Chapter 341: Encountering the Sky Ninjas; How Can We Allow Others to Snore Beside Our Bed? [HN]

At the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Hot Springs, there was a dense forest that had once been eroded by Sasori’s Natural Energy.

Although the forest had now regained its surface tranquility, a faint sense of stagnation still lingered in the air, as if the earth had not fully recovered from that wound.

Minato’s figure moved rapidly through the forest, his golden hair occasionally catching the sunlight that passed through the canopy.

He released his sensory perception to its full extent and searched carefully.

The analysis report provided by the Konoha Scientific Academy indicated that the energy’s decay pattern was extremely unnatural, more like a state in which it had been cut off or transferred.

“There are no traces of any Space Ninjutsu or large scale Summoning Jutsu…”

Minato crouched down and brushed his fingertips across a patch of slightly darker soil, his brows furrowing slightly.

‘Could it really have appeared out of nowhere and then disappeared just as suddenly?’

A trace of doubt flashed through his blue eyes.

As a master of the Flying Thunder God Technique, he was quite familiar with spatial fluctuations.

Yet apart from the destruction caused by the battle and the hollow sensation left behind by the dissipation of Natural Energy, there was nothing else unusual here.

Just as he focused his senses, sharp sounds of something tearing through the air suddenly came from above without warning!

It was not the sound of shuriken or kunai, but the shrill whistle of some kind of object moving at an even higher speed and in far greater numbers!

Minato’s pupils suddenly contracted.

His body reacted far faster than his thoughts, instantly turning into a streak of golden light and disappearing from where he stood.

“Thunk, thunk, thunk!”

Dozens of strange metal senbon flashing with faint cyan light were embedded in the spot where he had been standing.

Small fins were attached to the ends of the senbon, clearly specially designed to ensure stability and penetration at high speeds.

“An airborne unit!”

Minato appeared on the branch of a large tree and sharply scanned the sky.

More than a dozen figures wearing gray brown fitted ninja uniforms were suspended in midair, each carrying a device resembling a glider on their back as they looked down at him from above.

Their forehead protectors bore an abstract wing symbol.

Sky nin.

Sky nin!

“A Konoha ninja? Looks like we’re pretty lucky. We caught a big fish.”

The leader of the Sky nin spoke in a hoarse voice filled with condescension and mockery.

“The energy residue in this area is quite interesting, isn’t it? Unfortunately, it belongs to us now!”

Before his voice had even faded, the devices on the Sky nin’s backs released streams of Chakra, and their figures dove downward like hunting falcons.

“Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere!”

“Wind Release: Wind Cutter!”

“…”

Dense high pressure wind bullets and invisible wind blades poured down like a storm, covering every possible route Minato could use to evade.

Their coordination was flawless and their attacks were precise.

They were clearly an experienced elite squad, and they were exceptionally skilled at using their aerial advantage to launch three dimensional attacks.

‘Using Wind Release to increase their speed and attack range, combined with aerial mobility…’

Minato instantly assessed the situation.

‘I can’t let them gain complete control of the airspace!’

Facing the incoming Wind Release techniques, Minato remained calm.

He did not even use a kunai to block them.

His hands formed seals as fast as lightning.

“Flying Thunder God Technique!”

His figure disappeared once again.

At the moment the enemy launched their attack, a specially crafted three pronged kunai had already been silently thrown toward the shadow of a large tree behind them.

A flash of golden light appeared beside the kunai, and Minato appeared there.

Almost at the same moment he appeared, his hands had already completed the next series of seals.

“Ninja Art: Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!”

The thrown shuriken instantly split into countless shuriken carrying the Flying Thunder God formula.

They shot toward the Sky nin who were adjusting their positions in midair like a swarm of bees.

These shuriken were not attacking blindly.

They precisely predicted the possible flight paths and evasion spaces of the Sky nin.

The Sky nin clearly had not expected Minato’s speed and counterattack to be so fast and so strange.

They rapidly changed direction and climbed higher with their gliders, trying to evade the attack.

But Minato’s tactics went far beyond that.

Just as the shuriken were about to pass by the Sky nin, Minato’s figure disappeared again.

“Flying Thunder God, Second Stage!”

Golden light flashed repeatedly through the air.

Every flash placed Minato precisely beside one of the flying shuriken.

Like a golden bolt of lightning moving through the gaps between dimensions, Minato’s kunai struck every time he appeared, inevitably destroying a Sky nin’s glider or precisely hitting a vital point on their body.

“Splurt!”

“Ah!”

Screams and explosions from the damaged devices rang out one after another.

