Kumogakure – Raikage's Office, Raikage Tower.
The desk shattered days ago by the Third Raikage had already been replaced. Though fury still simmered beneath his expression, the Raikage looked down at the two young shinobi standing before him—Darui and Roy—and masked his anger with a gentle, grandfatherly smile.
In a calm tone, he asked:
"Darui, Roy. Can you tell me… who attacked our village?"
The Third Raikage's kind demeanor brought Darui and Roy to tears. Faces streaked with sorrow, their voices trembled with hatred as they shouted in unison:
"It was Sunagakure!"
...
Furuyama Clan Compound.
Elsewhere, Renchi Furuyama slowly opened his eyes from unconsciousness. At his bedside stood Renjou Furuyama, silent and leaning on a cane.
"F-Father…"
Renchi's voice was hoarse and weak.
Renjou gave a slight nod, then asked coldly:
"Who did this to you?"
"And—has the one who killed Renbu been found?"
Renchi blinked slowly, forcing out a strained reply:
"It… it was either someone from Konoha or Sunagakure."
"We've identified the one who killed Renbu. It was that brat… Veigar Koshima, from Konoha."
"But… I failed to kill him."
Then, Renchi explained everything—the details of the ambush, what he'd seen, and what had happened in Konoha before the attack.
After hearing it all, Renjou simply said:
"Focus on recovering."
And without another word, he turned and walked out, his face a mask of icy resolve.
...
Border of the Land of Fire.
Team Minato had already closed in on the location of the four Sunagakure shinobi. As planned, each member slipped into their designated position around the enemy—and then, at the exact same moment, struck.
"Don't move."
In an instant, the four Suna-nin were subdued. Each was held tightly, and their captors whispered cold warnings into their ears.
Among the captives, the ones restrained by Minato and Veigar were puppet users—a notorious type of shinobi from Sunagakure.
Stunned, the Sunagakure shinobis hadn't even realized they'd been taken until it was too late.
"You're with the Leaf, aren't you?"
The first to regain composure was Shutei, a jōnin-class puppet master now pinned by Minato. Seeing his three subordinates already captured, he confidently addressed the man behind him.
Just then, Veigar—who had been maintaining a constant chakra-sensing technique—called out sharply:
"Sensei! Behind you!"
Without hesitation, Veigar slashed his ninjatō across his captive's throat, aiming to eliminate the threat before it could retaliate.
Minato, understanding immediately, made the same decision.
But just as Veigar's warning left his lips, Shutei activated a pre-prepared jutsu, instantly switching places with the puppet strapped to his back.
Sunagakure's puppet masters were infamous in the shinobi world. Though they were often considered weak in taijutsu, their strength lay in their creations—and they were well known to prepare backup techniques, such as the Puppet Substitution Technique, to protect themselves.
Veigar had sensed unusual chakra movement within both targets. It was that subtle shift that tipped him off—and led him to strike first, while warning Minato.
Veigar's blade sliced through his target's throat in a blur. Blood spurted violently—the puppet master hadn't completed his escape jutsu in time.
Minato's custom-marked kunai, however, had struck only the puppet. The bandages on its back unraveled rapidly, and a leg lashed out at Minato.
"Rasengan."
But Shutei had made one fatal mistake—he underestimated Minato's reaction speed.
The moment the puppet's bandages stirred, Minato had already located his real position. In a heartbeat, a Rasengan swirled into being in Minato's palm.
Boom.
Before Shutei's kick could land, Minato drove the Rasengan into his chest.
"Gurh…!"
Shutei spat blood and collapsed, unconscious from the sheer force of the impact.
"Retreat."
Though the operation hadn't gone perfectly, Minato remained calm and efficient. He issued the command to withdraw, slinging the unconscious Shutei over his shoulder as he disappeared into the forest.
Kakashi and Shōgetsu followed suit. After knocking their captives unconscious with well-placed strikes to the neck, they hoisted them and quickly retreated after their sensei.
Veigar, who had killed his target outright, remained at the rear. As the team withdrew, he meticulously erased their tracks to delay pursuit.
...
Moments Later – Nearby Forest.
Two Sunagakure squads—eight shinobi in total—arrived, having heard the commotion. They quickly gathered around the body of the fallen puppet master.
One of the Suna jōnin muttered gravely:
"Shutei and two of his men are missing…"
"Most likely taken by Konoha shinobi."
Another jōnin asked:
"Shall we pursue?"
The first nodded without hesitation:
"We pursue."
"Alive or dead, we bring them back."
Before he finished speaking, he was already sprinting toward Team Minato's trail.
As a puppet master of jōnin rank, Shutei's corpse held immense value—not to mention the greater risk: Shutei knew critical details about Sunagakure's layout near Mount Hiuba.
For experienced jōnin, the traces Veigar had erased weren't perfect. They could tell at a glance that the cleanup was rushed—amateurish.
Quickly, the two squads split and left the boundaries of Mount Hiuba's territory… but soon found themselves frustrated.
In a clever twist, Veigar had intentionally left multiple false trails just as they arrived, diverting the Suna squads away from the team's actual escape route.
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