Naruto: All My Targets Are Ninjutsu.

Minato Namikaze flew over using the Body Flicker Technique and said quickly to Yu Mikami, "Yu, you take Lord Kazekage and everyone back to the village first. I'll go after that guy."

"Ok?"

Yu Mikami glanced back.

Seeing this, Minato Namikaze explained, "During the battle just now, I found an opportunity to leave a Flying Thunder God Technique seal on that guy's puppet. As long as I use the seal, I can sense his current location. So, he shouldn't be able to escape."

Minato Namikaze from the original timeline did just that. During the Nine-Tails' rampage, he took advantage of the moment when he came into close contact with Obito and slapped a Flying Thunder God mark onto the latter.

Theoretically, if he hadn't died from the Nine-Tails' attack, he could have used this technique to find Obito directly, and then, while Obito was eating or using the restroom, he could have unleashed a Giant Rasengan. If Obito hadn't died, he could have waited until the next time Obito ate to try again...

but……

Madara Uchiha is not Obito.

If this person were nearby to meet Sasori, Minato Namikaze might not be able to return alive after flying over.

Judging from Madara's record in the original timeline, he was capable of reacting to the "Flying Thunder God Technique." Moreover, he might have other countermeasures against "Godspeeders."

After all, Tobirama Senju was the person Madara hated most in his life and the person he most wanted to kill. Although he did not kill Tobirama while he was still alive for various reasons, given Madara's personality, he probably had a plan in mind to kill Tobirama.

"Hmm? Madara?"

Minato Namikaze was slightly taken aback, not immediately understanding: "What do you mean? Isn't this guy Sasori, the rogue ninja of Sunagakure? How could he be related to Madara Uchiha?"

Mikami Yu chuckled: "You don't actually think that Sasori stole the bodies of the Second Kazekage and White Fang from Sunagakure and Konoha himself, do you?"

Sunagakure is alright, since that's Sasori's hometown.

But Konoha has a barrier system. When an outside ninja enters, it triggers an alarm, just like when Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki entered Konoha in the original timeline. Given Sasori's identity and abilities, trying to infiltrate Konoha silently…

It's possible, but the chances aren't that high.

Minato Namikaze belatedly realized this, and a look of surprise appeared on his face: "Indeed, Sakumo-senpai's corpse is a suspicious point... As expected of you, Yu, I didn't think of this at all!"

In that case...

The pursuit plan will need to be slightly modified.

"Then let's escort Lord Kazekage and the others back to the village first."

Minato Namikaze changed his tune, saying, "Since the markers have already been left, we can follow the trail to find their hiding place later. There's no need to choose this time. We can figure out a way to deal with them after we've gathered accurate information."

"it is good."

Mikami Yu nodded in agreement.

present.

Minato Namikaze walked over and greeted Shinnosuke Sarutobi and the others.

Then, Yu Mikami performed basic treatment on them.

Well... strictly speaking, it's no longer "basic" treatment.

Because Mikami Yu's medical ninjutsu skills are now almost on par with Tsunade's, even without using the special cheat of "Seed of Life," his regular version of "Healing Palm Technique" is still considered top-tier in the ninja world, and he can basically heal most injuries on the spot.

But if it's an injury that even he can't heal...

That would basically only result in injuries that deplete one's life force, or major surgeries like multiple comminuted fractures throughout the body—surgeries that even Tsunade couldn't guarantee a success rate for...

soon.

The external injuries on Sarutobi Shinnosuke and Pakura have disappeared, but their chakra is still relatively low.

During the treatment, Yekura winked at Mikami Yu a few times, but because Karuro and the others were present, the female Kazekage didn't dare to be too blatant.

Also.

Rasa refused Yu Mikami's treatment.

Seeing how principled this guy was, Mikami Yu naturally had no choice but to grant his request, since he didn't really want to treat him anyway.

As for Galullo, Machi, and the others...

Besides their physical and internal injuries, they were also in a state of mental exhaustion. The "Palm Immortal Technique" couldn't provide them with mental energy, so they could only rely on their own willpower. Garuro was relatively alright; he would probably wake up after a few days of sleep. But Maki and the two ANBU members would have to rely on luck.

"Let's go, let's take the wounded and Senior White Fang's body back to the village first."

"The Hokage will handle Sasori's matter appropriately."

As Minato Namikaze opened his mouth, the group picked up their feet again and dragged their weary bodies back to Konoha.

……

It was already the early morning of the next day when I saw the gates of Konoha Village again.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had already received the news and was waiting at the village entrance with a few people.

"Lord Kazekage, we meet again."

"I have heard about what happened. It was Konoha's negligence in patrolling that allowed Sasori to infiltrate the Land of Fire and attack you all. I am truly sorry."

"...Lord Hokage, you flatter me."

Yecang forced a smile: "The people who attacked us this time were S-rank rogue ninjas from Sunagakure. What wrong has Konoha done? If it weren't for your village sending ANBU to escort us, and Mr. Minato and the three Jonin coming from afar to support us, we probably wouldn't have been able to get here safely."

