Orochimaru felt no psychological pressure about infiltrating the rear of the Kumogakure encampment.
Even when the defenses of Kumogakure were at their tightest, he had still managed to slip in, assassinate the Eight-Tails' Jinchūriki, Blue B, and retreat completely unscathed.
This time, the only reason he brought Minato along was to have a backup—not because he was afraid.
As for Takeshi...
It was purely out of curiosity toward the child that Orochimaru brought him along.
With the brilliant minds of Orochimaru and Minato, plus Takeshi's relatively average brain supplementing them, the three only needed three days of observation. From the frequency, speed, and number of transport teams, they accurately pinpointed the location of Kumogakure's temporary supply base and stealthily approached through the corpses of hidden and exposed sentries alike.
During the approach, neither Minato nor Takeshi had a chance to act. Orochimaru simply summoned a few white snakes and had them bite the concealed enemies with their venomous fangs, killing them all without raising a single alarm.
Not only that, Orochimaru even used his snakes to learn the exact contents and quantity of supplies stored in the fortress ahead.
This skill was seriously overpowered.
Watching Orochimaru communicate flawlessly with the snakes, Takeshi felt that this ability was simply too practical during wartime.
"Not bad. This is the place. Minato, once the explosion starts, the enemies rushing over will be yours to deal with. You and Takeshi will handle it."
Orochimaru glanced at Takeshi, who was too nervous to speak, then calmly shifted his gaze away. Under the watchful eyes of the two, he gradually vanished from sight.
...
"Minato-san, do you think Orochimaru-sama could fail?"
Gripping his kunai tightly, Takeshi looked curiously in the direction Orochimaru had gone and asked Minato.
Minato: "..."
Caught off guard by such a question, Minato cleared his throat and replied confidently:
"Don't worry. Orochimaru-sama is one of the Legendary Sannin. He excels at infiltration missions, just like Jiraiya-sensei. He's an expert at recon behind enemy lines."
"Besides, even if he did fail, you and I are still here, aren't we?"
He gave Takeshi a bright, sunny smile, but before he could say more, a series of explosions erupted from within the Kumogakure encampment.
"It's happening!"
The smile on Minato's face disappeared in an instant. He pulled a handful of Flying Thunder God kunai from his ninja pouch and hurled them all around, then vanished from Takeshi's sight in a flash.
"Holy crap, he really is the fastest man in the ninja world!"
Watching Minato disappear before his eyes, Takeshi hurriedly crawled out from his hiding spot, picked a location that looked decent enough, and used Demonic Ice Mirror to teleport there.
...
"What the hell is going on?!"
Hearing the explosions, Transport Commander Torimu rushed out of his tent. As flames rose higher and higher, he instinctively grabbed a nearby running Kumo shinobi to question him.
But before his hand even reached the man, a flash of white light passed by—his entire arm was sliced clean off.
The attacker was none other than the very "comrade" he had tried to stop.
"You bastard..."
Realizing that the man was an enemy spy disguised as an ally, Torimu had no time to call out before Orochimaru, still in disguise, lopped off his head with a single slash.
In the ensuing chaos, many Kumo shinobi witnessed this scene and quickly realized that the enemy had disguised themselves among them. Abandoning the fires, they roared in rage and charged straight at Orochimaru.
"Damn it."
Orochimaru cursed under his breath. He had planned to use the confusion to slip away, but Torimu had stupidly tried to stop him. Now the infiltration was only half-successful.
Fortunately, he'd brought Minato along this time. Sometimes, a little caution truly paid off.
Not willing to get entangled with Kumogakure's forces, Orochimaru turned and sprinted toward the spot where Minato and Takeshi were lying in ambush, dragging the enemy horde behind him.
This... is way too many!
Crouched in a tree, Takeshi watched the muscular, dark-skinned men chasing Orochimaru and twitched involuntarily, his mind filling with unfortunate associations.
As the first Kumo shinobi stepped into the range of Minato's Flying Thunder God kunai, a streak of yellow light flashed by. A long arc of blood sprayed from his neck, and he dropped to the ground clutching his throat in vain.
Then came the second... and the third...
As more and more Kumo shinobi fell, the ones arriving next instinctively stopped in their tracks. Minato had not yet earned the title "Yellow Flash," so they didn't understand what was happening. They only saw a blur of yellow light dancing among them.
Having wiped out a large number of enemies in a flash and forced the rest to a halt, Minato returned to his original position and signaled to Takeshi, who was perched atop a treetop.
"Got it. Ice Release!"
A massive sea of ice surged toward the frozen Kumo shinobi, crushing their hesitation. Blood sprayed across the ice as screams and wails filled the air. Only a few quick-witted ones managed to dodge in time. They now stood on the ice with grim expressions, staring at the bloodied corpses of their comrades beneath the frozen sea.
"If I were you, I wouldn't stand on that ice."
Facing the Kumo shinobi now confronting him with weapons drawn, Takeshi "kindly" gave them a reminder as he began forming hand seals.
The ice beneath their feet suddenly exploded, blasting the remaining Kumo shinobi skyward. Even the ones who had survived the first attack with injuries were now completely finished.
A cloud of icy mist mixed with blood spread outward, mirroring the explosions still echoing through the nearby encampment—an eerie, haunting beauty.
...
"Let's go."
Orochimaru appeared, having witnessed Takeshi's display of strength. His raspy voice served as a quiet reminder.
"Yes, Orochimaru-sama."
Takeshi nodded, avoiding looking at the horrific scene before him. After leaping down from the tree, he placed a few explosive tags as traps in case of pursuit before finally departing.
As the three retreated, human body parts and unrecognizable fragments scattered across the ground, producing a wet, unpleasant squelch.
...
By the time young A received word and led reinforcements to the site, the camp had already been blown to pieces. Most of the surviving Kumo shinobi had gathered near a patch of red-soaked earth, their eyes filled with fear.
As A approached, the man known for his bravery and fearlessness felt a chill in his heart.
This wasn't some red-soiled ground—it was a hellscape constructed from blood and corpses.
"Damn it! Who the hell did this?!"
Suppressing the disgust within him, A growled furiously and looked toward the surviving shinobi.
These were all Kumo shinobi who had stayed behind to salvage supplies and hadn't joined the pursuit. Only a few of them had seen fragments of the fight from across the camp.
"We only saw a massive surge of ice in the woods, and then... there were explosions everywhere..."
"Damn it! That damned Shimura brat with the Ice Release again!"
The moment he heard "ice," A immediately knew who the attacker was. Crackling lightning surged violently over his entire body.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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