The first rays of morning sunlight drove away the darkness before dawn, offering a brief moment of relief to Minato Namikaze, Veigar Koshima, and Kakashi Hatake, who had been on high alert throughout the night.
They had stood in a battle-ready stance for an entire night, and exhaustion was evident on their faces.
Had it not been for Minato's concern that Veigar and Kakashi might be ambushed, he would have long since begun clearing the battlefield, departed, or even searched for enemy traces. Instead, he had been forced into a purely defensive position.
At that moment, the Ino-Shika-Chō trio, who had traveled through the night, arrived at the battlefield where combat had erupted just hours earlier.
Swish, swish, swish!
Before they could see who had arrived, Minato, Veigar, and Kakashi instinctively tensed up again, their brief moment of relaxation vanishing in an instant.
"Minato, are you all alright?"
Positioning themselves around Minato's squad in a protective formation, the trio—led by Inoichi Yamanaka—scanned the surroundings cautiously. His voice carried a serious tone as he directed his question to Minato Namikaze.
Upon recognizing their allies, Minato, Veigar, and Kakashi all exhaled in relief.
Minato responded, "We're fine. Everything is under control."
Then, turning to the trio, he asked, "Why are you here?"
Noticing the remnants of battle around them, Shikaku Nara took the lead in replying, "We received orders from the Third Hokage to reinforce you."
"But from the looks of it, we may have arrived a little late."
Minato frowned. "The Third Hokage?"
Shikaku nodded. "Yes."
"He received urgent intelligence from the underground black market—there was an assassination attempt planned against you. Furthermore, the individual you were escorting was also placed on the black market's bounty list."
"In other words, this mission was never a C-rank assignment—it was an A-rank mission from the start."
"The identities of the attackers were also part of the intelligence report: Fukiishi Kaneda, a rogue Suna-nin; Yuma Goyama, a rogue Konoha-nin; and Kaimon Asuka, a rogue Kiri-nin known as the 'Shadow Ghost'"
At the mention of Kaimon Asuka's name, Minato and Kakashi immediately turned to look at Veigar.
Noticing their reaction, Shikaku also shifted his gaze to Veigar.
Veigar suddenly found himself the center of attention.
"What?" he asked, confused.
Shikaku, still puzzled, turned to Minato.
Minato shook his head. "It's nothing."
Through a brief exchange, Minato and Shikaku quickly pieced together what had transpired the night before.
Working together, they swiftly cleaned up the battlefield, sealing away the corpses of Fukiishi Kaneda, Yuma Goyama, and Kazuo Yoshino—whose decapitated body was among the fallen—to transport them back to Konoha.
As for the bodies of regular mercenaries, they were buried in a makeshift grave.
On the journey back to Konoha, Veigar gradually became more familiar with the Ino-Shika-Chō trio, engaging in light conversation along the way.
Before long, the group of six arrived back at the Hidden Leaf Village, where the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was already waiting for them.
At the same time, deep within Root, Danzo Shimura also received word that Minato had successfully returned with Veigar and Kakashi.
"Useless. They're all useless."
Though internally seething with rage, Danzo remained outwardly composed, though the fury in his eyes betrayed his true emotions.
After all, Danzo had gone so far as to mobilize his most effective assets within the underground black market to capture Veigar—yet not only had he failed, but he had also lost valuable operatives in the process.
No one could be expected to remain calm in such a situation, least of all Danzo.
His original plan had been simple: use Yuma Goyama as a pawn, orchestrate an ambush to eliminate Minato, and in the ensuing chaos, leave Veigar and Kakashi leaderless.
That way, he would remove one of Hiruzen's most capable Jonin while simultaneously pressuring the Hokage into handing Veigar over to Root.
Yet the entire scheme had collapsed, leaving him with nothing but losses.
The exposure of Kazuo Yoshino as a spy was an unintended consequence of Danzo's own dealings within the underground black market. The assassination request had originally been a mere convenience for other matters.
Calming his anger, Danzo composed himself before stepping out of one of Root's secret bases.
In the Hokage's Office, Hiruzen listened carefully as Minato reported on the mission.
When Minato finished, the Third Hokage fell into silence.
Then, after a pause, he said, "Since this matter is now settled, let's leave it in the past."
"I will record this mission in your file as a completed B-rank assignment."
As the Ino-Shika-Chō trio departed, only Minato's squad remained in the office.
"Thank you, Lord Third."
Minato, Veigar, and Kakashi bowed their heads in gratitude.
Shortly afterward, Veigar and Kakashi exited the Hokage Residence, but Minato stayed behind—he had something more to discuss with Hiruzen.
Hiruzen observed Minato's unusually serious expression but did not rush him, simply waiting in silence.
After a moment of hesitation, Minato gathered his thoughts and spoke.
"Lord Third, if Danzo requests to have Veigar join Root again, I hope that you will reject him outright."
Hiruzen considered this and asked, "Minato, can you give me a reason?"
Minato nodded. "After spending more time with Veigar, I've realized that his potential is far greater than what he has previously shown."
"Additionally, I only discovered something crucial in the past few days."
"Veigar isn't just any ordinary ninja—he's a sensory-type ninja. His talent in sensory ninjutsu is unparalleled."
"That's why I ask you to refuse Danzo's request."
Hiruzen's gaze grew serious. "Minato, are you certain of this?"
Understanding the weight of the question, Minato responded immediately. "Absolutely."
"Right now, Veigar's sensory range extends over two hundred meters."
Knowing that Minato was not one to speak carelessly, Hiruzen pondered deeply.
"If Veigar truly possesses such exceptional sensory abilities… then there is absolutely no way he can be handed over to Danzo."
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