Tsunade's return to the Eastern Front, even if only in name, would be enough to intimidate their enemies.
After all, outsiders were unaware of her hemophobia; to them, she remained Lady Tsunade, one of the Three Legendary Sannin.
She took another few sips and snapped, "Tell the village Minato is to be deployed to the Eastern Front as well. And I need the Hyuga Clan's assistance."
"The Hyuga have already reached the front lines. I can authorize Minato's deployment. The Iwa and Sunagakure Ninja won't dare move for now. The Eastern Front is our most urgent concern." Jiraiya's face lit up with relief.
"I'll leave after the war," Tsunade added, then strode ahead without another word, ignoring Jiraiya.
"Meow~"
Raj stretched out his paws and darted after the beautiful woman ahead.
"Do they think Kumogakure and Kirigakure are fools? Or does Danzo believe my reputation alone will scare them off? The original purpose of establishing the Ninja Academy was to keep these children off the battlefield, yet they're not only graduating them early but also..." Tsunade continued to grumble.
She harbored deep dissatisfaction with Konoha, particularly the repeated lowering of the graduation age during the war.
Under the leadership of Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju, no matter how dire the circumstances, children would never have been sent to the front lines, let alone used as bait.
Jiraiya stood beside her, enduring the scolding.
He was merely the messenger, equally frustrated by the situation.
But what could he do in the current circumstances?
He couldn't think of any way to break the deadlock.
"By the way, besides Minato's Team, who else has been deployed?" Tsunade asked suddenly, after taking a few sips.
"The Hyuga Main Family has sent their members, and Fugaku Uchiha personally led a team. There are plenty of skilled fighters on our side, but the main problem is that Kumogakure also intends to strike."
"Meow~ What if Lady Tsunade doesn't return?" Raj couldn't help but ask.
The current situation had completely diverged from the original Naruto storyline, making it impossible to predict events on the Eastern Front based on the original plot.
One thing was certain, though: Tsunade's return was an unexpected development that neither the Third Hokage nor Danzo had anticipated.
"Who knows?" Jiraiya replied, his mood also somber.
He sighed softly.
"It definitely won't be an Uchiha or Hyuga. Most likely Minato or some other highly respected elite jonin."
"Danzo... Hmph. Raj, let's go," Tsunade said, draining her glass in one gulp.
Jiraiya had been right not to reveal this news at the tavern.
Had he done so, Tsunade would likely have punched him through the wall.
Now, she simply felt utterly exhausted - even more so than before her return.
Raj followed behind her, his mind preoccupied with the upcoming battle on the Eastern Front.
With the storyline completely altered, there was no point in trying to earn Points based on the original plot.
The only thing that mattered now was becoming stronger.
Fortunately, he was already quite powerful.
Even facing members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist again wouldn't be a problem.
His only real concern was for Kakashi and the others.
He had the System, but they didn't.
In just over ten days, they had made significant progress, but a qualitative leap seemed impossible.
With Kakashi wielding the Lightning Blade, he was bound to become a prime target.
'Tch.'
The only silver lining was that this mission might finally complete Kakashi's Lightning Blade collection.
'Dual-wielding Kakashi? Something about that feels... off.'
"Wine..."
"Raj, take this," Tsunade waved Raj over, then hurried back to camp, using the walk to sober up.
Though reduced to being a wine-carrying errand boy, Raj couldn't refuse such a small request.
After a moment's hesitation, he packed the wine jar.
Wine was valuable.
Even if he didn't drink it himself, he could use it as leverage when asking favors from Tsunade later.
'For a wine addict, this is gold.'
'Another move.'
But for Kakashi and the others, this was excellent news.
They were tired of playing cat-and-mouse, and the rats themselves had grown desperate from being hunted.
Tsunade acted swiftly, preparing to leave immediately upon returning to camp.
Fortunately, Shizune had already arrived at the Northern Front Camp.
Had she been an hour later, they might have been forced to stay or, worse, Raj might have had to rush to the Eastern Front Camp alone.
Minato's Team set out with its original members.
Although Tsunade was nominally in charge of this Eastern Front mission, the true leaders were Minato and Raj.
Tsunade, well aware of her limitations, had no intention of engaging in combat.
Of course, her hemophobia was merely a symptom of deeper psychological trauma and disillusionment with war and the village.
She had lost her will to fight.
Influenced by Tsunade's urgency, Minato, Kakashi, and the others hurried along, though their spirits remained high.
Raj gifted the Rat to Naoki, allowing him to continue training the Asuma Squad.
Asuma's team wasn't weak; they had been steadily improving.
They could have continued practicing with the Roly-Poly, but alas...
Tsunade had destroyed the Roly-Poly with a single punch, ensuring it would never retaliate again.
A tragic tale indeed.
Raj had spent 2,000 points to acquire it, and now it was gone from the prize pool.
Moreover, Kakashi and Obito had already grown accustomed to the toy, making it unnecessary to obtain another for their comfort.
'I'm not a pushover.'
"Lady Tsunade, what's our mission?"
"The Eastern Front," Tsunade replied irritably to Shizune.
Shizune had just arrived at Jiraiya's camp with her luggage and barely had time to catch her breath before being ordered to move again.
Most people would have been annoyed, but she was completely used to it.
During her days on the run from gambling debts, she had often gone without rest for days, and a single night of proper sleep had felt like a luxury.
She glanced cautiously at Kakashi and the others.
Four years ago, she had been in the same class as Kakashi, Rin, and Obito.
However, after turning six, she had left Konoha with Tsunade and never finished her schooling.
This reunion stirred a hint of excitement in her eyes.
But with the group needing to travel, there was no time for proper conversation or catching up.
She suppressed her feelings for now, planning to chat later when they had a chance to rest.
"By the way, Raj, can you tell us the details of your mission with Kirigakure?"
"Sure, meow! It went like this..."
Raj recounted the entire story.
Their mission had been to investigate border activity, initially suspecting Kumogakure was behind it.
But their investigation revealed Kirigakure was secretly stirring up trouble.
He also explained the encounter with one of the swordsman, though he omitted the specifics about the Lightning Blade.