When Jiraiya and the others returned to the camp, the Jonin hurried over to inquire about the battle.
"The battle with the Jinchuriki was a minor victory; only the Five-tailed Jinchuriki was severely injured, while the Four-tailed Jinchuriki remained unaffected," Jiraiya stated, without exaggerating the results of the top-tier battlefield.
"But overall, we achieved a significant victory!" Jiraiya added with a smile, aiming to boost morale.
The Jonin, upon hearing that the Five-tailed Jinchuriki was injured, all showed signs of relief. If the top-tier battlefield had suffered losses, their previous advantages would have been nullified.
The good news that Jiraiya and his team gained the upper hand against the Jinchuriki quickly spread throughout the Konoha Camp. The Konoha Ninja were thrilled, feeling they could see the dawn of victory in the war.
The enemy deployed two major Jinchuriki but failed to gain any advantage over Konoha, giving them the impression that Konoha, with just a slight effort, had reached Hidden Rock's limits.
Of course, those who were this optimistic were generally Genin or younger Chunin. The Jonin and experienced Chunin knew that neither Hidden Rock nor Konoha had yet to unleash their full strength.
Only Jiraiya from the Sannin of Konoha had arrived on the battlefield, and no other well-known strong figures were dispatched.
On Hidden Rock's side, although they sent out two major Jinchuriki, it was just two Jinchuriki. Apart from that, the strongest was the Explosion Release Jonin, Gari, and they hadn't deployed a large number of ordinary ninja.
Well-acquainted with the plot, Mokgetsu knew that Hidden Rock was brewing something big, and the military strength they had shown so far might very well be a ruse.
Mokgetsu could easily understand everything by putting himself in Onoki's perspective.
This time, he sent two Jinchuriki to the war. From the perspective of other ninja villages, Hidden Rock was taking this seriously, sending two Jinchuriki to the battlefield together.
However, inside Hidden Rock, there were still many ninja hidden, over ten thousand ninja troops, and a batch of elite ninja like Kitsuchi.
If this battle failed, Onoki could make other ninja villages misjudge Hidden Rock's strength, prompting a stronger Konoha, continuously maintaining their strong position in war, for example, the Hidden Cloud, also at war with Konoha, would lower their guard against Hidden Rock and use more force against Konoha.
If the battle succeeded, even better. It would prove that Konoha had weakened. Onoki could directly launch an army into the Land of Fire to seize Konoha and claim the title of the first ninja village, proving his own strength to obtain more commissions and funds from the daimyo.
Onoki wouldn't lose either way because with two Jinchuriki together, even if they couldn't win, it was impossible for them to be permanently detained.
"Teacher Mokgetsu, are you hurt?" Obito asked with concern after finding a few disciples.
Though unsure of the Jinchuriki's strength, the Tailed Beast Ball's commotion was enormous. Just witnessing the dazzling explosion from afar, Obito could feel the Jinchuriki's terrifying power.
Kakashi and Might Guy also looked at Mokgetsu.
"Do I seem like I'm injured?" Mokgetsu asked with a cheerful smile.
"Not at all," Obito replied honestly. Besides some dust, Mokgetsu's clothes weren't even torn.
"There might be invisible internal injuries," Obito explained.
"I'm not injured. Come with me; I'll treat you first," Mokgetsu ruffled Obito's hair and said.
Besides Might Guy's hand injury, Kakashi and Obito also had minor injuries, though not as serious as Might Guy's.
Mokgetsu led them to a secluded place to start using medical ninjutsu for treatment.
Currently, his medical ninjutsu hadn't been publicly acknowledged, so he couldn't use it in front of other ninja.
The powerful ninjutsu could be explained with cultivation, but neither Sarutobi Hiruzen nor Danzo had taught him medical ninjutsu. It couldn't appear as if he figured out the Mystical Palm Jutsu by himself, could it?
"Teacher Mokgetsu, which is stronger, the Jinchuriki or the Candidate for the Raikage?" Obito asked curiously.
"It's hard to compare, but in terms of overall strength, the Jinchuriki is somewhat stronger right now," Mokgetsu pondered before answering.
In a duel between the Fourth A and the Five-tailed Jinchuriki, Mokgetsu couldn't predict the outcome.
Besides a Tailed Beast Ball, the Five-tailed Jinchuriki mainly used Taijutsu as an output method. Still, the Tailed Beast Ball couldn't hit the fast-paced Fourth A, who had speed advantages, while the Five-tailed Jinchuriki was bulkier with more Chakra.
Compared to the Fourth A, the current Minato was slightly less effective in dealing with Tailed Beasts or Jinchuriki due to the lack of powerful attack methods.
But against people, Minato would be more efficient and could better maneuver against strong opponents.
"I wonder when I can become as strong as you, Teacher Mokgetsu," Obito expressed with admiration.
"Then start training now. Passionate youth needs to seize every moment to enhance oneself!" After treatment, Might Guy immediately started doing handstand running exercises.
