"They're moving pretty fast, huh?"
"Water Country is already taken."
Nawaki and Minato were holed up in a room, whispering quietly while several plates of fruit and snacks sat on the coffee table.
"Their mission's practically done."
"But our trouble has just begun."
Minato said, massaging his temples. These past couple days had indeed been frustrating.
"It was going to happen eventually."
"Those two guys can't stay injured forever, right?"
Nawaki popped a grape into his mouth. He meant Rōshi and Kitsuchi, of course.
Recently, these two had fully recovered from their injuries, and Ōnoki was planning a devastating counterattack against the Cloud ninja.
With the strength of Konoha ninja added in, Ōnoki felt extremely confident about teaching the Cloud ninja what cruelty really meant.
Even if they couldn't take down the Third Raikage, they could still carve deep into the Cloud forces.
However, this plan wasn't something Nawaki and Minato wanted to see, nor was it what Konoha desired.
The ideal scenario, in Kawaki's eyes, was two dogs tearing at each other until both were bloodied.
"That's true enough."
"But have you figured out how to handle it yet?"
Minato helplessly glanced at Nawaki. Since he showed up, this guy's been giving me a headache.
"It'll definitely not work agreeing to Ōnoki's request."
"As for specifics, think about it yourself—I'll follow your lead."
Nawaki said casually without showing even a bit of embarrassment.
"I'm really impressed."
"You're not the only administrator involved here, you know?"
Minato didn't even know what to say anymore. Was his brain really that much better?
"Haha~! The more capable should carry heavier burdens!"
Nawaki flattered Minato with a cheeky grin, showcasing shamelessness at its finest.
"Of course we can't agree."
"But what reason shall we use to refuse?"
Minato had no choice but to communicate directly with Nawaki because he simply couldn't deal with this guy otherwise.
There was absolutely no way they could avoid contributing some effort.
"Sick leave?"
Nawaki suggested immediately, which was clearly a bad idea.
"Brother, use your brain for once."
"If both of us suddenly get sick during such a crucial moment, do you actually think Ōnoki's dumb?"
Minato stared at Nawaki as if he was looking at an idiot, seriously tempted to punch Nawaki's head to see if it's full of air.
"Then what about this—you fall ill and I'll play nursemaid."
Trying to avoid Minato's gaze, Nawaki hesitantly proposed.
"Like hell you will."
"Are you even a medical ninja?"
Minato covered his forehead. His head genuinely seemed to start hurting now.
"C'mon, then you tell me what to do?"
"We can't refuse outright either, unless we want total conflict?"
Nawaki shrugged nonchalantly like giving up completely, not particularly concerned about severely beating those Cloud ninja anyway.
"Total conflict?"
"Now that's actually an option."
Suddenly, Minato's eyes lit up with inspiration. At this point, backing off tactfully might be the best course of action for them.
"You've got a plan now?"
Eagerly leaning forward, Nawaki narrowed the distance between himself and Minato to within arm's reach.
"First, contact Sensei—we need to discuss details together."
Minato acted immediately. Summoning a Katsuyu Summoning Clone, he started contacting Kawaki. Knowing Kakashi and the others were on watch outside was reassuring.
"Sensei~"
Soon enough, Minato contacted Kawaki and gave a brief explanation of the current situation.
"It's already difficult for Ōnoki to endure this long."
"As long as you two stay there, you won't be able to quell his urge for revenge."
Kawaki chuckled lightly. Putting himself in Ōnoki's place, he could imagine how utterly humiliating it must feel for the old man.
Being bullied by Cloud Ninjas right at his doorstep and then having to beg Konoha for help—either of those alone would be a massive blow to his pride.
"That's right."
"Neither Nawaki nor I can come up with a good reason to say no."
Minato nodded while Nawaki stood silently beside him without interrupting.
"You've reached out to me, so you probably already have some ideas, right?"
Kawaki knew Minato very well, and the smile on his face never faded.
