Leading a Squad

Standing amidst the rubble, Minato Namikaze asked with lingering fear, "Jiraiya-sensei, are you alright? I arrived late."

Jiraiya smiled slightly, his tone carrying a touch of magnanimity, "It is my loss, Iori-kun. You are far stronger than I imagined."

Although he had not utilized Sage Mode, he had held nothing back in other regards.

Being able to defeat him in such a state meant Uchiha Iori was in no way inferior to the elite jonin of other hidden villages.

"At tomorrow's strategy meeting, I will propose that you become one of the leaders of the vanguard units."

"Your performance today is enough to convince the other jonin. You and Minato will each lead a squad for operations behind enemy lines; I will detail the specific arrangements at the meeting tomorrow."

"Understood. Thank you, Jiraiya-sama."

Uchiha Iori nodded. This was a good start; the Minato faction was beginning to accept him as one of their own.

By promoting a newly promoted jonin to the commander of a vanguard squad, he himself would have to bear the responsibility.

After Iori left, Minato Namikaze and Jiraiya began to analyze his strength.

"In terms of taijutsu, he is at least at the jonin level, whether in speed, power, or reaction time," Minato Namikaze mused.

"Because of the Sharingan, his actual performance in combat should be even better," Jiraiya nodded in agreement.

"As for ninjutsu, he only used the Great Fireball, which was instantly crushed by my Flame Bullet, but judging by the power and range, he should have mastered the nature transformation of fire-style chakra."

"He also has jonin-level proficiency in ninjutsu," Minato Namikaze added.

"The Sharingan genjutsu is the Uchiha clan's signature skill. I was caught off guard for a moment, and even I fell for it; an average jonin would never be able to block it."

"Coupled with the endless stream of spirit tools in his secret techniques, unless Iwagakure dispatches two jinchuriki or the Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki takes the field himself..."

"Otherwise, no one can hold him back. Leading a vanguard unit is more than enough for him."

"As expected of the Uchiha clan, geniuses emerge in succession," Jiraiya sighed with emotion.

"Minato, if he were a few years older and had earned more merits, and could join the Hokage Faction, he would even be qualified to vie for the seat of the Fourth Hokage."

"Isn't that a good thing? At a time like this, the stronger the village's power, the better. Besides, I don't believe that if he were a few years older he could defeat me. I will definitely become the Hokage."

Minato Namikaze said confidently. In Konoha's environment, only by becoming Hokage could his wife, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki Kushina Uzumaki, be treated as a person rather than a weapon of war.

He could not accept the possibility that his wife might one day be used as a consumable on the battlefield.

Thinking of this, Minato Namikaze secretly swore to end the war with Iwagakure as quickly as possible; otherwise, no one knew if the upper echelons would throw the Nine-Tails into the war.

He could not accept such a situation, nor could he easily choose between his beloved and the village. The only thing he could do was prevent the worst-case scenario from happening.

The next day.

In the Konoha command tent, the atmosphere was heavy and tense.

Jiraiya stood before the map, pointing to several key locations as he spoke:

"The current situation is that after the Iwagakure vanguard collapsed, the remnants retreated to their base in the Land of Grass. A new wave of troops from Iwagakure has arrived and merged with the remnants."

"The reinforcements are led by the Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki and the Five-Tails Jinchuriki Han, totaling two thousand ninja," Jiraiya continued, his tone revealing a hint of worry.

"Currently, the front line has nearly one thousand people including the reinforcements I brought, but many of them are newly graduated genin."

"Because of the multi-front war, the village has pulled away many elite ninja who were originally meant to support us, replacing them with a large number of genin."

"The original plan was for only about 700 reinforcements, now increased to 1,000, but nearly half are genin."

Jiraiya's voice carried a trace of pain and confusion.

"It seems we must stick to the old plan: the main force defends, while elite squads look for opportunities to disrupt the enemy's supplies. I will lead one with Iori-kun," Minato Namikaze volunteered.

"Please leave it to me," Uchiha Iori also stepped forward to say. This was an excellent opportunity to gain military merit and prestige; he would never miss it.

Jiraiya nodded and began to arrange the teams.

"Minato, you, Gaku, Doto, and Hizashi will form a team responsible for the east. Iori-kun, you, Shibi, Nobuhiko, and Senior Kosuke will form a team for the west."

Minato Namikaze, Inuzuka Gaku, and Akimichi Doto were old teammates; they had teamed up during the last confrontation against Kumogakure.

This time, with the addition of the Hyuga Clan's branch family head, Hizashi Hyuga, their reconnaissance capabilities were greatly enhanced.

Although the lack of a medical ninja meant insufficient endurance, it was not a major issue.

Uchiha Iori's team was the strongest squad Jiraiya could currently assemble.

Iori was a powerhouse nearing the Kage level.

Aburame Shibi was from Konoha's insect-user clan; while powerful, he was also adept at tracking and concealment.

Maruboshi Kosuke was a disciple of the Second Hokage who had voluntarily remained a genin after committing a grave mistake, yet his strength was not inferior to an average elite jonin.

Gekko Nobuhiko, as Iori's teacher and a veteran jonin, could also mediate any potential conflicts between the members.

Jiraiya continued to assign tasks, deploying chunin and jonin to key positions.

At the very least, when Iwagakure attacked, there had to be someone capable of sending out a message.

The genin were mainly responsible for logistical work, occasionally participating in low-intensity combat under the supervision of jonin or chunin.

Jiraiya was not a madman; he would not send raw recruits to the battlefield unless it was the final hour.

After the meeting adjourned, Uchiha Iori went to find his classmates.

"Kaori, Takumi, which front were you assigned to?" Iori asked with concern.

"I'm in the Taijutsu squad, and Takumi is in the Ninjutsu squad. We're both responsible for the second line of defense," Uzuki Kaori replied. With the great war looming, she felt a sense of unease.

Iori took two amulets from his robes and handed them to each of them.

"These are one-time-use items I crafted. They can release a barrier to help you block a single powerful attack."

Iori felt a pang of regret; in the Ninja World, projections could not exist for long.

The amulets were hand-crafted by Iori using chakra metal as the base material, while the specific techniques were developed with the help of Medea.

"Iori, is it really okay to give us something so precious? You should keep them for yourself, or give one to our teacher."

"Your missions are the most dangerous ones, aren't they?" Uzuki Kaori said hesitantly.

Although she didn't know the exact cost, she knew that if they were cheap, Uchiha Iori would have distributed them to everyone long ago.

"No need. Compared to myself and our teacher, I am more worried about your safety."

Iori said firmly. The inner armor he projected for himself was made from the Holy Shroud, which possessed defensive power no less than the amulets.

As for Gekko Nobuhiko, he had his own protection and was strong enough to be much safer than the two of them.

"Alright, don't let his good intentions go to waste. If you want to repay him, just survive and become stronger."

Kurama Takumi said with a carefree air, then tucked the amulet away.

As a member of the declining Kurama clan, he was more grounded and kept his gratitude locked in his heart.

"Fine, I'll accept it. You and our teacher must come back alive as well!"

Uzuki Kaori wanted to say more, but in the end, she only managed to utter those words.

"I'm off. I hope we can meet again."

Uchiha Iori left with a carefree stride. He had done what he could, and there was no need to dwell on it further.