Over the past two days, Hoshiyomi hadn't spent much time training Minato and Kuugetsu. Instead, he devoted most of his time to Tsunade and the four youngsters, taking them on a relaxing outing around the outskirts of Konoha.
This mission was different from the one against Hanzō. This time, once they left the village, it could be three or even four years before they returned. So Hoshiyomi wanted to make sure they created some good memories before parting.
Although Kuugetsu hadn't been his student for long, the warmth and enthusiasm of Hoshiyomi and the others had already melted much of the ice in her heart. She was no longer the timid, reserved girl from before.
Though she still didn't talk much, it was clear to anyone that she was smiling a lot more these days.
Hoshiyomi had already spoken to the Uchiha about Kuugetsu joining the battlefield. Interestingly, the one who came to speak with him was none other than Uchiha Iwa—the same guy who once "acted the toughest and got beaten the worst."
They hadn't seen each other in over a decade. Uchiha Iwa was no longer the brash, country-style teen from back then. While some of that traditional Uchiha arrogance still lingered, he was clearly restraining himself in front of Hoshiyomi.
Although he didn't yet know that Hoshiyomi had broken through to the Kage level, he'd heard plenty about his achievements. Aware of Hoshiyomi's strength, Iwa kept his attitude respectful and didn't give him any trouble over Kuugetsu.
After all, the girl had never been popular within the Uchiha clan to begin with. If Hoshiyomi wanted to take her in as a disciple—fine. She was just a sword-wielding girl, nothing special.
With everything squared away, that night, Hoshiyomi and Tsunade finished packing alongside Minato and Kuugetsu. At dawn the next day, they would lead their troops to the front lines.
As the first light of morning crept over the horizon, most of Konoha's civilians were still deep in sleep. But at the village gates, a massive force had already gathered.
Nearly 1,500 shinobi stood shoulder to shoulder in tight formation. The sheer sight of them evoked an intimidating, overwhelming presence.
Hoshiyomi and Orochimaru, commanders of the unit, looked at the crowd behind them and couldn't help but feel a surge of pride. After confirming the time, they exchanged a glance, then turned toward the assembled Konoha shinobi and called out in unison:
"Move out!"
With that, the two of them turned and led the march into the rising sun, while the steel tide of 1,500 shinobi followed behind in perfect formation.
As the reinforcement force, they moved quickly toward the Land of Rain. Despite having a large number of genin slowing down their pace, they still managed to arrive within four days.
Because of Konoha's alliance with the Land of Rain, their journey was smooth and uninterrupted. Upon arrival, they took a short rest at one of the old defensive lines behind the current front.
While there, Tsunade took time to run a basic medical-ninjutsu aptitude test on the genin.
Unsurprisingly, it turned out that becoming a medical ninja wasn't so easy. Of the 400 genin in the support force, only about a hundred showed even marginal talent in medical ninjutsu.
Tsunade divided them up quickly, assigning groups to either the Suna front or the Iwa front. The group that would stay with her long-term on the Suna front was entrusted to Orochimaru, who took them ahead to begin setting up.
Tsunade remained at the temporary camp with roughly fifty medical-genin, planning to run a week-long crash course.
Over the course of that week, she would teach them basic medical techniques and share much of her personal experience in medical ninjutsu. Combined with the group of medics she'd already begun training on the front lines, this should suffice for now.
To ensure her safety, Hoshiyomi left all the reinforcement jōnin originally assigned to the Iwa front stationed with her, while he himself moved out with Shinku, five hundred chūnin, and his two disciples toward the Iwa front.
Danzo, that old bastard, had already slipped away from the Iwa front. The moment he heard that Hoshiyomi was returning, he left overnight—clearly trying to avoid any direct interaction.
Although the camp had been relocated a fair distance forward and had expanded significantly, the internal layout of the Iwa front was more or less the same as when Hoshiyomi had last left.
In truth, both Iwagakure and Sunagakure were still in the preparation phase. Although there had been several skirmishes in the meantime, they were all small-scale—ten to thirty shinobi at most—with relatively minimal casualties.
The shinobi at the Iwa front still held Hoshiyomi in great esteem. As soon as his group arrived, they were met with enthusiastic cheers.
Shinku, walking beside him, raised an eyebrow. "Whoa, your reputation here is kind of insane, huh?"
Behind them, Minato and Kuugetsu watched as Hoshiyomi exchanged greetings with the crowd. They were both surprised—so this was the same teacher who usually came off as a bit absentminded and eccentric?
While everyone was still riding high on Hoshiyomi's return, one man in the crowd froze when he saw the girl standing behind him.
It was Uchiha Hokushin.
There was no way he could be mistaken. Though her build and clothing had changed, he was certain—it was his daughter, Uchiha Kuugetsu.
He suddenly lost control and pushed through the crowd, throwing his arms around her:
"Kuugetsu? Am I seeing things? Why are you here?"
Kuugetsu had been nervously scanning the unfamiliar crowd for a familiar face. Seeing Hokushin rush toward her, she broke into a rare, genuine smile.
"Father."
Watching the emotional reunion, Hoshiyomi stepped in to explain:
"Hokushin, your daughter's talent caught the Third Hokage's eye. He wanted me to take her on as a student and have her gain real experience on the battlefield."
"I tested her aptitude myself, and she's certainly gifted. So I took her in as a disciple and brought her here—to meet you."
Hokushin was too caught up in examining his daughter to respond. But the shinobi around him had already erupted with envy:
"Damn, Hokushin, you lucky bastard. Your daughter's really pretty."
"Pretty or not, the main thing is that he gets to see his kid! I haven't seen my son in over a year—hell, I don't even know if the brat still remembers what I look like!"
"Being taken in by Hoshiyomi-sama? She's going to be something big one day. You're gonna be living the good life, man."
Though he was a member of the Uchiha, Hokushin didn't carry the clan's usual airs. If anything, he was even more approachable than many civilian-born shinobi. He might not have been popular among the Uchiha, but out here on the battlefield, he was doing great.
Thanks to his reliable nature—and Hoshiyomi's visible trust in him—Hokushin had become a key figure at the Iwa front. When Jiraiya and Hoshiyomi weren't around, his word carried serious weight.
So when everyone saw him reunited with his daughter, the congratulations came from the heart. Some even went so far as to say Kuugetsu was now like their own niece, and they'd protect her with their lives out on the field.
Hokushin finally snapped out of his daze. While introducing Kuugetsu to everyone, he kept turning back to thank Hoshiyomi again and again.