Swish, swish, swish————
Within the dense foliage of the border forest, dark silhouettes darted rapidly through the ancient trees. The frantic rhythm of the chase was punctuated only by the sharp, rhythmic clang of cold metal meeting metal, echoing through the timber.
Clang!
A standard-issue kunai collided violently with the edge of a curved short sword. Matsushita Ishi glared at the Hidden Sand ninja before him, his teeth bared in a snarl as he noticed the steady stream of enemy reinforcements gathering in the distance.
"Damn Sand ninja! You won't get through!"
"Hmph, Konoha shinobi... you are all weak and pathetic!"
The enemy sneered, his short sword dancing in a relentless assault aimed at Matsushita's throat and heart. The flashes of the blade wove a shimmering, deadly net that trapped Matsushita in a desperate, losing struggle for survival.
As the Sand ninja watched the Konoha shinobi begin to sweat profusely from exhaustion, his grin turned predatory and arrogant. "Is this the extent of your strength? Then die!"
Whoosh!
The words had barely left his mouth when a chilling, silver flash of blade light streaked through the air. In an instant, the Sand ninja's head was severed, soaring high into the sky with that same arrogant smile still frozen on his lips.
A figure with shock-white hair stood firmly in front of Matsushita Ishi, his cold, piercing gaze fixed on the horde of enemies emerging from the brush.
"Lord Sakumo!"
Recognizing the man standing before him, Matsushita Ishi felt a massive wave of relief wash over his tired body.
"Stay focused. Quickly gather what remains of the other frontline squads and retreat to the main camp immediately."
Sakumo Hatake's voice was remarkably calm. Even when faced with an overwhelming disparity in numbers, he showed not a single trace of panic.
"Sir, there are simply too many of them. The camp will never hold against an assault of this scale!" Matsushita argued urgently.
"At the very least, we must hold the line and keep the enemy outside our national borders."
Sakumo's voice grew grave, carrying the weight of an unquestionable command.
"It is the White Fang of Konoha—"
The man leading the Sand forces felt a sudden tremor of apprehension as he identified the newcomer. Sakumo Hatake was only slightly older than Tsunade, still in his late twenties, yet he stood in the absolute prime of his life. His demeanor was as sharp as the blade he carried.
"I remember you. You are Haku, correct? A very talented puppeteer from the Hidden Sand Village."
Sakumo gave the man a brief, assessing look. "There were rumors that you were once a top candidate for the position of Third Kazekage. It appears you were not successful in your bid for power."
"Save your pathetic attempts to sow discord among our ranks."
Haku let out a sharp, mocking laugh. "No matter how much time you try to stall for, you and your men will still end up rotting in this forest."
"That remains to be seen."
Sakumo reached behind his shoulder and gripped the hilt of his white chakra saber. As his gaze swept over the field, his heart grew heavy. There were at least $50$ enemies surrounding them. On his side, only two functional squads remained, and one was already riddled with injuries.
"Let me stay behind to cover the retreat!"
Matsushita Ishi spoke through gritted teeth, his eyes full of resolve. "If you hadn't come to rescue us, you wouldn't be trapped in this danger."
"No. There are too many of them. You wouldn't be able to hold them for more than a few seconds, making a rearguard action a meaningless sacrifice."
Sakumo shook his head slightly, never taking his eyes off the encirclement. "Form a defensive perimeter. We will fight our way back toward the camp."
"Do you really plan to hide inside a shell?"
Haku sneered, raising his hand to signal his men. The surrounding Sand ninja immediately shifted into a semi-circle, their hands blurring through a series of familiar seals.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!" × $12$
In an instant, a barrage of invisible wind blades tore through the air toward Sakumo's group. The massive trees surrounding the clearing were sliced in half as if they were made of paper.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
Boom! A massive, curved wall of stone erupted from the earth, successfully absorbing the impact of the wind blades from all directions.
However, in those few seconds of distraction, several Sand ninja had already maneuvered to the rear of the Konoha group, sealing off their only escape route.
