Back to the Battlefield

To prevent Uchiha Obito from continuing to plant death flags on himself and to avoid any unforeseen changes to the plot, Uchiha Aoba hurriedly stopped him from speaking further and focused on devouring his meal.

As the two finished their ramen and paid the bill, they headed toward the gates of Konoha together.

By the time they arrived, others were already waiting, including their team leader for this mission, Namikaze Minato.

Seeing Uchiha Aoba and Uchiha Obito arrive together, Namikaze Minato nodded, signaling them to join him, and shortly thereafter, Kakashi and Nohara Rin arrived as well.

Seeing that Uchiha Obito had arrived even earlier than he had, Kakashi couldn't help but retort sarcastically, "Yo, it seems Minato-sensei's arrangements were spot on; someone really does have to keep an eye on you."

"Hmph! What kind of talk is that?"

Uchiha Obito put his hands on his hips, dissatisfied. "Even without Aoba, I would have been here early this time."

"You're full of hot air."

Kakashi sneered.

Uchiha Obito felt a surge of anger at these words. "You bastard Kakashi, you..."

"Alright, stop arguing, you two."

Although Nohara Rin was long accustomed to the two of them bickering the moment they met, she had to intervene now; after all, this was no time for playing around.

As the saying goes, every force has its match.

Noticing Nohara Rin's displeasure, Kakashi and Uchiha Obito both shut their mouths instantly.

Uchiha Aoba watched from the side, amused, and gave Nohara Rin a thumbs-up, signaling that she had a real talent for handling them.

Nohara Rin looked at him, a cute smile blooming on her face.

For the next while, everyone stood silently behind Namikaze Minato, watching as he quickly scribbled on a piece of paper while other ninjas continued to arrive and assemble.

About forty minutes passed this way, and when Namikaze Minato put the final stroke on the paper, it meant that all the ninjas from the various clans, as well as the civilian ninjas mobilized for the mission, had fully arrived.

There was no nonsense, nor was there any pre-battle pep talk.

With time being so precious, it was better to spend it covering more ground.

With a wave of his hand, Namikaze Minato commanded, "Move out! We must reach the frontline camp within three days!"

"Yes!"

The force of over a thousand people shouted in unison.

The sound was so loud that half of Konoha could hear it clearly.

The journey was uneventful.

Time quickly passed to the third day of their departure.

At the frontline camp.

When Jiraiya, acting as the commander, received news that Namikaze Minato had arrived with the reinforcements, he immediately stepped out of his command tent to greet them personally.

Logically speaking, Jiraiya shouldn't have acted this way.

Setting aside the issue of status, the master-disciple relationship between Jiraiya and Namikaze Minato alone made such a gesture inappropriate.

In this world, there was no precedent for a master to greet a disciple at the gates; it was completely against the natural order.

However, Jiraiya's personality was never one for rigid formalities, and on top of that, he had been under immense pressure from the war during this period.

In private, he had complained more than once that the old man (Sarutobi Hiruzen) was being unreasonable.

Not long after he had finished fighting Sunagakure, he was sent straight to the Iwagakure front to fight again, treated entirely like a workhorse. That was why he was so genuinely happy to see Namikaze Minato arrive.

"Jiraiya-sensei."

Seeing him, Namikaze Minato trotted forward, greeting him happily.

"I am very sorry to have kept you waiting."

"Under the orders of the Hokage, I have brought a total of one thousand men to provide support. Here is the personnel roster."

"You've had a hard journey."

After taking the list, Jiraiya patted Namikaze Minato on the shoulder with a grin.

"Now that you're here, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief."

"Come, follow me to the tent first; I will brief you on the current situation at the front."

"Understood, sensei."

Namikaze Minato nodded with a smile, then changed his tone. "Please, wait a moment."

He turned to face the crowd.

"Everyone, dismiss! Go to the Logistics Department to collect your supplies, then rest and adjust your condition."

Afterward, he turned to his four disciples: "Kakashi, Obito, Rin, you all go and rest as well."

"Aoba, you come with me to the tent."

With the arrangements settled and everyone in agreement, he turned his gaze back to Jiraiya: "Teacher, let's go."

Shortly after, the three of them entered the main tent together.

Jiraiya did not immediately dive into the situation on the front lines, instead asking with a puzzled look: "Minato, you haven't introduced me yet—who is this kid from the Uchiha Clan?"

"Teacher, I was just about to explain."

Namikaze Minato placed a hand on Uchiha Aoba's shoulder and said: "He is my newly accepted disciple, Uchiha Aoba. Don't let his age fool you; at only thirteen, he already possesses the strength of an elite jonin."

Upon hearing this, Jiraiya looked over in surprise.

A thirteen-year-old elite jonin, and a ninja of the Uchiha Clan at that.

Then, seemingly struck by a thought, the surprise on his face gradually gave way to a gentle expression: "Since he is your disciple, he is not an outsider. After all, by that logic, he is effectively my grand-disciple."

"That is true, I suppose."

Namikaze Minato scratched his head and laughed awkwardly.

Uchiha Aoba felt quite speechless. While it was true that by standard seniority, even without the connection through Namikaze Minato, Jiraiya was two generations his senior, this blunt way of stating it made him feel rather uncomfortable.

Regardless of his internal thoughts, he greeted him politely on the surface.

"It is an honor to meet you, Lord Jiraiya."

"Mm."

Jiraiya nodded in acknowledgment, and combined with his previous words, it meant he had fully accepted this relationship.

"Now, let's talk business."

At these words, the expressions of Uchiha Aoba and Namikaze Minato immediately turned serious.

Jiraiya produced a map, gesturing across it as he explained the situation on the front lines.

"The current situation is not optimistic. That old man Ōnoki, after winning against Kumogakure using human-wave tactics, has been continuously pouring reinforcements into our theater of war, as if he won't rest until he wins this battle."

"Therefore, we must be prepared for a surprise attack from Iwagakure at any time to avoid being caught off guard."

"Of course, we cannot simply remain on the defensive."

"With the one thousand men you brought, Minato, combined with our existing forces, the gap in numbers between us and Iwagakure is no longer significant. I intend to teach Iwagakure a painful lesson."

Jiraiya paused for a moment, giving Uchiha Aoba and Namikaze Minato time to digest the information, before pointing his finger at a specific location on the map.

"Furthermore, look here."

"Kannabi Bridge."

"A place that usually goes unnoticed, yet now it could become the key to turning the tide of the war."

"According to detailed intelligence sent back by Danzo and his Root organization after deep reconnaissance, Kannabi Bridge is now the vital artery for Iwagakure's logistical supply lines."

Danzo? Root?

The two keywords inadvertently triggered by Jiraiya caused Uchiha Aoba's attention to shift.

As a result, he didn't hear a single word of the subsequent conversation between Jiraiya and Namikaze Minato.

Only one thought remained in his mind.

That Lord of Pots has finally done something useful for once.