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Chapter 61 - Chapter 61:Breakout!

"Go!"

As the Suna-nin squad retreated, Namikaze Minato gave the order.

Hoshita Shūichi and the others immediately activated the Body Flicker Technique, closing the distance before hurling Minato's Flying Thunder God kunai with full force.

The fleeing Suna jōnin glanced back, adjusting his stance to effortlessly dodge one kunai—

Only for his eyes to widen as a figure materialized before him in the next instant.

"What—?"

The kunai had been a decoy. Minato's Rasengan was already descending.

BOOM!

The jōnin cratered into the ground, kicking up a dust cloud.

"Captain!"

The three remaining Suna-nin froze in horror.

Shūichi's team pounced.

Body Flicker Technique!

Crescent Moon Dance!

Genjutsu: Illusionary Displacement Technique!

Kurama Sanyō provided support, disrupting the group with area-of-effect illusions. Uchiha Shisui blurred into a swarm of afterimages, dispatching enemies in seconds. Shūichi, though slightly slower, still felled his target in a single stroke.

"Fall back!"

Minato led the team out of the town, regrouping on a mountainside to rest. They replenished stamina with soldier pills and water, sitting in silence.

Shūichi reviewed the day's battles.

The Azure Flame Skyblade had proven lethally effective, its 4,000°C edge melting steel instantly.

But my speed's still lacking.

He knew his weakness: against jōnin-tier opponents, his reflexes—though sharp—couldn't compensate for raw velocity.

Even with dynamic vision, like Sasuke's Sharingan, seeing an attack doesn't guarantee dodging it if the body lags.

Against chūnin, Tsunade's chakra-burst techniques bridged the gap. But jōnin were another realm.

Without Shisui earlier, I'd have been hard-pressed to solo that jōnin.

"Lightning Release could enhance speed by stimulating cells," Shūichi mused. "But my forte is Fire Release..."

His mind raced. Could fire's explosive properties be harnessed for propulsion?

An hour later, under cover of night, the team struck a third town.

Minato shifted tactics: no more stealth extermination. Now, they hit fast, vanished, and moved to the next target.

By dawn, four towns lay in chaos. Suna's forces scrambled north, leaving River Valley Town and Shanliao Town vulnerable—now secured by Konoha reinforcements.

The strategy was working.

In a mountain cave, Shūichi opened his eyes after three hours of rest.

Nearby, Shisui roused himself. The two relieved Minato and Sanyō on watch, expanding their patrol radius without Minato's sensory prowess.

Two hours in, Shūichi spotted movement downstream—Suna-nin approaching.

Westward, another squad emerged.

Minato's sensory sweep confirmed it: "Enemies on all sides."

Predictable. The team's trail had been left deliberately. Their mission was to divert Suna's attention, and Suna had no choice but to hunt them.

"Sensei, should we break east?" Sanyō asked.

"East is the weakest flank," Minato agreed. "But is it a trap?"

Shisui frowned. "If I were Suna's commander, I'd prioritize eliminating us—both for revenge and to intimidate the Land of Rivers."

Shūichi proposed a test: "Three shadow clones. Two disguised as Shisui and Sanyō, plus your clone, sensei—all feigning an eastern retreat. Meanwhile, we choose another path."

Minato finalized the plan: "Option one: execute Shūichi's decoy tactic."

"Option two: charge south. Their strongest force is there, but breaking through means cleaner escape routes."

As enemies ascended the mountain, the team moved.

Shūichi's clones and Minato's raced east. Suna's sensors detected them—yet all four enemy squads continued converging on the summit.

Definitely a trap.

"Execute!"

The real team bolted south. Minato led, Sanyō at center, Shūichi (senbon between his teeth) and Shisui guarding the rear.

At the mountainside, enemy silhouettes emerged.

Shisui and Shūichi overtook Sanyō, flanking Minato.

Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu!

Twin infernos roared forth. Minato layered Wind Release: Great Breakthrough, fanning the flames into a tsunami.

The Suna jōnin countered with their own wind storms, triggering a cataclysmic collision.

Heatwaves forced both sides to cover.

In the lull, kunai and shuriken flew—

Then Minato vanished.

A Rasengan erupted from behind the lead Suna-nin, pulverizing rock and spine alike.

Shisui's Body Flicker clones swarmed the remaining jōnin, while Shūichi's Crescent Moon Dance weaved through the chaos, Azure Flame Skyblade igniting the forest in blue radiance.

A Suna jōnin blocked—but the superheated blade split his kunai, armor, and torso in one motion.

Minato dispatched the last jōnin.

Total engagement: under three minutes.

Not because Suna was weak, but because Minato was fast.

And with Shūichi, Shisui, and Sanyō's teamwork, even jōnin fell without a chance to counter.

By the time the northern and western squads arrived, the team was already gone—vanishing southward with their retrieved kunai.

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