After three days of constant training and study, reinforcements finally arrived at the front.
"Jiraiya-sensei, why did you get here so late?"
Minato Namikaze asked uneasily. Shinobi moved quickly and precisely, and unless something unusual happened, there was rarely any delay.
"Another border has erupted into war." Jiraiya sighed, his brows drawn tight, fatigue and worry showing in his eyes.
"Sunagakure's shinobi have chosen their Fourth Kazekage and begun their attack along the Land of Wind's border."
"They've intervened under the pretext of avenging the Third Kazekage. Orochimaru is leading our forces in a standoff against them."
"Kirigakure has also landed near the ruins of the Land of Whirlpools. The Hokage has sent the Uchiha Clan and the Hyuga Clan there."
"Kumogakure hasn't entered the fray yet, but if things go badly, it's only to be expected that they'll jump in to claim their share."
"So we can't withdraw too many troops from the area near the Land of Lightning, either."
Jiraiya was weighed down with worries, though he had no doubt Konoha would win.
But the price Konoha would have to pay for victory left him too troubled to eat or sleep.
Quite a few of the shinobi heading to the battlefield were fresh Genin who had only just graduated.
They barely knew any jutsu beyond the Three Basic Techniques. Once they reached the battlefield, their chances of survival would be slim.
"Sensei, how should we respond to the situation now? Should we first drive the Iwagakure forces out of the Land of Grass?"
Minato's brows furrowed as well. He urgently wanted to understand Konoha's current strategic priorities and how high a priority the Iwagakure forces were.
"The village intends to start with defense and counterattacks, then strike decisively once we've figured out how the enemy is deployed. Given the current situation, we can only afford to fight conservatively."
Jiraiya sighed again. With their forces stretched thin, no one dared to act recklessly.
If the Iwagakure forces broke through the front line, Konoha wouldn't have enough men to spare, and would have to fight to defend the capital.
"Understood. I'll send people to scout the Iwagakure forces and find out their numbers and exact positions."
Minato understood the village's predicament. All he could do was try to carry out his own duties as best he could.
"By the way, there's one more thing," Jiraiya said, suddenly remembering. "The village has approved Uchiha Iori's promotion to jonin. He was mentioned in your previous report."
"This is his jonin flak jacket. Give it to him."
"The Uchiha Clan also asked me to bring him this sealing scroll. The method for undoing the seal is a secret technique passed down within their clan, so give him this as well."
Jiraiya took out the flak jacket and the scroll and handed them to Minato.
He had always kept his distance from politics, but for the sake of his student, he was willing to try working with one of the village's major clans to secure support.
Minato accepted them and said to Jiraiya, "Iori's an odd one out among the Uchiha, just like Obito."
"He's gentle and warmhearted, not as overbearing as most Uchiha."
Jiraiya nodded thoughtfully. Minato continued:
"He recently said he'd received a blessing from his ancestors: the ability to copy and use Noble Phantasms, though he can't keep them for long."
"I've seen him use Noble Phantasms. He's excellent at both combat and healing. He might even become a bridge between the village and the Uchiha."
"Noble Phantasms? And more than one kind? That's rare. I've never seen one myself." Jiraiya sounded curious.
"I'll test his abilities tonight, too, so I can assign him a suitable mission. The front line is short on people who can operate independently."
Minato came to the tent where Uchiha Iori was staying and called inside, "Iori, your promotion's been approved. I have your jonin flak jacket with me."
"Sorry, the timing didn't work out, so I couldn't prepare a present."
Iori smiled and said, unconcerned, "A congratulation from you is enough, Minato-senpai. Your advice on the Body Flicker Technique has already helped me a lot."
Minato smiled and handed Iori the flak jacket and scroll.
"This scroll is your clan's gift for your promotion to jonin. The method for undoing the seal is a secret technique of the Uchiha, so you should know how to use it."
Iori nodded and accepted the scroll and flak jacket. The clan taught its members how to do this.
"Then I'll get going. The village is holding a welcome gathering for the reinforcements tonight. We'll celebrate your promotion at the same time."
After saying this, Minato vanished with the Body Flicker Technique. With the reinforcements arriving, he still had to see to their arrangements and handover. He had only taken time out to meet Iori.
Back in his tent, Iori felt a surge of excitement. Following the secret method, he carefully undid the seal on the scroll.
Inside were two B-rank Fire Release jutsu: Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique and Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame.
It also contained the essentials of the Sharingan and its advanced applications, including a special genjutsu, Genjutsu: Sharingan.
The clan's being pretty generous. Great Dragon Fire Technique is a decent offensive Fire Release jutsu, and it's also a prerequisite for Lightning Style: Kirin. Majestic Destroyer Flame is one of Madara Uchiha's signature jutsu.
There's also all kinds of information on the Sharingan. It'll be useful for filling in gaps in my knowledge and as a reference for my chakra research.
He thought it over carefully. Although he mainly relied on Noble Phantasms, learning these jutsu would give him a wider range of options. Genjutsu: Sharingan in particular would be very useful to him.
Once he'd learned everything, he could also give it to Medea as reference material for her analysis of chakra.
It's always good to have more jutsu in reserve. At least Genjutsu: Sharingan seems pretty useful. It can lock down weaker opponents outright and throw even stronger ones off balance.
Aside from Madara Uchiha and the questionable Fugaku Uchiha, there aren't any Mangekyo-level ocular techniques. Even if I fail, I won't suffer any backlash.
Putting away the two Fire Release jutsu, Iori headed to a nearby river. He didn't dare try them near the camp. If he burned down his own home, that would be quite a disaster.
Fire Release was one of the Uchiha's signature specialties.
From the basic C-rank Great Fireball to Majestic Destroyer Flame, a B-rank jutsu Madara Uchiha used to fight a thousand enemies single-handedly during the Fourth Shinobi World War.
And then there were Nintaijutsu techniques like Uchiha Style: Sword Flame Leap. These were standard fare for the Uchiha Clan.
Good thing I'd already gotten a feel for Fire Nature Transformation, and I'd mastered shape transformation a long time ago. Otherwise, these two jutsu would've been hard to learn.
In just one afternoon, Iori easily broke through the bottleneck he'd been facing and successfully mastered Fire Nature Transformation.
He'd gained plenty of insight during his many battles, but he hadn't had time to digest it all.
A gentle breeze stirred by the river, and glimmers of light rippled across the water.
Iori took a deep breath, formed Hand Seals, and breathed out searing flames. "Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"
Flames poured from Iori's mouth, surging across the river and evaporating the small stream entirely.
As expected, it's not very cost-effective. The power's great, but it takes a lot of chakra. For the same cost, using a Noble Phantasm is a much better deal. I should let Medea take a look and see if she can optimize it.
Iori thought this with a touch of smugness. After all, he was a man with both a cheat and an external brain at his disposal.