Ōnoki's Analysis

Minato Namikaze shook his head, his voice steady and absolutely rational.

"Such an obvious scheme would naturally occur to them as well."

"The advantage of the Flying Thunder God lies in its suddenness."

He pointed to Iwagakure's main camp on the tactical map.

"If Ōnoki receives the kunai, he'll definitely set up sealing barriers around it like an inescapable net."

"If I recklessly teleport over, all manner of lethal attacks will inevitably follow. That would be no different from walking into death."

Jiraiya's brows furrowed even deeper.

"Then you..."

If this was not an assassination attempt, what was the point of sending the enemy a strategic weapon capable of changing the course of the war?

Minato's gaze suddenly turned icy.

"That masked man has brought Pain into the village."

The words exploded beside Jiraiya's ears like a thunderclap.

What?!

The leader of Akatsuki, who possessed the Rinnegan and toyed with the tailed beasts of every major nation in the palm of his hand?

Those lunatics were not taking advantage of the chaos at the border. They had actually attacked Konoha's headquarters directly!

Minato did not give Jiraiya time to process his shock.

"Once ANBU confirms that the document and kunai have safely reached Ōnoki's tent..."

Minato fixed Jiraiya with a sharp stare.

"Sensei, leave a Shadow Clone behind to hold down the front line."

"Your real body will return to the village with me."

Jiraiya looked at his disciple with deep concern.

"You're taking me with you over such a distance?"

"Crossing more than half the Land of Fire—even at your peak, your chakra could never sustain such extreme expenditure."

"You still need to conserve your strength to deal with Pain once we return to the village!"

Faced with the questioning, Minato Namikaze's lips curled upward slightly.

Under Jiraiya's astonished