Kazekage Ninja: The Rise of the Hidden Sand

For traditional ninjas, missions are everything. However, during the Third Great Ninja War, every major village issued a peculiar order: encountering Minato Namikaze and retreating would not be considered a mission failure. This alone elevated Minato’s strength and reputation to an unparalleled height. Beyond his calm demeanor and meticulous analytical skills, the Flying Thunder God Technique was undoubtedly the cornerstone of his legendary status.

It must be said that the set of tactics Minato devised around this technique was nearly flawless. His strategy? Simple: Flying Thunder God plus Rasengan. Max out agility and offense, and dominate the battlefield. Before you even caught a glimpse of him, his special kunai was already at your throat. How could anyone counter that? They couldn’t. Apart from a draw against the "AB Duo" from Kumogakure, Minato’s record was flawless. The dominance of the Flying Thunder God Technique was unparalleled.

"But this technique does have two flaws," the Great Immortal Huang remarked bluntly.

"Please, enlighten me," Jing Hang humbly requested.

"First, the technique requires pre-placed markers. While the Ink Movement Technique can mitigate this limitation to some extent, it still has its boundaries. You must prepare in advance. But on a battlefield, where situations change in an instant, you won’t always have the luxury of preparation."

The Great Immortal Huang’s observation was spot on. Minato addressed this issue by scattering markers everywhere, much like a dog marking its territory. He would leave marks on enemies during combat and carried a large number of specially crafted kunai with him at all times. This largely resolved the problem, but it introduced another: with so many "eyes" on the map, how could anyone keep track of them all? During the war, Minato frequently moved between the battlefields of Kumogakure and Iwagakure. One could only wonder how he managed to memorize so many locations.

"Second, this technique consumes a tremendous amount of chakra. The farther the distance, the greater the consumption. Even for you, prolonged use would be unsustainable."

This critique was even more insightful. How did Minato die? He was impaled by the Nine-Tails’ claw. But why didn’t the fastest ninja in the world evade it? Was it to shield Kushina? To protect baby Naruto? Couldn’t he have just teleported them all away? The real reason lay in his earlier battle with Obito. After a grueling night of combat, Minato had overused the Flying Thunder God Technique, depleting his chakra reserves. He simply didn’t have enough energy left to escape.

"Then I’ll activate Sage Mode while using the technique. Problem solved, right?" Jing Hang quickly proposed a solution.

"Smart kid," the Great Immortal Huang praised him for once.

"But it’s only a partial solution. You still can’t sustain it indefinitely. You’ll need to manage your usage carefully."

"Of course!" Jing Hang thumped his chest confidently.