C159(2)

In the distant desert, several strange ninjas appeared, quickly heading toward the gates of Sand Shinobi Village.

Upon seeing this, the captain of the Sand Shinobi guards immediately shouted, "It's the enemy! Prepare to attack!"

However, he soon realized that one of the enemies was moving incredibly fast. No sooner had he issued the warning than a yellow flash appeared at the entrance of Sand Shinobi Village.

Two kunai were thrown from a distance. The Sand Shinobi captain dodged one, but blocked the other with his own kunai. "Form up and block the enemy!" he shouted. "As long as—"

Before he could finish his sentence, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. A few seconds before he lost consciousness, one thought flashed through his mind: "How did he get behind me?"

"Damn it, avenge the captain..."

Although the remaining Sand Shinobi had some momentum, they were no match for Namikaze Minato. Using the elusive Flying Thunder God Technique, he quickly dispatched the Sand Shinobi at the entrance.

"Next, I will summon Orochimaru-sama's summoning beast," Minato said. "While the summoning beast and I draw their attention, you will attack Sand Shinobi as a team."

Following Minato's orders, he took out a scroll and Orochimaru's blood before performing the Summoning Technique.

Boom!

Two massive clouds of smoke billowed, followed by a fierce dragon's roar. The sound was like distant thunder, and most of the people in Sand Shinobi Village could hear it.

Minato suddenly felt a gust of wind and instinctively used the Flying Thunder God Technique to move away from the summoned beast.

As he retreated, Minato realized that what he had summoned were two gigantic fire dragons, each about 20 to 30 meters tall. 

However, he wasn't familiar with the creatures—though they looked somewhat like lizards to him.

"Roar!!"

These fire dragons were the most violent of those bred by Orochimaru. They were usually kept alone in a special space within Ryūchi Cave. 

Now, having been summoned, their pent-up aggression was immediately unleashed. Opening their massive mouths, the dragons unleashed fire blasts that stretched 34 meters in length.

The dragons then flapped their wings and attacked Sand Shinobi Village.

They had been imprisoned for far too long and were desperate to release their fury.

Meanwhile, in a different part of the Land of Fire:

"Kakashi-san, where should we go to find Dad? Do you know what he looks like now?"

After hearing this, Hatake Kakashi thought back to when he was around nine years old. Then he replied, "The daimyo's appearance hasn't changed much, so it will be easy to recognize him. Let's go to the Land of Fire and find out."

"He should be the Minister of Publicity by now. Someone should know his whereabouts."

Uzumaki Naruto suddenly asked, "Would you like to visit Sand Shinobi Village?"

Before Naruto could finish speaking, Hatake Kakashi punched him on the head and warned, "This is the past. Do you really want me to report the truth to the daimyo when I get back?"

"I understand, Kakashi-san. I'll be obedient."

Uzumaki Naruto quickly nodded. After Kakashi's warning, he realized that Kakashi wasn't joking—if he disobeyed, he might not survive to see the future.

"We should be approaching Sand Shinobi Village soon. Let's circle around," Kakashi said, but before he could finish, he suddenly looked ahead with heightened vigilance.

From behind a pile of rocks in the distance, a group of ninjas appeared, rushing toward them.

"Kakashi-san, those ninjas seem to be from Konoha. Why are they here?"

Uzumaki Naruto noticed the figures as well and asked Kakashi in a low voice. With no cover nearby, the two groups saw each other at the same time.

"There are pursuers behind them, trying to drag us into the mess?"

Hatake Kakashi's sharp eyes quickly spotted the Sand Shinobi trailing Namikaze Minato, and something about Minato felt familiar. 

As they drew closer, Kakashi realized that Minato had been his former team leader.

Kakashi had served under Minato as a Jōnin team leader during the war. Later, he had heard rumors of Minato's fall from grace—something involving a mistake, though no one knew the full story. 

Some said Minato was punished by being sent to the root or imprisoned, but details were scarce. Kakashi was too young at the time, and with his father away from Konoha, he didn't know what had really happened.

What Kakashi hadn't expected was how devious Minato had been at that age, leading Sand Shinobi straight toward them.

"Go, Naruto."

Kakashi ordered, and immediately pulled Naruto in the opposite direction. As people from the future, they would try to avoid any unnecessary encounters.

 If it weren't for the fact that they wouldn't be able to return for a while, Kakashi wouldn't have wanted to meet any of the famous figures from this time.

But what Kakashi didn't expect was that when they changed direction, Minato's group followed them.

The last few days of October had indeed been a bit slow, but with the arrival of November, explosive updates were coming.

….

patreon.com/Vks_sh