Naruto: I became a super shadow in the Anbu.

Chapter 352 Steam Ninja Han
Sakumo Hatake, accompanied by three students including Minato Namikaze, and three subordinates including Yamashiroji, Hayato Hakuun, and Shinma, traveled through the forests of the Land of Fire.

Shinma lagged behind, occasionally looking dazed, and when he glanced at Sakumo Hatake's back, a fleeting look of guilt crossed his eyes.

Danzo ordered him to sabotage Hatake Sakumo's mission.

However, this mission involves the Land of Grass's share of the mission. If it fails, the village will lose 10% of the total mission quota, and it may also cause other small countries to distrust Konoha, triggering a terrible chain reaction.

At that point, even several 10% increases might not be enough.

Sakumo Hatake and his group arrived in Kyoto, the Land of Grass, and in the scattered tents, they met the new Daimyo Guardian Ninja Captain, Kouji Shimura.

The Shimura clan, such a large ninja clan, had its elite members killed one after another by the rogue ninja Sarutobi Kanosuke, leaving only the last elite Jonin, Shimura Koga.

Shimura Kogoro said, "Lord Sakumo, you've finally arrived. There's a tricky task now, personally issued by the Daimyo, urgently requiring skilled ninja from Konoha to complete."

The daimyo was to send his eldest son to Changqing Mountain to offer sacrifices to Changqingtian, whom the daimyo family worshipped.

This was not just a simple ritual task, but also a test for the daimyo.

The journey is long, and there is a possibility of being attacked by Iwa ninja during the ritual.

The daimyo's patience with Konoha is almost exhausted. If this ritual fails, the daimyo of the Land of Grass will completely side with the Land of Earth and Iwagakure.

Sakumo Hatake nodded; he knew the seriousness of the problem.

The daimyo of the Land of Grass lost three captains of the Guardian Ninja in a row. Who could accept the level of the Guardian Ninja?

Shimura Kogo continued, "With the Konoha Guardian Ninja being killed one after another, the Daimyo hired Guardian Ninja on his own."

Of the current 12 Guardian Ninja, only 4 are Konoha Guardian Ninja. After the Second Shinobi World War, the agreement with the Daimyo stipulated that Konoha would send 8 Guardian Ninja, halving the number of Guardian Ninja.

This time, I'm taking one guardian ninja with me to Mount Changqing, while Shin Hyuga and another guardian ninja will stay in Kyoto to protect the daimyo.

The Iwa ninja are also eyeing this mission, determined to prove that Konoha is stronger than Iwa!

Sakumo Hatake took the scroll handed to him by Kogoro Shimura and carefully examined the situation in the Land of Grass.

The situation here is far from dire; the Daimyo is increasingly distrustful of Konoha's guardian ninja.

The key issue is that Konoha cannot easily retaliate because the Konoha Guardian Ninja was killed first.

"Let's go. We will not let the Iwa ninja succeed in this mission."

The prince's entourage left Kyoto and slowly headed towards Mount Changqing.

Many flags fluttered in the procession, and herders would come to the convoy from time to time and kneel down to worship the flags.

Those flags depict the myth of the Evergreen Sky protecting the grassland tribes.

The prince turned his head from time to time to look at the samurai and ninjas around him, wondering if the ritual would proceed smoothly.

My father said this was the last chance to test the strength of Konoha's Guardian Ninja.

The prince thought to himself, "I hope the poor strength of the Konoha Guardian Ninja doesn't affect me and kill me."

Yamashiroji and his men scouted around the convoy from a distance of over a hundred meters, keeping watch out for any possible Iwa ninjas that might appear at any moment.

During the break, Shiro asked Yamashiroji in the morning, "Brother Yamashiro, leaving Hinata Shin in Kyoto is making our reconnaissance efficiency too low. Do you think Shimura Kogoro did it on purpose?"

