This was a Special Jonin specializing in sealing techniques and the use of ninja tools.
He had conducted extensive research on both traps and sealing techniques, making him a talent Kato Dan had specifically brought along for this trip.
"We will borrow this warehouse first to restock our ninja tools and other supplies."
"After resting for three minutes, we will set off immediately for the next stronghold."
Kato Dan continued.
Shortly after, the warehouse of the Sunagakure stronghold was successfully opened by Kamaza.
Uchiha Gen selected some high-quality shuriken and kunai, took some medicine and explosive tags, as well as a bundle of relatively valuable sealing scrolls, and then considered his rest and replenishment complete.
He waited until all his teammates had gone outside before following them out the door, his hands forming seals.
"Compound Ninjutsu: Great Flame Wind Technique!"
The wind bolstered the fire, adding fuel to the flames, and it even carried the Nature Transformation of an explosion.
In just a few moments, the massive warehouse collapsed with a roar as a sea of fire swept through, sending up thick black smoke.
The items inside were very valuable, potentially worth several million ryo.
But they couldn't take them away, so no matter how regrettable it was, they couldn't leave them for the enemy.
"As expected of an Uchiha elite, that's a very powerful Fire Release."
"Even my insects felt uncomfortable."
Aburame Shiko retracted his swarm of insects and looked at Uchiha Gen's silhouette in front of the firelight, unable to help but praise him.
Insect masters like them were actually quite wary of experts from the Uchiha clan because they were a direct counter.
The characteristics of Fire Release were its large range and powerful force; when it came to burning insects, it would incinerate a whole swarm at once.
And no matter how small the insects were or how well they were hidden for a sneak attack, they could not escape the visual range of the Sharingan.
"His physical skills are also excellent."
"Although his swordsmanship isn't top-tier, with the Sharingan and that terrifying Monster Strength, even I wouldn't be certain of winning against him in close combat, let alone those instant seal-less ninjutsu."
Inuzuka Kaku also couldn't help but praise him.
"Woof, woof, woof!"
The large yellow dog beside Inuzuka Kaku panted and barked a few times.
"Haha, Kuromaru says that as long as he and I merge into a Two-Headed Wolf, we have a seventy percent chance of winning!"
"That's very impressive then," Aburame Shiko smiled.
"How old is he now? He has already caught up to us."
"Perhaps in a few years, the village will have another expert like Lord Dan and Lord Orochimaru."
"He definitely will."
"Speaking of which, I really envy that guy Orochimaru for finding such a good disciple."
Kato Dan also followed with a slight smile.
It wasn't easy for him to train a disciple who could inherit his legacy.
Cultivating the Spirit Transformation Technique was exceptionally difficult, and he didn't know if he would have the chance to find a junior who could learn it in this lifetime.
"Alright, it's time to set off."
"The time Orochimaru can buy for us is limited. Let's move!"
Speed was essential in war.
After a brief rest, the group of thirteen set off at high speed, heading for the next Sunagakure stronghold once again.
The Land of Wind was scarce in resources, which caused the Hidden Sand Village's logistical capabilities to be a tier lower than those of other great hidden villages.
While short-to-medium-term support was fine, if they wanted to wage a long-term war lasting years, they could only sustain the war through further warfare.
Therefore, the purpose of Kato Dan's team on this trip, besides rescuing Uchiha Gen, was not to annihilate Sunagakure's active forces, but to maximize the destruction of the logistical resource reserve system established by the Hidden Sand Village and reduce its war potential.
While the main forces deployed by Sunagakure in this area were being pinned down by Orochimaru and his team, it was the perfect time for them to strike while the enemy was vulnerable.
In just a single afternoon and half a night, they had visited almost every Sunagakure logistical stronghold in this entire region, destroying a total of eleven strongholds in succession.
It wasn't that they didn't encounter strong resistance during the process, but even Sunagakure couldn't afford to station a Jonin at every single stronghold.
Only a few of the more important locations had stronger defensive forces.
However, the average strength of Uchiha Gen's group was extremely high.
With three Jonin paired with a top-tier expert like Kato Dan, they were almost unstoppable.
Unless a Kage-level expert intervened or they were surrounded by a large-scale ninja army, it was unlikely they would fail.
But for now, those threats were all being held back by the team led by Orochimaru.
The battle did not end until late at night.
By the end, the Hidden Sand Village had been forced to temporarily redeploy a portion of their front-line troops, led by several Jonin, to hunt Kato Dan's team everywhere and drive them out of the range of the Asuka Mountains side.
Under the starry sky, within the Konoha camp.
Uchiha Gen and the others, who had fought for nearly a day and a night, finally returned here.
"Hiss— It hurts!"
"Can you be a bit gentler, Gen?"
Akimichi Choza lay on the bed, his eyes welling with tears.
"I can, but are you sure?"
Uchiha Gen took some medicine from a nearby iron tray, applied it to Akimichi Choza's body, and asked.
This guy was truly burnt out today.
To maintain his combat effectiveness, he had frequently used the Multi-Size Technique, burning calories to convert them into chakra.
His entire layer of fat was almost gone from the weight loss.
"Yes, I'm sure!"
"Fine, then get ready for an amputation."
"Huh? Amputation? Then never mind!" Akimichi Choza grumbled.
"Alright, anesthesia can't be used here, and I won't use a Chakra Scalpel to cut your pain nerves because I need to see your reactions to confirm the situation here."
"Feeling pain is a good thing; if you didn't feel pain, that would be the real trouble."
"Even if Lady Tsunade came over, it would take a lot of effort to fix."
Uchiha Gen waved his hand, signaling a young female medical ninja to go up and bandage Akimichi Choza's wounds, while he sat down on a chair.
If it weren't for the fact that Akimichi Choza's injuries were quite serious, he wouldn't have personally stepped in to treat them because he was also exhausted to the limit.
Some of the less critical injuries on his own body were only simply bandaged without further treatment.
The past two or three days had been the most dangerous and exhausting period he had spent since arriving in the Ninja World.
Initially, it was just a normal B-rank mission to go out and gather intelligence.
Although it was important and carried a certain level of danger, it shouldn't have been difficult to this extent.
Unfortunately, he was targeted by Madara, who set a trap for him.
After escaping, he followed Kato Dan's team to hit several Sunagakure strongholds and was finally chased out by a large Sunagakure force snapping at their heels.
If not for the Senju Constitution of the young Tsunade supporting him, he would have completely collapsed from exhaustion by now, just like several of his teammates.
But the harvest should also be quite significant.
The intelligence that needed to be gathered had already been relayed to Orochimaru through the summoned white snake after they finished collecting it.
And because they had engaged in combat with Jonin-level enemies during the mission, the rating would be at least an A-rank mission, and likely a high-spec one.
Following Kato Dan's team to attack the Sunagakure ninja strongholds would at minimum be a top-tier A-rank mission, and because it might have a major impact on the war situation, there was a high probability it would be rated as an S-rank mission.