The mobility that the Sky nin relied upon appeared completely laughable and fragile before the absolute speed and spatial control of the Flying Thunder God Technique.

They could not even catch sight of Minato’s true form.

All they could do was watch helplessly as their comrades fell from the sky one after another, as though harvested by an invisible god of death.

“Spread out! Spread out now! Don’t gather together!”

The leader of the Sky nin shouted in utter terror.

He finally realized what kind of terrifying existence he had provoked.

However, it was already too late.

Minato appeared behind the last Sky nin who was attempting to escape, his kunai gently pressing against the man’s back.

“Who are you? Why are you here?”

Minato’s voice was calm, but it carried an unquestionable authority.

The Sky nin’s body stiffened, and cold sweat instantly soaked through his clothes.

He had no doubt that if he made even the slightest movement, he would become a corpse in the next second.

“…We… we’re from the Sky Ninja Village. We were ordered to investigate the abnormal energy in this area.

“We heard that it was related to a powerful form of Natural Energy…”

The Sky nin answered with a trembling voice.

“We’re interested in any energy that can improve the performance of aircraft and weapons…”

Minato’s eyes narrowed.

The Sky Ninja Village.

‘Could it be that village that was severely damaged by Konoha during the Second Great Ninja War?’

‘The ninja village that was supposedly disbanded long ago has actually become active again, and its target is this dangerous energy?’

“Where is your headquarters? And how many personnel do you have?”

“I… I don’t know… I’m only a squad leader… We were ordered to gather here and investigate…”

Minato knew he would not get anything more from him, so he knocked him unconscious with a precise strike of his hand.

He quickly searched the corpses of the other Sky nin and their remaining equipment.

He found several strangely shaped communication devices and energy detection devices, as well as several scrolls bearing the Sky nin insignia and simple maps.

“This is getting complicated…”

Minato put away the spoils and glanced at the scene of devastation covering the ground.

He did not stay any longer.

His figure turned into a streak of golden light and rapidly returned toward Konoha.

…

That afternoon, inside the Hokage Building.

Chiya listened to Minato’s concise and clear report.

When he heard the words “Sky nin,” a trace of surprise flashed through his eyes before turning into cold understanding.

“Sky nin… so it’s them.”

Chiya’s voice was low.

He raised his head and swept his gaze across Minato and Shikaku in the office, as well as several ANBU higher ups and Root representatives who had been urgently summoned.

“This organization is the Sky Corps, which was defeated during the Second Great Ninja War.”

“It seems the energy fluctuations exposed by the Sasori incident have attracted them.”

He looked toward a Root shinobi standing nearby.

“Root, have you been able to keep track of the Sky nin’s movements in recent years?”

“According to scattered intelligence, the remnants of the Sky nin were not completely destroyed. With secret support from certain great nations, they rebuilt a base somewhere overseas and continued developing their technology.

“Their leader seems to be a man named Shennong. He is proficient in Medical Ninjutsu and forbidden techniques, and he has considerable ambition.”

“Shennong… forbidden techniques…”

Shennong.

A cold glint flashed through Chiya’s eyes.

‘What kind of person does he think he is, daring to call himself Shennong?’

“It seems they’re interested not only in energy, but also in containers.”

“We cannot allow them to continue watching us from the shadows, much less allow them to obtain that dangerous energy technology.”

He suddenly stood up, and an unquestionable authority spread through the room.

“Minato, you will personally take charge of this operation to eliminate them!”

“ANBU will immediately dispatch three elite squads to accompany you.”

“Also, notify Kakashi, Might Guy, Yūhi Kurenai, Uchiha Obito, Nohara Rin, and Genma Shiranui to serve as the support team and coordinate with Minato!”

“Root will also dispatch two operation teams to provide intelligence support and clear the surrounding area!”

“Mission objective: Find the Sky nin’s base in this area and completely destroy it!”

“If there is an opportunity, capture their core technical personnel alive and obtain their research materials!”

“Especially the materials related to Natural Energy technology!”

“Understood!”

Minato accepted the order without hesitation, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

He had no goodwill toward an organization like the Sky nin that posed an external threat either.

The Root captain nodded.

“Root will cooperate with the operation.”

Chiya walked to the window and looked down at the prosperous Konoha, his voice cold.

“The appearance of the Sky nin reminds us that the shadows of the shinobi world have never disappeared.”

“Konoha’s peace needs the sharpest sword to protect it.”

“This time, we will cut off the claws they have extended toward us, along with their ambitions!”

“Yes!!”

Everyone accepted the order and left one after another.