Yamashiroji Shindo was very clever this morning; he had already learned how to anticipate the enemy's worst-case scenario.

He said, "On the surface, there's nothing wrong with what Shimura Kogo did."

The most important goal of the Shinobi Guardians is to protect the safety of the Daimyo, so leaving Shin Hyuga in Kyoto is perfectly reasonable.

Therefore, our reconnaissance must be even more careful and thorough.

The two did not hide their conversation from Minato Namikaze, who was standing nearby.

Minato Namikaze seemed to be deep in thought, realizing that the location of the Hyuga Guardian Shinobi was so closely related to this.

Xinma was getting anxious; for several days in a row, he hadn't been able to gather any clues about the Iwa ninja.

Several days later, the group arrived at Changqing Sacred Mountain.

The prince's attendants set up camp at the foot of Evergreen Mountain, while Konoha ninjas stood guard around the perimeter.

Near Changqing Mountain, there is a noticeable bald patch on the grassland, with no grass growing within an area of ​​more than 100 meters in diameter.

Yamashiroji came to the bald patch and said, "This should be the one mentioned in the intelligence report, where Sarutobi Kanosuke used the Five Elements Great Combo to kill the lynx district, the vice-chief of the Anbu."

Thanks to the malicious gossip, news of the death of the Shimura clan's lynx spread far and wide. Normally, the clan of the lynx should not be revealed.

Danzo had been searching for the source of the rumors, but he couldn't find it.

There was a faction within the village that was dissatisfied with Danzo, and they took advantage of his misfortune.

Baiyun, still shaken by the sheer scale of the rogue ninja's techniques that morning, said:
"The deputy head of the Dark Division... I also know a deputy head. I heard that Fox from the Dark Division was just promoted to deputy head."

Even a high-ranking figure like the deputy head of the Dark Guard couldn't withstand this forbidden technique?

During the Second Shinobi World War, in the Land of Whirlpools, the fox left a deep impression on Hakumo Hayato.

Over the past year, several S-rank rogue ninjas have emerged in Konoha Village, casting a dark shadow over the village.

Ordinary rogue ninjas are killed by the Anbu, so even the Anbu can't do anything about this S-rank rogue ninja.

Led by the priest, His Highness began the sacrificial ceremony.

Bare-chested herdsmen with sheepskins around their waists danced around the campfire.

The priest had five strings of captives led out, each string with ten captives tied to it, for a total of 50 captives.

The prisoners were brought to the campfire and entered the most important part of the ritual, where they were offered as living sacrifices to the Azure Heaven.

Minato Namikaze stood with his back to the sacrificial ceremony, wary of the distant grasslands.

He heard screams behind him and couldn't help but turn around to look.

Fifty heads were chopped off in front of the campfire as a sacrifice.

For over a thousand years, the daimyo families of the Land of Grass have been using such bloody and barbaric sacrificial methods.

Minato Namikaze turned his head back and focused intently on looking at the distant grassland through his binoculars.

Suddenly, he saw a red dot in his field of vision.

It was a ninja wearing a straw hat and dark red iron armor!
He walked slowly toward Evergreen Mountain, steam rising from the gaps in his armor. "Enemy attack!"

Upon hearing Minato Namikaze's shout, everyone in Konoha looked in the direction he was pointing.

Yamashiroji saw the person in red armor and shouted, "It's the Five-Tails Jinchuriki of Iwagakure! Han the Steam Ninja!"

Behind the steam ninja Han, many rock ninjas appeared.

Sakumo Hatake drew his White Fang short sword and said, "Minato, you'll come with me to deal with the steam ninja Han."

The rest of you, deal with Han's steam ninja henchmen!

Shinma's heart raced. Here it comes, the provocation from Iwagakure has arrived.

He also glanced at Minato Namikaze.

Sakumo Hatake felt somewhat resentful that Minato Namikaze was so favored, even though he and his brother Shinmei were the subordinates who had served Sakumo the longest.

