"Everyone okay?" Shinji asked with concern, his gaze sweeping over his companions.
They all shook their heads, but their expressions remained grim.
The sudden ambush moments ago had caught everyone off guard.
Obito, in particular, was trembling slightly, a hint of tears even glistening in the corners of his eyes. But remembering Minato-sensei's guidance from the previous night, he quickly forced himself to pull together.
"I must get stronger."
"I'm the man who's going to become Hokage!"
He swore this silently to himself.
"We really owe you one back there, Shinji!" Nohara Rin, half-kneeling on the ground, was focused on treating the wound on Kakashi's shoulder, inflicted by Mochizuki.
Kurenai and Asuma nodded in agreement.
Asuma, who had initially been unconvinced about Minato appointing Shinji as the squad leader, was now completely won over.
In that critical moment, no one except Shinji had reacted.
Yet Shinji had remained calm under pressure, instantly dispatching several shadow clones.
"Nice work, Shinji."
He reached out and gave Shinji's shoulder a light, grateful punch.
Space distorted slightly, a flash of golden light vanished, and Minato Namikaze appeared before the group.
Shinji couldn't help but feel a surge of envy.
That was the Flying Thunder God, one of the exceedingly rare Space-Time Ninjutsu in the shinobi world. Very few across the entire ninja realm could master it.
"I wonder how many Points it would take to learn the Flying Thunder God... it's an S-Rank Ninjutsu, after all," he muttered quietly to himself.
Minato's eyes swept over everyone, and he spoke in an encouraging, serious tone:
"As shinobi, you must always remain calm, no matter the situation... In this regard, you should all learn from Shinji."
He first offered a few words of advice to the group, reiterated his order for Kakashi to temporarily refrain from using the Chidori, and finally praised Shinji's composure under pressure.
Shinji had a vague feeling: Minato's favorability towards him was steadily rising. He was close to achieving a "Conquest."
With a thought, he summoned the System Panel and opened Minato Namikaze's details page.
[Character: Minato Namikaze]
[Skills: Rasengan Lv.max, Flying Thunder God Lv.3, Four Symbols Seal Lv.2, Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique Lv.max...]
[Estimated Conquest Success Point Reward: Ambiguous Relationship / 100,000 Points, True Love Relationship / 500,000 Points...]
[Note: Difficulty rating extremely high. He is a man as brilliant as the sun, but his heart is already taken, his eyes holding only that red-haired girl.]
Shinji directly ignored the note on the System Panel, his gaze fixed on the 100,000 Points for the first-tier reward, a wave of excitement washing over him.
"From now on, I need to perform well."
After a brief rest, the group set off again.
When they reached a fork in the road, Minato suddenly raised his hand, signaling the team to stop. His expression turned serious as he spoke:
"I'm going to support the front lines and draw the enemy's attention. The rest is up to you."
"Yes, sir!" everyone chorused.
Minato's gaze swept over the group once more, finally settling on Shinji. He pulled a kunai from his pouch and casually tossed it over.
"Shinji, take this kunai. As long as you carry it, I can reach you at any time. Kakashi and the others already have theirs."
Shinji raised his hand and caught it steadily, his gaze falling on the inscription "Nin'ai no Ken" on the kunai's handle. He instantly understood:
This was a specialized kunai engraved with Minato's Flying Thunder God technique.
He nodded solemnly. "I'll keep it safe."
Without another word, Minato bid farewell to the group, then flashed away, speeding off toward the left fork in the road.
Shinji and the other five continued along the other path. After about twenty minutes, the team gradually slowed their pace.
"We're almost there. Everyone, be careful," Kakashi warned in a low voice.
Shinji gave a slight nod.
He knew very well what awaited them ahead: the Iwagakure Jonin, Kōkō and Ōishi. One excelled at close-quarters Earth Release suppression, while the other was a master of Camouflage Concealment assassination.
"This time, with me here, at least Rin won't be captured."
