In terms of mission rank, risk, and strategic importance, this assignment was a definitive S-rank.
Serving as the protective detail for the Third Hokage during a high-stakes peace negotiation with the Hidden Sand was a task as critical as it was perilous for the thirty-two selected shinobi.
To be precise, the danger of this mission was a volatile variable. If everything went smoothly—if the Hokage and the Kazekage completed the ceremony without incident—then the guards would face no threat at all.
On the flip side, if even the smallest, most unexpected variable went sideways, it was highly likely that these thirty-two people would not make it out alive.
According to the shinobi principle of caution: if a mission's potential danger fluctuates between a D-rank and an S-rank, the mission is classified as S-rank. One must prepare for the worst-case scenario to ensure a steady hand when the time comes; only by anticipating the abyss can one find the best possible outcome.
This was Ui's second S-rank mission.
Of course, for him personally, the risk was somewhat mitigated. Even if the Sand decided to betray the truce, he had supreme confidence in his ability to escape. After all, he could fly.
In a truly catastrophic scenario, he could even grab the Third Hokage and make a high-altitude exit. He wondered if the higher-ups had considered that specific backup plan when assigning him to the detail.
Actually, scratch that. Knowing the Third Hokage, he wasn't the type to flee like a stowaway on a bird.
The sixteen ninjas tasked with the advance sweep were assembled and split into two-man cells. This vanguard was led by none other than Namikaze Minato.
Again, one wonders if the Hokage had considered the "Flying Raijin evacuation" as a contingency... but no, Hiruzen Sarutobi was a man of traditional grit.
For these sixteen, the mission began three hours before the actual signing ceremony. They entered the Forbidden Zone ahead of the main party, but they didn't start their detailed sweep immediately. First, they converged on the center point of the negotiations.
The site was already prepared. The flags of the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire flapped in the desert breeze, marking the respective domains of the two Kages.
As the Konoha vanguard entered the zone, the Sand's advance team did the same.
All thirty-two ninjas—sixteen from each side—met at the center for a silent inspection. The purpose was simple but vital: identification. Once the Kages arrived, only these thirty-two individuals were permitted to move freely within the zone. If anyone else was spotted within the 50km radius, the negotiations would be deemed compromised, and the threat level would jump to "lethal."
They had to know each other's faces.
Ui didn't recognize many of the Sand's elite, but it was abundantly clear they recognized him.
The lead ninja for the Sand was a man named Ebizo. His gaze swept over Minato briefly before locking onto Ui with an intensity that could melt steel.
Minato, the "Yellow Flash," was blindingly famous. Even if he primarily operated on the Stone and Cloud fronts, the Sand was not without detailed intelligence on him.
But for Ebizo, Ui was personal. The white hair, the blank mask... he couldn't forget the reports from that night, the following day, and the raid on the village itself. How much damage had this boy—whose height betrayed his youth—dealt to the Hidden Sand?
If he could, Ebizo would have loved to see the face behind that mask.
In reality, the face behind the mask was just a very ordinary, handsome... cough... royal-tier face.
Ui noticed the lead ninja's fixed stare but ignored it. It wasn't that he didn't care; it was simply that there was nothing to be done about it. According to his own estimate, he was likely at the very top of the Sand's "Must-Kill" list.
There's a kind of devotion called "hating someone to the bone." Beyond his actions on the battlefield, he had, after all, bombed their home. It would be weirder if the Sand didn't want him dead.
But for now, no matter how much they seethed, they had to endure.
With a single sweep of his eyes, Ui memorized the features of all sixteen Sand shinobi. Using his unique sensory abilities, he also tagged their fundamental, unforgeable energy signals to ensure he wouldn't be fooled by transformations.
The meeting of the advance teams lasted only about five minutes. There was no conversation. They simply stared each other down, acknowledged the faces, and dispersed.
The Konoha vanguard split into their pre-assigned pairs. Ui was partnered with a man named Hyuga Hizashi.
Hizashi was an Elite Jonin of the Hyuga clan and the twin brother of the current head of the family. With the Hyuga name and the Byakugan, his combat prowess and sensory capabilities were beyond question.
Their pair carried a heavy responsibility. Ui provided the high-altitude platform via his summoning, while Hizashi used the Byakugan to perform long-range reconnaissance from the sky. Between the two of them, the entire battlefield was laid bare.
Meanwhile, Minato was paired with Yamanaka Inoichi, a specialist in sensory and communication jutsu. Inoichi's role wasn't direct combat; he acted as Minato's "mobile relay tower." Every five minutes, Inoichi would mentally link with the other seven cells, ensuring Minato had a real-time grip on the entire 50km zone.
Ui's aerial team was, naturally, the highest priority for these check-ins.
As soon as they dispersed, Ui performed the Summoning Jutsu and took to the sky with Hizashi.
The mission was too tense for small talk. They didn't have time to get to know each other; they simply had to perform.
For a ninja, a fifty-kilometer radius isn't massive—in a sprint, it's manageable. But for this mission, the difficulty lay in the details. They had to scour every inch of that zone for hidden traps or assassins.
Fortunately, this was the Land of Wind. The surface was barren, devoid of thick vegetation. Had this been the dense forests of the Land of Fire, the complexity of the task would have increased tenfold.
However, hidden crises have a way of remaining invisible until the very last moment.