Refusing the Village's Appointment and Handing Over His Position
Although Ōnoki's troops withdrew from the Land of Fire, he still left thousands of ninjas on the border. Don't even dream about him retreating without getting anything!
The ninjas from the other three major countries were making probing attacks on the border of the Land of Fire. Ōnoki wasn't stupid; he knew he could definitely make a quick buck by waiting for the right opportunity, especially after losing so many ninjas.
With the arrival of Minato Namikaze's 4,000 troops, the camps on the border of the Land of Fire were re-established, and wooden houses sprang up. Among the border defense camps, the facilities here were the best.
In the tactical command post, Minato Namikaze also relayed the village's orders to Tianqi.
"Tianqi, the village originally sent us here to provide support, but the enemy has temporarily retreated. Another order from the village is for you to take over as the supreme leader of these four thousand people. What do you think..." Minato Namikaze stood up and earnestly conveyed the village's order.
"You want me to command a force of over four thousand men? The village has really played its cards right. Originally, they only assigned me to defend the border, but now they've handed over all of Iwagakure's problems to me! I'm telling everyone here now, I refuse!" Tianqi glanced at the Jonin in the room and directly refused.
"Father! Why..." Seeing that her father would refuse the village's orders, which was a capital offense on the battlefield, Sen'u immediately stood up to say something.
"Sen'u, don't rush, let me finish. The future belongs to you young people, and it's time to give way and let you get used to it. Minato Namikaze will be the supreme commander for the defense of the Land of Earth, and Uchiha Sen'u will be the deputy commander. The rest of you will assist them. You can make the specific arrangements yourselves later. I will have my orders sent back to Konoha. I think the village will not refuse my arrangement!" Without giving anyone a chance to speak, Tianqi immediately began to make the arrangements.
Minato Namikaze is clear-headed and acts with discretion, making him the best choice for supreme command. This also allows him to experience the complexities of Genin, laying the foundation for his future role as the Fourth Hokage.
As for Sen'u Tianqi also discovered that this child was prone to acting impulsively. Although he had strength, his intelligence was not very high, and he was no match for Minato Namikaze. Making him the vice commander would be a good way to complement Minato Namikaze. With the two of them working together, even if Ōnoki made a comeback, they would probably be able to handle it.
"Tianqi, how can this be? I'm not up to it. I have no experience leading an army of over four thousand men!" Upon hearing that Tianqi was going to entrust him with such an important position, Minato Namikaze repeatedly refused.
"Yes, Father, we are still too young to be competent for such an important position. Besides, it is your position, how can we sit in it!" Sen'u shook her head at this moment.
This father is so powerful that the Iwagakure Ninja dared not invade because of him. What's the point of him and Minato Namikaze rising to power? This is absolutely unacceptable.
"Lack of experience and youth are not your excuses. No one is born knowing everything. You have to learn everything step by step. If you don't try, you'll never learn. Besides, my decision is well thought out. Now that I have defeated the Tsuchikage Ōnoki, if you can't even handle his troops, then you should just take off your Forehead Protector and get out of here. Don't embarrass yourselves!" Tianqi pointed at the crowd and gave them a good scolding.
Seeing Uchiha Tianqi so angry, no one else dared to say a word. The Hyuga Clan and the Uchiha Clan didn't dare to utter a single word. Facing a hegemon of an era like Uchiha Tianqi, they dared not speak recklessly.
"Tanaka! Write down what I just said and send it back to Konoha. Also, add this: if any of these high-ranking officials disagree, just wait for me to visit them one by one!" After saying that, Tianqi walked straight out of the command post.
If you want him to lead thousands of ninjas to fight for Konoha, you might as well give up now. He's fine with contributing his strength, but who cares about risking his life? He doesn't really care about that kind of leadership position that others envy.
"That's truly domineering! I reckon the only one in the entire Konoha who would dare to say something like that is Lord Tianqi!" The others watched Tianqi's departing figure with admiration.
However, it's just admiration; they wouldn't dare to do it themselves. The other person has the ability to say it, but they don't. If they dared to say it, they'd probably get beaten up the next day.
"Uh... well, gentlemen, do I really want to relay this information back to Konoha like this?" Tanaka, the ninja in charge of intelligence, looked hesitantly at the two commanders appointed by Tianqi.
Minato Namikaze, Sen'u, and the other ninjas rolled their Byakugan when they heard Tanaka's question.
"Are you stupid? Of course you can't just send it back like that! You should at least embellish it a little before sending it back! Your ninja awareness in the intelligence department is too poor!" Sen'u looked at Tanaka speechlessly.
"That's right, we're not Tianqi. If you spread this back, do you want to be invited to jail by the higher-ups when you return to the village?" Minato Namikaze looked at Tanaka speechlessly.
He had planned to return to Jiraiya's side to fight the Sand Ninja after completing this support mission, but now it seems that plan is doomed. Tianqi still has a lot of influence in Konoha, and the Third Hokage will probably listen to his opinion and let them stay behind. Jiraiya, you can deal with the Sand Ninja alone for now. Minato Namikaze sighed to himself.
"Uh... I was just asking for your opinions. You know, we used to just do whatever Lord Tianqi said. No one dared to change a single word of his orders!" Tanaka also had a wry smile on his face, which also proved that Tianqi still had a high prestige among the border troops.
Within half a day, the Third Hokage, far away in Konoha, received Tianqi's opinion.
Seeing Tianqi's opinion and resignation, Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled bitterly, "This guy actually gave up the opportunity to command a thousand-man force to Minato Namikaze and his son. What a lazy bum!"
This is because he's afraid that too much power and prestige will affect the village, that his achievements will overshadow the ruler! Tianqi is always so clear-headed, Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately understood Tianqi's reason for doing this.
In reality, Sarutobi Hiruzen was completely overthinking things. Tianqi simply didn't want to risk his life for Konoha. He was fine with working odd jobs, but he wouldn't risk his life for them. As for the so-called "his merits were so great that they threatened the master," that was just something Sarutobi Hiruzen up himself.
"The intelligence says that Tianqi single-handedly injured the Tsuchikage Ōnoki and wiped out more than 5,000 Iwagakure Ninja. It seems that his strength has broken through. With such strength, he still knows when to advance and retreat. Tianqi is indeed different from others. It is really reassuring to use such a person. Since that's the case, let's agree to his request!" Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded with satisfaction and stamped the appointment documents for Minato Namikaze and Uchiha Sen'u.
Half a day later, the appointment letter arrived at the border defending the Iwagakure Ninja.