Following the markers, Minato led his team to where Rōshi and Kitsuchi lay.
The two were stretched out on the ground, surrounded by several Iwa dical-nin who had been pulled from the battlefield early. To Iwa, nothing was more important than their survival.
One was a Jinchūriki, the other the son of the Tsuchikage—losing either of them would be an unbearable blow to the village.
"How are they?"
Minato stepped forward, his voice carrying a note of sincere concern.
"Lord Minato," one of the dical-nin, seemingly the leader, responded while continuing to apply healing jutsu. "Their injuries have stabilized. There's no imdiate danger to their lives."
"That's good, that's good."
"But it's still not safe here. Once we're done, we should find a secure place to set up camp."
With Rōshi and Kitsuchi unconscious and critically wounded, Minato naturally took command of the Iwa forces.
"Understood."
Both the Iwa and Konoha shinobi accepted his orders without hesitation.
Even after the dical-nin completed their treatnt, Rōshi and Kitsuchi remained unconscious.
"Carry them. We're moving."
Minato led the large group deeper into the mountains. Hiding in this barren land was impossible, so they needed a better location.
Eventually, they found a concealed area, and after a full day of bloodshed, the troops could finally rest.
When the casualty reports ca in, the Iwa-nin were stunned.
Why had Konoha taken so few losses? Was this unit entirely composed of Konoha's elite?
Burying their doubts, an Iwa-nin approached Minato with the battle report in hand.
"Lord Minato, here are the casualty statistics."
He handed over the docunt with great respect.
"You've suffered heavy losses. Next ti, I'll have Konoha's forces take the lead."
Minato's calm yet sorrowful tone instantly dispelled any lingering suspicions.
"Thank you."
The Iwa-nin's eyes reddened, nearly welling with tears.
He had misjudged Minato, and now he felt ashad of his earlier doubts.
"No need for thanks. We're all one team now."
Minato stood up, patting the Iwa-nin on the shoulder, though inwardly, he felt uneasy.
The difference in casualties was too obvious. Next ti, he'd have Nagato bring more Konoha shinobi along to balance things out.
"I won't disturb your rest. I'll call you when the two wake up."
The Iwa-nin wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, bowed slightly, and turned to leave.
"Senior Brother Minato."
Once the Iwa-nin was out of earshot, Kakashi erged from the darkness, leading Kurenai.
"It's a tense ti. You two shouldn't be wandering around unnecessarily."
Minato's voice carried a note of concern as he looked at them.
"You really put on a great show today, Senior Brother."
Kakashi smirked, lowering his voice as he spoke.
"Shh—be mindful of where we are."
Minato shot Kakashi a glare, glancing around cautiously.
The camp was quiet. Aside from the patrolling sentries, no one was moving.
"Relax, I already checked. No one's around."
"Honestly, today's battle was kind of underwhelming."
"We fought a pretty lady, but it felt more like a sparring match than a real fight."
Kakashi sighed, feeling a little envious of Ginji.
"Pretty lady? That's your sister-in-law."
Minato imdiately knew who Kakashi was referring to—Nonō.
"Huh?"
"Senior Brother, aren't you afraid Sister Kushina will beat you to death when you get ho?"
Kakashi's eyes widened in shock.
Because of her background, Nonō had never visited the Hatake household, so Kakashi had never actually seen her.
He knew of her existence but little else.
"What are you thinking?"
"That's your Senior Brother Nagato's fiancée."
Minato knocked Kakashi on the head.
"Ow—"
"Heh, my bad."
Kakashi chuckled sheepishly, realizing his mistake.
"Sister-in-law is really beautiful, though," Kurenai chid in. She had been part of the group fighting Nonō as well.
"Alright, we should be able to rest for a few days."
"Next ti, rember to greet her properly."
Minato, feeling exhausted, shooed the two away.
He wasn't worried about them leaking information—they were smart enough to know what could and couldn't be said.
"Bye!"
Kakashi grabbed Kurenai's hand and hurried off, eager to share the gossip with his friends.
Watching them leave, Minato finally made his way back to his tent.
He wasn't sure how long he had been asleep before loud footsteps outside roused him.
"Lord Minato."
A familiar Iwa-nin's voice called from beyond the tent.
"Did Rōshi and Kitsuchi wake up?"
Minato rubbed his eyes as he stepped outside.
"Apologies for disturbing your rest. They're awake and having a al."
Though the Iwa-nin sounded slightly apologetic, he had no choice—it was his duty.
"Lead the way."
The Iwa-nin imdiately took the lead.
They passed through several rows of tents before arriving at the dical area.
Inside a makeshift earthen hut, Rōshi and Kitsuchi were drinking hot porridge.
"You're here."
"Did you get hurt?"
Rōshi and Kitsuchi set down their bowls, each asking a question.
"No, but if that fight had dragged on any longer, who knows?"
"That Akatsuki ninja, Nagato... he's sothing else. No wonder even Sensei's wife couldn't defeat him."
Minato sighed, taking a seat beside them.
"You were already incredible out there."
"If it were just Rōshi and against him, we'd be dead."
"If not for you, we wouldn't have made it out today."
Kitsuchi still had lingering fear from the battle—the last thing he rembered before passing out was Minato's voice.
"It wasn't just . Your subordinates acted quickly."
Minato humbly deflected the praise.
"That technique you used today—if you could maintain it for longer, we might actually stand a chance."
Rōshi wasn't trying to pry into Minato's abilities, but Sage Mode had left him deeply shaken.
To him, Minato had singlehandedly accomplished what he and Kitsuchi together could not.
Sage Mode was nothing short of divine!
Kitsuchi initially wanted to stop Rōshi from asking but ultimately held his tongue.
If the three of them couldn't stop Nagato, the outco for their entire allied force was obvious—total annihilation.
"You could call it a secret technique. My sensei taught it to ."
"I'm still not very skilled with it."
"As you saw, it takes a long ti to prepare."
"For now, I can only maintain it for about ten minutes."
Minato chose to hold back so information. While his Sage Mode did have a long activation ti, it lasted much longer than ten minutes.
Shikkotsu Forest's senjutsu had a longer duration than Mount Myōboku's, though its training was far more dangerous.
A single mistake, and he'd dissolve into a pile of sludge. If not for Tsunade guiding him with her senjutsu chakra, he wouldn't have dared to train it at all.
Risking his life for power wasn't sothing he was willing to consider yet.
If he could fully harness the Nine-Tails' chakra and have it help refine natural energy, then he could maintain Sage Mode indefinitely.
As for the "Nine-Tails Chakra Mode" Kawakaze had ntioned, he had no clue how to achieve it.
That damn Nine-Tails was just too difficult to deal with.
Reviews
All reviews (0)