A few days later, within the Land of Fire.
"Damn it, that brat's gone missing again."
"Jiraiya, are you sure he was facing the attack from the two tailed beasts at the time?"
Tsunade was furious — and for good reason: Gekko Chizan had gone missing again.
She'd noticed a pattern: every time a battle broke out, Gekko Chizan disappeared.
But according to Jiraiya's report, the kid had indeed been holding the rear of the battlefield, engaging the enemy.
The surviving members of the assault squad who had moved with him said the same.
They watched, helpless, as two tailed beasts went berserk at once — and then, in an instant, Gekko Chizan used the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport them away.
He only reappeared on the battlefield a long while later.
"Nonsense — could I really have misread it?"
"Even if I misread, could Bunta have been wrong?"
"We were the ones fighting the tailed beasts, but that kid Chizan — wow. He's gotten so much stronger these past years; he actually managed to send such huge beasts flying into the air."
"Impressive, impressive. Just as I thought when I chose him back then."
Jiraiya's self-satisfied expression almost made Tsunade punch him.
Nearby, Minato looked on with admiration. His own mastery of the Flying Thunder God Technique had improved a lot; he could teleport large objects now, but he really hadn't tried teleporting a tailed beast yet.
Next time he'd give it a go — what's one tailed beast? He could teleport the toad Bunta; he could surely teleport a tailed beast. Impossible not to! Absolutely impossible.
Tsunade was silent for a moment. She stared out through the dense trees at the distant plains, then slowly said:
"Chizan used fire-style on the front lines and inflicted massive damage on the poison bees. And now we have insect repellent available."
"The poison bees are no longer a significant threat. As for the tailed beasts, with you two and your pupil here, I feel much more at ease."
"It's that little bastard again — gone without a trace. Sigh."
"This is wartime. When he disappears like that, it's really hard for me to handle."
As commander of the Iwagakure front, Tsunade had many responsibilities. When a subordinate suddenly went missing, she couldn't just ignore it.
Well — of course — it was also because of Gekko Chizan's combat strength.
Losing someone capable of countering tailed beasts was a serious disadvantage.
"Enough. What's there to worry about? It's only Iwagakure. We've faced them before."
Jiraiya shrugged it off. After all, the war had dragged on so long; they'd clashed with Iwagakure countless times.
Even with tailed beasts involved, what's the point if they can't break through Konoha's defenses? What's there to fear?
"There's only one option that looks like it can end the enemy's advance."
Tsunade pulled out a map. Jiraiya and Minato looked over it together, and there, on the map, a location had been marked with a bright red circle — glaringly obvious.
"The Kannabi Bridge..."
"Cut off Iwagakure's supply line, huh..."
"That's going to be difficult..."
"Right now the Land of Grass is full of Iwagakure shinobi. To sever that supply line we'd need a squad to infiltrate — the difficulty level is enormous."
Jiraiya's brow furrowed. Sending a squad to infiltrate the Land of Grass meant that any mishap could lead to the whole team being wiped out.
"This is the best option we have now. Even if the three of us are present on the front lines and fight the tailed beasts head on, we still don't have a winning chance."
"To minimize losses, cutting their supply line is urgent."
Tsunade turned her gaze to Minato as she spoke. Seeing her look, Jiraiya and Minato exchanged knowing smiles.
Minato then spoke plainly about his mission.
"Tsunade-sama, I'm here on a mission."
"The Hokage has long intended to directly sever Iwagakure's supply line — we do not want the war to drag on."
"This mission was originally assigned to me and Chizan together, but given the current situation, I can only take the lead myself."
"My squad and I are ready; we can depart at any moment."
"For that purpose, I left coordinates within the Land of Grass so we can enter directly using the Flying Thunder God Technique."
As the saying goes, one picked up a trait from those around them — Minato wasn't the only one in Konoha who knew the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Gekko Chizan, also proficient with the technique, had inspired Minato a great deal and helped him raise his skill.
One of the most important lessons Minato learned was to leave coordinates everywhere you went.
If you had many coordinates, no one could stop you.
So now he left coordinates wherever he went.
To make things easier for himself, he had even increased the number of kunai for his technique; the scroll he carried held hundreds of kunai at least.
It had cost him a pretty penny.
Of course Chizan didn't know about this — otherwise he might say to Minato:
"Are you just toss-and-forget with your kunai? One-time consumables?"
"Don't you pick them up??? That's money — pick them up, it's not shameful!"
And Chizan would inevitably lament: "Minato, you and the Kannabi Bridge really have some unbreakable fate!"
Round and round it went; this mission had ended up on your shoulders again. Don't try to drag him in — that damn bridge is probably cursed, you can't go! Absolutely cannot go!
"Alright. Since the mission is set, proceed according to plan."
"Rest and regroup for one day, then I will launch a counteroffensive to create an opportunity for your squad to carry out the mission."
"But you must still be careful. It's deep behind enemy lines. If you find it's untenable, withdraw immediately."
Tsunade had confidence in Minato's ability — after all, his application of the Flying Thunder God Technique was actually stronger than Chizan's in some respects.
In the previous battles he'd earned the nickname "Yellow Flash."
"Hahaha, Tsunade, what are you worrying about? Minato is my disciple — there won't be a problem."
"Hm?"
"Here they come again — those annoying bees."
Halfway through his sentence, Jiraiya's gaze turned toward the distant forest. That low, droning hum told everyone that the Kamizuru clan's poison bees had returned.
"Those troublesome bastards."
"Alright, prepare for battle — annihilate every enemy that enters the Land of Fire!"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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