Minato Namikaze sat in the Hokage's office, weighed down by worries these past few days. He stared gravely at the envelopes before him. They were not letters from Tsunade, but pleas for help sent by ninja commanders from various regions. Their contents were all the same.
For some unknown reason, Katsuyu had lost her life force and could no longer provide life support to the ninja. More importantly, Ryūchi Cave had joined the war—something that had never happened before. Ryūchi Cave had always stood above it all. Greedy by nature, they only looked after themselves and would never allow the flames of the Fourth Shinobi World War to reach them.
With their sudden appearance, coupled with Dawn Hidden Village's resolve to fight to the bitter end, the situation on battlefronts everywhere had become dire. Some areas had even begun to collapse.
The Fourth Hokage had no way to support them at this time. Konoha itself was facing the powerful Dawn Hidden Village and could only rely on the advantage of its terrain to keep them occupied, dragging them into the mire of war. Defeating them was nearly impossible.
"Why has this happened?"
Minato Namikaze gently rubbed his temples, easing the pressure on his mind. Just as he began considering a countermeasure, a burst of hurried footsteps outside interrupted his thoughts.
A ninja, panting heavily, entered after announcing himself and presented a letter. He spoke respectfully:
"Hokage-sama! This letter was personally written by Lady Tsunade, and she instructed that only you may open it."
He assumed it was another request for reinforcements, perhaps at most explaining what had happened to Katsuyu's body. It could not possibly reverse the current situation.
Yet after opening the letter, his initial numbness turned to shock. In the end, he immediately pressed the letter onto the