"No, this plan is too risky." After hearing Chao Yanqian's proposal, Minato Namikaze directly rejected it without even thinking about it.
Although Konoha is very powerful, the strength of Sunagakure is not to be underestimated. If an opening is left at the border for Suna, no one can predict how they will take advantage of it. If everything goes as planned and they fall into Konoha's trap, all will be well, but if something goes wrong, no one will be able to bear that responsibility.
Chao Yanqian shrugged nonchalantly. The refusal of Minato Namikaze was entirely within his expectations. If this method worked, Orochimaru wouldn't have needed to send so many people into the Land of Wind to investigate Suna's schemes.
"The operation of Sunagakure this time must be top secret. Only two groups could possibly know the full details. The first is the highest commander of the Suna camp; the second is the village's top officials," Chao Yanqian looked at Minato Namikaze with sharp eyes and calmly analyzed, "If we want accurate intel, those are the only two places we can get it from."
Everyone fell silent upon hearing Chao Yanqian's words.
They all knew the mission would be dangerous, but they didn't expect it to be a suicide mission.
Sneaking into either the Suna camp or Sunagakure itself was a matter of life and death. Among them, only Minato Namikaze, who had begun to master the Flying Thunder God Technique, had a way to transmit information if necessary. The others... had no way out.
"En! Lord Orochimaru and Teacher Jiraiya also thought of this, so I was assigned this mission. The task of infiltrating Suna's camp and village is mine alone. Your job is to guard and provide support," Minato Namikaze said with a reassuring smile.
Minato was truly skilled at dealing with people. This was clearly his own decision, yet he subtly involved Orochimaru, making it seem as if it had been planned all along.
If they made it back to Konoha alive, word of this would certainly reach Orochimaru's ears. This way, even if Minato and Orochimaru ended up competing for the position of Fourth Hokage, there would still be a sense of mutual respect between them.
But this realization made Chao Yanqian even more cautious.
Although the manga sometimes portrayed Minato Namikaze as straightforward, Chao Yanqian didn't believe for a second that someone capable of becoming Fourth Hokage would be anything less than highly intelligent.
Chao Yanqian had been assigned a secret mission by Orochimaru. But how could he complete it perfectly without raising Minato Namikaze's suspicion?
He was almost certain that Orochimaru had intentionally called him out in front of everyone. If this were truly a secret task, Orochimaru could have simply handed him the scroll last night. There was no need to wait until today.
Thinking of this, Chao Yanqian resented Orochimaru even more.
"Captain Minato..."
"Sensei..."
As expected, everyone was moved by Minato Namikaze's words. He wasn't treating them as cannon fodder to draw Suna's attention. He genuinely cared about their survival.
"Alright, let's move out now." Minato Namikaze gave a calm smile, then turned to Keita Hyuga. "Keita, I'll be counting on you."
"Understood!" Keita Hyuga responded respectfully.
To ensure the success of their mission, Minato Namikaze directly set the target as Sunagakure itself. Under the cover of the Byakugan, the team swiftly advanced toward the village.
"Less than five hundred meters ahead, I spotted a Suna scouting team," Keita Hyuga reported, returning from the front lines. He looked a little fatigued as he deactivated his Byakugan.
"Well done, Keita." Hidden within the desert sands, Minato Namikaze nodded in appreciation.
Chao Yanqian scanned the exhausted faces of his teammates and smirked slightly.
A full day of relentless movement and tense focus had worn everyone down. Even Minato Namikaze, a Jonin, was beginning to feel the fatigue.
As the sun set, half the sky was painted crimson. The last remnants of daylight flickered before nightfall.
When darkness fell, Minato Namikaze would have to infiltrate Sunagakure alone. Once he left, the only threats Chao Yanqian needed to worry about were Keita Hyuga, Kakashi Hatake, and Ryo Yamanaka.
He was confident he could complete Orochimaru's secret mission without them detecting a thing.
"Can we go around them?" Minato Namikaze asked.
Keita Hyuga shook his head. "No. We're too close to Sunagakure, and Suna patrols are everywhere. If we avoid this team, we'll just run into another."
"Then we have no choice but to eliminate them," Minato Namikaze decided.
The group silently approached, swiftly taking out the patrol team before disappearing into the desert.
As night fell, Chao Yanqian's group dug into the sand near Sunagakure for cover. After eating their rations, Minato Namikaze addressed them.
"I'm going in now to locate Suna's secret plans. Kakashi, Obito—two hours from now, you'll create chaos at the village entrance and retreat after ten minutes."
"Yes, sensei!" they responded in unison.
"Chao Yanqian, Keita—you two will attack Suna's patrol teams to divert their attention. Hold them off for at least half an hour," Minato Namikaze continued.
Perfect! This works in my favor!
"Understood!" Chao Yanqian and Keita Hyuga accepted their orders.
"Ryo, Hara, you'll stay here. If I can't find their secret plans tonight, I'll capture a high-ranking Suna official instead. That's when I'll need your help, Ryo," Minato Namikaze said.
"Got it!"
"Kakashi, Keita, take these kunai. If you get into trouble, I'll teleport to you immediately." Minato Namikaze handed them two special Flying Thunder God kunai.
"What's this?" Chao Yanqian asked, pretending not to understand.
"This is a marker for my Flying Thunder God Technique. If you carry it, I can teleport to your location instantly," Minato Namikaze explained.
"Got it!" Chao Yanqian responded with feigned indifference.
"Alright! Let's begin."
With that, Minato Namikaze vanished in an instant.