"I just think if the three of us were as strong as Teacher Mokgetsu, maybe the war could be ended, and not so many people would die," Obito voiced his heartfelt thoughts.
In previous missions, encountering enemies, Obito didn't feel much after killing them because if he didn't kill them, they would kill him.
But seeing so many unfamiliar people dying on the battlefield deeply unsettled Obito.
In just a few hours, he had come to profoundly detest the existence of war.
Obito's words made Kakashi glance at him sideways, surprised that Obito could say something like that.
"If we want to end the war, just having strength like mine isn't enough; we need even more power," Mokgetsu said, slightly raising his head to look at the sky.
To restore peace in the Ninja World, either everyone fights till exhaustion and returns to regain their strength, or someone like Senju Hashirama suppresses with overwhelming power, making others dare not act.
However, to achieve long-term peace, even Senju Hashirama's power might not suffice, because lurking in the shadows are Uchiha Madara, Black Zetsu, and the sealed Otsutsuki Kaguya.
"But as long as you keep working hard, you will succeed one day," Mokgetsu said with a gentle smile.
Encouraged by Mokgetsu's words, Obito started training energetically with Might Guy.
And Kakashi naturally couldn't just watch the two train without doing anything, so he joined in as well.
After a big victory and with supplies conveniently sent over, the Konoha Ninja began feasting to celebrate the win that night.
Mokgetsu also showcased his cooking skills, making a few large pot dishes.
"Is it just my illusion, or why does this dish taste so good? So good that I thought the enemy might have attacked with Genjutsu," a Konoha Ninja said, showing amazement after tasting Mokgetsu's cooking.
"Me too, I thought the victory meal would be particularly delicious," another Konoha Ninja chimed in.
"You're lucky; this is personally cooked by Mokgetsu himself. Not many get to taste it," Jiraiya said with a laugh.
He was in a great mood, and if not for being on the battlefield, he would have wanted a drink.
Minato didn't speak, rapidly devouring his meal. Ever since arriving on the battlefield, he hadn't tasted Mokgetsu's cooking, and he often dreamed of returning to Konoha to eat at Mokgetsu's house every day.
"Minato, you don't need to eat so fast at a time like this," Jiraiya said, noticing that he had only spoken a few words while Minato had already polished off two bowls of rice and a lot of dishes.
No time to complain further, Jiraiya quickly joined in eating.
After the meal, a few gathered to chat.
Mokgetsu shared some news about Kushina in Konoha with Minato.
"Kushina misses you a lot. My disciple Uchiha Obito happens to have a camera; why not let him take some photos for you to bring back?" Mokgetsu proposed with a smile.
Minato's eyes lit up, feeling pleased, and thanked Mokgetsu.
"Let me take them; I'll definitely make you look as handsome as Teacher Mokgetsu," Obito volunteered.
"Then thanks a lot, Obito," Minato agreed, smiling with gratitude.
Then Minato stood in place, waiting earnestly for Obito to take the photos.
"Why aren't you smiling? I feel like you look better when you smile," Obito asked, puzzled while holding the camera.
He noticed that both Minato and Mokgetsu smiled frequently, yet Minato wasn't now.
Minato forcibly controlled the corners of his mouth to remain in a smiling expression.
"Haha, I didn't realize you had such a humorous moment, Minato," Jiraiya couldn't help but laugh, seeing Minato's expression, then hurried over to help take several photos with Obito.
Minato now seemed like someone forcing a stiff smile, awkwardly pulling up the corners of his mouth.
"Maybe Minato is taking it too seriously, and deliberately trying to smile makes it look unnatural," Dekai analyzed.
"Darn old man with white hair, what a peculiar taste," Obito commented on the pictures of Minato.
"You're too young to understand; this is capturing joyful moments," Jiraiya said proudly with a smile.
"I'm not that young; I've completed two A-Class Missions, and today, I've saved several comrades on the battlefield," Obito retorted defiantly.
"A-Class Missions? I've done over twenty S-Class Missions," Jiraiya remarked, noting he had lost count of his A-Class Missions.
"Whoa, that strong?" Obito was amazed, as S-Class Missions seemed a bit unreachable for him.
"Of course, I'm Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, known as the Toad Sage!" Jiraiya proclaimed, standing tall and proud.
Minato watched Jiraiya and Mokgetsu's students compete, unable to suppress a helpless smile.
And Obito just happened to find that he didn't listen to Jiraiya's words but took advantage of the moment to capture normal smiling faces.
"What toad?" Obito asked as he turned.
"You little brat, it's Toad Sage, not some leap frog!" Jiraiya corrected.
Seeing the legendary Sannin and Obito compare tasks like trading snacks, and even boasting about their titles, Kakashi couldn't help but feel disillusioned by their appearance.
Even though Kakashi didn't idolize any of the Sannin, their reputation in Konoha was immense, leading Kakashi to naturally perceive them as extremely reliable ninjas, but reality didn't align with his expectations.