Today, the Hokage's office was unusually lively.
Besides Sarutobi Hiruzen, Shimura Danzo, Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, and Tsunade were also present.
"I just received intel from Orochimaru."
Sarutobi Hiruzen began. "He believes Amegakure is at the end of its rope. We can consider sending more ninjas to prepare for the final decisive battle."
"This long war is finally coming to an end. I hope it can be concluded before the New Year."
Mitokado Homura sighed emotionally upon hearing this.
"As long as it ends, there's no need to rush."
Utatane Koharu shook her head and said.
"Root can accompany them and be responsible for intelligence."
Shimura Danzo wanted to seize this final opportunity to grab more power for Root.
"The Anbu are enough to deal with Amegakure."
Tsunade glanced at Shimura Danzo and asked. "When do we depart?"
For this mission to support Orochimaru in the Land of Rain, besides her, it would be hard to find a second suitable candidate.
After all, she could deal with Hanzo's poison.
Because of this, Shimura Danzo and the others didn't even ask who Sarutobi Hiruzen would send.
"This is the final decisive battle. I believe it's more appropriate for Root to go along."
Shimura Danzo said in a deep voice.
"I don't need a Root that doesn't listen to my commands."
Tsunade retorted bluntly.
"Slander!"
Shimura Danzo clenched his fists in anger and asked back. "My Root ninjas are all elites. How could they not listen to commands?"
"Now is not the time to argue. Since Tsunade is the commander, she will make the selections."
Sarutobi Hiruzen coughed and said. "Go prepare immediately. It would be best to depart tomorrow."
"Yes, Teacher."
Tsunade responded immediately.
Shimura Danzo gritted his teeth but was helpless.
He couldn't do anything to Sarutobi Hiruzen, nor could he do anything to Tsunade.
After the brief meeting ended, Konoha started operating again.
However, not many ninjas were needed this time.
After discussion between Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others, only two thousand additional ninjas would be sent.
To be honest, if Amegakure didn't have Hanzo, two thousand ninjas could take down Amegakure directly.
At 10 AM.
While Natsuki, Nawaki, and the others were training, they suddenly saw an Anbu ninja appear.
As the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Uzumaki Kushina naturally had an Anbu squad protecting her, but this Anbu ninja was obviously not one of them.
Because Natsuki recognized him.
He was the Anbu ninja beside Sarutobi Hiruzen, named Zou.
In the original work, he was the Anbu commentator wearing a white coat standing outside the Four Violet Flames Formation during the Konoha Crush.
"Natsuki, Nawaki, and Yakushi Nonou."
Zou spoke up. "Lady Tsunade asked me to inform you to gather at the entrance of Konoha at 9 AM tomorrow to head to the Land of Rain."
"What about my sister?"
Nawaki asked hurriedly.
"Lady Tsunade is coordinating personnel at the Hokage Building and cannot get away for now, so the Anbu are making the notifications."
Zou replied.
"Thank you."
Nawaki nodded and said.
Hearing this, Zou disappeared from his spot.
"I want to go too."
Uzumaki Kushina sighed, looking like a wilted eggplant.
"We will work hard for your share too!"
Nawaki clenched his fists and said seriously.
"Don't worry, we'll be back soon."
Natsuki reached out, pinched Uzumaki Kushina's cheek, and said.
Because Nawaki and Yakushi Nonou were present, Uzumaki Kushina was stunned for a moment, then responded somewhat embarrassedly.
"Let's go buy some ninja tools now."
Natsuki suggested. "Especially explosive tags. We can buy more."
"Explosive tags are indeed very useful."
Nawaki thought of the time Pakura and Rasa launched a sneak attack on Konoha's main camp. The explosive tag traps instantly incapacitated a thousand Sunagakure ninjas.
In the blink of an eye, it was the next day.
After saying goodbye to Uzumaki Kushina, Natsuki, Nawaki, and Yakushi Nonou headed toward the entrance of Konoha.
Tsunade had already arrived and was conducting pre-departure checks and confirmations.
"Long time no see."
A familiar voice rang out.
"Senior Kosuke!"
Nawaki turned his head and shouted very happily.
After all, during the previous war between Konoha and Sunagakure, they were teammates with Maruboshi Kosuke.
