Konoha and Sunagakure Form an Alliance

After defeating the enemy, Long Ye returned to the group, where he was greeted by two awed gazes.

"I never imagined that Long Ye had grown this strong without me realizing it. I thought that after evolving the Two-Tomoe Sharingan, I'd finally be able to fight alongside him..."

Obito's feelings were extremely complicated.

He was happy that Long Ye had grown stronger, yet he also felt dejected by the gap between their abilities.

Kakashi remained silent from beginning to end.

He appeared calm and unfazed, but only he knew how violently his heart had been shaken after witnessing the terrifying strength of his former teammate.

The only one whose emotions had not changed was Rin. At that moment, she felt nothing but happiness.

The group continued onward.

"Strange! Why did Killer B and the other one get involved in the war between Konoha and Kirigakure for no apparent reason? What benefit does Kumogakure gain from stopping Minato from aiding Konoha?"

"Could it be just as I said before? Did Kumogakure ally itself with Kirigakure?"

Long Ye voiced his doubts.

Shisui said, "War and intrigue are far too complicated. Who can really explain them clearly..."

"But my guess is that Kumogakure wants the war between Konoha and Kirigakure to continue for as long as possible, so that both sides suffer the greatest losses. That would benefit them."

"Once Minato joined the battle, however, the war would undoubtedly end quickly. After all, the Yellow Flash's reputation isn't mere boasting. He possesses the ability to fight a hundred enemies alone."

Long Ye nodded.

That hundred did not mean ordinary shinobi, but a hundred Jonin.

Minato Namikaze's space-time ninjutsu was indeed a weapon for reaping lives on the battlefield. Numbers meant little to him; it was merely a matter of whether he needed one minute or two to finish the job.

The rest of the journey passed peacefully, and they encountered no further danger.

After Long Ye and Shisui escorted the group to its destination, they bid farewell to Rin and the others and returned to Konohagakure to report the mission to the Hokage.

There were no walls the wind could not penetrate, and no intelligence in the Shinobi World that shinobi could not obtain.

The news that the "Lightning Flash Shisui" duo had defeated the "Killer B" duo reached the desks of the senior officials in the major shinobi villages that very same day.

The title of the number-one duo in the Shinobi World began to resound in every corner of the world.

No one was more aggrieved than Killer B and his companion.

Deep down, they felt that they had not displayed even half of their true strength in that battle.

At the time, Long Ye's words had distracted them. In the next instant, they were struck by Shisui Uchiha's genjutsu, and it took everything they had to break free immediately.

By the time they escaped, Long Ye had already prepared his ultimate attack. With no time to counterattack, they were swallowed by a devastating explosion.

The two of them were seriously injured on the spot. Before they could counterattack, Shisui Uchiha ambushed them with the Body Flicker Technique, leaving them utterly defeated.

It could even be said that they had never had a chance to strike. A succession of attacks had left them seeing nothing but black, and in the end, they could only flee for their lives.

But to everyone else, no one cared about the process. Knowing the result was enough.

As Lightning Flash Shisui rose to fame and shook the Shinobi World, another name became a nightmare for the other four nations besides Konohagakure.

That man was the Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze.

In the battle between Kirigakure and Konoha, Minato Namikaze killed more than twenty Kirigakure Jonin by himself in less than five minutes.

The enemies on the battlefield saw only a flash of golden light. In the next moment, their heads had already hit the ground.

That terrifying record greatly enhanced Minato Namikaze's reputation. It also firmly established his prestige in Konoha, laying the foundation for him to become the Fourth Hokage in the future.

At the same time, a realistic problem had troubled Long Ye for a long while.

He still had not found an opportunity to obtain a second Kekkei Genkai.

More than half a year had passed since he obtained Explosion Release. He desperately wanted to acquire a second Kekkei Genkai and further increase his strength.

But he had been unable to put that plan into action.

During that half-year, he had carried out more than a hundred missions, yet he had encountered only two people who possessed Kekkei Genkai: Shū, the wielder of Explosion Release, and Mei Terumi.

But Mei Terumi possessed Near-Kage Level strength. Defeating her was already difficult, while capturing her alive and taking her Kekkei Genkai was nothing but a pipe dream.

The Third Shinobi World War continued to develop.

Soon, a year had passed since the war began.

During that year, the five great nations of the Shinobi World had joined the war to varying degrees for their own interests. All of them had paid a grievous price, suffering massive losses in both power and wealth.

The greatest losses among the five nations were suffered by the Land of Wind.

More precisely, the civil war that erupted in the Land of Wind had largely triggered the Third Shinobi World War.

The conflict had begun with the inexplicable disappearance of the Third Kazekage, which led to an invasion by a neighboring country.

Without its highest leader, the Land of Wind was like a pile of loose sand. Though countless heroes emerged, it still paid several times the wartime cost of the other nations.

But after a year, the Land of Wind finally saw a turning point: a new Kazekage ascended to the position.

The first thing the Kazekage did after taking office was send someone to Konoha to seek a wartime alliance and jointly resist Iwagakure of the Land of Earth.

Long Ye did not know what the Hokage and the envoy had discussed, but he later secretly learned that the two nations had formally established an alliance. From then on, they would join forces against Iwagakure of the Land of Earth, which had been attacking with the greatest ferocity.

With the alliance established, the Third Shinobi World War gradually moved from its middle stage into its latter half.

One day a year later.

Hokage Office.

Long Ye and Shisui stood before Hiruzen Sarutobi, who wore his Hokage hat.

"Although Konoha's alliance with Sunagakure was carried out very discreetly, the intelligence has most likely already reached the hands of the senior officials in the major shinobi nations. Our allied forces must join together to fight Iwagakure as quickly as possible. Otherwise, they may well take other countermeasures..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing outside. He took a puff from his pipe and exhaled a large ring of smoke, sounding as though he was speaking to them, yet also as though he were talking to himself.

Standing behind him, Long Ye and Shisui nodded deeply in agreement.

If Konoha and Sunagakure could form an alliance, the other three nations could do the same. They therefore had to destroy one of them swiftly, before the other three nations could establish an alliance, and seize as much of an advantage as possible.

"So, there is an extremely important mission that I will be assigning to each of you."

When Hiruzen Sarutobi said the word "mission," his tone grew exceptionally solemn. Clearly, this mission was of tremendous importance.

"Please give us your orders, Lord Hokage!"

Long Ye and Shisui spoke in unison.

Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "Long Ye, Shisui, I want each of you to make a trip to Kirigakure in the Land of Water and Kumogakure in the Land of Lightning. You will each deliver one of my 'Peace Negotiation Proposals.'"