Shifting Situation (Third Update)

Shaking the blood from his Kunai, Minato Namikaze looked at the Sunagakure corpses strewn across the ground and the defeated Sunagakure forces retreating in disarray. He decisively stopped pursuing them.

It was not merely his personality at work. More importantly, after fighting Rasa and driving him back, then killing every member of the Shadow Guard Unit, he had rushed all over the battlefield putting out fires and forcibly turned the tide. By now, neither his Chakra nor his physical and mental strength had much left.

Securing sufficient results was enough.

With this complete frontal victory, combined with the matter of the Third Kazekage’s corpse…

Even if the Land of Wind did not want to negotiate, it would have no choice but to do so!

Even Minato Namikaze felt exhausted. Xu Yue, who possessed an advanced Sage Body but had less Chakra than Kakashi due to insufficient time to refine it, was even more like a dead dog.

Without a shred of dignity, he dropped onto the ground and panted continuously.

Fortunately, the advanced Sage Body’s recovery ability was astonishing. Although his total reserves were slightly lower than Kakashi’s current ones, his recovery speed during battle was fast enough.

Like a phone fast-charging, after catching his breath for a few moments, he rapidly recovered ten or twenty percent of his strength and could maintain a certain level of combat power.

"You’re truly remarkable. This should be your first time participating in a battle of this scale, right? Your mastery of the Flying Thunder God is already quite good, and that strike that broke through Rasa’s defense should have been some kind of space-time ninjutsu as well."

Minato Namikaze looked at Xu Yue with admiration in his eyes.

Although he had been the main force against Rasa, without that crucial strike, he still would not have been able to do anything to the Fourth Kazekage in the end. At most, he could have ensured Rasa’s retreat.

There was a tremendous difference at the negotiating table between the Fourth Kazekage leaving unscathed and fleeing like a beaten dog.

Previously, Konoha had not wanted to suffer excessive losses either. By giving the other side a way out, both parties had shown an inclination toward peace talks.

But things were different now. Sunagakure’s main force had suffered devastating losses, and even the Kazekage had been seriously wounded. They had already been at a disadvantage in overall strength, and now they had lost even their sole advantage.

Konoha would be forcing Sunagakure to the negotiating table.

Of course, there would certainly still be some friction and resistance before negotiations began, but the overall situation could no longer be changed.

"I never expected the intensity of the battlefield to be this great. The difference between local skirmishes and a frontal battlefield really is enormous."

This was Xu Yue’s first time entering a battlefield of this true scale, and he had gained precious experience that the training space could never provide. Every attack had to conserve Chakra and stamina. If a Kunai could solve the problem, there was no need to use ninjutsu.

"Haha, you’ll gradually adapt. With your abilities, I’m afraid you won’t be able to escape the responsibility on your shoulders either."

Minato Namikaze watched the Konoha ninja beginning to clean up the battlefield and could not help letting out a sigh.

He did not know when peace would arrive. Perhaps as long as the ninja system still existed in this world, there would never be true peace…

"By the way, when did you learn the Rasengan? You’re quite proficient with the timing of its use as well."

After coming back to his senses, Minato Namikaze asked curiously.

Minato did not care much about the ownership of ninjutsu or anything like that. He had spent three years developing it, but that had been the process of creating it from nothing in theory. Once someone truly understood the principle and began working on it, the speed would actually be quite fast.

When Jiraiya had just learned the technique and shown it off in front of him, he had merely said, "Oh."

He was asking now purely out of curiosity.

"Hehe, Senior Brother Minato, only you can know this secret. You can’t tell anyone else."

Xu Yue chuckled, glanced around mysteriously, and activated his Sharingan.

Watching the sinister Three Tomoe spin, Minato Namikaze did not seem particularly surprised.

So he had awakened the Sharingan after all. No wonder his timing during the battle with the Kazekage had been so precise every time. Although his coordination with the Flying Thunder God and Rasengan was far less practiced than Minato’s, his grasp of timing seemed even richer than Minato’s own experience. It had been those eyes, then.

Xu Yue had taken the initiative to reveal his Sharingan to Minato precisely because of Minato Namikaze’s character!

Since he had used the Sharingan in battle, even if the speed of the Flying Thunder God Technique meant others might not have seen it, there was still a risk of it being noticed.

Rather than that, he might as well be open about it. Given Minato’s character and this show of "trust" from him, Minato would help conceal it as much as possible.

And it could also earn Minato Namikaze’s favor.

If he revealed his Sharingan to everyone now, there would be certain unusual benefits, but it would also cause some people to set their sights on him before he had fully grown.

So he could only use this method to temporarily keep Minato quiet.

"As expected of the Uchiha Clan. You picked it up so easily. Still, this technique can only display its greatest effect in your hands. Without the Flying Thunder God’s support, its practical usefulness is merely average."

Minato Namikaze truly possessed the broad-mindedness and bearing of a future Hokage. On the spot, he began explaining some techniques for combining the two jutsu to Xu Yue.

Xu Yue naturally listened and learned humbly.

As the two walked back toward the camp, Xu Yue received quite a few pointers and insights.

The Rasengan had originally been a technique Minato created specifically for himself, so Minato’s guidance was naturally immensely beneficial.

However, at that moment, Tsunade, who usually liked to wait inside the tent, had actually forced herself to come outside, where wounded soldiers were everywhere, despite her hemophobia, to welcome them.

But upon seeing the slightly solemn look on her pretty face, both Xu Yue and Minato understood that she had likely not come merely to welcome their triumphant return.

"First, I must thank you both for your efforts on the battlefield. You secured our advantage in victory. Otherwise, we might have been in trouble this time."

Tsunade got straight to the point as soon as they met.

"Did something happen at another border?"

Minato Namikaze understood the current situation quite well. Since Sunagakure had been crushed, the only possibility was that something had gone wrong on another front.

"Intelligence has come from Jiraiya’s side. The Land of Lightning has launched an attack and entered our territory. The ones leading them are the A-B Combination, which has recently become famous in the Land of Lightning. They’re difficult to deal with."

Upon hearing this intelligence, Minato Namikaze felt heavy-hearted, yet also slightly relieved.

Fortunately, they had shattered Sunagakure’s resistance on the battlefield today and heavily wounded the Kazekage. Otherwise, they would very likely have faced enemies on multiple fronts!

At that point, it would not have been just the Land of Lightning and the Land of Wind. Once the wall fell and everyone pushed, the Land of Earth and the Land of Water certainly would not have passed up the chance to tear off a piece of flesh as well.

"Then I’ll go support my teacher immediately."

After receiving Tsunade’s news, Minato Namikaze immediately prepared to head out. When it came to speed of reinforcement, he was unquestionably among the fastest.

"No. Orochimaru has already gone to support Jiraiya. You must now use your mobility advantage to put out fires wherever needed. Fortunately, you brought along a good partner. Have him work with you when the time comes. For now, take the wounded back to the village along the way. The Third Hokage will definitely make arrangements for everything else."

Tsunade rejected Minato Namikaze’s proposal and gave him a different assignment.

After considering it for a moment, Minato Namikaze agreed.

However, the two of them had practically ignored Xu Yue at the side entirely, leaving him somewhat speechless. Sure enough, as a minor nobody, he did not even have the right to protest.

Fortunately, this did not conflict with his plans.

Go back and let the Third Hokage make arrangements?

Perhaps Kakashi would also be promoted to jonin. Before going up against the Cloud ninja, they would probably complete that important mission first…