Naruto : Minato back to the past

"This kid's physique is different from others," Suzuka remarked. She had noticed during the mission in the Land of Hot Springs that Minato's body was unlike that of ordinary people. However, her expression showed that some of her worries had eased.

"Is that so?" Minato smiled awkwardly. The Nine-Tails' chakra was sealed deep within his soul, making it undetectable even by Suzuka's sensory abilities or Tsunade's medical skills. When the Nine-Tails' chakra was fed back into his body, it caused subtle changes.

Minato sat up and realized he was in a tent. Not far from him, several candles were lit, casting a warm glow.

"How do you feel now?" Nawaki asked, still concerned even though Minato had woken up.

"I'm okay now," Minato replied with a light smile.

Despite this reassurance, Nawaki still didn't seem at ease. He stood up, saying, "No, I have to find my sister and ask her to check on you."

Minato grabbed his arm and said, "I'm really fine. It's better not to disturb Lady Tsunade and the others right now." He used some strength in his grip to show Nawaki that he truly was okay.

Nawaki nodded, understanding the situation. Konoha had just suffered a defeat, and Tsunade, as one of the leaders, was likely under immense pressure. After all, these ninjas had been brought from the village under their leadership, and now many would never return. The thought of not even being able to collect the bodies of the fallen weighed heavily on Minato, who could empathize with the feeling. Although he had been known as a rising star, he often felt like he couldn't be there when his loved ones needed him most.

The taste of failure is never pleasant.

But what concerned Minato more was whether Tsunade and the others had devised a way to counter the Sand Ninja forces. The critical factor was how to neutralize Chiyo's poison.

Minato, who knew the history of the previous Ninja War, wasn't too worried. He was confident Tsunade would eventually find a way to counter Chiyo's poison, though the process might differ from what he remembered.

So, he turned to Suzuka and asked, "Has Lady Tsunade sent someone to sneak back to the battlefield?"

"How did you know?" Minato's question left Mikoto and the others around him stunned.

Suzuka was also taken aback but then replied, "Yes."

With his understanding of the war, it wasn't difficult for Minato to anticipate what the Konoha leaders would do next. However, he knew that this mission to retrieve a sample would likely be in vain.

Minato immediately stood up and walked out of the tent. It was late at night, but the Konoha forces on the sand were not sleeping. Their expressions were heavy with defeat.

Seeing this, Minato frowned slightly.

Meanwhile, in Chiyo's tent at the Sand Ninja Army's camp, Sunae entered, carrying a candle. She found Chiyo still awake, her expression somber.

"Mother, why aren't you resting yet?" Sunae asked. With no one else around, she addressed Chiyo directly as her mother.

Chiyo remained silent, her gaze fixed on a battle map spread out on the wooden table before her. She sighed deeply.

"Are you still worried about the insufficient number of ninja tools?" Sunae guessed. Before the battle, the number of ninja tools each Sand Ninja carried had been meticulously recorded. This was part of Chiyo's plan to guard against Tsunade, a descendant of the First Hokage and one of the Sannin, known for her ability to detoxify even the Salamander's poison.

The Sand Ninja troops had gained the upper hand largely due to Chiyo's poison, used by both the Sand Ninjas and the puppet troops. However, in the chaos of battle, it wasn't uncommon for kunai and other tools to be destroyed.

Seeing that Sunae thought she was overthinking things, Chiyo sighed again and said, "Even if they were destroyed in battle, there should have been some residue left. Something about this situation feels off."

Despite her suspicions, Chiyo couldn't prove her theory. But her intuition told her that things weren't as simple as they seemed.

As dawn approached, no one in the Konoha camp had slept. The atmosphere of defeat weighed heavily on everyone, and it had clearly taken a toll on their morale.

Minato stood quietly in front of the tent, observing the scene. Suddenly, he sensed a familiar chakra signature approaching, and several dark figures appeared before him.

Rustle!

The sound of footsteps caused some in Konoha to look up, and they saw a team led by Sakumo returning. When Minato saw the solemn expression on Sakumo's face, he already knew the outcome of the mission.

"As expected, Chiyo was prepared," he thought to himself.

After returning to the rest area, Sakumo dismissed the team and rushed to the tent where Tsunade and the others were gathered. Upon entering, he was met with anxious stares from the three leaders, especially Tsunade, whose eyes were bloodshot—a sign of the immense pressure she was under.

Sakumo shook his head and reported, "The Sand Ninjas have indeed cleaned up the battlefield. We didn't find any remnants of kunai or shuriken, and the bodies were gone too."

He had led five senior ninjas skilled in investigation back to the battlefield, but they found no traces of the ninja tools. They also searched for burial sites but found nothing.

"Even if we had found the bodies, it wouldn't have helped. With Chiyo's abilities, unless the poison was applied directly to the ninja tools and diluted in the blood, there's nothing we could study," Tsunade said.

"How do you know?" Hyuga Tenki asked.

"Because I can do it," Tsunade responded.

Hatake Sakumo clenched his fists in frustration. "Damn it!" Tsunade and the others felt the same, but they were at a loss for what to do next.

Just then, a voice came from outside the tent.

"I have something I need to discuss with Lady Tsunade."

The four leaders exchanged glances, their eyes widening in surprise. They recognized the voice—it was Minato, who was supposed to be unconscious.

Sakumo grinned and said, "I told you, this kid wouldn't sleep for three days."

Tsunade was taken aback as the tent flap was lifted, and Minato walked in. Although his face was still pale, there was no sign of weakness in his expression.

"Are you really okay?" Tsunade, who prided herself on her medical skills, found it hard to believe, so she moved swiftly to check Minato herself.

After confirming that Minato's physical condition had returned to normal, a look of shock crossed her face.

Minato simply smiled faintly at her reaction, then turned to the four leaders in the tent.

"Senpai, may I participate in this tactical discussion?"

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