https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-568-The-Most-Heinous-Incident-in-History/12558851/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-570-The-Hope-that-Shook-the-Ninja-World/12558853/
Chapter 569: We've Never Fought With Such Abundance
Chapter 569: We've Never Fought With Such Abundance
In the evening, within a hastily constructed makeshift tent, numerous jonin from the ninja forces gathered.
The interior of the tent was sparse, containing only a large stone table crafted through Earth Release, and on it, a map of the Grass Country and its surrounding areas.
Mu Yue stood shoulder to shoulder with Jiraiya, facing north of the table, while Namikaze Minato and Kakashi stood behind them, and the rest of the jonin occupied the other sides of the large stone table.
"I believe you all have questions," Jiraiya began. "Wondering why we separated only to regroup so quickly, and why Mu Yue is here."
Some of the jonin nodded; with the sudden change in plans, they lacked information to fully understand the situation.
"First, Mu Yue has brought reinforcement forces to aid us in dealing with the Iwagakure ninja," Jiraiya explained.
"Due to the urgent situation at the front lines, Mu Yue selected an elite team from the reinforcement forces to arrive at the Grass Country as quickly as possible. So, the main force of the reinforcement troops has not yet arrived; only the vanguard of fifty elite ninja is here."
One of the jonin, eager for reassurance, asked, "How many ninja are in the reinforcement forces, Mu Yue?"
Now that the elite forces had arrived, he was confident that even if the main force was delayed, they wouldn't be too late. He was impatient to make up for their previous failure.
"Including the elite forces, there are a total of one thousand ninja," Mu Yue replied seriously.
"Wonderful! With these reinforcements, our numbers are comparable to the Iwagakure forces. We won't lose this time!" The inquisitive jonin's face lit up with excitement.
A thousand ninja as reinforcements—in all his years of fighting, he had never seen Konoha send such a strong support team so swiftly.
It wasn't that Konoha was stingy; they simply had fewer ninja compared to the other ninja villages.
Since its founding, Konoha had only ever officially employed a little over twelve thousand ninja.
And now, with the Third Ninja World War raging, years of attrition and natural ninja deaths had taken their toll, leaving Konoha with a truly diminished force.
The number of ninja in each village was a closely guarded secret. Otherwise, if a ranking of active ninja were made public, Konoha might find itself at the bottom of the five great ninja villages.
The rest of the jonin wore similarly astonished expressions, feeling as if they had never fought with such abundant resources—a full thousand-strong ally.
"As expected of Teacher Mu Yue, even your deception skills are top-notch," Obito, who had remained silent until now, admired inwardly.
The White Zetsu, disguised as Hyuga Hiashi, also feigned surprise, quietly memorizing the information to pass on later.
"The reason for our previous dispersal was our insufficient strength," Jiraiya continued. "We were concerned about our location being discovered and wiped out. But now, with a thousand ninja as reinforcements, there's no need to remain hidden."
The jonin nodded in agreement; with equal numbers, they had no fear of facing the enemy head-on.
"In your opinion, which location would be suitable for our forces to rendezvous with the reinforcement troops and set up a temporary base camp?" Jiraiya asked, seeking their input.
The jonin studied the map carefully, offering their suggestions.
After the operational meeting concluded, Jiraiya's expression turned solemn as he reminded them, "There may be spies among our forces, so the content of this meeting must not be leaked."
Previously, when Jiraiya had been assassinated by Sarutobi, few had witnessed it, and Jiraiya had deliberately concealed the information. As a result, the ninja forces were unaware that a spy had caused their previous failure.
The jonin in the tent wore grave expressions, understanding the seriousness of the situation.
"There's no need to be too anxious," Jiraiya reassured them with a smile. "Those I've called to attend this meeting are absolutely trustworthy ninja."
"As long as no accidents occur, we will turn this defeat into victory."
The jonin exchanged glances, agreeing with Jiraiya's assessment. The jonin assembled here were mostly veteran ninja from the Senju clan, or long-serving elder jonin—there was no possibility of a spy among them.
As long as they remained vigilant, the information would not be leaked, and there would be no unexpected incidents.
"I really want to cancel the Transformation Technique and let them see my true self. That would be interesting," White Zetsu thought with malicious glee.
Hyuga Hiashi was indeed a trustworthy ninja, but the one present was not Hiashi—it was him, White Zetsu!
Of course, White Zetsu only entertained the thought momentarily. He still had a mission to complete—to pass on this intelligence.
For now, it didn't matter that he couldn't reveal himself. He would bide his time until Jiraiya and the others were surrounded and desperate, and then he would mock them before making his escape.
After the meeting, the ninja dispersed, including Jiraiya and Mu Yue.
However, soon after leaving, Jiraiya, Mu Yue, and Namikaze Minato quickly slipped away using shadow clones and met up in a secluded spot.
