Kings Against Kings

In a war, few people would wonder why it must be king against king, general against general, while the remaining soldiers and henchmen are allowed to fight each other at will.

Anyone who has been on the battlefield knows that if a king were to lead an army, both sides would face a situation where, after a single battle, neither side would have any fighting capacity left. Such a loss is something neither side wants to bear.

Minato Namikaze and Ōnoki are undoubtedly the 'kings' of this war. Ōnoki will never allow Minato Namikaze to completely disappear from his sight. If that happens, the Konoha Ninja will face another enemy 'king' with an absolutely unstoppable offensive.

Kato Osamu understood this principle well. Although he knew that Danzo had told Minato Namikaze in advance that the Root Base had been discovered, he still couldn't be sure that Minato Namikaze would abandon some important mission and come to the 'rescue' as Danzo thought.

"Chi, has the urgent intelligence been sent?"

"Reporting to the leader, it should have been delivered to Minato Namikaze by now..."

"Um..."

The Danzo site that Danzo prepared for Minato Namikaze did not seem to have the magnificent and tragic feel that Kato Osamu had imagined. It was just a remote open space, far away from the battlefield of the Land of Grass, blocked by mountains.

It seems Danzo never really thought highly of this young, genius ninja who was already being considered by the Third Hokage to become the Fourth Hokage.

"Yamanaka Ling... you should know how to do it..."

"Yes, Chief!"

Kato Osamu wondered if it was just his imagination, but Danzo's gaze seemed to have flickered across him, and the ninja who walked out from Danzo seemed different from usual—this way of addressing him by his name was almost never seen in Root.

" In the Yamanaka...?"

Kato Osamu clenched her fists slightly, a hint of unease stirring within her, perhaps due to the impending battle.

Wearing a distorted, chaotic demon Yamanaka Ling stood far away beside Danzo, his eyes, which faintly shone with a hint of brightness, constantly scanning everyone present. A stinging sensation of being spied on caused a dark glint to flash in Kato Osamu's eyes.

"How cautious you are, Danzo! My lord..."

Kato Osamu withdrew her gaze, showing no further emotion, and Danzo's figure slowly disappeared into the hidden darkness.

The gazes from the Root, like flickering will-o'-the-wisps, are scattered among the sparse shadows of the trees, lying horizontally. Under the dim sky, fallen leaves rustle, and the forest, nestled in the shade, carries a touch of gloom, exuding only coldness and deathly silence.

The Yamanaka Ling, the 'eye' of countless Root ninjas and Danzo, is like a cluster of cold, hard rocks, waiting for the arrival of that key person.

Meanwhile, Minato Namikaze had already begun to cover for his three disciples.

The Konoha launched an attack on Stone Shinobi. The sheer scale of the attack even gave Ōnoki the illusion that this battle was the final showdown.

Standing quietly among the peaks, the Yamakaze gently brushed past Minato Namikaze's ears. His gaze was fixed on the unknown distance, as if he were worried about something, or perhaps he was simply watching the Konoha Ninja running below.

"Clan Chief Fugaku Uchiha, I may have to leave for a while. You will be in charge of making all decisions regarding command on the battlefield for me..."

"Yes, Minato Namikaze!"

Behind Fugaku Uchiha stood the elite of the Uchiha Clan, whose hatred for Stone Shinobi was growing daily. They seemed never to have imagined that the Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan would be targeted by Stone Shinobi in this way. In this period of time, the number of Sharingan that have been lost and cannot be recovered has exceeded ten fingers.

"Clan Chief Fugaku Uchiha, this time we should focus on a feint attack, employing flanking maneuvers, but we must absolutely avoid a desperate fight to the death. Preserving our strength is our top priority..."

Looking at the eager Uchiha Clan members behind Fugaku Uchiha, Minato Namikaze frowned slightly.

Although the Uchiha Clan's help greatly reduced the pressure on the battlefield, they were still somewhat unruly. Few Uchiha Clan members could form teams with other clans like Obito Uchiha; most formed teams of two or three Uchiha Clan members, making it difficult to maximize their full strength.

"Minato Namikaze, please rest assured, the Uchiha Clan will not have any mishaps..."

Fugaku Uchiha turned his head and glared fiercely at the ninjas in his clan before turning back.

These days, every member of the Uchiha Clan can see how much Minato Namikaze relies on Fugaku Uchiha, and the rumors that Minato Namikaze will become the Fourth Hokage are no longer considered a secret.

For Hokage, the Uchiha Clan Head so highly regarded by the Hokage, every Uchiha Clan member seemed to see the hope of the clan's renewed glory. Even the clan elders placed the greatest expectations on Fugaku Uchiha, and his authority within the clan grew stronger day by day.

However, it seems that no clan in Konoha wants to see a clan leader who can completely unify the Uchiha Clan...

Aside from Minato Namikaze.

"That's good. Chief Fugaku Uchiha has always been a very reliable person."

Minato Namikaze smiled slightly, then his gaze suddenly turned to the battlefield— Konoha's vanguard had already clashed with Stone Shinobi; the violent sounds and roars drew everyone's attention to the battlefield.

"Jota, be careful, don't let those three little guys find us..."

"Knew..."

The hastily assembled Stone Shinobi seemed unaware that Konoha ninjas had quietly infiltrated their ranks.

Three Jonin wearing Konoha Forehead Protector Jonin hidden in the bushes, yet the place was eerily quiet, as if no one else was there. However, their eyes seemed to be watching Kakashi Hatake and his two companions in the distance, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

"Minato Namikaze really cares about his three disciples..."

The slightly younger Jonin filled with envy. He always felt that he had never encountered such a teacher when he was young, which was why he was still only Chunin in his twenties. If it weren't for this war, he would probably still be just a senior Chunin.

"Yudai, don't let me hear anything like that again..."

The Jonin the team glanced at the nearly thirty-year-old man beside him and snorted. If they hadn't been in the same squad for several months, he wouldn't have bothered with such a tactless and clueless guy.

"This mission is extremely difficult, requiring both overt and covert teams. Minato Namikaze didn't hesitate to use his own student as bait; this is the Will of Fire of Konoha!"

"Do you... understand now?"

Yoshino Ei stared coldly at Yudai, leaving Yudai speechless. Although he understood that his team's main task was to protect the three members of Team Kakashi, he, who had initially been somewhat disdainful, seemed to have for the first time truly discovered the key reason why he had been working so hard but still couldn't get promoted.

"Yes! Lord Yoshino Ei Hide!"

With a somewhat bewildered look, Jota suddenly turned his head and looked at the two people speaking in hushed tones. His eyes grew brighter and brighter.

He quickly took a deep breath, as if he wanted to say something, but then seemed to remember that their mission required secrecy, and hurriedly covered his mouth with his hand.

"Captain! Don't worry! I will definitely not let my guard down!"

"It is in times of crisis like these that our Will of Fire is truly revealed!"