"The plan is simple." Roy's voice rang out from within the bushes, clear and steady, carrying a power that made people trust him instinctively. "The strength of Teacher Minato lies in his unparalleled speed. Any attempt to chase after him with speed is foolish. We can't pursue; we need to set up a situation that makes him stop on his own."
Tokuma Hyūga and Yakumo Kurama listened quietly. Roy's words were like a stone thrown into their previously chaotic thoughts, rippling out with the name of "hope."
"Tokuma, you are our eyes and also our spear." Roy's gaze turned to the Hyūga boy, his tone filled with certainty. "I need you to activate your Byakugan, lock onto the teacher's exact position, and then launch a frontal attack on him. Not harassment, but an all-out assault."
"A frontal attack?" Tokuma frowned. "I'm no match for him; I'll be defeated instantly."
"I know." Roy nodded, without denying it at all. "Your task isn't to defeat him, but to tie him down. Use your Gentle Fist, your specialty, to apply constant close-quarters pressure, forcing him to focus his attention on dealing with your attacks. Don't give him any opening to use high-speed movement ninjutsu. You need to draw his attention completely onto yourself, making him think that you are the main attacker of our team."
Tokuma understood.
This was also a decoy, but unlike Obito Uchiha's reckless, head-on decoy, this was a main-attack style decoy that required extremely high technical skill.
This task was a test of his Hyūga clan's Gentle Fist, and also a test of his will.
"Yakumo." Roy looked at the frail girl, his tone softening a bit. "You are our trump card. The Kurama clan's genjutsu is our only chance at victory."
Yakumo clenched her fists nervously, her palms sweaty. Being tasked with dealing with the "Yellow Flash" was an unimaginable mission.
"While Tokuma is engaging the teacher, when his focus is at its peak, I will give you the signal." Roy's tone was firm, filled with a confidence that was reassuring. "At that moment, I need you to attack the teacher with your strongest genjutsu. Hold nothing back."
"But… my body…" Yakumo hesitated. With the Kurama clan's Kekkei Genkai, the stronger the power, the greater the strain on the body; she would likely faint on the spot from using this genjutsu.
"It won't take long." Roy looked into her eyes, his gaze clear and resolute. "I only need a single moment. A moment where his train of thought is halted. If you can create that moment, we can win. Trust me."
In Roy's eyes, the girl saw a calmness and reliability far beyond his years.
She nodded firmly, most of her unease dispelled.
"What about me?" Tokuma asked the final question.
"I will seize that moment," Roy replied. "The unique opportunity created by the two of you."
The plan was set.
A fragile bond called trust began to quietly form between the three of them.
They were no longer three isolated individuals, but a unified whole with a clear objective.
Tokuma took a deep breath and was the first to step out from the bushes.
"Byakugan!"
Veins bulged around his eyes, and his three-hundred-sixty-degree panoramic vision instantly unfolded.
Through the insight of the Byakugan, under the large tree in the distance, the massive, flowing chakra within Minato Namikaze was clearly visible, like a small sun.
"Found him." Tokuma muttered lowly, casting aside all distracting thoughts, and shot forward like an arrow released from a bow.
Under the tree, Minato put down his novel, a slight smile appearing on his face.
He watched his student charge straight at him, a glint of approval in his eyes.
"You have courage. Well then, let me see your mettle."
Tokuma closed in instantly, assuming the stance of the Gentle Fist.
Without a moment's hesitation, he struck a palm towards Minato's chest.
Minato's figure vanished the moment before the palm was about to make contact.
Tokuma's heart tightened, but his Byakugan's omnidirectional vision immediately captured Minato appearing behind him.
Without turning around, he twisted his body at an impossible angle and, with a backhanded palm strike, aimed again at Minato's opening.
"Quick reaction." Minato chuckled softly, his figure disappearing once more.
The ensuing battle became a completely one-sided game of pursuit.
Relying on his Byakugan's insight, Tokuma could always find Minato's position and launch an attack at the first moment.
But Minato's speed was simply too great; each attack missed by a hair's breadth, never quite able to connect.
On the training ground, one could only see Tokuma Hyūga constantly shifting positions, launching fierce attacks at seemingly empty spaces.
Yet in his perception, that golden figure always remained at the very edge of his attacks, strolling leisurely with effortless grace.
Sweat began to form on Tokuma's forehead; his chakra and stamina were being drained at an enormous rate.
But he didn't give up. He remembered his task: to tie down the opponent.
His attack rhythm grew faster and denser, attempting to use a net of Gentle Fist techniques to restrict that golden flash.
Hidden in the shadows, Roy observed everything calmly.
Tokuma was doing an excellent job, even exceeding his expectations.
With his tenacious will, he had successfully locked Minato's attention firmly within this cat-and-mouse game.
To test his student's taijutsu, Minato had deliberately refrained from using his famed Flying Thunder God Technique, relying solely on the Body Flicker Technique to evade.
This was their only chance.
Roy saw that after evading another of Tokuma's attacks, a look appeared on Minato's face suggesting he was about to counterattack.
It seemed he had played enough.
Now.
Roy made an extremely subtle nodding motion to Yakumo beside him.
Yakumo Kurama formed a peculiar seal with her hands in front of her.
Her usually somewhat timid eyes, at this moment, became deep as an abyss, as if they could suck in a person's soul.
"Genjutsu: Five Senses Deprivation."
An invisible wave instantly spread out, precisely targeting Minato.
Minato, who was about to subdue Tokuma in one move, suddenly froze.
In his world, the scene before him hadn't changed, the sounds hadn't changed; everything was the same as a moment before.
But suddenly, he could no longer feel the wind's flow, smell the scent of the grass, and the sensation of the earth beneath his feet became blurred.
His five senses were being forcibly stripped from the real world by an invisible force.
This was an extremely sophisticated genjutsu.
It didn't create false images to deceive you; instead, it directly attacked the sensory system that ninjas relied on to survive, turning you into a blind person with open eyes, a deaf person with ears.
Even for a seasoned jōnin like Minato, it caused a moment of mental stagnation lasting 0.8 seconds.
He needed time to assess the type of genjutsu and mobilize his chakra to break it.
0.8 seconds.
For Roy, that was enough.
The moment Yakumo cast her genjutsu, his figure had already burst forth from their hiding spot.
He wasn't charging at Minato, but towards the open space between Minato and Tokuma.
His speed, in that instant, was pushed to its limit, far exceeding what a genin should possess.
Just as Minato broke free from the genjutsu, Roy's figure brushed past him.
*Jingle.*
A clear, ringing sound.
Minato instinctively looked down; the two bells at his waist were gone.
He spun around.
Roy stood five meters behind him.
In his hand, he held the two silver bells aloft.
Tokuma Hyūga and Yakumo Kurama emerged from their respective positions and gathered beside him.
The three genin stood silently in a triangular formation, facing their instructor.
For the first time, the smile on Minato Namikaze's face vanished.
Replacing it was a complex expression, a mixture of surprise, astonishment, and profound approval.
Roy watched his teacher's expression, his own mind calm.
The window period for the genjutsu was zero point eight seconds.
The plan had succeeded.
Preliminary team data collection complete.