I will use the ninja world to aid my cultivation of immortality.

In the dense forest, Nara Shikaku, who was moving quickly, said with a solemn expression, "This mission is clearly Danzo's way of using someone else to do his dirty work!"

“Yes, but this time it’s an open scheme. Putting aside the greater good of the village, even if it’s just a personal grudge, we can’t refuse.” Yamanaka Inoichi, who was also walking briskly beside him, said in a deep voice.

On the other side, Akimichi Choza sighed, "Who can argue with that? After all, Naraku killed not only our father, but also the heads of our three clans. If we don't take on this mission to assassinate Naraku, some people in our clans might use it as an excuse to cause trouble."

As soon as Akimichi Choza spoke, Nara Shikaku and Yamanaka Inoichi fell silent.

The three members of Nara Shikaku are still very young.

Although he is already very outstanding compared to his peers, his strength is close to that of an elite Jonin.

However, the three were able to succeed to the position of clan leader largely due to the blessings bestowed upon them by their fathers.

This also made the position of clan leader among the three very unstable.

This was especially true with Danzo's encouragement.

In his quest for power and profit, Danzo used the "Seal of the Extinction of the Tongue" to control members of multiple departments in Konoha.

This includes some members of the three tribes: pig, deer, and butterfly.

With Nara Shikaku and his two companions refusing to submit and even supporting the Uchiha clan, Danzo naturally wouldn't let them off easily.

For example, right now, Nara Shikaku and his two companions, just like Namikaze Minato, were given the mission by Danzo, acting on behalf of the Hokage, to assassinate Naraku.

As for the reasons, Danzo had no shortage of justification, whether it was the deaths of Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other two, or the losses from the Konoha Crush plan.

Similarly, faced with this task given by Danzo, Nara Shikaku and his two companions had no way to refuse.

One was driven by the greater good of the village, the other by personal grudges.

The previous head of the Ino-Shika-Cho triad was Nara Shikaku's father.

With the murder of their father right before their eyes, how could Nara Shikaku and the other two possibly refuse?

"Minato, it seems you'll have to take the lead in this mission!" After a moment of silence, Nara Shikaku looked at Namikaze Minato, who was rushing ahead of the three of them.

"Yes, I will do my best!" Minato Namikaze did not turn around, but his reply to Shikaku Nara was full of determination.

Looking at Minato Namikaze from the front, his face was unusually serious.

This seriousness came not only from Naraku, the assassination target, but also from the pressure on Kushina.

Similar to Nara Shikaku.

Minato Namikaze also had reasons why he couldn't refuse the mission to assassinate Naraku.

That's Kushina.

Danzo offered to release Kushina if he successfully assassinated Naraku.

Unable to wait for Tsunade to awaken, and worried about Kushina, Minato Namikaze had no choice but to accept Danzo's deal.

All three of them—Nara Shikaku, Yamanaka Inoichi, and Akimichi Choza—had great faith in Minato Namikaze.

In fact, one of the reasons why the three did not refuse the mission to assassinate Naraku was because of Minato Namikaze's involvement.

Putting aside his strength, Minato Namikaze's mastery of the "Flying Thunder God Technique" alone, aside from the convenience it brings in assassinations, greatly guarantees his safety.

For example, Nara Shikaku had considered having Minato Namikaze use the "Flying Thunder God Technique" to take them away and retreat if the assassination failed.

"Have you noticed that the ecological environment of the Land of Stars seems to be better than that of our Land of Fire?" Perhaps having gained confidence from Minato Namikaze, Yamanaka Inoichi, who had relaxed slightly, glanced at the passing forest and couldn't help but ask.

The forest they were in was lush with vegetation, and even the soil beneath their feet was clearly very fertile.

Chapter 178 Assassination and Detection

“I discovered this a long time ago. According to the intelligence I’ve gathered, the ecological environment here in the Land of Stars wasn’t originally like this. It only gradually changed after Naraku became the leader of the Star Ninja Village.” Nara Shikaku glanced at the lush flowers, plants and trees around him and said in a low voice.

Akimichi Choza and Yamanaka Inoichi looked at Nara Shikaku in astonishment.

Among them, Choza Akimichi couldn't help but say, "Could it be that the ecological environment of the Land of Stars was altered by Naraku? But how is that possible?"

Changing a country's ecological environment requires more than just strength.

“Nothing is impossible, after all, that man cannot be judged by ordinary standards!” Nara Shikaku took a deep breath.

