Although the Konoha squad leader's body had briefly surged with adrenal strength—his final desperate burst triggered by pure survival instinct—it vanished as quickly as it came. The moment his last-ditch attack failed and he was knocked flying, his strength collapsed with it. He was now completely incapable of resistance.
Yet even with the threat seemingly neutralized, the entire Hidden Cloud infiltration team remained on edge. No one relaxed. Their gazes stayed locked on the blood-soaked, unmoving form of the Leaf ninja.
Whether it was the wild, beastlike desperation of his last strike, or the defiant refusal to die even at death's door, they all felt it—a sliver of respect. Even the scion, who'd scorned Konoha moments before, was now solemnly watching the fallen man.
Because no matter how weak, no matter how hopeless… those who refuse to surrender in the face of death command respect.
Especially when, had the captain not been so vigilant, the Leaf shinobi might've succeeded—dragging No. 3 into death with him.
"Phew… looks like he's finally done struggling. Though, maybe I overdid it a bit just now..."
The captain's tone was light, but his caution never wavered. Without even turning his head, he reached toward his weapons pouch, calmly drawing two fresh kunai as he gave an order.
"No. 2, check if he's still breathing. If he dies, we'll have to forcibly drag No. 3 back out. With her half-baked version of the mind jutsu… she might actually follow him."
He didn't mock the fallen man. No more "idiot," no more "trash." His tone was respectful. And instead of sending the scion, he sent No. 2, their strongest fighter, to confirm it personally.
That alone spoke volumes.
"See? This is what happens when you let No. 3 use that cursed jutsu… Now I've got to clean up your mess. Pain in the ass."
Muttering to himself, No. 2's massive frame began crackling with faint arcs of electricity. He wasn't taking any chances. Even for a nearly dead opponent, he cloaked himself in Lightning Release—just in case.
A decision that would accidentally save his life.
'Someone… anyone… please… save me…'
The squad leader couldn't move. Pain dug deep into his skull as the remnants of No. 3's invasive chakra gnawed at his sanity. His lips barely moved as he prayed in silence.
'I… I don't want to die…'
"...He's already given up?"
No. 2 approached cautiously, watching the man's eyelids flutter closed. The clawed trench beneath his fingers told the truth—it wasn't surrender. He simply had nothing left to give.
"You lasted through her jutsu and still tried to fight back… Not bad. Wrong village, though."
Normally, sympathizing with an enemy mid-battle would mark a shinobi as a fool. But No. 2 couldn't help himself. The Leaf ninja's defiance had impressed him.
"Alright then… Let's end this. Gotta tie you up, just in case."
He reached for rope, relaxed slightly, and stepped in to finish the job.
That's when he saw it.
A streak of gold flashing through the trees.
What the hell—reinforcements?!
He immediately raised a hand signal to alert the others—only to freeze in disbelief.
The figure moved like lightning.
In a blink, the blur of gold closed a distance of dozens of meters and appeared less than three meters from him.
'This speed—! Who the hell is this guy—?!'
No. 2 never finished his sentence.
The newcomer thrust a glowing blue sphere straight into his chest.
Rasengan.
It shattered his lightning armor like paper, then sent the giant of a man spinning through the air, his body ragdolling before crashing into the forest beyond.
"...W-What the hell…"
The entire Hidden Cloud squad went pale.
Even the scion didn't dare sneer. Their eyes met, wide with disbelief.
That face. That cloak. That hair.
That kunai.
"You… You… You're—!"
—
'That voice… someone answered me… Someone really came…'
The Leaf squad leader stirred.
He cracked his eyes open, expecting to see a teammate—maybe even just an ally.
What he saw instead made his breath hitch in his throat.
That blond hair.
That white cloak billowing in the breeze.
Those unmistakable red kanji down his back:
Fourth Hokage.
'Y-You… You're…!'
Minato Namikaze.
Konoha's Yellow Flash.
Their reactions were instant—and identical.
'He's alive?!'
The man who was supposed to be dead, a hero of the Third Great Ninja War, the one who had sacrificed himself to stop the Nine-Tails…
Was standing right here.
Alive.
"Dammit… That Flying Thunder God sneak attack with Rasengan to the vitals, and he still isn't down? Looks like I've still got work to do."
Minato's smile twitched.
Behind him, the wounded Leaf shinobi began trembling uncontrollably, tears falling like rain. He couldn't speak—but his mouth moved, eyes wide with joy.
'He's alive… The Fourth Hokage is alive… I'm safe… I'm really safe…!'
But for the Cloud team…
It was a nightmare.
The captain's thoughts raced.
'No… No, no, no! He's supposed to be DEAD! That was CONFIRMED! He DIED during the Nine-Tails attack! There's no way he's alive—this is impossible!'
He wasn't just afraid. He was terrified.
The Yellow Flash wasn't a legend to him. He had faced him in the war. The fear burned into his bones.
And every Hidden Cloud shinobi had been given a standing order for years:
If you encounter the Yellow Flash—do not fight. Do not hesitate. Run.
And now, the man they were ordered to flee from without question…
…was standing between them and their target.
'That's it… this mission was never about kidnapping Hinata. The Elders… they wanted to use this to confirm whether he was still alive! And clean house! We're just disposable tools!'
As panic surged, Minato stepped forward.
His tone remained kind—but his chakra told another story.
"Looks like I've got some uninvited guests," he said softly, spinning a Three-Pronged Kunai between his fingers.
"You know my name. So you should also know what it means… when someone walks into my village… uninvited."
His eyes sharpened.
"If I recall correctly, the Third Great Ninja War ended a long time ago."
He paused—then carved a thin line into the dirt at his feet.
"You injured my comrades. You crossed into my home. So let me ask—"
"Are you here to declare war on Konoha?"
Then—
BOOM.
His killing intent exploded outward like a shockwave. The sheer pressure of it cracked branches, churned air, and buried itself in the Cloud shinobi's bones.
They couldn't breathe. Couldn't move.
Even No. 3, whose consciousness had been inside the squad leader's mind, was forcibly ejected from the mental realm, tumbling back into her body, gasping for air.
Only when the Leaf shinobi stirred again behind him—his consciousness stabilizing—did Minato's aura finally ease.
He drew a clean line through the dirt.
"You have one chance," he said coldly.
"Cross this line… and die."
He paused. His voice, now calm as ice:
"Or leave. While you still can."