Naruto: Flash Reborn — Minato’s Second Life

Minato also turned his gaze toward them at this moment—the three Hidden Hot Spring Village ninjas Sakumo had mentioned, two females and one male.

The female kunoichi on the far left stood at average height. Though her looks weren't particularly striking, her light green eyes gave off an extremely amiable aura.

The woman standing in the center was tall and slender. However, unlike her companion on the left who radiated cuteness, she had phoenix eyes and golden-yellow pupils matching Minato's hair color. Her sharp gaze was quite piercing.

What stood out most was that in a ninja world dominated by men, Hidden Hot Spring Village sent two female kunoichi—and only one male ninja, who was still just a boy.

He looked only slightly older than Minato and Yan Uchiha, about twelve or thirteen years old. His young, delicate face bore an audacious expression, which became the strongest impression he left upon first meeting.

Looking at him, Minato couldn't help but think of Yan Uchiha back when they were at the Ninja Academy.

"Truly worthy of being a Leaf ninja—discovering our presence so quickly."

The tall woman spoke first. Her eyes widened slightly when noticing the tanto in Sakumo's arms, and then carefully examined his appearance itself.

"These white hair strands and chakra tanto… Are you… Sakumo Hatake?" She gasped in realization, correctly identifying Sakumo's identity.

After all, even the Kage from the Five Great Nations knew of Sakumo Hatake's name.

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the other two instantly changed as well. Junko Watanabe parted her lips slightly in shock, while the arrogant boy narrowed his eyes and retracted his earlier smugness.

After all, the ninja before them was stronger than their Hidden Hot Spring Village leader.

"Haha, indeed that is my name," Sakumo said. Junko Watanabe and the others already knew of Sakumo's strength, so they weren't surprised by the reaction from these three Hot Spring ninjas.

"It really is you!" The tone of these three Hidden Hot Spring ninjas immediately changed, using honorific speech respectfully.

Sakumo looked at the three before saying, "You arrived rather quickly."

They had battled the Kumogakure ninjas in the forest outside Izumi Town last night. Naturally someone would discover traces of battle. Besides, Sakumo hadn't intentionally hidden their tracks.

Though Hidden Hot Spring Village belonged to the Land of Hot Springs—a relatively small ninja country—it clearly maintained a capable intelligence network. Their response speed exceeded his expectations.

"Then, may I ask about last night's battle outcome?" The tall woman resumed normal composure as she asked.

Her question caused slight surprise among Sakumo and his group. As foreign ninjas entering Hidden Hot Spring Village on a mission during such tense times between the great nations, they had expected at least some wariness from the Hot Spring ninjas.

Yet there wasn't the slightest hint of suspicion visible on their faces.

As if sensing the thoughts in Sakumo's mind, Junko Watanabe added, "Our Land of Hot Springs advocates peace. We always treat foreigners and visiting ninjas with friendliness. More importantly, we understand that your group's visit to Hidden Hot Spring Village bears no ill intent."

"It seems the Hidden Hot Spring Village already knows about the purpose of Sakumo and his team's mission. That's why the Hot Spring Ninja were so friendly toward them.

Otherwise, in the ninja world, being overly friendly to everyone is practically asking for death. The Hidden Hot Spring Village and the Land of Hot Springs wouldn't have survived until today if that were the case.

"Due to the mission's secrecy, I can't tell you the details," Sakumo said. This time, Tachiyama Shinsaburo's mission was classified at a very high level. Even Konoha Ninja knew little about it, so there was no way he could directly reveal it to the Hidden Hot Spring Ninja.

"But I guess, since you're here, our mission probably hasn't succeeded yet..." Sakumo then added with a bitter smile.

Minato and the other two were momentarily stunned. Could it be that guy Tachiyama Shinsaburo wasn't dead yet?

Is it even possible to survive having one's head severed by Sakumo?

The three Hot Spring Ninja naturally understood the rules of the ninja world as well.

"Although I don't know how powerful you are, our country's rogue ninja Tachiyama Shinsaburo should still be alive," said the tall female ninja.

"Just as I suspected." Although Sakumo had already guessed the answer, his eyes still revealed a slight change.

"If that's the case, since the Hidden Hot Spring Village knows Konoha's target this time is the rogue ninja Tachiyama Shinsaburo, they might also know about Cloud Ninja entering our territory and other related matters."

What Sakumo referred to as "other matters" was Tachiyama Shinsaburo's purpose for coming to the Land of Hot Springs — to obtain something.

The female ninja nodded and said, "However, our intelligence isn't as detailed as Konoha's. We don't know exactly where and when the Cloud Ninja and Tachiyama Shinsaburo will enter the Land of Hot Springs."

Her meaning was clear enough: despite knowing about it, the Hidden Hot Spring Village had no way to stop it. After all, both the Land of Hot Springs and the Hidden Hot Spring Village were too small. Preventing elite ninja from Kumogakure without specific targets was simply impossible.

That Tachiyama Shinsaburo would enter the Land of Hot Springs through Izumi Town was something Sakumo deduced based on their arrival timing.

They found this place naturally because of last night's battle.

"So, could you tell me what it was that Tachiyama Shinsaburo came to the Land of Hot Springs to take?" Sakumo asked, then shrugged his shoulders and added, "Of course, you can choose not to answer me. This might involve your nation's secrets."

When the Third handed him this mission, he had mentioned that there were some unknown secrets within the Hidden Hot Spring Village, which might become important to this mission in the Land of Hot Springs.

The first country Tachiyama Shinsaburo passed through after defecting was the Land of Hot Springs, and it seemed he had even stayed there for quite a while.

"You don't need to be like that. Actually, our Third Hokage and the leader of our Hidden Hot Spring Village have already reached an agreement. We came specifically to assist you in completing your mission."

The young, pretty female ninja added, pulling out a scroll from her robe and handing it to Sakumo.

Sakumo unfolded it, glanced through it briefly, then put it away and nodded toward Minato and the others.

Their current mission had been extremely urgent. It appeared that once they left the village, Konoha had already reached out to the Hidden Hot Spring Village.

"So, I can answer your question. But before I do, I hope all four of you will keep this confidential and not share what I say with anyone else—not even with the ninja from Konoha."

The female ninja said this. Sakumo and the others nodded in agreement, understanding that the information she was about to reveal must be related to the interests of the Hidden Hot Spring Village in the Land of Hot Springs.

Seeing their nods, the kunoichi relaxed and continued, "Actually, within the Land of Hot Springs, aside from our Hidden Hot Spring Village, there's also a powerful clandestine group known as the Evil Cult. It's an organization not recognized by the state, filled entirely with fanatics."

"The Evil Cult?" Sakumo and the others were slightly taken aback; it was the first time they had ever heard this name.

Now everything made sense—why both the Land of Hot Springs and its ninja village were so nervous. Having a non-government-sanctioned armed organization inside a nation is extremely detrimental to peace.

This kind of situation becomes especially dangerous for a small country like the Land of Hot Springs—if the major nations find out, its position would become even more precarious.

...

I've been feeling unwell all week and visited the hospital several times. The doctor said it was due to the stress from what happened at my home recently.

I can't sit still because of abdominal pain. I missed an update yesterday and now I already owe everyone four chapters. I'll make sure to post four chapters today, and slowly catch up on the last two in the days ahead. Thanks for your patience, everyone.

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