Looking at the young girl beside him, Minamikawa Yuu was first puzzled and then came to a realization.
According to their ages and the setting, Kurenai Yuhi, Might Guy, and Asuma Sarutobi were all students who graduated in the same class.
Because the intensity of the war continued to escalate, Konoha had now pulled not just graduated Ninja, but even students who hadn't officially graduated yet onto the battlefield.
As far as Minamikawa Yuu knew, even the Third Hokage's own son—one of the future Twelve Guardian Ninja, Asuma Sarutobi—had been sent to the front lines at this moment.
When even the Hokage's own son couldn't escape the fate of going to the battlefield, there was no need to mention Kurenai Yuhi and the others.
"What are you looking at?"
The girl's voice suddenly rang out from in front of him.
Feeling Minamikawa Yuu's gaze, Kurenai Yuhi frowned, looking somewhat displeased.
"Ah, sorry."
Hearing her voice, a smile appeared on Minamikawa Yuu's face: "Miss Kurenai is simply too beautiful; I couldn't help but look for a while longer."
"I'm sorry if I caused you any trouble."
He apologized with sincere regret.
Looking at Minamikawa Yuu behaving like this, it was actually Kurenai Yuhi who felt a bit embarrassed now.
Normally, no girl dislikes receiving praise from others.
Especially when the one praising you is a child who looks quite young.
In this instant, Kurenai Yuhi couldn't help but feel a sense of goodwill toward Minamikawa Yuu.
"For the upcoming mission, I'll have to ask you two to look after me."
Seeing that his two teammates weren't saying much, Minamikawa Yuu took the initiative to speak with a sincere expression: "I know some Medical Ninjutsu, but I'm really not very proficient in combat. I only hope I won't hold you back."
"Don't worry."
Hyuga Fu, who was standing to the side, turned and spoke indifferently: "When we encounter combat later, you just need to hide behind us and be responsible for healing us."
"As for anything else, I'm enough on my own."
His face carried a sense of pride; he seemed very confident in his own strength.
Kurenai Yuhi also nodded from the side, her gaze toward Minamikawa Yuu remaining quite peaceful.
"Alright."
The leading Jonin in front spoke indifferently: "There's no need for any more small talk."
"Let's begin our mission."
He spoke plainly, ending the group's conversation.
Following the leading Jonin, the group began to advance rapidly.
This time, the mission their squad received was to sneak into an Iwagakure stronghold and clear out various traps and arrangements left by the enemy under the cover of night.
The mission proceeded quite easily at the start.
The quality of the members within the entire squad was quite good; besides Minamikawa Yuu, even Kurenai Yuhi—who was theoretically the weakest—possessed the strength of a Chunin and mastered a decent level of Genjutsu.
On the foundation of this member quality, they were also paired with a Jonin, an elite Medical Ninja, and a member of the Hyuga Branch House who possessed the Byakugan.
With such a configuration, it was truly difficult to run into any problems.
Unfortunately, if nothing goes wrong, something will eventually go wrong.
During a surprise attack, they fell into an enemy trap.
Ninja are a very vigilant group of people.
While you are plotting to kill the enemy, the enemy is also plotting how to make you fall into a trap and what means to use to kill you.
The Iwa Ninja were exactly like this.
In certain specific locations, the Iwa Ninja had deliberately laid traps, just waiting for the Konoha people to plunge right in.
Regarding these traps, some people were lucky enough to avoid them, while others fell inside.
Minamikawa Yuu's squad were among the unfortunate ones.
To better facilitate their escape, they split into two routes.
The leading Jonin drew the attention of most of the enemies and broke out in another direction.
Hyuga Fu's trio headed in a different direction.
During the breakout, Hyuga Fu's chest was pierced.
The Kunai hit with great precision, just a hair's breadth away from piercing his heart, nearly causing him to die on the spot.
At this moment, he was still just barely holding on.
Despite this, he was on the verge of falling unconscious, hanging on by his last breath.
"Put me down."
Struggling, Hyuga Fu spoke with difficulty: "If you keep carrying me, you'll both die."
"Put me down, I'll... cover your breakout."
As a member of the Hyuga Clan, Hyuga Fu was proud.
He could not allow himself to become a burden, and he struggled now to stand up.
Unfortunately, his injuries were too severe; he didn't even have the strength to struggle to his feet.
"Your physical condition isn't very good."
Minamikawa Yuu spoke softly: "It's better if you don't move around."
As he spoke, he placed one hand in front of Hyuga Fu's chest and gently brushed over it.
A surge of warm Chakra poured into Hyuga Fu's body, temporarily stabilizing his injuries and easing his pain.
"Thank you, Yuu."
Hyuga Fu took a deep breath: "But in the current situation, it's already impossible for all three of us to leave."
"Yuu, you and Kurenai are still young; there's no need to die here."
"Let me stay behind."
As a Hyuga, Hyuga Fu's value among the three was the greatest.
If he acted as a decoy, it would be enough to attract the Iwagakure's attention and buy time for his two teammates to escape.
This was the best method available right now.
However, facing his proposal, Minamikawa Yuu only smiled and applied a slight amount of force with his hand.
A wisp of Chakra was transmitted, injected into Hyuga Fu's body, directly causing him to faint.
After doing all this, he finally turned his gaze to Kurenai Yuhi beside him.
"Kurenai, you guys go first."
"Yuu?"
Kurenai Yuhi's eyes widened: "What do you want to do?"
"Whether it's you or Senior Fu, you're both outstanding and excellent Ninja."
Meeting Kurenai Yuhi's gaze, Minamikawa Yuu spoke softly: "I'm different from you."
"I don't have outstanding talent as a Ninja; I'm just an ordinary person."
"Rather than surviving alone, I'd rather use this life to buy some time for you."
As his voice fell, he tossed the unconscious Hyuga Fu to Kurenai Yuhi and ran off in the opposite direction.
"Yuu!"
Behind him, Kurenai Yuhi's eyes were wide; she wanted to shout loudly to make him stop.
But in the end, she didn't do it.
They were still being pursued, and enemy Ninja could appear from the surroundings at any time.
If she made too much noise, they would likely be discovered by the enemy immediately.
Once that happened, her companion's noble intentions would be wasted.
Standing in place, she stared at Minamikawa Yuu's back for a moment, then quickly made a decision and left the area while carrying Hyuga Fu.
However, during this process, her eyes couldn't help but fill with traces of tears, her heart feeling an inexplicable weight.
Minamikawa Yuu continued forward.
Since he was acting as a decoy, he naturally didn't hide anything; he walked forward as if taking a leisurely stroll.
In just a moment, he was discovered by the Iwa Ninja.
Several Iwa Ninja appeared, moving in from all directions to surround Minamikawa Yuu.
"Is it just a kid?"