favored Minato openly.
He couldn't deny the resentment in his chest.
He and his late brother had served Sakumo longest.
Yet—
"Minato," Sakumo said calmly, "observe carefully."
"Han's steam techniques have similarities to your refined Wind Release chakra."
Minato nodded and followed.
—
Han's armor was covered in vents.
Scalding steam erupted, propelling him like a crimson engine tearing through the grass.
A flash.
White Fang's blade-light slashed forth.
Minato's eyes widened.
Han dodged.
Steam blasted from Han's left shoulder, altering his trajectory mid-motion in a bizarre lateral shift.
It was the first time Minato had seen someone evade White Fang's blade-light.
Steam… used like that?
Minato's mind raced.
His own refined Wind Release chakra formed a thin layer beneath his feet.
When released explosively, it granted immense acceleration.
His Body Flicker was unmatched among peers.
But—
What if refined chakra could be distributed throughout the body like Han's steam?
Elbow vents to enhance punches.
Shoulder and hip bursts for lateral shifts.
Chest bursts for rapid retreat.
Leg vents for explosive speed.
Refine Wind Release chakra at various points…
Experiment with a new taijutsu.
The probing clash lasted a minute.
Then Sakumo surged.
His speed increased again.
White Fang's blade severed Han's left shoulder armor.
A large chunk of iron fell.
The armor was double-layered.
Within its hollow cavities, steam compressed and accelerated before venting for propulsion.
With the left shoulder cavity destroyed, Han's rightward movement grew stiff.
Predictable.
After several exchanges, sparks flashed across the armor.
Left shoulder.
Right hip.
Right leg.
All compromised.
Han breathed heavily within the armor.
As expected of the White Fang.
Conventional methods were insufficient.
He leapt back, narrowly avoiding a horizontal slash.
Landing, he triggered a mechanism.
Clatter.
The armor fell away entirely.
Sakumo's expression hardened.
Five-Tails chakra seeped from Han's skin.
In an instant, Han dropped to all fours.
Half-transformed.
Dark red chakra writhed across his body.
Three tails formed behind him.
His feet became hooves.
Steam erupted as he charged.
Boil Release—Steam.
The Five-Tails' unique power.
Without armor cavities, steam burst freely from his body.
The ground cracked beneath his hooves.
Sakumo slashed three blade-lights in rapid succession.
White brilliance intertwined, covering nearly the entire frontal arc.
Han evaded two.
The third struck.
The tailed beast chakra cloak split.
Beneath it, flesh opened in a one-centimeter-deep wound.
Han roared in pain.
Even the tailed beast cloak…
Couldn't fully block the White Fang's blade-light?