And Maruboshi Kosuke had also taught him a lot of Water Release ninjutsu.
"Senior Kosuke."
Natsuki and Yakushi Nonou followed closely to greet him.
"It seems I'll be fighting alongside you guys again this time."
Maruboshi Kosuke said with a face full of smiles.
He still liked teaming up with them very much.
Not only were they strong, but the atmosphere was also very good.
"I just didn't expect that this time, Natsuki is already an official Jonin."
Maruboshi Kosuke sighed emotionally again. "The younger generation is truly formidable."
"Whether it's Genin or Jonin, it's just a title."
Natsuki said carelessly.
Saying this in front of Maruboshi Kosuke was perfectly fitting.
Because he was a Genin with Jonin-level strength.
"Exactly!"
Nawaki said immediately. "Even as a Chunin, I might be able to fight a Jonin!"
"It sounds like you've improved a lot recently."
Maruboshi Kosuke said with a smile.
"Of course!"
Nawaki said proudly. "It's hard to find anyone stronger than me among the Chunin!"
This wasn't an exaggeration.
He had learned Senju Tobirama's Water Release, Water Breathing, and recently the Marine Rokushiki.
Let alone Chunin, even Jonin weren't qualified to learn like he did.
"I definitely have to see it for myself when the time comes."
Maruboshi Kosuke said very gratifyingly, like a senior looking at a junior.
"Everyone, fall in, move out!"
Right at that moment, Tsunade shouted loudly.
The two thousand ninjas quickly formed ranks.
Natsuki and the others did the same.
But as Tsunade's students, their position in the formation was at the very front, right behind Tsunade.
The two thousand ninjas quickly set off, heading toward the Land of Rain.
Natsuki looked around and spotted many acquaintances.
For example, Hyuga Hizashi.
Two nights later, Tsunade and the others successfully arrived at Konoha's main camp.
"Tsunade, you're finally here!"
Jiraiya laughed and said. "The three of us can fight side by side again! It's truly not easy!"
"Then don't hold us back."
Tsunade chuckled and said.
"You should say that to Orochimaru!"
Jiraiya immediately boasted. "I never hold anyone back! Which time did our squad not have me to thank for the greatest merit?"
"Teacher!"
Nawaki hurriedly ran up to Orochimaru.
"You seem to have grown quite a bit taller."
Orochimaru smiled faintly and said.
"I'm at the age where I'm growing."
Nawaki changed the subject and showed off. "My strength has also increased a lot."
Natsuki noticed Namikaze Minato, Uzumaki Kae, and Inuzuka Suzume behind Jiraiya.
But with so many people around, they didn't step forward to greet them.
"You must be exhausted from the journey. Go down and rest first."
Orochimaru returned to the main topic and ordered. "Shinku, take them there."
"Yes, Lord Orochimaru."
A young ninja stepped forward.
Natsuki subconsciously looked at him.
Yuhi Shinku, Yuhi Kurenai's father, a rare genjutsu Jonin in Konoha.
Genjutsu ninjas were more troublesome than other ninjas who used the five elemental jutsu.
Because genjutsu was impossible to guard against. Once controlled, you lost the initiative and thus faced defeat.
Especially Uchiha clan ninjas.
Relying on the Sharingan, they could easily become top-tier genjutsu ninjas.
In the ninja world, there was a legend that the Uchiha were invincible in one-on-one combat.
But on the other hand, ordinary genjutsu ninjas also found it very difficult to face Uchiha ninjas.
"Please follow me."
Yuhi Shinku raised his hand and said.
The two thousand ninjas led by Tsunade followed him to the tents that had been set up for them in advance.
After they left, Namikaze Minato, Uzumaki Kae, and Inuzuka Suzume finally greeted Natsuki and the others.
"Did Kushina not come?"
After a round of pleasantries, Namikaze Minato couldn't help but ask.
"Lord Hokage has other arrangements for her."
Natsuki replied.
"I see."
Namikaze Minato nodded.
Because his strength wasn't sufficient yet, he didn't know that Uzumaki Kushina had already become the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
"Let's go to the main tent."
Orochimaru said, then turned and walked away.
The group followed him into the main tent.
"What's the situation now?"
Tsunade's gaze fell on the map in the center of the main tent.
