Every day, they would spend time discussing how to continuously refine these details.
For the shinobi world, the most crucial aspect was intelligence management.
Thus, Kawasaki also planned to establish related departments, such as a naval division.
Minato was completely in the dark about everything happening back in Konoha.
A messenger bird was already on its way.
Minato, leading Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata, had long since departed to begin their escort mission for Tazuna.
Gato had once again hired a group of ninja to ambush them, but this time they were not from Kirigakure. They were shinobi from the Hidden Grass Village.
Currently, Kirigakure's attention was entirely focused on its own internal affairs, and they were accepting almost no missions from foreign clients. Faced with the rapid expansion of Otogakure in the Land of Rice Paddies, other smaller villages had also begun competing for business with lower prices.
Whether it was because Gato had invested more money or the Grass ninja were simply eager, Team 7 was ambushed not long after leaving the village.
Fortunately, Hinata easily saw through the ambush with her Byakugan.
Sasuke, Naruto, and Hinata had each sustained some minor injuries.
Afterward, following the established course of events, they arrived in the Land of Waves.
Tazuna appealed to their sympathy, pleading for protection.
To this, Minato simply smiled and agreed.
After all, his true goal was to get his hands on Gato's money.
This time, Minato did not leave the decision to others. Instead, after arriving at Tazuna's home, he directly announced that they would help the Land of Waves eliminate the pest known as Gato. He took the initiative to lead Team 7 straight to Gato's stronghold.
Throughout this process, Minato came to fully understand the personalities of his three squad members.
Aside from Sasuke, who was reasonably satisfactory, he found his son Naruto and Hinata to be too soft-hearted.
Even when they saw blood in battle, Naruto and Hinata still held back.
The Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist was actually incredibly powerful against weaker opponents. But in a real fight, Hinata's performance was somewhat lacking.
With this trip to Gato's base, he wanted to use the opportunity to properly train the three of them.
In the Land of Waves, Gato was, on the surface, the owner of a shipping company, but behind the scenes, he used his criminal syndicate to smuggle contraband. As a result, he was extremely wealthy.
In a country where most buildings were made of wood, the Gato Company headquarters was a five-story concrete tower. Thanks to his notorious reputation, finding his hideout was not difficult.
The team concealed themselves in a large tree some distance away.
Minato's words took them by surprise.
"This mission is now entirely your responsibility."
Hearing this, a flash of excitement appeared in Naruto's and Sasuke's eyes. They hadn't expected their teacher to let them take charge so soon. Hinata, however, felt uneasy, worried she would let the team down.
Minato reminded them, "I will not interfere with any of your choices, but you must bear the consequences of your actions."
"Being soft on the enemy is being cruel to yourselves. Remember that."
The three of them nodded solemnly.
"Alright. The mission objective is to eliminate all the gang members inside this building. Begin."
The three exchanged glances and began to discuss their plan of attack. Minato watched silently from the side.
Naruto was the first to offer a suggestion. "Hinata, you should scout the building's layout first. Then we can decide on an infiltration route, paying special attention to any back doors."
"To make sure no one escapes, we have to seal the exits."
Sasuke had no objections.
Hinata also understood the importance of intelligence and immediately activated her Byakugan to carefully survey the entire structure.
A few moments later, she took out a pen and paper, sketching as she explained, "The building has five floors. Gato is on the fourth floor with twenty-four of his men. Two of them are genin-level ninja, so we need to be careful."
"There are two guards at the stairwell on each floor, from the first to the fourth."
"There's also an escape door at the back of the first floor."
"Behind the building, there's an emergency staircase leading to the roof, with locked doors on each level."
Seeing that both of them were listening intently, Hinata said nervously, "That's the general situation."
Naruto praised her first. "It's a good thing we have you, Hinata! We definitely couldn't complete this mission without your help."
Hearing this, Hinata waved her hands shyly. "You're giving me too much credit, Naruto-kun. I'm just doing my part."
Sasuke remained deep in thought.
Naruto pointed at the map. "We can sneak in at night, take out the guards on the first floor, and then clear it level by level."
Sasuke shook his head. "There's only one back door, and it's on the first floor. We just need to block it. We'll start a fire on the first floor and force everyone up."
Hinata frowned. "Is that a good idea?"
Naruto puffed out his chest reassuringly. "Don't worry, Hinata! Sasuke just means the smoke will drive them upwards!"
Sasuke's voice was cold. "It's not just about driving them out. It's about eliminating all the criminals inside... I already looked into it. Gato's men are all involved in illegal activities. None of them are good people."
"When the fire starts downstairs, they'll run to the upper floors to escape. Gato is just a normal person, so he'll have to retreat using the back staircase. We'll ambush him there. Once we've dealt with Gato, the rest of them will fall apart. Don't forget, we still have two ninja to deal with upstairs."
Listening from the side, Minato silently approved. Although there were bound to be oversights in their first attempt at planning, he was confident he could step in to fix any mistakes.
Following Sasuke's plan, the three of them divided the tasks. Sasuke went to find oil, while Naruto and Hinata continued their reconnaissance to gather more information.
Suddenly, Naruto noticed his father had vanished. *Did Dad really trust us completely?* he wondered.
During this time, Hinata repeatedly used her Byakugan to reconfirm the enemy's positions.
Sasuke returned with a large supply of fuel.
They waited patiently until night fell and the lights inside came on. The time was right.
At Sasuke's hand signal, the three of them scaled the outer wall and slipped inside. Though they weren't particularly skilled at stealth, Gato's men were fortunately complacent. Having dominated the region for so long, they never imagined a challenger would appear on their doorstep.
At that moment, many of the grunts on the fourth floor were partying, completely oblivious to the intrusion.
As they neared their target location, Hinata activated her eyes again, pinpointing the positions of the two guards. After receiving the information, Naruto drew a kunai while Sasuke gripped his sword.
Sasuke gestured to his teammates, and he and Naruto split up, moving along opposite walls.
Sasuke's approach went smoothly, but on the other side, a mistake by Naruto created a sound that alerted the enemy.
A voice called down from upstairs. "What's going on down there?"
Immediately, one of the men from above came down to investigate, only to be struck in a vital spot by a shuriken from the waiting Sasuke. He collapsed, dead.
However, the other guard realized something was wrong and immediately blew a warning whistle.
"Who's there!?"
"Intruders! Go tell Boss Gato!"
Sasuke didn't even have time to glare at Naruto before he hurled a flask of oil down. On the other side, Naruto smashed his flask as well.
Sasuke saw that Naruto and Hinata were clear of the danger zone.
His hands flew through a series of seals, and he took a deep breath!
Fire Style: Great Fireball!
A jet of flame erupted from his mouth, instantly igniting the oil on the floor.
The fire roared up the staircase.