Preparing for Battle (Second Update, Please Subscribe)

Obito Uchiha stared at Xu Yue, who had suddenly appeared before the specially made Kunai embedded in the ground. His mouth hung open in an O, his face full of disbelief.

Holy crap, sensei, he’s cheating!

"It’s fake, it has to be fake. An illusion—right, it must be an Illusion Technique. Using an Illusion Technique on the Uchiha Clan is far too naive. Release!"

Obito Uchiha formed hand seals with both hands, seemingly trying to dispel an Illusion Technique that did not exist.

Then Kakashi punched him on the head.

Clutching his aching head, Obito looked at Kakashi with utter disbelief.

His eyes carried the unmistakable sentiment of, You actually hit me for his sake? In return, he received only Kakashi’s trademark dead-fish stare.

"Idiot. Sensei is right here. Do you think his Illusion Technique could fool sensei?"

Rin Nohara also shot Obito an exasperated glare, though even her own voice was filled with disbelief.

She simply could not imagine that a skill which had sounded like incomprehensible nonsense to them could be mastered by him in only a few short days!

Minato Namikaze’s eyes were likewise full of admiration.

Minato was a true powerhouse, possessed of sufficient magnanimity.

All he felt toward geniuses was appreciation; there was not the slightest hint of jealousy or wariness in his eyes.

He had the natural bearing of a leader.

"It seems your affinity with the Flying Thunder God surpasses even mine. When I first reached the stage of being able to use it, it took me a long time as well."

Minato Namikaze’s tone was full of praise. Even setting aside the missions he had to complete on the battlefield, simply coming to the front lines and teaching a genius capable of using the Flying Thunder God Technique already made this trip more than worthwhile.

"I must also thank Senior Brother Minato for your careful instruction. Without the learning experience you shared, I probably would have found it difficult to get started with something this complicated."

Xu Yue also put on a respectful expression.

In truth, if he had wanted to, he could have completed the basic first stage of the Flying Thunder God on the very day he received the mission.

It was all thanks to the proficiency granted by the mission’s difficulty.

However, the extra reward granted after obtaining the Flying Thunder God Technique from a mission of this difficulty was only barely enough for Xu Yue to master the first stage and begin using it in actual combat.

He could not even leave a mark on an enemy with his bare hand yet.

Thinking of the Flying Thunder God Barrier used later for group teleportation and redirecting the Ten-Tails’ Tailed Beast Bomb, Xu Yue looked at Minato Namikaze with a trace of admiration in his eyes.

He still needed to build a better relationship with this big shot. He knew his own limits. Though the Flying Thunder God Technique was not beyond his comprehension, the more Xu Yue slowly absorbed the information implanted in his mind, the more deeply he realized the profound nature of space-time ninjutsu.

It even gave him some new ideas regarding the use of Kamui.

So he had to cling tightly to the Fourth Hokage’s thigh.

If possible, Xu Yue would not mind changing Minato’s fate. He had already mastered Wood Style, and if he got the chance to master Kōan Entering the Town, Hanging Hand, the Sealing Jutsu specifically designed to target Tailed Beasts, it was not impossible.

And even if he could not obtain that technique, other Wood Style techniques were still highly effective at restraining Tailed Beasts that did not have Madara’s shield.

Still, having experienced the terror of plot inertia, especially in a world with difficulty on the level of Naruto, Xu Yue did not have the slightest confidence.

While Xu Yue teased Obito and learned little tricks from Minato Namikaze regarding the use of the Flying Thunder God Technique in battle—

An Anbu appeared at the scene.

"Lord Minato, Lady Tsunade requests your presence."

After spinning the Kunai in his hand and putting it away, Minato Namikaze straightened his ninja forehead protector, let out a breath, and then smiled.

"Looks like our vacation is over."

"Alright, Team Minato, assemble!"

"Yes!"

After leaving Tsunade’s tent, Xu Yue could not help muttering a few words.

