After killing Pakura on the Sand battlefield, he had continued operating within the combat zone, rescuing Konoha ninja.
At the time, his Flying Raijin Technique allowed him to shuttle back and forth across the battlefield nonstop, and he discovered that he quite liked the feeling.
So even when facing the young A and more than twenty jonin, he was still eager to try.
There was no other reason.
The Flying Raijin gave him confidence.
As long as there were Flying Raijin kunai placed elsewhere, he could immediately take people with him and retreat.
Safety was never a concern.
Minato thought to himself, glancing at Hatake Sakumo, then at the chunin hiding in other positions.
At that moment, Hatake Sakumo spoke in a low voice beside him, "Get ready."
"Mm!" Minato immediately lowered his body and carefully looked toward the direction of the Cloud ninja.
He didn't even dare look at them directly, instead using only the corner of his eye to observe them.
Some people were extremely sensitive to being stared at.
Even though the ninja academy hadn't taught him much, Minato still knew this much.
At this moment, Minato and Hatake Sakumo stopped talking entirely, silently watching the Cloud ninja drawing closer and closer.
The other chunin hid themselves even more thoroughly.
Their plan was very simple.
Since they didn't know how many Cloud ninja there would be, Hatake Sakumo had already explained things beforehand.
If there weren't many Cloud ninja, everyone would attack together, with him and Namikaze Minato responsible for restraining or killing the Cloud ninja leader.
But if there were many Cloud jonin, then he and Minato would charge first, drawing as much attention as possible.
Meanwhile, the others would wait for an opportunity to destroy the supplies and provisions.
"Yo yo yo, Konoha is surrounded, the Cloud is invincible, the Sand are idiots, and we are victorious."
"Bee, stop singing." The young A frowned and looked at the small Killer Bee beside him.
"We're getting closer and closer to the front lines. Stay alert."
"Don't worry, stupid big brother!"
"Those foolish Konoha ninja could never discover us!"
Killer Bee spoke in rhymes, but despite his words, his movements became noticeably more cautious.
Seeing this, the young A said nothing more.
As long as they were alert, that was enough.
With so many jonin—and himself protecting them—there was no way anyone could destroy these supplies and provisions.
Thinking of the more than twenty jonin following behind him, his heart relaxed a little.
But just as they were about to continue moving forward, a blade's gleam suddenly flashed out from the side, instantly cutting down two jonin on the spot.
Hatake Sakumo appeared right after that flash of steel, standing before everyone.
Along with that blade-light came three strangely shaped kunai. But when Hatake Sakumo appeared, no one paid those kunai any attention.
They assumed they were just a feint he had thrown out.
However—
A streak of golden light flashed beside the kunai they had dismissed.
Namikaze Minato entered the battlefield.
Before anyone could even react, Minato transformed into a stream of golden radiance, flowing along the paths of the kunai.
Every time a kunai appeared beside someone, Minato followed like a shadow. In the blink of an eye, three jonin and four or five genin responsible for transporting supplies were cut down on the spot.
You can't catch the flash!
This was Minato.
The Flying Raijin Technique—
A god-tier move for crushing fodder!
After the two of them appeared, the Cloud ninja finally reacted.
"Damn it!"
"Bastards! They actually ambushed us!"
"What's worse is that they killed five of our people!"
"Hatake Sakumo! Namikaze Minato!" The young A roared in fury. "You are courting death!"
"Then come and try." Hatake Sakumo's expression didn't change as he calmly looked at the young A.
"Hmph!" Seeing his attitude, the young A snorted coldly. "Do you know who I am?"
Not long ago, under his father's guidance, he had learned Hell Stab: Four-Finger Nukite!
This was a ninjutsu created by his father himself.
A technique hailed as the strongest spear.
Thinking of this, the young A couldn't help but feel proud.
This was his father!
The strongest Raikage, known as the man who possessed both the strongest shield and the strongest spear!
As his son, he felt immense pride!
The Four-Finger Nukite had four stages:
Three-Finger Nukite,
Two-Finger Nukite,
and the ultimate One-Finger Nukite.
This was the strongest taijutsu developed by the Third Raikage.
In the past, he had repeatedly suppressed the Eight-Tails' rampages. Using the Hell Stab: One-Finger Nukite—bearing the title of the strongest spear—the Third Raikage had directly shattered all eight of the Eight-Tails' tails.
A man who wielded the power of a tailed beast.
However, that battle had been extremely fierce. Both the Third Raikage and the Eight-Tails collapsed from exhaustion before they could unleash their final moves.
Because of that incident, the Third Raikage left a lightning-shaped scar on his chest—self-inflicted by his own attack. Viewing it as the greatest shame of his life, he refused to ever mention it again.
But now, he has passed this technique on to his son.
Even though the young A could only perform Hell Stab: Four-Finger Nukite so far—its power far inferior to his father's—combined with the Lightning Release Chakra Mode and the Lightning Armor, his strength already ranked among the top tiers of the ninja world.
That was why he had felt conflicted about this mission.
He hoped to safely escort the supplies back to the front lines, yet also hoped to encounter a strong enemy so he could test his skills.
He had been conflicted the entire way.
But now that Hatake Sakumo and Namikaze Minato had appeared, that hesitation vanished.
"Come!" The young A shouted loudly. "Konoha's White Fang—let me see the measure of your strength!"
"Taijutsu: Lightning Release Armor!"
With a fierce roar, lightning armor surged around the young A's body. His thumbs bent slightly, while his other four fingers extended straight.
Facing Hatake Sakumo, he showed no carelessness at all.
This was a powerful ninja whose name had been famous for a long time.
Even if he wasn't afraid, he still needed proper caution.
Seeing the young A's stance, Hatake Sakumo also became wary.
While they clashed on one side, Minato turned his gaze toward the Cloud jonin gradually surrounding him.
"Do you know what space is?"
After saying this, before they could respond, Minato reached behind him and pulled out ten Flying Raijin kunai.
"Ninjutsu: Scatter-All-the-Kunai Technique!"
As his voice fell, ten kunai shot out in all directions.
"Lightning Release: Wall!"
"Lightning Release: Lightning Binding!"
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Minato merely threw his kunai, while the surrounding Cloud ninja immediately unleashed ninjutsu in response.
They didn't understand the existence of the Flying Raijin, and Minato's sudden appearances and disappearances had already filled them with fear.
A technique that appeared and vanished without warning was simply too abnormal.
But they weren't fools either.
From the way Minato had entered the battlefield, they could tell that he seemed to rely on those kunai to teleport.
So when Minato hurled his kunai toward them, they chose to counter directly with ninjutsu.