"…"
Jiraiya's mouth twitched continuously. He had originally thought that the Old Man called Ren back to arrange some mission, and at most, he would give him some money as a reward.
When he saw the Thunder God Sword that Kaoru brought back earlier, it directly shocked several people, leaving them crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.
He never expected it, truly never expected it, that the Old Man would actually take out the Second Hokage's Thunder God Sword!
Looking at Ren's innocent expression, Jiraiya felt as if the Three Sannin were picked up by the Old Man.
"Congratulations, Ren."
Minato Namikaze stepped forward two paces, placing his hand on Ren's shoulder to congratulate him. The others also offered their congratulations.
"Hehehe, thank you, everyone."
Looking at the beaming Ren, Jiraiya slapped the back of his head and said irritably,
"Alright, alright, stop showing off. Since the Old Man gave it to you, use it well and don't disgrace this divine weapon!"
"Yes!"
Ren earnestly promised Jiraiya.
"Let's continue."
Just then, Shikaku stepped forward and said. Everyone returned to the sand table and began discussing strategic planning.
"Since they want to disrupt the situation, then let them disrupt it. However, what we need to do right now is still seize the initiative. After all, the area where one can attack the Land of Fire from the Land of Rain is limited. Prepare to deploy troops."
Nara Choumei said in a deep voice, looking at the sand table, and everyone expressed their agreement. Nara Shikaku, standing nearby, pondered for a long time before looking up at Jiraiya.
"Choumei is right, but before deploying troops, we still need to scout the situation within the Land of Rain. After all, our map of the Land of Rain's terrain is already three years old."
"That's right."
Jiraiya pondered for a moment, then pointed a finger at a specific area.
"It's roughly here. Send out a few elite reconnaissance teams to depart early tomorrow morning. The main focus is to investigate the movements of the Stone and Sand Shinobi and update the map information."
At this point, Jiraiya paused and turned his gaze to Minato Namikaze.
"Minato, I'm entrusting this to you. I'll send three elite teams for you to command."
"Yes, Jiraiya-sensei."
Minato had no objections and smilingly accepted the military order.
"Oh, and take this kid with you."
Ren was startled, and only when Jiraiya's gaze fell on him did he realize he was talking about himself.
"Huh? I don't mind, it's not like I have anything else to do."
"Then let's arrange it like that for now. Shikaku, Hizashi, you two can return tomorrow morning. Rest here tonight."
"Yes, Lord Jiraiya. X2"
The two nodded in agreement. The two battlefronts were basically stable now. The variable was the three-nation free-for-all in the Land of Rain in two days, so there was no need to rush.
The Sand Shinobi and Stone Shinobi weren't fools; they wouldn't directly transfer most of their forces. So these two days were the reconnaissance period for each country. After all, even if the Land of Rain was weak, it still had the Rain Village led by the "Demigod" Hanzou. If they rushed into his territory without knowing anything, and Hanzou led people to ambush them from behind, causing a complete collapse of the frontline, that would be a huge joke.
"Then everyone, go get some rest early. Choumei, organize the documents that piled up this afternoon. Tsk, I'm going to have to pull an all-nighter again."
"Yes, Lord Jiraiya."
Nara Choumei walked to the side and placed three or four piles of already organized scroll documents onto Jiraiya's desk. These were all documents that had accumulated while Jiraiya was napping in the afternoon. There was nothing he could do; the documents he slept through, he had to stay up all night, even if it killed him, and write them with tears in his eyes.
"Uh…"
Looking at the mountain of documents piled on his desk, Jiraiya's gaze turned to the people who had already reached the tent entrance.
"Well, Shikaku…"
Jiraiya forced a smile, but his words were cut short by Nara Shikaku, who had seen through his intentions.
"Lord Jiraiya, I've been pulling all-nighters for a month helping Lord Sakumo and Lady Tsunade over there. Now that the battle situation has finally stabilized, you see…"
As he spoke, Shikaku pointed to his dark circles, which looked weathered. Jiraiya could only turn to Minato.
"Good student, I…"
"Jiraiya-sensei, I have a mission to execute tomorrow morning."
"…"
Jiraiya's gaze then shifted to Ren.
This time, before Jiraiya could even open his mouth, Ren, knowing what he was about to do, spoke first.
"I also have a mission to execute tomorrow morning. Besides, would Lord Jiraiya, a dignified 'Sannin,' really drag a child like me into working through the night?"
"…"
Jiraiya could only turn to the somewhat bewildered Hyuga Hizashi. Just as Hyuga Hizashi thought this unpleasant task would fall to him, unexpectedly, Jiraiya suddenly changed his mind.
"Ah, forget it, forget it. Everyone, go on."
Jiraiya walked to the back of his desk in despair, picked up a document, and began to review it. His desolate figure was exceptionally disheartening to see.
"How about I stay and help you, Lord Jiraiya!"
Hyuga Hizashi said with some guilt, looking at Jiraiya's figure. After all, in his opinion, half of this work should have been his, but Lord Jiraiya had taken it all on. The Hyuga Clan's education did not allow him to shirk responsibility.
"Really? Good, then I'll trouble you!"
Who knew that as soon as he finished speaking, Jiraiya immediately picked up two stacks of documents, and before Hyuga Hizashi could react, he placed them all on another desk. Then he came to Hyuga Hizashi's side, pushed him all the way to the back of the desk, and pressed him into the chair.
Upon closer inspection, there were no negative emotions on his face; he was smiling so much that wrinkles were almost forming.
"Me, this…"
Looking at the half-human-high stack of documents in front of him, Hizashi, this honest child, was utterly flustered at the desk.
"Ah, Hizashi is still too young."
Nara Shikaku looked at the dazed Hyuga Hizashi, shaking his head and sighing.
Exactly!
Minato Namikaze, hearing Shikaku's remark, nodded in agreement.
After all, Jiraiya had been using him, his disciple, as free labor for more than just a day or two. Every time, he either wrote until midnight or pulled an all-nighter. If there was an urgent mission that required him the next day, he would be called up less than half an hour after falling asleep. That feeling truly made him want to collapse the ramen stand.
"Ah, let's retreat. Let's just consider it a lesson for Senior Hizashi."
Ren yawned. Honestly, today had been nothing but fighting and rushing, and after a day of that, he was indeed a bit sleepy.
"Then let's go. There's still a mission tomorrow morning."
"Let's go, let's go."
Huh?!
Hyuga Hizashi stared wide-eyed at the departing group.
What about me?! Have they abandoned me just like that?!
"Work hard, Hizashi, I'm counting on you. I'm going to sleep for a bit. You can do it!"
Looking at Jiraiya, who was already sound asleep on the desk beside him, Hyuga Hizashi could only open the documents with empty eyes and begin reviewing them.
Late into the night…