251- Four Minutes

High atop a rocky outcrop, two Konoha shinobi stood, their pale eyes glinting in the fading light of the afternoon sun. The sharp wind tugged at their flak jackets, whistling softly as it passed over the cliffs. Despite the tranquillity of their surroundings, an undercurrent of tension buzzed between them, made all the more palpable by the approaching threat.

The first shinobi, a tall man with a serious face and long black hair tied back in a neat bun scanned the horizon intently. His name was Hyuga Haruto, a seasoned chunin and a skilled user of the Byakugan. His pale, eyes glowed faintly as they tracked the movement of a force rapidly approaching from the east.

His partner, Hyuga Kenshiro, stood beside him, equally focused, though the anxiety in his posture was evident.

"Do you think we should go and stop them?" Kenshiro asked, his voice laced with uncertainty. His hand hovered over the hilt of his kunai, an unconscious gesture of readiness.

Haruto didn't bother to look at his partner, his gaze still fixed on the distant force. The approaching enemy was several hundred miles away, moving through the dense forest at a rapid pace, but the Hyuga's Byakugan made it easy to monitor them from afar.

The unmistakable symbol of Kirigakure, the Hidden Mist, adorned their hitai-ate, and Haruto could see them with unnerving clarity—like ants crawling toward the vulnerable outpost they were charged with defending.

"If you want an early death," Haruto said dryly, his voice steady but carrying a hint of reproach, "then by all means, go ahead and confront them. I'll be sure to tell your wife and son of your foolishness."

Kenshiro frowned, though a part of him knew Haruto was right. "So, what? We should just stand here and watch them?" His fingers twitched nervously.

Haruto finally turned his head slightly, his gaze settling on his partner. "We already sent word to the village," he said, his voice as calm as ever.

"Calm down."

Despite his outward composure, Haruto was just as anxious as Kenshiro, though he was better at hiding it. His mind raced with the implications of the approaching force.

A direct confrontation would be disastrous for them. They were outnumbered, and abandoning their post to engage the enemy prematurely was a serious offence in Konoha's military code.

Still, the idea of simply waiting was a bitter pill to swallow. 'Perhaps we should evacuate', he thought, but he quickly quashed the notion. No, abandoning the post wasn't an option—not without direct orders.

Far below, within the dense forest, the enemy shinobi moved swiftly through the trees, their forms flickering in and out of view as they jumped from branch to branch. The Kirigakure forces were silent and efficient, like shadows slipping through the woods.

Leading the group was a tall, muscular man with short, dark hair and a jagged scar running across his left eye. His name was Riku Juzo, a veteran elite jōnin of Kirigakure and an elite member of their forces. His face was hard, emotionless, as his thoughts churned beneath the surface.

'This is just an outpost. We need to finish this quickly,' he mused. He was not particularly invested in the mission for glory or recognition, but the promise of retrieving the Kabutowari, the famed Splitter sword that had once belonged to a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and was now in Konoha's possession, drove him forward.

He wasn't alone in his resolve as three other elite jōnin from Kirigakure led their own squads, each one as determined as Riku to make this mission a success.

As they neared the outpost, the forest became denser, the underbrush thick with twisting vines and gnarled roots. The group slowed, their movements becoming more deliberate. Riku raised a hand, signalling his squad to prepare for the attack. His sharp eyes swept over the landscape, noting the few defensive structures visible in the distance.

'This will be over soon and then we can move to the next,' he thought, confidence surging within him.

Just as they reached the outskirts of the outpost, one of the Kirigakure shinobi, a lean man with short-cropped hair, darted forward, forming hand signs for a powerful water-based jutsu.

"Water Dragon Jutsu!" he called out, gathering the moisture from the air as a massive, serpentine dragon of water began to form around him.

"Thunk!"

But before he could even release the jutsu, something caught his eye. A glint of metal—a kunai—fell from above, landing on his leg with a faint. He barely had time to register the weapon before Minato appeared before him.

