Within the borders of the Land of Waterfalls, things were much quieter than Minato Namikaze and the others had expected.
They had chosen to cross the border region between the Land of Grass and the Land of Waterfalls. By all rights, they should not have taken this route.
After all, Kusagakure was at the height of its power, and troops might have been stationed along its borders.
But it was precisely because Minato Namikaze had considered Iwagakure's wariness of the Grass Ninja that he had deliberately chosen this highly risky route. This way, Iwagakure had no chance of discovering their flanking maneuver.
In the end, the four of them spent three days finally circling around the frontal assault line of the Iwa Shinobi vanguard.
At present, the Iwa Shinobi main force was locked in a back-and-forth struggle with Konoha's troops on the western front within the Land of Fire, seizing towns and territory. The brutal battle line extended deep into the Land of Fire, almost to its heart.
"If we don't find a way to slow Iwagakure's advance, Konoha may have no choice but to send Kushina onto the battlefield... No matter who it is, that would... sigh. At the very least, it's not something I want to see."
Before they left, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi had said this as he smoked his pipe amid hazy white smoke, looking as though he had aged considerably.
Shouldering the great ship that was Konoha was an enormous burden in itself. He, Hiruzen Sarutobi, lacked Tobirama Senju's strength and boldness, let alone his dazzling talent for creating techniques. It was difficult for him to turn the tide.
This concerns Kushina... I cannot lose.
Minato Namikaze's gaze was deep as he darted through the dense forest, with Kakashi and the other two team