Naruto : Minato back to the past

Time passed silently, and Minato's expression grew increasingly solemn. No one could help him perceive nature; he had to rely on himself to accomplish it.

"[It will be dawn in less than two hours. We can't waste time like this.]" Hyuga Kyusugi sent a codeword.

Given the current situation, every step was difficult, not to mention they still had to search for Desert Sorrow around the Kazekage Building, which was no small task.

If they delayed any longer, daylight would break, and even with their skills, avoiding the heavily guarded Sand Ninja sentries would be nearly impossible.

Sakumo understood this all too well, but he had developed a blind confidence in Minato. All the impossibilities seemed to turn into reality when it came to the boy in front of him.

After all, sneaking into Sand Ninja Village had been Minato's idea. So, after thinking for a moment, Sakumo made an unusual decision for a seasoned ninja: he chose to trust Minato and continued to wait.

Seeing this, Hyuga Kyusugi refrained from saying more. Normally, his Byakugan could have easily located a few plants within this range, but even the Byakugan could be detected. Now, their only chance rested with Minato.

The three focused their attention on him.

After a few minutes, the tension in Minato's expression began to ease. Sakumo, noticing the change, felt a glimmer of hope. Minato's face grew more relaxed until, finally, his breathing became as calm as if he were napping.

"This..."

The other three were slightly taken aback by Minato's appearance. Had they not been prepared, anyone looking at him would think he was asleep. But Minato was completely unaware of their reactions.

He fully relaxed his spirit and merged it with his chakra. The darkness in his sight gradually started to change.

Suddenly, it felt as though Minato had a pair of special eyes. These new eyes replaced his natural vision, allowing him to see the world with striking clarity. He noticed subtle changes in Sakumo, Suzuka, and Kyusugi.

Among them, Hyuga Kyusugi's mood seemed the most unsettled, as the "natural" fluctuations around him were intense, indicating that his emotions were affecting his chakra and disrupting the surrounding nature.

Although ordinary ninjas cannot perceive or absorb natural energy, nature can still absorb their chakra. This is why ninjutsu, formed by chakra, eventually disappears and dissipates into the environment.

"Success!"

Minato was thrilled, though he remained emotionally neutral. He knew that in the early stages of mastering natural energy, it was important not to let emotions fluctuate too much, as that went against the flow of nature.

After this experience, once his body fully matured, Minato planned to go to Mount Myoboku to train in Sage Mode. He was confident that this time, Sage Mode would no longer require long preparation or suffer from short durations.

Now that he could sense nature, Minato let his chakra spread outward without fear. He wasn't worried about being detected by others. After all, neither the Sand Ninja sensor units nor the Kazekage himself could sense a search at the natural level.

As Minato's sensing crossed the Kazekage Building, he picked up a massive amount of chakra—indicating that the Kazekage was indeed present. Minato's chakra continued to spread, and about 200 meters past the Kazekage Building, he sensed something unusual. There was a subtle anomaly in the natural energy flow, a slight disturbance. He focused his mind on that location, and his invisible eyes seemed to zoom in, revealing the situation there more clearly.

Minato was overjoyed.

"Desert Sorrow, I've found you!"

He immediately withdrew from his sensory state and opened his eyes. The other three were watching him intently, and a smile appeared on Minato's face. Sakumo, who had been tense, relaxed at the sight of Minato's smile. There was only one reason for such an expression—Minato had found their target.

As expected, Minato quickly made a hand gesture. "[I found the location of Desert Sorrow.]"

A relieved smile spread across Suzuka's face, while Kyusugi looked slightly stunned, still uncertain of the method Minato had used. Minato, aware of the time they had lost, made another gesture. "[Follow me!]"

He rushed out, with Sakumo right behind him. This time, Minato didn't slow down, as he had already determined the positions of all Sand Ninja within a few hundred meters of the Kazekage Building through his natural sensing ability.

Chakra sensing only reveals the current location of individual chakra signatures, but natural sensing reveals the broader movement patterns of individuals, leaving behind a trace of their past actions.

At first, Hyuga Kyusugi wanted to stop Minato from moving so quickly, but Sakumo held him back. Minato now realized Suzuka had noticed his sensory technique, so he no longer hid it, assisting her with sensory work as they moved. Suzuka's burden was significantly reduced.

Swish, swish, swish!

About a minute later, the four of them landed on the roof of a building over 200 meters from the Kazekage Building. In Minato's sensor field, the closest Sand Ninja sentry was about 100 meters away. Using the building to conceal themselves, they began their search. But Minato's focus was already directed toward one area.

Even in the dark, ninjas could easily see 200 meters away. In the center of a patch of sandy land spanning about ten meters, two plants stood about 30 centimeters high.

When Minato saw the plants, his pupils narrowed slightly. Sakumo and the others followed his gaze and noticed the same sight—two flowers, striking in appearance.

The flowers were beautiful but ominous. Their color resembled congealed blood, a deep, dark red, almost black. On their stems, droplets like coagulated blood seemed to hang, and on the sand surrounding the plants, veins extended outward like blood vessels.

At first glance, the appearance of Desert Sorrow matched its name perfectly. Although strikingly beautiful, the plant exuded an aura of extreme misfortune.

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