Let's get these matters resolved quickly.
What Kakashi and Yukina said were both necessary. I couldn't neglect these truly important matters just because I wanted some extra time.
The camp was outside now, and so was the transit station. With enemies watching from the shadows, this had already become a strategic-level plan.
If I ignored it and something really happened, I was afraid I would have no free time for a very, very long while.
Stopping in his tracks, Chiba slowly pushed open the door to the Hokage's Office. He composed his expression, hiding away the bitterness and wry smile from before and replacing them with a solemn look.
At the same time, a thought gradually turned serious in his heart.
"Oh, Chiba. Is there something else?"
As the door to the Hokage's Office was pushed open, Minato Namikaze seemed to sense something. His back suddenly straightened as if jolted, and as he did, his gaze fell upon Chiba. A flash of alarm flickered through his eyes, but he asked in a remarkably gentle tone.
He's here to ask for people again?
This...
I have no one left to give you!
Because of Kakashi's situation, the Anbu's arrangements had undergone considerable changes, nearly resulting in a lapse.
It's already impossible to reassign anyone! Don't ask for more people!
A slightly trembling thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
There truly was no one left to transfer. The Anbu, the Defense Force, and Konoha's largest regular ninja organization had all been mobilized. Aside from those on rotation, there was basically not a single idle ninja left in the village. Every one of them had a mission; Konoha's ninja forces were practically all deployed.
Even the interrogation system and prison guards had been stripped of everyone who could be reassigned. But that system