After a short while, the door to the Hokage's office was pushed open again, Tsunade walked in.
Shin'un turned her head and saw that she was still wearing the lab coat.
Apparently, before being summoned, she was in the lab developing an antidote for Ibuse gas.
"Teacher, you wanted to see me?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded and asked.
"How is the development of an antidote for the poison gas from Ibuse progressing?"
Tsunade seemed to have anticipated this, and upon hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's question, she immediately replied:
"Because the time is indeed too short, we can only produce semi-finished products for now."
"Although there are medications available that target the toxins in Ibuse, they cannot completely neutralize the poison; they can only delay the onset of the toxins for several hours."
"A few hours?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned, then asked.
Could you be more specific about the timeframe?
Tsunade frowned when questioned by the teacher.
"The exact delay depends on the amount of toxic gas inhaled..."
"However... at least it can delay the onset of the toxin by two hours."
Two hours?
Hiruzen Sarutobi pondered for a moment, then sighed helplessly.
"Does this semi-finished product have any side effects? Can it be mass-produced as soon as possible?"
After a moment's thought, Tsunade replied:
"As for side effects, you might experience nausea and vomiting for a while after taking it, but it's not a serious problem."
"As for mass production... I've slightly modified the antidote manufacturing process, and mass production should begin tonight."
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, then continued:
"In that case, let's get to mass production as soon as possible."
"The situation in the Land of Rain is very unfavorable for Konoha right now, and we urgently need to send a batch of effective antidotes to the front lines."
As he spoke, Hiruzen Sarutobi a deep breath, seemingly somewhat agitated.
Without hiding anything, he spoke in what sounded like a complaint in front of Tsunade and Shin'un.
"That Hanzo of the Salamander has gone mad for some reason. Starting four days ago, he completely ignored the Sand Ninja and Stone Ninja and only targeted our Konoha."
"Furthermore, starting yesterday, the Sand Ninja and the Stone Ninja seem to have joined forces, ceasing their attacks on each other and focusing entirely on our Konoha."
"What was originally a free-for-all has now turned into a three-on-one situation for Konoha."
Looking at Tsunade, Hiruzen Sarutobi said:
"You must produce a batch of antidote as soon as possible, and personally lead a support team to the Land of Rain to aid Orochimaru and his men on the front lines in Rain Ninja."
Then, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Shin'un.
" Shin'un, I have another task for you."
Upon hearing that he was mentioned, Shin'un immediately looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"With Tsunade bringing a batch of antidotes and joining Orochimaru and the others in the Rain Ninja battlefield in central Land of Rain, that's enough."
" Orochimaru, Tsunade, Jiraiya combined are enough to stop that so-called ' Demigod ' from advancing."
After a brief silence, Hiruzen Sarutobi continued:
"But aside from the Rain Ninja battlefield in the central region, the situation is equally dire in the Stone Ninja in the north and the Sand Ninja battlefield in the south."
"I sent White Fang to lead a team to the Stone Ninja battlefield in the north."
"But the Sand Ninja to the south is a particularly troublesome opponent. There, only Nara Shikahito with over three thousand Konoha Ninja is struggling to hold off the Sand Ninja's more than five thousand ninjas."
Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned and said seriously:
"I need you to lead a thousand ninjas to the southern part of the Land of Rain to support Nara Shikahito and his forces."
"We'll set off immediately tomorrow morning once the team is assembled."
Hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, Shin'un was somewhat bewildered.
Instead of immediately refusing, Shin'un thought for a moment and then said:
" Lord Hokage, of course I can lead a team to provide support, but a ninja mobilization of this scale requires at least one Elite Jonin the team, and I'm too young..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi his Teuchi Shin'un.
"I understand your concerns, but to be honest, Konoha really does have no one left."
"The real elites are almost all on the battlefield. Among the Jonin in the village, there are very few whom I can trust and who are qualified to lead a team, and most of them cannot leave Konoha."
"It can only be you now."
"You are Orochimaru's disciple, my grand-disciple, and fully qualified to lead the team."
"Furthermore, your reputation as a 13-year- Jonin genius is well-known among many ninjas in Konoha, which is one of the reasons I chose you."
"Furthermore, although you are indeed a bit young, I believe your abilities are enough to convince others."
"As for the Elite Jonin you mentioned, that is indeed a problem..."
As he spoke, Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed to have been reminded.
Glancing at Shin'un, Hiruzen Sarutobi took out a blank ID card from under his desk, wrote a few lines on it with a pen, and then pressed the seal next to him down heavily.
He then handed it over to Shin'un.
"Now you are an Elite Jonin."
Shin'un looked at the still-wet ink on the ID card in his hand Chunin want to complain.
Can the promotion of Elite Jonin be done so hastily?
Seeing through Shin'un's thoughts, Hiruzen Sarutobi explained:
"In times of war, expediency is the only option."
"I will arrange for someone to modify your file, after which you will be a true Elite Jonin."
Shin'un nodded and said nothing more.
Since Hiruzen Sarutobi had already boldly promoted himself to Elite Jonin, and given his casual attitude towards leading the team to the Land of Rain, he naturally wouldn't say anything now.
Seeing Shin'un nod, Hiruzen Sarutobi picked up two scrolls from the desk in front of him and handed them to Tsunade and Shin'un respectively.
This is the official mission briefing. I hope you can all complete the mission perfectly.
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
"Squeak~"
Looking at the closed door to the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi picked up his pipe and fell into deep thought.
Not long after.
"Squeak~"
The door to the Hokage's office was pushed open again, and this time several high-ranking officials from Konoha entered.
They are Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, and Shimura Danzō.
The group walked up to Hiruzen Sarutobi and remained silent.
Hiruzen Sarutobi silently puffed on his pipe, without saying a word.
In the end, it was Utatane Koharu, who spoke first.
" Hiruzen, I've said it before: if there isn't a suitable candidate, one of the three of us can be chosen to lead the team to support Shikahito."
Why force Hirakawa Shin'un, a mere thirteen-year-old, to undertake such an important mission?
Taking another puff of his pipe, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked up at Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, and sighed deeply, saying:
"The three of you?"
" Danzo is one thing, but what are you two doing getting involved?"
"When I first became an advisor, I could still see the two of you practicing to maintain our combat strength."
But I haven't seen either of you cultivate even once in the last few years."
"Don't you have any idea how much your abilities have declined?"
"When we send you to the Land of Rain, are the frontline ninjas focused on killing the enemy or protecting you?"