"It looks like a forced breakthrough is our only path forward."
Sakumo sighed internally. With his personal strength, he was confident he could escape, but he knew the others would likely be slaughtered in the process.
Just as he steeled his resolve to lead a desperate charge, a three-pronged kunai suddenly flew into the clearing from a distance. It traced a high, parabolic arc through the sky and, under the confused gazes of everyone present, thudded weakly into the dirt right in front of Sakumo Hatake.
While both sides were wondering how a ninja could throw a weapon so poorly, a small, blond-haired boy—who looked no older than eight or nine—suddenly materialized out of thin air directly in front of Sakumo!
"Konoha reinforcements have arrived. My name is Minato Namikaze."
Stating his identity with clinical efficiency, Minato raised his hands and created three Shadow Clones. Each clone immediately grabbed hold of two people.
In the next heartbeat, the entire Konoha group vanished into thin air. The entire extraction had taken less than $2$ seconds.
"Huh?"
The sudden disappearance left the Sand ninja momentarily paralyzed with shock.
"The—the people?! Where the hell did they go?!"
Haku roared at the empty clearing, his face turning a deep, furious red. He used a Body Flicker to appear at the exact spot where the Konoha group had just been standing, his eyes landing on the strange three-pronged kunai.
"Space-Time Ninjutsu? Wait... could this be the Second Hokage's—"
Before Haku could finish his thought, the world seemed to glitch. The blond child had reappeared right in front of him!
Instinctively, Haku lunged with a kunai of his own, desperate to eliminate this threat before it could escape again. A child not even ten years old who had mastered Space-Time Ninjutsu was a nightmare the Hidden Sand Village could not afford to let live.
Haku's mind raced with tactical possibilities, but the scene before him seemed to skip frames. A brilliant, rotating sphere of blue chakra suddenly expanded, filling his entire field of vision.
As his consciousness faded into darkness, the last thing he heard were the shocked screams of his subordinates.
Thump!
Having casually ended Haku's life, Minato flashed away to retrieve his kunai and vanished once more, leaving behind a leaderless and terrified group of Sand ninja.
Meanwhile, back at the Konoha border camp.
Sakumo Hatake and his men were still standing in a state of utter bewilderment, trying to process their sudden relocation.
"Lord Sakumo has returned! He's safe!"
The ninja stationed at the camp let out a cheer, seeing their commander appear out of nowhere.
Sakumo looked at the boy standing beside him. "What exactly is going on here?"
"I am Minato Namikaze. By the direct order of the Hokage-sama, I have been sent to reinforce this front. Senior Sakumo, here is your mission directive."
Minato handed over a scroll. Sakumo took it, broke the seal, and quickly read the contents.
"It seems the Third was right to be worried. We cannot lose this front. However, the Sand's forces are far more numerous than we anticipated. Holding them back will be difficult."
Sakumo frowned. He turned back to Minato. "Minato, if I am not mistaken, the technique you used just now was the Second Hokage's Flying Thunder God Technique, wasn't it?"
Minato nodded simply. "Yes."
"I have to ask—how much chakra do you have remaining? If it is possible, I need you to help me bring back the other squads currently trapped behind enemy lines."
As the frontline commander, Sakumo had the authority to order Minato. However, considering the boy's age and the likely strain on his chakra reserves from such a high-level jutsu, Sakumo remained incredibly polite.
But before Minato could answer, a ninja from the Yamanaka clan nearby spoke up.
"Lord Sakumo, these are the only surviving squads from the frontline. Six other squads have gone completely dark and are presumed lost. The ones who made it back are mostly injured."
Hearing this, Sakumo's frown deepened. He looked at Minato again. "When exactly did you receive these orders from the Village?"
"Approximately 20 minutes ago."
Minato calculated the time in his head. In those $20$ minutes: five minutes were spent leading Nawaki's team to the camp, five minutes were used to verify his identity with the guards, and the final ten minutes were used to successfully extract seven different ninja squads, including Sakumo's group.
His mobility was simply unreasonable.
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