Minato Namikaze and Team Minato

With several flashes of golden light, Uchiha Iori appeared instantly behind the Iwagakure ninja.

He turned his head abruptly to see a Konoha ninja with yellow hair and blue eyes, wearing a jonin flak jacket, looking at him with a smile.

"You did well; leave the rest to me." The man's voice was calm and full of strength, his gaze conveying a sense of trust that put one at ease.

Iori's taut nerves finally relaxed; he canceled his incantation and sat down, exhausted.

His chest rose and fell with heavy breaths, and a smile of relief appeared on his face.

Although he had prepared himself for the worst, being able to survive was always a comfort.

The person who had arrived to save the day was none other than the future Fourth Hokage, the Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze.

He was the legendary fastest ninja, whose Flying Thunder God technique had allowed him to roam the ninja world without a single defeat, and those three-pronged kunai were his trademark.

Although netizens jokingly called him the fastest man who was always late, in reality, aside from missing his mark three times against Obito Uchiha, he arrived in time in the vast majority of situations.

"Iori, Iori, are you alright?"

A ninja who had followed Minato rushed over to provide emergency treatment to Gekko Nobuhiko, while Kurama Takumi explained the current situation to them from the side.

Uzuki Kaori walked over, her face full of worry.

"Was that some kind of forbidden jutsu you were about to use? Will there be any aftereffects now that it's been interrupted? Should you go to the rear for treatment?"

"No need, it's just exhaustion. The village's reinforcements arrived just in time; I'm not seriously hurt."

Uchiha Iori managed to squeeze out a smile in response.

After Minato dealt with the Iwagakure ninja, he said to Iori and the others, "I am the commander of the reconnaissance unit, Jonin Minato Namikaze. Are you all alright? What is the situation with the Iwagakure ninja now?"

"We only know that the Iwagakure ninja attacked the reconnaissance unit we sent out. Aside from you, most of the other ninja have already been killed in action."

Minato looked at the group, hoping to obtain some intelligence.

The current situation surrounding Konoha was dire.

Sunagakure, suspecting Konoha due to the disappearance of the Third Kazekage, had massed troops at the border, waiting only for internal compromises to be finalized before declaring war on Konoha.

Kumogakure had recently attacked the Land of Earth, and the Third Raikage had died in an ambush while covering their retreat.

The soon-to-be Fourth Raikage had originally intended to attack Konoha to secure a victory and use that momentum to ascend to power, but after being repelled by Minato and his forces, he had been forced to take power in a rush and needed time to unify his internal factions.

However, with their overall military strength not severely compromised, the militant Kumogakure ninja were highly likely to restart the war once they found an opportunity.

Kirigakure had been isolated overseas for a long time, and their situation was unclear, but recently, Konoha's Root had discovered Kirigakure Anbu appearing along the coast of the Land of Fire.

Although the specific reason had not yet been determined, the probability of Kirigakure wanting to take a bite out of the Land of Fire amidst the chaos was extremely high.

If the Iwagakure ninja were to declare war on Konoha directly now, it could very well lead to a 1-vs-4 scenario for Konoha.

In that case, no matter how strong Konoha was, their forces would be stretched thin, and even if they eventually won, the losses would be catastrophic.

Minato sincerely hoped that the situation would not develop in that direction.

"The Iwagakure ninja have declared war on Konoha; the village must be prepared to respond to the war."

Gekko Nobuhiko's words were like a heavy hammer, instantly shattering the illusions in Minato's heart.

Things had already developed in the worst possible direction, and now they could only face the war with all their might.

"Intelligence division, report the news of the Iwagakure declaration of war to the village. Senior Gaku, Senior Doto, Senior Nobuhiko, before the village's reinforcements arrive, we must hold the border; we cannot let the Iwagakure ninja break through."

Minato said firmly, his eyes flashing with determination.

Inuzuka Gaku and Akimichi Doto were comrades who had fought side-by-side with Minato; they had once fought against Kumogakure's AB combination together, and they were among the few jonin in the reconnaissance unit.

Facing the impending battle, all three of them were filled with tension and worry.

"Understood!" everyone responded in unison. Behind the outpost was the national border; they absolutely could not retreat. Once the flames of war burned on their own soil, even a victory would be a pyrrhic one.

Minato looked around, his gaze firm and steady: "Kakashi, Rin, Obito, take them to rest. The next few days will likely be a hard fight."

He instructed his subordinates. Facing the vanguard of the Iwagakure ninja, he had only a few dozen chunin and four jonin under his command.

Although he did not fear them, it was still difficult to guarantee the safety of his teammates, and having a few more combatants at this time was always a good thing.

"Lord Nobuhiko, please come with me to the medical tent for further treatment of your injuries," Rin Nohara said, stepping forward with a soft voice, her eyes full of concern.

"You are not lightly injured, and the long-distance running has aggravated your wounds. You need further treatment using medical ninjutsu. My Mystical Palm Technique is not yet very proficient, so I cannot treat them well."

Rin Nohara was Minato's student, a genius medical ninja who had mastered the A-rank medical ninjutsu—Mystical Palm Technique—at a young age.

She had short brown hair and a pair of large, deep brown eyes, and the two purple markings on her face were her signature.

"Please follow me; the rest tents are over here."

Kakashi Hatake said coldly.

His white hair, the mask he never took off, and the White Fang Short Blade on his back were his trademarks.

The current Kakashi had not yet emerged from the shadow of his father's death and believed that the mission was more important than anything else.

"Brother Iori, long time no see."

Obito Uchiha said boisterously. As ninja of the same Uchiha clan, they were old acquaintances.

Although they couldn't be considered close friends, they were familiar with one another.

Obito was the quintessential Uchiha in the eyes of the Second Hokage: a madman with an unstable psyche prone to extreme actions.

Although he was an important member of the original story and a clansman of his own, Uchiha Iori still maintained a certain distance from him.

"Mm, I'm glad to see you're all still alive as well."

Uchiha Iori responded, his tone carrying a hint of exhaustion.

Though he didn't believe anything would happen to them before Madara Uchiha stepped in to stir up trouble.

"Too much has happened today; I need to go rest and recover my spirits. See you all tomorrow."

Iori bid them farewell, preparing to head to the Hall of Heroes in his dreams to see if he could find any Noble Phantasms capable of changing the situation.

Currently, Iori's strength was more than enough to handle those below him but fell short of those above; he could still put up a fight against a Jonin, but he lacked the power to face ninja armies or opponents at the Kage level.

His insufficient chakra reserves and limited number of Noble Phantasms were his greatest weaknesses.

"Right, see you tomorrow."

The group bid Iori farewell one after another before dispersing.

Kakashi continued his own training, focusing on perfecting his ninjutsu, Chidori.

Obito headed to the medical unit to find Rin Nohara; a simp is never absent.

Uzuki Kaori and Kurama Takumi each found a tent to rest in as well.

Although they hadn't sustained any injuries, their exhaustion—both physical and mental—was severe.

After entering his tent, Uchiha Iori collapsed heavily onto his bedding, closed his eyes, and sent his consciousness back to the Hall of Heroes.