Although Orochimaru had been sending intel back to Konoha in a timely manner, the battlefield situation changed rapidly. It could be completely different in an hour.
"Amegakure is a small ninja village, so their combat style is different from Sunagakure's."
Jiraiya began to explain the recent battle situation.
Because Amegakure had fewer ninjas, they mainly relied on sneak attacks.
And their sneak attacks were often accompanied by poison, making them very troublesome.
There was also an exception, and that was Hanzo.
Hanzo was very elusive, but every time he appeared, he could seize the opportunity to reverse Amegakure's declining situation.
After hearing this, Natsuki finally understood why Amegakure could fight Konoha and Sunagakure for so long.
The main reason was still Hanzo.
He was a bit like Namikaze Minato in the Third Shinobi World War, acting as a firefighter everywhere.
But due to his formidable strength and wide-ranging poison, it indeed had a good effect.
"Orochimaru, how do you plan to force Hanzo into a final decisive battle with us?"
Tsunade looked at Orochimaru and asked.
"Push him into a corner, and he will fight us."
Orochimaru paused and spat out two words. "Logistics."
Tsunade immediately understood.
The reason Amegakure could fight back and forth with the major ninja villages in the Land of Rain, besides Hanzo, was because they held the geographical advantage.
They knew the Land of Rain very well.
The geographical advantage not only facilitated sneak attacks but also logistics, meaning the transportation of supplies.
Orochimaru's idea was simple: cut off Amegakure's logistics.
Hanzo would either have to fight them in a final decisive battle or retreat back to Amegakure.
But given his personality and strength, he would definitely choose the former.
"Have you figured out Amegakure's logistical strongholds and routes?"
Tsunade asked again.
"Although they hold the geographical advantage, fortunately, we have more people. After this period of investigation, we have confirmed most of them."
Orochimaru said as he took out another map.
Many red dots and red lines were marked on the map.
"But there is a very troublesome aspect."
Orochimaru shook his head and said. "Amegakure ninjas acquire supplies locally."
"What do you mean by acquire supplies locally?"
Nawaki asked in confusion.
"They rob the local residents of their supplies."
Jiraiya replied.
"How could this be?"
Nawaki's eyes widened, and he asked. "Shouldn't Amegakure ninjas protect the residents of the Land of Rain?"
"This is the cruelty of war."
Jiraiya sighed and said.
The Land of Rain's environment, where it rained every day, naturally lacked supplies, and this was even more true for Amegakure.
Nawaki instantly fell silent.
Natsuki suddenly thought of Nagato.
In the original work, it was mentioned that his parents were killed by Konoha Jonin scavenging for food resources.
Nagato thus awakened the Rinnegan and defeated the Konoha ninjas.
Based on Natsuki's understanding of Konoha Jonin, it was highly unlikely they would scavenge for supplies in the homes of the Land of Rain's residents.
After all, Konoha would guarantee logistical supplies.
And would Jonin lack food resources?
Natsuki suspected this incident was orchestrated entirely by Uchiha Madara and Black Zetsu, precisely to make Nagato awaken the Rinnegan.
Nagato had the Rinnegan implanted by Uchiha Madara when he was very young, but he had never awakened it.
Of course, suspicion was just suspicion.
There was also a possibility that Nagato's parents were indeed killed by Konoha Jonin.
The original work didn't specify, so anything was possible.
Natsuki remembered that it was after killing the Konoha Jonin that Nagato met Konan and Yahiko.
Since then, the three depended on each other for survival in the Land of Rain, living by scavenging or stealing.
Until they learned of the existence of the Konoha Sannin, and then the idea of finding them to become their disciples sprouted.
Eventually, they did indeed find the Konoha Sannin.
And Jiraiya, after seeing Nagato's Rinnegan, believed he might be the Child of Prophecy, so he stayed and taught them for three years.
"You guys go rest first."
Orochimaru looked at Nawaki and the others and said. "Once we finalize the missions, we will assign them to you tomorrow."
"Minato, take them to their tents."
Jiraiya interjected.
"Okay."
Namikaze Minato nodded.
He then left the main tent with Natsuki and the others.
"Minato, how have you guys been recently?"
Nawaki asked as they walked.
"Very fulfilled."
Namikaze Minato said with a smile. "We've already executed quite a few combat missions."
