Reaching an Agreement

The four of them were all taken aback.

Minato Namikaze instinctively objected. "No!"

"Why not?"

"Is it simply because she is your wife?"

"Deploying the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki would not only avenge your student, but also strike back at Mist and reduce Konoha Ninja casualties."

"Especially that last point. Everyone knows how severe Konoha Ninja losses have been. Even children have been sent to the battlefield."

"With the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and the four of us, we could steamroll Mist and end this battlefield as quickly as possible."

"Who knows how many lives that would save? Isn't that a good thing?"

"Besides, if Kushina earns merit, you, Minato, as her husband, can claim a portion of it too."

"Of course, as the one who proposed this plan, I can receive some credit as well. But my main consideration is Konoha."

Orochimaru spoke unhurriedly, a faint smile on his face.

Minato Namikaze was left speechless, his heart wavering.

This was indeed the fastest way to end the war, and it would benefit him to some extent as well. But asking Kushina to take such a risk...

Seeing his student's expression, Jiraiya hurriedly said, "Your plan is indeed good, but what if Kushina loses control?"

"And if the other ninja villages learn that Kushina has left the village, might they have ulterior motives...?"

"Heh heh..." Orochimaru sneered. "What is there to fear?"

"Just send more people to escort her. Kushina is no pushover either. If they dare harbor improper thoughts, we'll break their claws!"

"Besides, they may not even find out. Jiraiya, do you have so little faith in Konoha's ability to keep secrets?"

"As for the issue of losing control, you are overthinking it. It is not as if we are asking Kushina to unleash her power without restraint."

"She only needs to unleash an amount of power she can control."

"Even if something unexpected happens, Kushina is proficient in Sealing Jutsu, and we have also studied it. Working together, could we not suppress a Nine-Tails bound by so many restrictions?"

"With Tsunade here, Kushina will quickly be healed after unleashing the Nine-Tails' power."

"Kushina is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, but she is also a Konoha Ninja. Shouldn't she contribute to Konoha?"

"Besides, this is not the first time Kushina has been deployed. Minato, you know that better than anyone."

"Why be so concerned?"

"Those who constantly hesitate will never accomplish great things!"

After calming down and thinking it over, Minato realized that he truly had let concern cloud his judgment. The risk existed, but it was not great.

"Orochimaru-senpai is right to reprimand me. My concern made me lose perspective."

"To end the war as soon as possible, I agree to let Kushina join the battle."

Since Minato, her husband, had agreed, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Shikaku Nara naturally had no objections.

"Minato, how much of the Nine-Tails' power can Kushina control?"

"Tsunade-senpai, Kushina can control the power of six tails. In an extreme state, she can reach seven, but the risk of losing control is very high."

Tsunade nodded slightly. "To be safe, let her unleash no more than the power of five tails."

"Thank you for your consideration, Tsunade-senpai."

When Naruto fought Pain, he had unleashed eight tails, but that had only been the power of half of the Nine-Tails. The Nine-Tails inside Kushina was complete.

The power of five tails was likely equivalent to Naruto's seven-tail state, more than enough to ravage the battlefield.

"Good. It is decided, then. We will submit a joint application to the village."

The other four agreed. Before long, a scroll with the highest level of secrecy was sent to Konoha through a specialized ninja hawk.

As for how the Hidden Mist Ninja had now scattered into smaller units, none of the five brought it up.

None of those present were fools. They had long anticipated that Mist, having failed in its plan, would withdraw its forces. There was no point in dragging things out.

Whether the withdrawn troops gathered at the current Hidden Mist Front camp or somewhere else did not matter.

Once Kushina arrived, they would all join forces and steamroll them, driving Mist back into the sea.

After the meeting ended, everyone dispersed to handle their own affairs.

Orochimaru was also extremely busy. He handled the military affairs under his command, carried out missions, and secretly hurried to capture Hidden Mist Ninja as research material.

At this point, Orochimaru had not yet reached the stage of experimenting on people from his own village. He used either enemy ninja or people bought from the black market.

Because he had not completely fallen into darkness and still held some obsession with the position of Hokage, his stance remained on Konoha's side. He would still devise plans for Konoha's benefit.