"Minato, keep a close watch from behind," Sakumo Hatake said.

"The steam ninja Han's steam secret technique has some similarities with your wind chakra condensation."

Minato followed behind Sakumo Hatake.

Sakumo Hatake walked forward, his speed increasing until he was running at full speed.

Minato immediately understood why Sakumo-sensei had asked him to carefully observe the steam ninja Han.

Han armor has many ventilation holes.

Hot steam billowed from the vent, providing him with surging power.

He was like a red locomotive, plowing through the meadow.

White Fang's blade flashed past!

To Minato's surprise, the steam ninja Han dodged the blade!
A large amount of steam spewed out from Han's left shoulder, abruptly changing his position. He shifted sideways in a strange manner, dodging the white-toothed blade's edge.

Minato has been following Sakumo-sensei for a year, and this is the first time he has seen someone dodge White Fang's blade.

Steam can be used like this?

Could I then use condensed chakra as a power source to propel my body to move?

Beneath Minato's feet was a layer of condensed Wind Release chakra.

The concentrated wind-style chakra, once unleashed, can give Minato an exceptionally strong burst of power.

His Body Flicker Technique and speed were far ahead of his peers. As a result, he easily passed the Chunin Exams and became the first Chunin in his team.

Minato watched Han, the steam ninja, fight against Sakumo-sensei, constantly learning from Han's use of steam.

Steam in the elbow joint can make punches more powerful.

Steam from the shoulders and hips allows for unpredictable lateral movements of the body, without the need for footwork.

The steam on your chest allows your body to quickly move backward.

The steam on your legs can increase the speed of the Instantaneous Movement Technique.

He condensed Wind Release chakra in different parts of his body, and then used the Wind Release chakra to develop a special taijutsu similar to that of the steam ninja Han.

The probing battle lasted for a minute before Hatake Sakumo suddenly unleashed his power, gaining the upper hand in speed.

White Fang's blade cleaved open the left shoulder of Steam Ninja Han.

A large piece of iron armor was sheared off, revealing that the armor was actually double-layered.

The double-layered armor has a unique cavity structure, where steam is compressed and accelerated inside the cavity before being ejected from the nozzle, providing kinetic energy.

Han's left shoulder armor cavity was damaged, preventing him from moving freely to the right.

This makes his movements more predictable and more clumsy.

After several exchanges, Han's iron armor was crackling with lightning and sparks, and the armor cavities on his left shoulder, right hip, and right leg were damaged.

Han was panting heavily inside his armor, thinking to himself that he was indeed Konoha's White Fang; he couldn't possibly defeat him using ordinary methods.

He used all his strength to jump backward, dodging the white fang blade that was slashing down at his waist.

After landing backward, Han pressed the mechanism on his armor.

With a crash, all the armor fell away, revealing Han's figure.

Sakumo Hatake was even more serious.

The Five-Tails' chakra overflowed from Han's skin.

A moment later, Han lay on the ground, entering a semi-tailed beast form.

Dark red chakra swirled across his skin, and three tails appeared behind him.

The feet of the Han people no longer had five toes, but hooves like those of a horse.

With all four hooves exerting force, Han, steaming from head to toe, rammed into Hatake Sakumo.

Boiling Release: Steam is the Five-Tails' special ability.

The Five-Tails' chakra evaporates into a large amount of steam, eliminating the need for an iron armor cavity, and can spew steam anytime, anywhere.

Han was incredibly fast, and the ground cracked from his hooves.

Sakumo Hatake unleashed three consecutive white fang-shaped blade strikes.

The dazzling white blade light intertwined, covering most of the area in front of them.

Han dodged two blade strikes, but was struck by the last one.

The tailed beast's chakra cloak tore open, revealing a one-centimeter-deep cut in the flesh beneath.

Han roared in excruciating pain.

The tailed beast chakra cloak couldn't even block the White Fang's blade?
(End of this chapter)