He truly hated Naraku, but he also held him in great awe.

The other party is like the First Hokage back then, having reached an inhuman level, and cannot be limited by conventional perspectives.

Even though they haven't even seen Naraku's face yet, the changes in the ecological environment of the Star Country alone have already put unprecedented pressure on Nara Shikaku and his companions.

When they arrived in Star City, the pressure increased even more.

"Star City never imagined that a small ninja village could develop to such an extent."

"A city of this size is almost as good as the capital of the Land of Fire."

"This place is even more exaggerated than the intelligence reports described!"

As they approached Star City, Minato Namikaze and his companions disguised themselves using transformation techniques to avoid being noticed.

At this moment, looking at the Star City right in front of them, Minato Namikaze and his companions were all secretly alarmed.

Towering city walls.

The bustling streets and numerous pedestrians that can be seen from inside the city gate.

The prosperity of Star City far exceeded the four people's expectations.

Judging from the prosperity and grandeur of Star City, it doesn't seem like the capital of a small country at all; rather, it's more like the capital of one of the five major powers.

It even has to be the capital of the Fire Kingdom, the most prosperous of the five great nations.

The prosperity and grandeur of a country's capital city can often be a reflection of that country's national strength.

When Minato Namikaze and his companions arrived, they did not come without gathering information about Star City.

However, after comparing the intelligence reports with their own experience, they realized that they had underestimated the development of Star City.

Whether it's attracting investment or drawing in people.

Every day, a large number of people of all kinds come and go in Star City.

Meanwhile, Star City seemed completely unconcerned about malicious individuals entering the city; the checks at the city gates were merely simple registration of information.

"Everyone be careful to control your chakra; this city has a large sensory barrier."

"Yes, the defense here should be loose on the outside but tight on the inside. We can't be careless when we enter the city."

"."

To the average person, Star City's defenses seem very lax, but to Minato and his companions, this is not the case.

As the four carefully observed, they soon realized that a large sensory barrier had been set up around Star City.

In other words, anyone entering or leaving Star City will be detected by the perception barrier.

Any unusual chakra fluctuations will be detected by the people of Star City.

This discovery immediately put Minato and the others on high alert, causing them to restrain their chakra and only maintain the most basic chakra consumption of the Transformation Technique.

I don't know if Minato Namikaze was good at disguising himself or if he was just slow to sense the barrier.

After Minato Namikaze and his three companions blended into the crowd entering and leaving Star City, they simply registered their information like everyone else and easily entered Star City.

"Note that four people with high-level chakra have entered the city."

Just as Minato and the others had predicted, the defenses of Star City were loose on the outside but tight on the inside.

Moreover, the covert defenses were even stronger than Minato and his companions had anticipated.

Just as Minato Namikaze and his companions passed through the sensory barrier at the city gate, a sensory officer on duty immediately issued a warning in the monitoring room located underground near the city gate.

Looking at the sensory user, whose eyes were white, it was clear that he was a ninja from the Hyuga clan.

Minato Namikaze and his companions possessed exceptional chakra control, rendering the Star City's sensory barrier unable to detect their true abilities.

But it couldn't escape the discerning eye of a shrew.

Inside the monitoring room, the captain of the perception team was also a Hyuga ninja.

"White Eye - Open!"

Upon hearing his subordinate's reminder, the captain of the perception team's expression darkened, and veins immediately bulged on both sides of his eyes. He also activated his Byakugan to perceive the area near the city gate.

"Enlarge the CCTV footage at the city gate. Yes, this one, this one, this one, and this one. Immediately print out photos of these four people and send them to the police department. Also, these four people are suspected of using disguise techniques."

While conducting his own perception work, the team leader directed the other members of the perception squad to operate the monitors in the monitoring room.

Soon, one of the surveillance images was magnified on the monitoring screen on one of the walls.

The surveillance footage showed people entering and leaving the city gate.

The team leader quickly pointed out four people and instructed his subordinates to register their information.

Looking at the surveillance footage, the four people pointed out by the captain of the perception team were none other than Minato Namikaze and his three companions who were disguised using the transformation technique.

High-level chakra represents an existence at the Jonin level or above.

With this level of chakra, the sensory team naturally dared not be negligent in the slightest.

Soon after registering the information, the perception team immediately used their equipped devices to transmit the relevant information to the police department.

Because it was high-level chakra, the police department that received the message did not dare to be negligent in the slightest and reported it immediately.