He silently steeled himself.
Given his current strength, combined with Kakashi's, restraining these two shouldn't be a problem.
Just then, a blurry figure on a tree trunk to the right front solidified slightly.
Shinji immediately shouted a warning.
"Enemies! Two o'clock ahead!"
"Huh? Where?" Obito squinted, staring for a long moment but seeing nothing. He turned back, puzzled.
"Full alert!"
Shinji warned again sharply, flicking his wrist. Three shuriken shot out abruptly.
"Clang! Clang! Clang—!"
The three shuriken seemed to hit an invisible barrier. The crisp sound of metal clashing erupted instantly, and everyone's expressions changed.
Kurenai's heart tightened. "There really is someone!"
On the tree trunk, the air distorted like rippling water. A camouflaged outline slowly materialized, revealing Ōishi's cold face.
Ōishi's gaze swept over the group, finally settling on Shinji. His tone carried a mix of surprise and chill.
"Brat! How did you spot me?"
He paused briefly, staring into Shinji's eyes, then snorted coldly. "Hmph, so it's the Sharingan."
From behind a nearby rock, a figure suddenly sprang out. Kōkō, with short swords wrapped around his arms, crossed them with a shake and slashed directly toward Asuma.
"Die, brats!"
Kakashi instantly charged forward, drawing the short sword from his back to block horizontally. The two blades collided fiercely.
Screech—!
"Two Jonin. This is trouble!" He turned his head sharply and roared at Shinji, "You deal with the one who can hide! Obito, Rin, with me to hold this guy off!"
His judgment was lightning-fast: Shinji had the Sharingan and could see through Camouflage Concealment. The Iwagakure Jonin before him was a typical close-quarters powerhouse, perfect for him to engage head-on.
Shinji immediately drew his short sword, signaling to Kurenai and Asuma.
In the next moment, five Illusionary Clones separated from his side and rushed forward in unison.
The situation instantly fell into a stalemate.
Ōishi was thoroughly countered by the Sharingan. Shinji, relying on speed and his clones, continuously harassed and restrained him.
On the other side, Kakashi was well-rounded, solid in Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Genjutsu. Kōkō also found it difficult to break through for the moment.
With Obito, Asuma, and the others providing support from the sides, they managed to hold the line temporarily.
Kōkō swung his sword horizontally, forcing Kakashi and the other two back. A cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth. "Mochizuki hasn't made contact yet. Seems he's already fallen to you. Not bad, brats."
Shinji also retreated with Asuma and Kurenai back into formation. The two groups regrouped, warily watching the two Iwagakure Jonin.
"Find a chance to retreat. With our current strength, we can't break through by force," he said gravely.
Kakashi remained silent, his grip on the blade tightening further.
"But the mission!"
"You need to be alive to complete the mission!" Obito urgently interrupted. "If we drag this out any longer, we'll all die here!"
No one noticed that from the shadows behind them, another presence was quietly approaching.
"Watch your backs!"
Kurenai Yuhi's expression changed abruptly. Catching sight of the anomaly, she gave the warning while immediately leaping forward to block it.
But the figure was astonishingly fast. With a lift of its arm, it struck toward Kurenai.
"How is there a third person?!"
Shinji's heart shook violently.
Who is he? How did he get here?
No, something's off about this person. He's not ordinary, because in Shinji's activated Sharingan, he could see violent Chakra swirling around the opponent's fist, highly destructive.
"Kurenai! Don't touch his fist!"
He roared out, but it was already too late. Without a second thought, Shinji hurled his short blade with all his might.
Yet the figure didn't dodge or evade, its fist smashing directly into the blade's tip.
Boom—!!
A violent explosion erupted abruptly, the shockwave sweeping across, instantly tearing the team's formation to shreds.
Kurenai, closest to the blast, was violently flung back by the impact, spitting out a mouthful of blood mid-air before crashing heavily to the ground, unable to move any further.