"Lady Tsunade has decided. We leave at dawn, so get ready while we still can." Only after seeing that Li was unharmed did Minato let out a breath. "Honestly, I was really afraid your clan might say something to you."
Li nodded lightly without saying anything. Minato worrying about his safety? What a joke. This guy was only worried that Li would be forcibly called back by his clan. If that happened, Minato would probably have a hard time holding back the Tsuchikage.
Once he saw that Li was fine, Minato left in relief.
When they set out the next day, virtually every ninja in the entire outpost was mobilized, with no attempt at secrecy. Konoha was clearly targeting the Tsuchikage this time, and Iwagakure had only one choice: face Konoha head-on. They absolutely could not back down.
Indeed, they could avoid battle, use men at the front to stall them while striking directly at Konoha's outpost from behind. That was also an option. But Iwagakure's ability to seize the initiative on the battlefield so far had relied entirely on the Tsuchikage personally entering the fray.
If the Tsuchikage avoided battle, Iwagakure's morale would plummet. Neither the Tsuchikage nor Iwagakure wanted to see that happen. Now, the two sides could only clash head-on.
During the preparations, Minato distributed all the Flying Thunder God kunai he had prepared. Had this guy already developed that technique on the battlefield? Li shook his head slightly. Still, it was better for this technique to remain in the hands of the Fourth alone. If it were truly spread from Li's hands, it would be quite troublesome.
The overall battle plan was simple: Li would confront the Tsuchikage directly, while Minato used the Flying Thunder God to suppress the weaker elite Jonin. Then he would enter