The matter of deploying the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki had been entirely Orochimaru's own idea. Uchiha Gen had not influenced it.

"Kakashi, I came to see you."

At the Konoha Front field hospital, Uchiha Gen lifted the curtain and entered the tent.

Kakashi lay on a crude camp bed as though he had not heard him. His empty eyes stared at the pine-green ceiling of the tent, completely immersed in his own world.

"Kakashi, Gen came to see you."

Shisui Uchiha sat on a wooden stump beside the bed. He reached out and gently nudged Kakashi, his tone soft.

Only then did Kakashi react. His eyes shifted, and upon seeing Gen by the bed, he gave a slight nod before returning to his previous state.

Sigh, this had hit him hard. Even with Shisui there, he still could not escape Madara Uchiha's scheme...

Uchiha Gen gave Shisui a look. Shisui understood immediately and followed him out of the tent.

"Has he been like this the whole time?"

"Yes. He has been like this ever since he woke up. It has already been two days."

"I'm so useless. I actually let such a wonderful girl as Rin... If Rin had been alright, Kakashi would not be like this."

Shisui's face was filled with guilt.

"What exactly happened? With Team 7's strength, this should not have happened."

Shisui gave a bitter smile. "Perhaps we were just unlucky enough to run into them."

"Mist not only deployed two Anbu squads, but also a large number of Hidden Mist Ninja who had infiltrated the Land of Fire."

"Kakashi and I were run ragged. We gave it everything we had, but in the end, we still could not stop Rin from being taken..."

Uchiha Gen: "..."

If he had been in their place, the outcome probably would not have been much better...

Two elite Mist ANBU squads, plus a large number of Hidden Mist Ninja—and there were also Black and White Zetsu lurking in the shadows, feeding them information and fanning the flames. It was truly difficult to withstand...

Unless one possessed absolute strength, enough that even all the Hidden Mist Ninja working together—including Black and White Zetsu if they became desperate—could do nothing to them.

Otherwise, all they could do was flee with Rin. Yet White Zetsu's infiltration abilities were exceptionally formidable, and ordinary methods could hardly detect him. With their whereabouts exposed, nowhere was safe. Constantly running for their lives, they were bound to reveal an opening sooner or later.

Kakashi and Shisui were already remarkable just for managing to protect themselves.

Gen reckoned that if he went all out, he should be able to fight two Hidden Mist ANBU squads and the Hidden Mist Ninja head-on, with decent odds of winning. But if the Mist Ninja resorted to underhanded tactics, that was another matter.

At the end of the day, he was still flesh and blood. If his vital points were struck, he would still die.

And at present, he lacked any truly powerful means of preserving his life. All he had were relatively conventional ninja methods.

Even if he withstood the Mist Ninja, there were still Black and White Zetsu if they became desperate. Madara Uchiha and Black Zetsu would never allow anyone to ruin their plan.

Black Zetsu was simply too bizarre. If he was ambushed, it was hard to say whether even the Soul-Soul Fruit's powers could save him...

White Zetsu also had more than a hundred thousand inferior White Zetsu under his command. They might not all be nearby, but there were surely quite a few around Madara Uchiha's hideout.

No matter how he calculated it, if he had taken their place, the outcome would most likely have been the same.

"Sigh, with such a massive force deployed, unless it had been one of the four commanders, no one could have escaped unscathed."

"Do not blame yourself too much. Carry on with your companion's will."

Uchiha Gen sighed and patted Shisui on the shoulder.

In truth, aside from Minato Namikaze being present, even the Sannin could not have changed the outcome. The Flying Thunder God Technique could take people away too quickly, and it left no trail behind.

"You're right."

"I have gradually accepted reality, but Kakashi..."

Shisui had feelings of companionship for Rin Nohara, but their time together had been short. It could not compare to Kakashi's feelings for her.

"Only you and Minato-senpai can keep trying to console him. Kakashi is not an ordinary person. He is an outstanding ninja, and sooner or later, he will pull through."

"That is all we can do."

"Alright, I still have matters to attend to. I'll leave first."

"Alright."