(There's a little bit of a mess with the chapter numbers, just ignore it)
Just like last time, Namikaze Minato used the Flying Thunder God Technique to transport the two squads multiple times, and in the blink of an eye, they arrived at the border of the Land of Waterfalls.
"I can only bring everyone this far. I've never been inside the Land of Waterfalls, so we'll have to explore the rest together," said Namikaze Minato.
"Minato-senpai, are there Iwa-nin inside the Land of Waterfalls?" Yamanaka Kagetsu asked.
"There shouldn't be. Iwa-nin's attitude toward the Hidden Waterfall is about the same as ours—mostly trying to win them over. It's unlikely they'd send shinobi into the country.
Also, the Land of Waterfalls houses the Seven-Tails. It's said the village has very strong control over it. While not to the point of cultivating a perfect jinchūriki like the Hidden Cloud, it can still participate in war.
A tailed beast capable of fighting is enough to influence the outcome of battles, so Iwa-nin likely won't take risks with the Waterfall either.
Our real challenge this time is eliminating those three targets without anyone noticing."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
They all transformed into the appearance of ordinary civilians and entered the Land of Waterfalls.
Every few dozen meters, Minato left behind a Flying Thunder God mark so that once the mission was complete, he could use them to rapidly extract the team.
As the group progressed deeper, Hyuga Asana and Yamanaka Kagetsu began to sense chakra-bearing individuals from time to time.
"Minato-senpai, 200 meters ahead to the right—shinobi approaching."
"Minato-senpai, southwest direction—shinobi approaching."
"Minato-senpai, north—shinobi approaching."
With Asana's Byakugan and Kagetsu's sensory abilities, the group smoothly avoided enemy shinobi and arrived at a massive waterfall.
"Minato-senpai, there are many chakra signatures behind the waterfall. The Hidden Waterfall Village is most likely located there," Kagetsu reported.
"Can you tell the exact location?" Minato asked.
"About 25 meters into the middle of the waterfall."
Minato estimated the height and continued asking, "Can you confirm how many guards are behind the waterfall?"
Hyuga Asana activated her Byakugan and examined the area closely before replying, "Only two guards."
"Only two? Isn't this wartime? Only two guards at the entrance? Aren't the Waterfall shinobi a bit too arrogant?" Kakashi said with a frown.
"They probably let their guard down, having not seen much war all these years," Uchiha Yuan said.
The Waterfall's attitude reminded him of the Leaf in some points of the original series.
Minato seemed similarly unconcerned. He turned to the group and said, "Wait here a moment." With that, he vanished from sight.
Moments later, he reappeared. "The guards are handled. Yuan, I'll leave outer perimeter security to you. Kakashi, Obito, Rin—let's go."
And with that, Minato's squad vanished again.
"What should we do, Yuan?" Kagetsu asked.
"Maintain perimeter surveillance and wait for Minato-senpai's team to return."
The group waited about twenty minutes until Minato's squad reappeared.
"Mission complete, Minato-senpai?" Uchiha Yuan asked.
Minato nodded and said, "It's done. I'll explain the details later—let's withdraw first."
With that, Minato transported everyone out from their position.
After several rapid shifts, Minato brought both teams to the outskirts of the Land of Waterfalls.
He then detailed the operation to Yuan's squad.
While Minato was speaking, a group of civilians suddenly came running out from the Land of Waterfalls—directly into their path.
Yamanaka Kagetsu instinctively used his sensory ability, and his expression immediately changed.
"Minato-senpai, Yuan—this guy's off. His chakra is massive! I've never sensed anything like it!" Kagetsu pointed at a middle-aged man among the civilians.
Uchiha Yuan immediately assumed a combat stance.
Minato, not daring to be careless, tightened his grip on a Flying Thunder God kunai.
The civilians obviously hadn't expected to run into Konoha shinobi either.
"Damn it! Why are there Leaf ninja here?!" the middle-aged man barked at his subordinates.
"We have no idea either!"
"Hmph! You don't know? Could it be that Ōnoki arranged this on purpose? Trying to make me clash with the Yellow Flash of Konoha? If we both die, it's two birds with one stone for him."
"Rōshi-sama, you misunderstand. The Tsuchikage-sama would never do that."
Rōshi snorted coldly, tired of arguing. He formed a hand seal, and his entire body was instantly cloaked in molten lava.
"Lava Release Chakra Mode? This guy is the Four-Tails' jinchūriki!" Minato quickly warned Yuan and the others.
In truth, Yuan had guessed Rōshi's identity the moment he saw the lava—he had seen this move in the original series.
Rōshi, along with other jinchūriki, had been reincarnated by Kabuto and led by Obito to ambush Naruto and Killer Bee in the forest.
In that battle, Rōshi's molten armor couldn't even be pierced by Nine-Tails Mode Rasengan—Naruto had even gotten burned.
Originally, Yuan had thought Rōshi's Lava Release came from the Four-Tails' chakra. But seeing this now, it seemed Rōshi could use Lava Release on his own, without needing the tailed beast's chakra.
"To encounter the Four-Tails' jinchūriki here is not good news. Iwa-nin are probably trying to use him for something. Yuan, I need your help to bring him down," Minato said seriously.
Yuan didn't want to fight, but Rōshi was already charging. It seemed he had no choice.
"Minato-senpai, what should we do?"
"Yuan, you're good with Water Release, right? Try using it to slow him down."
Yuan nodded and formed a seal: "Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
A ferocious water dragon surged toward Rōshi.
Rōshi sneered—his lava couldn't be extinguished by such a basic Water Release.
Sure enough, when the Water Dragon Bullet collided with his magma, the lava didn't diminish—instead, it burned even fiercer.
The water and lava clashed, sending steam billowing into the air and obscuring vision.
Rōshi couldn't determine the Konoha squad's position.
Meanwhile, on the Konoha side, Minato and Yuan's squads had already been linked by Yamanaka Kagetsu's Mind Transmission Technique. Through it, they shared sensory awareness—Rōshi's location was fully exposed.
Happy New Year, everyone.
(To Be Continued...)