There was a split second where the Kirigakure shinobi's eyes widened in shock as another of Minato's kunai plunged into his chest. The man's body crumpled to the ground in a lifeless heap.

Minato didn't pause. His blue eyes, sharp and calculating, scanned the battlefield in an instant. His chakra flared briefly, and in a blur of movement, he vanished again, reappearing behind another enemy shinobi.

This time, it was a roundhouse kick, his heel slamming into the side of the man's head with bone-cracking force. The Kirigakure shinobi flew backwards, his body limp before it even hit the ground.

Minato's movements were a whirlwind of precision and speed, his body flickering from one place to another, too fast for the enemy to follow. He was like a bolt of lightning, striking down enemy after enemy with ruthless efficiency. With each flicker, another Kirigakure shinobi fell, their attacks rendered useless before they could even begin.

One after another, he dispatched the invaders. His hands moved in a blur, launching kunai with deadly accuracy, each one marked with his Flying Thunder God seal. In the blink of an eye, Minato would appear beside the kunai, his hand glowing with the swirling, destructive energy of the Rasengan.

"Wham!"

A Rasengan slammed into the chest of an enemy shinobi, the swirling chakra drilling into the man's body with devastating force, sending him flying into a tree, his body limp and broken.

"Boom!"

Another shinobi attempted to throw a fire jutsu, but before he could even finish the hand signs, Minato appeared beside him, his kunai flashing in the dim light. The man's throat was cut cleanly, and he collapsed in a heap.

From their vantage point, Haruto and Kenshiro could only watch in stunned silence as Minato decimated the enemy forces. Kenshiro's mouth hung open in disbelief.

"I... I can't even follow him," he muttered, his Byakugan activated, but even with the enhanced vision, Minato's movements were too fast, too precise. It was like watching a force of nature in action.

"He's faster than we could ever be," Haruto added, his voice barely above a whisper.

"No wonder they call him the Yellow Flash…"

Within minutes, the battlefield was littered with the bodies of the fallen Kirigakure shinobi. Only Riku Juzo remained standing, his chest heaving as he stared at Minato, his mind racing.

'I can't win this', he realized, the cold truth settling in his gut like a stone.

Minato hadn't even broken a sweat, while his entire squad had been wiped out in the blink of an eye. There was no shame in admitting defeat here—not against a monster like the Yellow Flash. It had taken him just about four minutes to get rid of them.

Without hesitation, Riku made a series of quick hand signs. In an instant, a puff of smoke enveloped him, and he vanished, reverse summoning himself out of the battlefield.

Minato narrowed his eyes, watching the space where Riku had stood just moments before.

"Hmm…" he muttered softly, though he wasn't particularly concerned. The elite jōnin had escaped, but it didn't matter. The mission was to defend the outpost, and he had accomplished that.

With a calm, almost casual demeanour, Minato raised his hand and signalled to the shinobi stationed at the outpost below. The few who had remained hidden during the skirmish now emerged, moving quickly to secure the area and deal with the aftermath of the battle.

Minato, meanwhile, reached into his pouch and pulled out two small soldier pills, swallowing them without hesitation. The chakra required to use the Flying Thunder God technique over such long distances had drained him more than he cared to admit.

Being stationed on the far borders of the Land of Fire meant that each use of the technique consumed more chakra than usual, but the pills would help mitigate the strain.

With his chakra energy replenished, Minato disappeared in another flash, leaving the battlefield behind. There were still more threats to deal with—other Kirigakure forces attempting to invade Konoha's territory.

He repeated the same process with two other teams attacking nearby outposts. Each time, the enemy jōnin didn't even have a chance to flee. Minato was more cautious now, ensuring that none of them escaped as Riku had.

By the end of the day, the three other Kirigakure elite jōnins leading the invasion were dead, and their forces were decimated before they could even reach Konoha's borders.

=====

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