Akaseki: ...
Akaseki was speechless at Ranwu's teasing.
Minato spoke up from the side at that moment. "Although Amegakure is currently unable to push the front line back or launch a surprise attack on the rear, there's a chance Sunagakure could turn against Konoha at the same time. Securing the rear is indeed very important."
Hearing that, Akaseki felt much more at ease.
Of course, all three of them knew there was another major reason: Akaseki had just been promoted to jonin!
He would need to command a squad of chunin, perhaps even more, so he had been assigned to a relatively secondary position.
By comparison, Minato and Ranwu were still chunin. Even if they went to the front lines, they would be following orders, so naturally they could be sent somewhere more important—being a leader and being an ordinary soldier came with different requirements.
Still...
Akaseki had a deeper suspicion—had the clan head and the Third said something?
The Uchiha Clan's inheritance was now facing a crisis of continuation. Clan Head Jiancheng certainly had every reason to secure a relatively safe position for Akaseki.
"By the way, who's the commander of the rear command division?" Ranwu asked curiously.
The three of them had only been assigned to "travel." They had to report to their respective commanders before receiving further orders.
Partly, it was for confidentiality. But more importantly... the battlefield changed by the moment. Actual command authority remained in the hands of on-site commanders. If they received orders directly from the village, by the time they reached the battlefield several days later, the situation might already be completely different!
"You all know him too... it's Jonin Hatake," Akaseki said.
"Huh?" Ranwu was stunned. "Isn't Jonin Hatake the captain of the Jonin Corps? Why is he in the rear...?"
To