The previous meeting had been a ruse to mislead White Zetsu; the actual operational meeting, attended only by the three of them, had already concluded.
"The bait is set," Jiraiya said, looking toward the northwest where the Iwagakure ninja were located. "Now we wait to see if they take it."
The thousand-strong reinforcement force that Mu Yue mentioned was merely a lie to lure Iwagakure; in reality, the combined forces of Jiraiya and the reinforcements totaled only about twelve hundred ninjas.
Namikaze was unaware of the exact number of ninjas on Iwagakure's side, but based on their current show of force, it had to be more than eighteen hundred ninjas, at least six hundred more than Konoha's forces.
Six hundred was a significant number for a unit of ninjas, enough to form a substantial force.
"After all, the overall situation is still not in our favor. It will be challenging to annihilate them entirely, so let's aim for eliminating half of their forces," Mu Yue suggested after some thought.
Jiraiya nodded in agreement. "Half is already a good number. If we manage to take out that many and report it back to Iwagakure, it will be a substantial loss for them and a blow to Onoki."
Half of eighteen hundred was nine hundred, and the resources needed to cultivate ninjas of that caliber were immense.
"If we can defeat the Jinchuriki of the Four-Tails this time, you will truly be the top young ninja of Konoha's new generation!" Jiraiya said, patting Mu Yue's shoulder and laughing.
During the operational meeting, Mu Yue had volunteered, stating that she had made significant progress in Water Style jutsu and could single-handedly take on the Jinchuriki of the Four-Tails and their protective ninjas.
"You'd better step up your game too, Water Gate. Why don't you go to Mount Myoboku to study the Hermit Mode?" Jiraiya continued, patting Namikaze Minato on the shoulder as well.
Namikaze Minato wore a helpless expression. "Master Jiraiya, please don't joke about that. There's no way I can make it in time now, and didn't Fukasaku say that my chakra control isn't good enough the last time?"
The Hermit Mode was a special ability that could comprehensively enhance a ninja's capabilities, and naturally, Namikaze Minato wanted to learn it. However, mastering it required a strong chakra foundation.
And Namikaze Minato currently didn't meet that criterion.
"Having insufficient chakra is a real weakness. Otherwise, with your talent, Water Gate, you might be able to master it quickly under intense pressure," Jiraiya said, stroking his chin.
He himself had spent a long time learning the Hermit Mode.
However, Jiraiya's situation had been unique. He hadn't stayed at Mount Myoboku for an intensive training session but had practiced sporadically whenever he had free time. So, the overall time he had spent learning it hadn't been that extraordinary.
Of course, compared to an exceptional case like Uzumaki Naruto, Jiraiya had indeed spent much more time.
...
"The feeling I get from this mission is so different from the last time," Obito complained, leaning against a tree and boredly gazing at the sky.
Although they were part of the same ninja force, the morale and atmosphere were vastly different from their previous mission.
"After all, we suffered a heavy defeat last time," Kakashi replied.
"Hey, why aren't you sleeping yet, Kakashi?" Obito asked, surprised to see Kakashi sitting on a tree branch.
They would be moving again soon, so everyone was finding a spot to rest wherever they could.
"Then why aren't you sleeping?" Kakashi countered.
Obito scratched his head and finally admitted, "I'm a bit concerned about the spy within our forces and the atmosphere in the unit."
Obito had experienced a lot by now, but the units he had been in had never suffered a major defeat, nor had he encountered a situation where a Konoha ninja had turned traitor and become a spy.
"There's no need to worry about it. Since they've already become a spy, regardless of the reason, they are now the enemy of Konoha. As for the unit's atmosphere, a single decisive victory will restore the feeling you're familiar with," Kakashi said indifferently.
"Hey," Obito wanted to say that what he truly cared about wasn't the surface-level issues but the underlying essence that had been revealed after the incident.
But he didn't know how to describe it, so he could only scratch his hair and sigh.
"So, why aren't you sleeping, Kakashi?"
Obito remembered that Kakashi hadn't answered his question earlier.
"I'm keeping an eye on you to make sure you don't accidentally leak any intelligence," Kakashi replied bluntly.
They didn't have as comprehensive information as Mu Yue and Namikaze Minato, but among those who didn't know the full picture, they were among those with the most knowledge.
Obito's face darkened, and he wanted to reprimand Kakashi, but remembering that it was already late at night, he could only swallow his words and glare at Kakashi.
"You evil, despicable white-haired guy! How dare you look down on me like that," Obito cursed in his mind, still feeling angry and glaring at Kakashi.
To prove his ability to keep secrets, Obito turned over and fell asleep.
After Obito fell asleep, Kakashi activated his Mangekyo Sharingan and observed their surroundings before closing his eyes as well.
PS: There will be another chapter later, but the timing is uncertain. It is recommended to read it tomorrow.
In any case, it will definitely be available tomorrow.
(End of Chapter)
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