50. Three Shinobi War Analysis

This time, the mission team might have been made up entirely of elite jonin, so Minato Namikaze arrived early.

He didn't show up last, like he had the previous time.

When Ye Yuexin reached the village gates, he found that he was the only one missing.

That made him a little nervous.

After all, he was the only Chunin among them. It wasn't right to keep three elite jonin waiting for him.

Still, it was only six thirty, and he'd arrived half an hour early.

He hadn't expected to be the last one there anyway.

As soon as Ye Yuexin approached, Minato Namikaze gave him a bright smile.

"I haven't had a chance to thank you yet. Thank you, Yuexin. If you hadn't been there, Kakashi and the others might have been in danger."

"You did an excellent job on the last mission. You're Konoha's most outstanding young talent now."

Ye Yuexin hadn't expected Minato Namikaze to thank him so suddenly.

He quickly replied,

"It was a team effort. I only did what I was supposed to do. You're too kind, Jonin Minato."

His words made not only Minato Namikaze, but also the two elite jonin beside him, look at him with new interest.

They already had a general idea of Ye Yuexin's personality.

But his modest words still left them with a good impression.

After all, no matter how talented someone was, until they had grown strong, they still needed the protection of the powerful.

They hadn't objected to bringing a Chunin like Ye Yuexin along on this mission, but they had still felt a little displeased about it.

As elite jonin, they knew about Ye Yuexin's recent accomplishments, but they hadn't witnessed them firsthand.

So they couldn't be sure how impressive he really was.

But Ye Yuexin's humility had given them a very good impression of him.

"Minato, his personality really is a lot like yours. And his talent seems just as good, too."

The chubby man beside Minato said with a smile.

Ye Yuexin didn't need to guess that this was Akamichi Todō, whose name had been on yesterday's mission roster.

Then Inuzuka Gaku chimed in with a teasing grin.

"That's right, Minato. With a genius like him coming up behind you, do you feel the pressure? Hahaha!"

Minato Namikaze laughed awkwardly.

"Yuexin's definitely more talented than I am, so the pressure's no joke. But I'd be really happy if Konoha gained another outstanding shinobi. Hahahaha!"

The two men burst out laughing at Minato Namikaze's words.

"That's just like you, Minato."

"By the way, kid, I'm Akamichi Todō. I look forward to working with you on this mission."

"Inuzuka Gaku. I look forward to working with you, too."

The two men smiled at Ye Yuexin and introduced themselves.

Ye Yuexin quickly replied with a smile, "I'm Ye Yuexin. I look forward to learning from you both."

After the introductions, the three didn't chat much more before setting out.

That suited Ye Yuexin just fine. He didn't know what else to say.

On the way, Minato Namikaze explained the mission in detail.

Ye Yuexin also got a general understanding of the Third Shinobi World War. Combining that with what he remembered from the original story he'd read in his previous life, he finally worked out what had happened.

The Third Shinobi World War had begun because Sasori's parents were killed by Kakashi Hatake's father, the White Fang of Konoha, during the Second Shinobi World War.

Sasori had wanted revenge, but the White Fang of Konoha had died by suicide while on another mission, leaving Sasori unable to take revenge on him.

So Sasori turned his hatred toward the Third Kazekage.

Sasori believed that, as the leader of Sunagakure, the Third Kazekage had failed to prevent Konoha's invasion, which had led to his parents' deaths.

So Sasori assassinated the Third Kazekage, stole his body, and left the village, becoming a missing-nin.

After the Third Kazekage went missing, Sunagakure searched the entire village for any trace of him, but found nothing.

This left Sunagakure without a leader. Their intensive search also left their defenses understaffed.

At the same time, the other four great nations learned that the Third Kazekage had disappeared.

Kumogakure, in the Land of Lightning, favored military expansion and took advantage of the situation by launching a surprise attack on Sunagakure, plunging the village into chaos.

Rasa used Magnet Release: Gold Dust, which he had learned from the Third Kazekage, to repel Kumogakure's invasion and protect the village.

But the war left Sunagakure short of supplies and money. In those circumstances, the Sand Ninja turned their attention to the Land of Fire, which was rich in resources.

Then the Rock Ninja saw that the Land of Lightning had failed to gain an advantage over the Sand Ninja and had suffered heavy losses. They immediately went to war against the Land of Lightning.

But the Land of Lightning refused to back down. With so many enemies already, they had nothing to lose. The Land of Lightning actually declared war on three nations at once.

Ye Yuexin had figured out all this from what Minato Namikaze had told him and what he remembered.

Now he knew how it had really begun.

It wasn't that Konoha had been strong enough to fight three nations at once. The Land of Lightning had been arrogant enough to try to take on three nations at once.

But he didn't know how things had ended up with Konoha fighting off attacks from three villages at the same time.

All three men were fast, but Ye Yuexin could keep up.

He stayed right behind them the whole way.

The two men, who had still harbored some doubts about Ye Yuexin's abilities, nodded to themselves.

They were heading to the battlefield. If he wasn't strong enough, they could cover for him.

That wouldn't be a serious problem. But if he couldn't even keep up while running, he'd be dead weight.

Their mission was to intercept a Cloud Ninja strike team.

According to the information Konoha had received, Kumogakure had decided to stop dragging out the war.

They were preparing to launch a final assault on the Rock Ninja and Konoha.

But their main battlefield was against the Rock Ninja.

It was as though Kumogakure had set its sights on the Rock Ninja, who had declared war on them first.

As for Konoha, they had sent a strike team to destroy the defenses at Konoha's front line before the main force arrived.

That would prepare the way for Kumogakure's advance after defeating the Rock Ninja.

So Ye Yuexin and the others were heading to Konoha's front line against Kumogakure.

They were a strike team, or perhaps an interception team was a better name for them.

Their mission was to stop the Cloud Ninja squad that was coming to attack.

His memories were a little hazy, but Ye Yuexin thought he remembered an arc like this from the original anime he'd watched in his previous life.

Minato Namikaze had faced Kumogakure's A-B Combo alone.

The A-B Combo consisted of the next Raikage, A, and the Eight-Tails jinchūriki, Killer B.

Like Minato Namikaze, they had made names for themselves during the Third Shinobi World War.

Their Double Lariat was already renowned throughout the Shinobi World.

On the way, the three men seemed to be deliberately testing Ye Yuexin. They didn't stop to rest at all.

When they ran low on chakra, they slowed down.

They replenished their chakra as they traveled, and Ye Yuexin managed to keep up. That earned him a little more respect from Akamichi Todō and Inuzuka Gaku.

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