"I thought your missions before were more paperwork-oriented?"
Nawaki raised an eyebrow and asked.
"They were before, but they couldn't improve our strength, so we asked Teacher to arrange combat missions for us."
Namikaze Minato nodded and explained.
"That's great!"
Nawaki said expectantly. "Maybe our two squads can execute a combat mission together!"
"It's highly likely."
Natsuki said casually. "Neither your teacher nor our teacher can easily go out on missions. When the time comes, it'll be easy for us to form a team."
"That's true."
Namikaze Minato explained. "Before you guys came, if Teacher didn't have time to lead us, he would assign a Jonin to us."
"Then you don't need an assignment now, because Natsuki is a Jonin."
Nawaki said with a face full of smiles.
Hearing this, Namikaze Minato couldn't help but feel envious.
He already knew about Natsuki becoming a Jonin, so he wasn't too surprised.
"This is your tent."
Namikaze Minato stopped and said. "See you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow."
Natsuki and the others walked into the tent.
They didn't chat much. After a simple dinner, they crawled into their sleeping bags to sleep.
A new day.
Konoha's main camp woke up completely.
Just as Natsuki and the others got up, they saw Jiraiya, Namikaze Minato, and the others.
"I'm here to assign your mission."
Jiraiya took out a mission scroll, handed it to Natsuki, and said. "You are the captain. Minato and the other two will also go with you."
"Okay."
Natsuki didn't expect that what they just talked about yesterday regarding executing a mission together would come true today.
But he had no objections, and Nawaki was quite happy.
Yakushi Nonou and Maruboshi Kosuke didn't really care.
The former only hoped to be in the same squad as Natsuki.
The latter would do his best to complete whatever mission he was given.
"Be careful."
Jiraiya reminded them and then turned to leave.
"What mission?"
Nawaki hurriedly asked.
"See for yourself."
Natsuki opened the scroll and let him read it together.
The mission was related to destroying Amegakure's logistics, which they discussed yesterday.
But the mission their squad received was to defeat an Amegakure squad scavenging for supplies in the Land of Rain.
"Eight people: one Jonin, three Tokubetsu Jonin, four Chunin."
Natsuki looked at Namikaze Minato and the others and said.
"With our strength, defeating them won't be hard."
Maruboshi Kosuke analyzed. "What's hard is finding them."
Their two squads combined had seven people: one Jonin, five Chunin, and one Genin comparable to a Jonin.
In terms of strength alone, it was just right for this mission.
But that was normal.
Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru definitely wouldn't set their own students up for failure.
"These people even scavenge supplies from their own residents. We absolutely cannot let them off!"
Nawaki said, his sense of justice overflowing.
Natsuki took a glance and said nothing.
Their Konoha were actually the invaders.
But in a chaotic world like this, there was no such thing as justice or injustice.
"Let's go."
Natsuki put away the mission scroll, and the group headed toward the designated area.
After leaving Konoha's main camp, without the barrier, the rain fell.
They didn't waste chakra to repel the rain but put on raincoats instead.
As Natsuki traveled, he pondered what abilities this mission could unlock.
The Nami template's Navigator ability would most likely be unlocked in one go.
Its requirement was to defeat three Tokubetsu Jonin skilled in Water Release.
And the vast majority of Amegakure ninjas excelled in Water Release.
After all, raining every day provided a boost to Water Release.
The group didn't travel fast, worried they might suddenly encounter Amegakure ninjas.
Fortunately, they had quite a few sensory methods.
Three hours later, they successfully arrived at their mission area, located in the southwest of the Land of Rain.
Everyone looked around, all falling somewhat silent.
Before them was a village, but many corpses entered their sight.
These residents all died because of the war.
They walked into the village and found that all supplies had been scavenged clean.
Although Nawaki had participated in the war in the Land of Rain before, it was all dealing with Sunagakure ninjas. He had never seen such a situation.
For a moment, he was both sad and angry, realizing once again that peace was not easy.
Namikaze Minato and the others, having seen more of this, didn't have as much emotional fluctuation.
"I'll check the situation."
Natsuki leaped up onto a roof and used Clairvoyance.
But he didn't find any trace of Amegakure ninjas. Obviously, they had already left.
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