Hearing Minato's words, the chūnin and genin forced themselves to muster some spirit, drawing their weapons to face the enemy.
Minato glanced back at the earthen walls, wishing he possessed his Hoshiyomi-sensei's ability to cut through anything with a single swing of his blade.
He could only dispel his own chakra wall and lead his men to open terrain to engage the enemy.
The Sunagakure shinobi weren't slow. As soon as Konoha's squad stepped out from the enclosure of the earth walls, the enemy was already upon Minato, giving them no chance to regroup.
The distance was too close, and the enemy outnumbered them. Escape was impossible; their only option was to fight.
With that resolve, Minato didn't hesitate. He drew a pair of finely forged kunai, readying himself for battle.
Across from him, the leading jōnin sized him up with a thin smile. "Looks like I've caught myself quite a big fish."
As soon as these words fell, the Sunagakure shinobi moved all at once. The puppeteers pulled out their puppets, while other shinobi either formed hand seals or grinned menacingly as they drew their kunai, preparing to attack.
The battle erupted instantly, and the Konoha forces were immediately overwhelmed, falling into a crushing disadvantage.
The more Minato fought, the more alarmed he became. The enemy's combat prowess was simply too high; the two teams were on completely different levels.
Within just a few exchanges, nearly all of their genin had been killed or wounded, and the chūnin were also sustaining injuries.
Clang!
Minato's kunai clashed with that of the Suna jōnin captain. Forced back a step, he frowned at the faint smile on his opponent's face and the disastrous scene around him.
Minato's keen senses told him something was terribly wrong. This squad's combat strength was far too high—thirty men, almost entirely composed of chunin and jōnin, with no fewer than five jōnin among them.
Such an elite force would normally only be deployed for high-level missions. There was no way this was a routine patrol.
The enemy leader's words earlier—"I've caught myself quite a big fish"—had been delivered as though this encounter were accidental. But according to Masaki, this team had clearly been observing them for quite some time, making it impossible for this to be a spur-of-the-moment decision.
And there was another point that bothered Minato deeply: he himself had no real notoriety within Sunagakure.
He knew the saying: "The bird that stands out gets shot." Though he had completed numerous missions, he had always been careful to hide his true abilities. Moreover, he had never left survivors among the Suna shinobi he'd faced.
If no one had lived to spread word of his strength, why had the enemy immediately called him a "big fish"?
Could it be an intelligence leak? Even if it was an intelligence leak, it didn't make sense to set up this kind of trap for a mere child like him. Unless... a chilling possibility came to Minato's mind.
No. Even if I die, I can't let Sensei Hoshiyomi get involved.
Minato's face turned pale as he vaguely guessed the truth of the matter. Without a moment of hesitation, he raised the kunai in his hand and aimed it at his heart.
Seeing the Sunagakure Captain's face twist in shock, Minato finally smiled. He had been right all along—their true target was Hoshiyomi-sensei, who stood behind him.
Too bad for you, then. I'll never let you harm Hoshiyomi-sensei. As long as I'm dead, you won't even think about laying a finger on him.
With this thought, Minato no longer hesitated and decisively thrust the kunai towards his heart.
But in the next instant, his hand seemed to be completely out of his control. No matter how much force he used, the kunai wouldn't budge an inch further.
"Well, aren't you a clever little boy," came an aged female voice from the distance. "To have guessed my intention so quickly. That makes you far too dangerous to be left alive. Don't worry—once I've dealt with your sensei, I'll send you down to join him."
Startled, Minato looked up sharply. His hand was bound by a thin strand of chakra thread, its other end leading back to the left hand of a middle-aged woman emerging from the shadows.
In that instant, Minato knew exactly who she was…
Sunagakure's elder—Chiyo!
Damn it… I've been tricked.
...
Konoha Main Command Camp.
Hoshiyomi had been in the middle of discussing the next stage of the battle plan with Orochimaru when a hurried voice interrupted.
"Hoshiyomi-sama! Something terrible has happened. Captain Minato has encountered powerful Suna shinobi in the forest near the frontlines. Please, you must dispatch reinforcements immediately!"
Upon hearing this, Hoshiyomi shot up to his feet. He helped the chunin who was kneeling on the ground, and quickly asked for the specific situation.
When he heard that Minato was surrounded by a team that outnumbered them by more than one and a half times, his expression also changed. He immediately turned back to Orochimaru.
"I'll leave the next stage of the operation to you for now. Once I bring Minato back, we'll resume planning."
Orochimaru frowned, unease flickering in his golden eyes.
"Couldn't this be a trap? Perhaps you should take some reinforcements with you."
Hoshiyomi hesitated briefly, then nodded.
"Fine. Gather around thirty shinobi and follow after me. I'll go check the situation first and see if I can save a few of them."
With that, Hoshiyomi hurried out of the tent. He summoned Lobo and had him quickly take him to the location.
Along the way, Hoshiyomi considered the possibility of an ambush, but in the end he didn't take it to heart. The reason was simple: he had enough confidence to face any sudden situation.
Even putting aside other factors, just relying on the four-stage displacement of his Dance of the Startled Swan skill, he was sure he could take Minato out safely.
Lobo was extremely fast, and the location where Minato encountered the enemy wasn't too far from the Konoha camp. Therefore, it only took Hoshiyomi about an hour to get there.
The moment Hoshiyomi appeared, he keenly sensed that something was wrong. His sharp perception clearly detected that the number of enemy chakra signatures didn't match the report.
There were at least fifty chakra signatures here. But Hoshiyomi had no time to think about that—he had already located Minato's chakra.
As long as Minato was alive, Hoshiyomi would never abandon his disciple. And besides, he had confidence in himself. Even if many enemies lay in ambush, he was sure he could escape unscathed.
Dismounting from Lobo, Hoshiyomi called out boldly:
"Enough hiding. Come out, all of you!"
As soon as his words rang out, Chiyo emerged from the trees, dragging Minato by the arm. She casually removed the gag in his mouth, and Minato's urgent voice burst out:
"Sensei! Forget about me, just run! There are more enemies lying in ambush beyond the ones you can sense! You're the commander of Konoha's forces, you can't—mmpf!"
Before Minato could finish, Chiyo stuffed the gag back in. Glancing at Hoshiyomi's darkening expression, she couldn't help but gloat:
"Well then, Konoha's Silver Moon… how do you plan on answering this little dilemma of mine?"