"I've got a rough plan."
"Now that there's no longer much point in keeping the Cloud Ninjas in the Land of Earth, shouldn't we withdraw?"
Kawaki hadn't specified when their mission would end, so Minato thought this timing was quite appropriate.
Once they withdrew, the Cloud Ninjas would definitely seize the chance to slip away, allowing the Land of Earth to return to a relatively peaceful state.
And at that time, they could deal with the Land of Earth however they liked without worrying about someone suddenly barging in to mess things up.
As for the departing Cloud Ninjas, they wouldn't pose much of a threat either.
After launching a major campaign with great effort but returning empty-handed, the Third Raikage should focus on figuring out how to answer the Lightning Daimyō's inquiries.
"You two can decide on your own."
"Your teacher and I don't mind."
Since the decision had been made to select the next Hokage, Kawaki naturally wanted to delegate authority.
He and Tsunade weren't people who clung to power, nor did they want to raise a puppet leader.
"Okay, I got it."
Minato originally wanted to share his plan, but since Kawaki responded like that, he decided not to add more words.
"Yeah, that's settled then."
"Your sensei's wife is calling me. Gotta go."
After saying that, Kawaki cut off the communication. Meanwhile, Tsunade, freshly showered, approached with damp hair.
"Already done talking?"
Nawaki hadn't even said a word before he missed his chance to speak, completely unprepared for how fast his brother-in-law would hang up.
How could he know that Kawaki and Tsunade had 'important matters' to attend to? They clearly didn't have time to entertain their concerns.
"Mm, more or less."
"Wait, let me say—"
Since Kawaki had chosen to delegate authority, Minato no longer hesitated and clearly stated his intentions.
Ohhh!
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Then the two discussed additional small details, finalizing everything.
Finally, they called Kakashi in and assigned him a few tasks, which lifted both of their spirits significantly.
Without annoying troubles weighing on their minds, their conversation became livelier. Before long, the room was packed with people.
While they were enjoying their tea gathering filled with laughter,
the Iwagakure ninja were holding a tense, high-stakes meeting.
"Have we pinned down the Cloud Ninja's position?"
Ōnoki sat at the head of the table, his face like stone. On either side below him stood Rōshi and Kitsuchi. At last, powerful figures had returned to back him up.
"Their location has been confirmed."
"Now that I think about it, that's pretty strange."
"The Cloud ninjas dropped off our radar for a bit, and now they're near the border of the Land of Rain."
The intelligence chief had only just received word about the Cloud ninja. When Ōnoki first issued his orders, he genuinely had no clue where the Clouds had gone.
Come to think of it, he should probably thank the Akatsuki. If they hadn't shot them down outright, the Clouds might already have escaped from the Land of Earth.
At that point, he, as the intelligence chief, would've been severely punished by Ōnoki.
"Maybe they tried another route—attempting to sneak through the Land of Rain to escape."
"Looks like their allies left them high and dry."
"Looks like Heaven's on our side, Iwagakure! We'll definitely take revenge."
One Iwagakure ninja chuckled darkly, unsure if he was mocking the Clouds or thanking the Akatsuki.
"Don't even talk about 'allies' like that."
"Could it be that the Clouds couldn't run because the Akatsuki were too strong to provoke?"
He nailed it. Exactly. The sheer strength the Akatsuki showed scared everyone stiff. The Third Raikage just couldn't bring himself to make a reckless move.
After all, the Land of Water, which had been occupied by the Akatsuki, wasn't far from the Land of Lightning at all.
If things blew up entirely, the Third Raikage knew he wouldn't be able to handle the consequences.
After failing to negotiate with the Land of Rain, he had no choice but to turn back in anger with his team, which led the Rock ninja right to them.
"All that's in the past now. The Clouds are isolated and helpless."
"Send a message to the Konoha ninjas. Tomorrow we strike together with them."
Ōnoki's words dripped with killer intent and left no room for negotiation.
...
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