At noon that day, the Village Hidden in the Mist, Mizukage office.
After reading the battle report and request sent by Yagura through encrypted channels, the third Mizukage expressionlessly placed the scroll on the desk.
He remained silent for a moment, then spoke to the staff beside him: "Pass on my order to Yagura. His request is approved, and he can act freely without any concerns."
The third Mizukage understood clearly that the war could not be prolonged indefinitely.
For Village Hidden in the Mist, which was conducting a transoceanic expedition, every single day of logistics consumption was an astronomical figure.
Moreover, on the front lines, there were already cases of Genin and underage Chunin being sent to secondary support roles. Although they were currently only assigned to rear-area supply escort duties, this alone was enough to show that frontline consumption had already exceeded initial estimates.
Not only Village Hidden in the Mist, but the Village Hidden in the Sand and the Village Hidden in the Cloud were also in similar situations.
In the current Shinobi World, among the five great ninja villages, only Konoha and the Village Hidden in the Stones had not yet been forced to send underage ninjas to the battlefield, even as support personnel.
After saying this, the third Mizukage turned his head and looked at a burly ninja standing by the desk: "Chukichi, you will also take a unit to the front lines to support Yagura."
"Yes!"
The burly ninja named Chukichi responded in a deep voice.
Chukichi was a top-tier Jōnin, deeply trusted by the third Mizukage, and was known for his powerful sensory abilities.
In his early years, when the Village Hidden in the Mist selected the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, Chukichi had even participated in the contest for the great sword Samehada.
However, at that time, still young and not yet at his peak, he ultimately lost to Fuguki Suikazan, but he gained inspiration from Samehada's ability to absorb and transfer chakra.
After years of research and development, he eventually created his own unique Hidden Jutsu, which could even be called a brand-new Kekkei Genkai: The Netherworld Style.
A power capable of absorbing enemy Ninjutsu attacks and converting them for personal use, even reflecting them back.
With Netherworld Style, Chukichi evolved from a sensory-type support Jōnin into a versatile powerhouse with both offense and defense.
After receiving the third Mizukage's order, he turned and left the office, beginning to assemble his unit for deployment to the front.
After Chukichi departed, the Mizukage office fell silent once again.
The third Mizukage slowly stood up and walked to the window, gazing at the drizzling rain outside without speaking.
The village Hidden in the Mist's skies was always this gloomy, as if even sunlight refused to bless this land soaked in a bloody mist.
He had originally intended to personally go to the front lines to command this full-scale assault.
However, during the first Shinobi World War, the second Mizukage and second Tsuchikage, two Kage separated by nearly half the Shinobi World, had somehow inexplicably encountered each other at the same time and place, ultimately resulting in mutual destruction in that absurd incident.
That accident left Village Hidden in the Mist in utter chaos, a mess he still remembered vividly.
Especially now, the condition of the Six-Tails Jinchūriki was becoming increasingly unstable, and no one knew how much longer they could hold on.
He had to select and train a new successor before the Six-Tails Jinchūriki completely collapsed.
Under such circumstances, leaving only elder Genji in the village to hold the fort… he still felt somewhat uneasy.
...
Southeast coast of the Land of Fire, Rinkai City.
Due to its proximity to the sea, the climate here was extremely distinctive.
It was now midsummer, so it was hot and humid, with frequent sudden downpours.
In recent days, thick curtains of rain often enveloped the coastline, shrouding everything between heaven and earth in a hazy mist.
After the rain stopped, waves of humid heat would quickly return, evaporating the moisture from the ground and turning the entire region into something like a massive steam bath.
At this moment, there was a brief lull between rainfalls, and occasional rays of sunlight pierced through the clouds, passing through gaps in the dense forest canopy and casting mottled shadows on the ground.
Inside a coastal forest, sixteen Konoha ninja were moving rapidly toward their base camp.
They were Shinichi Higashino, Minato Namikaze, Fugaku Uchiha, and Hiashi Hyūga, each leading three subordinates.
They had gathered to report the detailed combat situation over the past half month to elder Koharu Utatane and elder Homura Mitokado, and to discuss the next phase of operations.
In recent days, Village Hidden in the Mist's multi-point infiltration tactics had failed to achieve the expected results, but small-scale skirmishes and encounters had never ceased.
Almost every day's battle report was filled with scattered engagements.
With the rare opportunity for all four captains to leave the front lines at the same time, they were also using this journey to exchange information about their respective defensive sectors.
While walking, Hiashi Hyūga suddenly stopped and pointed in a direction: "One kilometer ahead, there is a five-man Kirigakure squad approaching our direction. They should be scattered remnants from earlier battles."
In recent days, the Village Hidden in the Mist has repeatedly carried out infiltration attacks. Some squads were annihilated by Konoha, some retreated successfully, and others were scattered and lost within the forests and hills along the coastline, attempting to find their way back to their own positions.
"I'll handle it."
Minato Namikaze nodded, then the moment his voice fell, his figure vanished like a bolt of lightning, leaving only a specially marked Flying Thunder God Kunai trembling slightly in the muddy ground where he had stood.
"Minato's progress in Lightning Style Nintaijutsu seems quite fast." Shinichi thought as he watched the flash disappear into the depths of the forest.
Minato Namikaze was already famous for his astonishing neural reflexes and Flying Thunder God Technique.
Now, with the enhancement of Lightning Style Nintaijutsu, his instantaneous burst speed had clearly reached another level.
About fifteen seconds later, with a soft whoosh, Minato reappeared in the same spot while holding an unconscious Kirigakure ninja in his hand and casually placing him on the ground.
"I left one alive," Minato said with a smile, his tone gentle. "We might be able to get some useful information from him."
So fast!
The thought arose almost simultaneously in the minds of the other captains and their subordinates.
Although it was not the first time they had seen Minato in action, every time they witnessed him appear and disappear so freely, they could not help but think the same thing.
As expected of the ninja known as Yellow Flash.
After a brief exchange, they handed the unconscious prisoner to a subordinate for custody and confirmed there were no other threats nearby before continuing toward their base.
While walking, Shinichi's thoughts were also rapidly turning.
As expected of Minato Namikaze.
Setting everything else aside, just in terms of neural reflex speed…
Minato had probably already reached purple level 2, the peak of the mortal realm.
One step further, and he would enter the domain of the divine.
Even if the Lightning Style Nintaijutsu system were fully perfected in the future, it would likely bring him very limited benefit.
At least in terms of neural reflexes, it was already the end of the path, his current limit as a mortal.
Still, Shinichi reconsidered.
These developments were highly valuable to him personally.