In fact, normally speaking, the configuration of Yekura's group was already quite high - Rasa was a weak Kage-level, Yekura herself was close to Kage-level, plus Karu, and Sarutobi Shinnosuke and others sent by Konoha, which was roughly two Kage-level combatants.

Back in the day, when Sasori was still using the Third Kazekage puppets, he couldn't do anything to them.

I just didn't expect...

The opponent escaped death once, and their strength has increased so much.

It's important to understand that Kage-level puppets are incredibly rare; acquiring even one is difficult, let alone several. Furthermore, most puppeteers cannot simultaneously control multiple Kage-level puppets and unleash their full combat potential. Sasori's appearance was something no one could have predicted.

present.

Hiruzen Sarutobi said a few more words of concern, and then said, "In short, I will send someone to investigate and handle this matter as soon as possible. I would like to ask Lord Kazekage to rest in Konoha for a day. After you have recovered your strength, I will have Minato use the Flying Thunder God Technique to send you back to the village."

"As for the other wounded, they can receive treatment in my Konoha Village first, and return to Sunagakure after they have recovered."

"……good."

This time, Yekura hesitated a bit before agreeing.

Well, as one of the five great ninja villages, and even the "Kage" of that village, it's quite shameful that he had to be escorted by an allied village twice.

But Yekura also knew that now was not the time to be stubborn and save face.

Compared to saving face, staying alive is the most important thing.

As the saying goes, fortunes change every thirty years, and one should never underestimate a young girl's potential... Sasori of the Red Sand was simply born a few years earlier and had a grandmother like Chiyo who helped him grow from a young age, which allowed him to possess Kage-level strength at such a young age. But Pakura is no pushover either, and she will surpass him sooner or later.

Of course, if the escort were changed from Minato Namikaze to Yu Mikami...

That would be perfect.

Since Konoha didn't seem to have this intention, Yekura couldn't bring it up herself and had to give up.

Next.

Sarutobi Biwako stepped forward with a pre-prepared medical team to take over the group of Sand Village ninjas, as well as Sarutobi Shinnosuke and others, and transport them to Konoha Hospital.

Although Yekura's injuries were relatively minor, she was still taken up for a check-up to see if there were any residual injuries.

Luo Sha stopped throwing a tantrum this time. After all, he knew his injuries were quite serious, and if he didn't get treatment soon, he might lose an arm. It wasn't worth paying such a high price for a moment of anger.

after that.

Hiruzen Sarutobi also called out to Yu Mikami and Minato Namikaze, leading them back to the Hokage's office to inquire about the events of the day.

Minato Namikaze then recounted the whole story.

She also mentioned Mikami Yu's speculation about Uchiha Madara.

"what?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi narrowed his eyes slightly, somewhat taken aback: "You mean... today's attack might not have been Sasori's solo operation, but is actually related to Madara?"

"It's not a possibility, it's a certainty."

Minato Namikaze said, "Otherwise, it's impossible to explain where Sasori's two puppets, especially the one belonging to Sakumo Hatake, came from."

"..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi remained silent.

By this time, he had already sent Akimichi Torifu to check on Hatake Sakumo's grave and confirmed that his body had been stolen.

—Although Sakumo Hatake committed suicide due to mission failure, Konoha buried him near the memorial stone in recognition of his past achievements, acknowledging his status as a "Konoha hero." However, considering public opinion, his name was not inscribed on the monument.

But the paradox is that...

The exterior of Hatake Sakumo's tomb showed no signs of disturbance, as if tomb raiders had dug a tunnel underground without alerting anyone and silently removed Sakumo's body without anyone noticing.

Simply put, digging tunnels to steal corpses isn't too difficult.

Basically, any Jonin who is proficient in Earth Release could do it.

However, the area around Konoha's memorial monument is patrolled and guarded daily by the Anbu, and people frequently visit to pay their respects. How to discover the internal structure of Sakumo's grave, how to evade the surrounding Anbu and Konoha's sensory barrier, and how to silently bring someone out of the village...?

These are the more difficult questions.

Hiruzen Sarutobi initially suspected that there was a traitor who helped Sasori of the Red Sand, a Sand ninja who had never been to Konoha and was not known for his sensory ninjutsu, to accomplish this.

But now it seems...

Attributing the conclusion to Madara Uchiha's intervention seems to be a more reasonable answer.

As a veteran of Konoha and a Kage-level ninja second only to Hashirama, it would be quite convenient for Madara to sneak in and remove the corpse of a Konoha ninja, even if it wasn't as simple as eating or drinking. After all, he himself had quietly left Konoha as a "corpse" in the past...

"Ban... what exactly is his purpose in doing all these things?"

"Is it really just about taking revenge on Konoha and plunging it into trouble?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi instinctively reached for his pipe to smoke, but stopped halfway through, his weathered old face filled with worry.

No one could maintain a smile when facing an opponent of Madara Uchiha's caliber, especially knowing that he harbored treacherous intentions and was plotting to overthrow the ninja world.

The only thing to be thankful for now is that the bodies of the first and second generation masters are still intact and haven't been taken away by him, otherwise things would be in serious trouble...