"So there really was some backroom dealing. The Fourth Kazekage still hasn’t secured his position, has he?"

The powerful Third Kazekage had suddenly disappeared, while an elder council led by Chiyo remained. The Fourth Kazekage, who had only just taken office and had been forced to declare war on Konoha, was definitely a miserable Kage.

Though the Fourth Kazekage had died early, there was no doubt that his strength had reached Kage-level. His performance after being brought back through Impure World Reincarnation was by no means weak.

After secretly reaching an understanding with the Fourth Kazekage, Konoha was still preparing to clash head-on with the Sand Village.

When the time came, the Fourth Kazekage would likewise use this opportunity to build enough prestige and cover Sunagakure’s retreat. In return, when Konoha finally presented the Third Kazekage’s corpse as evidence, it would receive the Fourth Kazekage’s support and compensation.

Of course, agreements between ninja villages could not possibly be that simple, nor could they remain unchanged.

If a favorable opening suddenly appeared on the battlefield, Konoha would never pass up the chance to crush Sunagakure in one fell swoop.

Wouldn’t that bring even greater benefits?

Likewise, if the Fourth Kazekage had a chance to win, why would he care about building prestige by covering a retreat? How could the prestige gained from leading everyone to defeat Konoha compare to that?

Thus, this understanding was extremely fragile and required both sides to keep each other in check through strength.

And Minato Namikaze was the chosen deterrent!

Konoha clearly held the advantage in every respect, so why had it been unable to defeat the tenacious Sunagakure?

A large part of the reason was that while Chiyo at the Sunagakure front held Tsunade in check, no one could stop the Fourth Kazekage.

The series of ninjutsu based on Gold Dust was a group-battle weapon in this kind of environment. Though it was not as versatile as Gaara’s ability to freely control ordinary sand and required a conversion process, the raw power of Gold Dust was even greater!

It could even subdue an enraged Shukaku.

This time, Xu Yue had also gotten the chance to join the battle as support. When Tsunade learned that Xu Yue could already begin applying the Flying Thunder God to combat, her jaw nearly dropped.

She then decisively arranged for Xu Yue to provide support.

There was no reason not to make use of an ability with such mobility. Free labor was free labor.

Thinking that he could once again test the waters against a Kage-level opponent, Xu Yue could not refuse.

As long as he managed to touch him once, it would definitely count as mission Plot Points. With the daddy-tier Yellow Flash fighting him head-on, what did he have to worry about?

In terms of absolute strength, Xu Yue was still quite far from Kage-level, especially in Chakra, combat experience, and a complete combat system with complementary abilities.

Back when he fought Scorpion, if Scorpion had not been unprepared and unfamiliar with Kamui, allowing Xu Yue to hit him within just a few moves, then once the fight dragged on and Scorpion established a battlefield rhythm he was accustomed to, Xu Yue figured he would have been in trouble.

Yet while Xu Yue could not match those Kage-level big shots in small skills, ordinary attacks, attack patterns, or combos—and even some Special Jonin with abilities that countered his could make him suffer—his ultimate abilities were enough to make up for it. Offensively, he had Kamui, which surpassed Kage-level; defensively, he had an advanced Sage Body with bug-like recovery speed; and in mobility, he now had the Flying Thunder God.

If a Kage-level opponent got careless and I hit them, they would die too…

After thinking of this, Xu Yue recalled the intelligence passed on whenever his Wood Clone was replaced once per day.

"Now I have good news for everyone. Our camp only has one main mission remaining. Once it is completed, you can apply to transfer to other logistical assignments…"

I knew it, flags should not be planted carelessly.

The cannon fodder camp’s final mission… Thinking about the Fourth Kazekage’s wide-range indiscriminate attacks, that made sense. If they could still be alive after completing this mission, it would be a little embarrassing not to let them leave the front lines…

The first two updates are here. I’m starting on the rest right away; there’ll be more tonight, so don’t worry!

Please subscribe, I’m sincerely begging everyone!!